Chapter Text
Jisung blinked his eyes open, balking at the light in the room. He rolled over, both marvelling at the size of the bed he was in - his dorm room bed hardly allowed for breathing room - and the strange emptiness of it. He sat up quickly, floundering as he looked around Minho's bedroom. Did he leave again?
The thought was only fleeting, as Jisung quickly heard noise from the kitchen. He flopped back down on the mattress. Where did I think he went? he cursed himself. He fucking lives here.
He rubbed his eyes before sitting back up. Jisung didn't remember changing into Minho's sweatpants, but he was wearing a magenta sweatshirt that he distinctly remembered as his own. He hadn't seen it since Minho left. He smiled a little, thinking that Minho probably took it, even though it didn't fit him well. He carefully stepped out of bed and wandered out of the room.
He saw Minho in the kitchen, adorable pastel pink apron tied around his waist. He was dusted with flour and standing over the stove, facing mostly away from Jisung, and he was… talking?
"Hi, kitty kitty! How are you? Aww, you're so cute, aren't you? Yes, you are!"
Jisung couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his throat. Minho whipped around to look at him. "Sungie! I'm making breakfast," he said, smiling widely. It took all of Jisung's willpower not to cry of domestic joy.
"What are you making?" Jisung asked, padding his way into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around Minho's torso. His face was hidden in Minho's back, and it was almost warm enough to replace the bed he just left.
"Pancakes," Minho chimed.
Jisung hummed happily. He felt a soft presence at his calves, which he presumed was whatever cat Minho had been talking to.
Jisung squatted down to pet its orange fur. "You got a cat?"
Minho laughed. "Yeah. I always wanted one. It was my main motivation for living here."
Jisung scratched the cat behind the ears before poking its nose. He giggled as it recoiled in surprise.
"Do you want me to put chocolate chips in yours?" Minho asked.
"Is that even a question?" Jisung joked, standing up.
Minho rolled his eyes. Jisung pressed a kiss to the back of his neck and marvelled at his laughter. Minho's laugh was probably the thing he missed the most.
Minho flipped the pancake onto a plate and handed it to Jisung. He smiled widely in appreciation as he grabbed the syrup - the corn syrup kind, not the kind from the tree - off the counter and sat down at the counter. He doused his pancakes in syrup and shoved a forkful into his cheek. "God, I love you," he said.
Minho beamed as he poured more batter onto the pan. "Only when I make you food?" he teased.
"No, all the time," Jisung said. "But it helps."
"Do you want coffee?" Minho asked, pouring himself a cup and adding a splash of creamer. Jisung nodded enthusiastically.
Minho poured a mugful of milk, added a few spoonfuls of sugar, and splashed in enough coffee to turn it a milky brown color. Jisung took it gratefully.
Soon, Minho was sat beside him with his bitter coffee and much less syrup-laden pancakes. He poked Jisung's cheek as he ate.
"Why?" Jisung complained, covering his face.
"You're really cute," Minho said with a giggle.
Jisung wanted to be angry at the endearment, but he couldn't be, with the glint in Minho's golden eyes and the smile on his face.
"Your eyes kind of creep me out," Jisung said.
"You did this to me," Minho said with a shrug. "I kind of like them."
"Really?"
"Really. And I really like the blond. So I'll deal with it," he said, ruffling Jisung's already disastrous hair. Jisung leaned forward to kiss Minho's cheek. He grimaced as he wiped the syrup off his face with the back of his hand. Jisung rolled his eyes.
"Do you have class today?"
"No."
"...yes, you do," Minho said, looking at his blank expression.
"Fine," Jisung conceded. "But I'm not going. Because you're here."
Minho sighed and thought for a moment. "Okay," he said. "But you have to go tomorrow."
Jisung cheered and shovelled another forkful of pancake into his mouth.
~~~
"I'm nervous."
"I know."
Jisung squeezed Minho's hand, staring up at the staircase in front of them. Just up those stairs a few flights were all of their friends, bound to react to Minho's return in a variety of ways. Jisung just hoped they were mostly positive. "Did you tell them we were coming?" Minho asked.
"No," Jisung admitted. "I can call them now, if you want."
