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With a resounding sigh, Jihoon let his duffel bag fall from his aching shoulder to the floor as he finally reached the landing. Fumbling for his keys along the way, he dragged his bag the few steps to the front door of their dorm and pushed it open with grunt. After his fifth late night in a row at the studio, all he wanted to do was to have a quick cup of tea and collapse in bed for a few hours before he knew he would woken up to start the day all over again. It was commonly assumed in the group that the only liquid Jihoon ever consumed was black coffee, but he found there was nothing like a cup of chamomile tea to ease his mind after a long day. He rolled his eyes at no one in particular as a he retrieved a mug and tea bag from the cabinets, thinking of how Mingyu would probably tease him for that. He had set the water on to boil and was letting himself stare into space, ready to try and plan out the next day of work, when a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around his waist from behind.
-
Just two hours prior, Seungcheol had been meandering through the different rooms of the dorm, chatting with various members and checking to see if there were any problems that needed his attention. It was with little surprise but slightly more disappointment that he noticed that Jihoon, for the fitth night in a row, wasn’t back yet despite the clock having struck midnight 20 minutes ago. Seungcheol sighed, knowing that if Jihoon hadn’t called it a night already it was probably going to be past 3 AM when he got back, if he even came back to the dorm at all. Seungcheol briefly considered making the trip to the company building and staying with Jihoon, because at least that way he might be able to convince