"No, it's fine," Minho said. "It's gonna be okay, right?"
"Of course."
Minho nodded and took in a deep breath. "Okay."
They walked up the stairs together, Jisung glancing around in a way that could only be described as paranoid. The first stop was Jisung's dorm room. Jisung had hoped it would be empty.
He was wrong.
"Oh, for Jeongin's sake," Jisung cursed, covering his own eyes with his hand.
"We're literally wearing all of our clothes," Seungmin said, moving from where he had Hyunjin pinned against the wall. "And did you just say Jeongin-"
"That doesn't matter."
Hyunjin had sunk to the floor in apparent shame, face hidden in his hands. Seungmin chuckled, petting his head, and turned to Jisung again. "How did that thing go? Chan said that… Hi, Minho."
Jisung finished tugging him into the room and closed the door to the room. "Uh, hi-"
"I fucking missed you!" Hyunjin squealed, standing up quickly to tackle Minho in a hug. Minho chuckled, relieved no one threatened him or anything.
"Hi, Jinnie."
"Welcome back," Seungmin said, bowing slightly, "you top notch idiot."
"That's no way to treat your elders," Minho scolded.
"That was no way to treat your boyfriend."
The air was silent and sharp for a few seconds, Seungmin's words clearly shocking Minho. Seungmin cleared his throat in recognition. "It's good to have you back."
Minho laughed it off and grabbed Jisung's hand again. "We should probably go see the others."
"I may have already texted Innie," Hyunjin said, tucking his phone back into his pocket.
The door flew open, sending the four of them tumbling farther into the dorm room. "Jinnie said Minho's back!" Jeongin enthused, his eyes soon locking on Minho. He hugged him tightly, and Jisung melted at the sweet smiles on both of their faces.
"Changbin and Felix are out right now," Jeongin said, separating from him. "And I think Chan is taking a stress nap."
"Then I guess we can chill?" Jisung said.
They all nodded.
The trio had a plethora of questions for the couple, most of which they were happy to answer, and a few of which they ignored (such as Jeongin's "why do you have a habit of yeeting away from your problems?"). The atmosphere was warm and pleasant, and Jisung was just beyond happy it was back to normal.
Soon, Jisung's phone was buzzing incessantly from his pocket.
[Lixie:
i'm in the hallway. talk. now.]
Jisung rolled his eyes before excusing himself. He closed the door behind him just to be met with a very concerned looking Felix, a much angrier looking Changbin at his side. Jisung blamed it on his resting face.
"You and Minho are back together?" Felix whispered harshly.
Jisung recoiled from the tone. "Yeah?"
"Is that it?" Felix asked. "You forgave him?"
Jisung crossed his arms. "Why the hell are you acting like this?"
"I think," Changbin started, "Felix is just trying to say that you suffered for weeks because of Minho-"
"Because I love him, and it hurts to be away from him," Jisung bit back.
"He hurt you," Felix argued. "He left you without a thought for how you felt-"
"You haven't even let him explain himself," Jisung said. He felt tears welling up in his throat for the thousandth time in recent memory.
Felix's face fell. "I… why did he do it?"
"It's my fault for making him think I didn't want him," Jisung said. "He didn't mean to hurt me."
Felix took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Ji."
"Are you sure he isn't going to hurt you again?" Changbin asked tenatively.
"Is Binnie being protective?" Jisung teased, raising his eyebrows.
"Nevermind," Changbin deadpanned. "You're the worst."
Jisung laughed before sighed again. "Really. Just be nice to him. Please."
"I'll forgive him if you have," Felix said with a shrug.
Jisung nodded gratefully and opened the door again, making his way into the dorm. The room inside was extremely quiet.
"...what's up, guys?" Changbin said, waving awkwardly. Minho gave a small wave back.
"No hard feelings!" Felix cheered, rushing up to give Minho a hug. His frown immediately dissolved.
"I hate you," Changbin said to Minho, "but that's nothing new."
"Nice to see you too, Binnie."
The atmosphere soon re-lightened, and Chan and Woojin joined them before long. For the most part, everything was the way it used to be, with all nine of them crammed in Jisung and Hyunjin's small dorm room with ventilation so terrible that their body heat was quickly accumulating. Their laughter could result in a noise complaint. It was exactly the way Jisung wanted his friendships to be forever.
~~~
"I'm nervous."
"Don't be," Felix said, fixing his hair in the massive mirror on the wall. "You look great!"
Jisung huffed. He supposed he did. He wanted orange or pink hair, but Minho said it'd make his eyes look too creepy, and he didn't want to wear contacts. Jisung had settled for a pretty medium lilac color, standing out against his white and black suit. Minho had said his hair color was "a surprise", as they hadn't seen each other since that morning, but Jisung could see in his own eyes that his hair was a deep black. It made his heart beat erratically in his chest, if it wasn't already. He was wearing a lot of blush rosy and highlighter, hopefully hiding the inevitable flush on his face.
The door creaked open and Jeongin immediately stood to look at who it was. "Yah!" he yelled. "No seeing the bride before the wedding. It's bad luck."
Minho's voice came from behind the door. "But I love him! Sungie, I love you!"
Jisung giggled. "I love you too!"
Jeongin hastily closed the door on him. "Absolutely ridiculous."
Jisung laughed and ran a hand through his hair. Chan immediately made a noise of distaste and rushed over to fix it. "Hey, hey. Seungmin will definitely yell at you for ruining his pictures if you do that."
"It's my wedding," Jisung joked.
"Seungmin owns this joint."
Felix choked on a laugh. "We have five minutes. Are you sure you don't want to bring your note cards up with you?"
Jisung shook his head. "No, I think I have everything memorized. But you have to give a best man's speech."
"I think you'd be surprised."
Chan raised an eyebrow. "Felix, if you mess this up-"
"Relax," Felix said. "I got this."
Jisung chose just to trust him and stood up, pacing the room nervously. He was terrified. This was the best day of his life, obviously, and no matter what, it would be perfect. He was just full of happy anxiety, and he felt like he was about to cry. Felix rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "You good?"
"I'm too good," Jisung babbled. "This is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love him so much-"
"Save it for the vows," Felix interrupted with a laugh. "We're almost on."
Jisung nodded, his hands shaking so much he felt like he was vibrating.
The door opened, and Seungmin stuck his head out. "You're on in thirty seconds, Felix," he announced, sparing a glance to each of them in the room. Felix nodded and they all filed out of the room.
The venue was beautiful. It was completely dark outside, the lights of the city visible behind the altar, glowing fairy lights around the chairs, aisle, and wedding arch, lighting up the plumes of white roses decorating the atmosphere. It was all Jisung could have wanted, and that wasn't even taking into account the one thing that mattered - Minho's gorgeous form underneath the wedding arch, beaming as the music played from the piano in the corner. Seungmin bolted to the end of the aisle, hardly visible in his black suit, to take pictures of Felix and Changbin as they walked down the aisle together.
After Felix and Changbin came Woojin and Chan, and then Hyunjin and Jeongin. Jisung tried to calm down as his father walked him down the aisle.
It was like a dream. His feet weren't making contact with the ground as he walked, and all he could see was Minho, Minho, Minho. It was all her ever wanted to see. All of this hit him at once, and he wanted to break down in tears right there. Still, though, he stepped up to the altar and nearly melted at Minho's joyful smile. He grinned back and took Minho's soft hands in his own.
Whatever the person marrying them - marrying Jisung to Minho - was saying went right over Jisung's head. He just stared into Minho's newly violet eyes as they crinkled in joy. He really did look amazing with the black hair.
Before long, it was Jisung's turn to say his vows, and his whole heart was threatening to fall out of his chest. "Minho."
"Hi," Minho breathed out with a laugh.
Jisung tried to stifle the giggle that inevitably escaped his mouth. "At the beginning of my sophomore year, you were the gorgeous barista in the campus coffee shop. Needless to say, when you left me notes with those ridiculous pick-up lines, I fell hard."
Minho's smile widened, if that was even possible, and Jisung squeezed his hands.
"Needless to say, I was conflicted. Soulmates were the only thing that mattered, as far as I was concerned, but I loved you without knowing about our bond. I loved you with full confidence that I wasn't supposed to. And, even now, I know that I'd want to be up here, marrying you, even if my eyes hadn't changed colors that day."
Minho ran his thumbs over Jisung's hands.
"The universe said you were the one for me, Lee Minho, but, if it didn't, I still would have chosen you. In my next lives, I will choose you again and again. I can only hope that you'll choose me over and over, too, and that today you'll choose me just once."
Jisung grinned. "I love you so much," he said, finishing his speech.
Minho blinked at him quickly, trying to prevent his tears from falling. "Han Jisung."
Jisung took in a deep breath through his nose.
"I'm an idiot."
The crowd broke out in giggles, especially the seven of their closest friends standing with them.
"I'm an absolute idiot, Jisung, and I almost let you go soon after we first met because I trusted the universe more than I trusted us. I never stopped loving you. I was born to love you, and I've spent my whole life hoping I'd be able to. I wanted you to be my last, Jisung, before I even thought you were my anything. You're my everything, universe be damned. We make our own choices in this world. Every corner of the universe reminds me of you because you are the only thing that matters. The idea of soulmates is irrelevant if it doesn't lead me to you, because you are the only one. I love you, Sungie, and I hope you'll let me do so forever."
"Do you, Lee Minho, take Han Jisung to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do," he said, smiling softly.
"Do you, Han Jisung, take Lee Minho to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do," he proclaimed, much louder and more confidently than intended, earning a sudden laugh from Jeongin.
"Then you may now kiss… each other."
Minho pulled him in by his hands and kissed him gently. The crowd roared. Jisung let the noise fade into obscurity as he just felt Minho and the non-existent space between them. They were one, dictated by the universe that they had built. They separated and Jisung laughed.
At the reception, Changbin shoved a handful of wedding cake into Minho's face, earning only laughter, even from Minho. Felix and Woojin, the best men, performed a song Jisung had produced recently with Changbin and Chan instead of giving a speech. However, the song they chose was one called Matryoshka, quite contrary to any one of the softer selections they could have picked (including ones about Minho). Changbin rapped his lines extremely loudly. Jisung figured he drank too much.
It was the best day he could have asked for, and he went home to Minho every day afterwards, so he couldn't have asked for a better life, either.
~~~
"Dadda?"
"Yes, Chenle?" Jisung asked drowsily, rolling over in bed. It was way too early for this, but he didn't want to complain about it.
The small child pouted slightly, puffing his chubby cheeks out. He held up his pinky finger on his right hand and frowned at it. "There's a string on my pinky."
Jisung sat up, half-heartedly slapping Minho's back in order to wake him as well. "Hngh."
"Minho, get up."
"It's six in the morning," Minho complained, looking at his phone.
Jisung swooped down to press a kiss to the back of Minho's neck, thus giving him the energy to finally sit up. "Dad!" Chenle cheered, hoisting himself up onto the bed to wrap his arms around Minho's neck.
Minho laughed, his voice hoarse from sleep, and patted the top of Chenle's head. The child separated and flopped down to sit on the mattress. He held up his finger again, poking it with his index finger of his other hand. "What is it?"
Clearly, Jisung saw absolutely nothing, and, judging by the look on his face, Minho couldn't, either. "What color is the string?"
"Ed."
"Red," Minho corrected.
"Red," Chenle repeated. Minho smiled approvingly.
"You know about soulmates, right, Lele?" Jisung asked.
Chenle nodded enthusiastically. "Dad and Dadda are soulmates, and, and, and… and Woojin and Chan, and, and…"
Chenle seemed to forget what he was going to say. Jisung giggled. "Yes, that's right. At the other end of that string," he pointed, "is your soulmate."
Chenle noticeably perked up, looking off to where the string lead. "Let's go right now!" he exclaimed, clamoring off the bed and following the string into the wall.
"No, no," Minho said, standing up to scoop Chenle up in his arms. The child giggled at that, hugging him tightly. "You have all the time in the world to go find them."
Chenle huffed. "But I want to find them now ."
"And they probably want to find you," Jisung explained, "but the time isn't right yet. You're only five, Lele."
"Yeah, this many!" he yelled, holding out his open hand. He proceeded to count all of his fingers, making Minho roll his eyes.
"I know, buddy," Jisung said. "Someday you'll meet them, and maybe you'll really like them, but if you don't, that's okay, too."
Chenle's eyebrows furrowed. "How could I not like them?"
"You'll understand when you're older," Minho said, standing up.
"Are you saying you don't like me?" Jisung asked with a laugh.
"Absolutely can't stand you," he replied as he walked out of the room, turning back to wink at Jisung before he left.
"Let's go make breakfast," Jisung said, lifting up Chenle to set him down on the ground. Chenle immediately ran as fast as his (very tiny) legs could carry him into the kitchen.
Minho was already behind the counter, cracking eggs into a bowl. Jisung hugged him from behind and Chenle, hilariously, did the same to Jisung. Jisung separated to make toast.
"I wanna…"
"What is it, Lele?" Minho asked.
Chenle pointed to the fork Minho had in his hand.
"You wanna beat the eggs?"
He nodded.
Minho laughed breathily before lifting Chenle up towards the counter and handing him the fork. He expected his motor skills to fail him, but, surprisingly, he beat the eggs to a totally consistent liquid form. Minho kissed his head as he pried the fork from his grasp. "Good work."
Chenle proceeded to bounce around the kitchen the entire time Minho was cooking. "Chenle, go get dressed for school while you wait," Jisung said, growing a little paranoid about his actions.
Chenle bounced off to his room.
"Do you ever regret having a kid?" Minho asked jokingly.
"Sometimes," Jisung answered with a chuckle.
Minho took the opportunity to kiss him desperately before Chenle bounded back into the room, earning a feeble slap in the chest from a now red-faced Jisung. Minho laughed as he carried the two plates to the table, letting Chenle carry his own since he insisted.
Minho laughed as soon as Jisung and Chenle started eating.
"...what?" Jisung asked, looking up at him.
"You two both eat the same way."
Jisung turned to look at Chenle, who was shoving egg into his cheeks before chewing. He ran a hand over his face. "I've tarnished our son with the legacy of the squirrel."
"He's just extra cute now," Minho said, leaning over to pinch Chenle's cheek. He whined and pulled away.
Jisung checked his phone. "It's time to go to the bus, Chenle."
Chenle shoved a last bit of egg in his mouth and bolted to the living room to put on his backpack. Minho grabbed Jisung's hand as they started to walk him out of the apartment building and to the bus stop, Chenle skipping the whole way.
"Ji!"
As soon as they exited the building, Jisung turned to see Felix waving, Changbin's arm around his waist and a golden-skinned child walking leisurely in front of them.
"Hyuck!" Chenle squealed, rushing up to greet the other boy. Donghyuck, the boy in question, rolled his eyes but smiled softly.
"How are things?" Felix asked, fistbumping Jisung.
"Chenle woke up this morning with a red string on his finger," Jisung said with a sigh.
"Did he want to go look for his soulmate?"
"He sure did."
"Hyuck acts like he couldn't care less about his soulmate," Changbin said with a laugh. "Whenever we mention soulmates, he says he hates them."
"Cold," Minho responded.
Felix nodded knowingly.
"Hi, Hyuck."
Jisung looked down to see the familiar face of Mark, Chan and Woojin's son, who was two years older than Chenle and one older than Donghyuck. He turned to look for the two parents in question.
"They let me walk by myself today," he said, seeing Jisung's confusion.
"I want to do that," Donghyuck complained, looking up towards Felix.
Felix just shook his head.
The bus arrived and the three kids got together. Jisung and Minho waited until they couldn't see Chenle waving from the window before heading back inside. "You coming to the studio today?" Changbin asked Jisung.
"Sure am. Minho and I were going to go get coffee with Hyunjin, Seungmin, and their new baby. Do you want to come?"
"Is the baby going to drink coffee?" Minho asked.
Jisung rolled his eyes.
"I can't," Changbin responded. "Felix is making me clean the house."
"I'm making you clean your house," Felix responded.
Changbin sighed. "I love you?"
"I love you, too."
Changbin grinned victoriously. "See you later, then!" he said, waving as he made his way back into his apartment building with Felix.
"Hey, Sungie?"
"Hmm?" he said, turning towards Minho.
"I love you. A lot."
"I love you, too," Jisung responded, leaning against his shoulder.
And he really, really did.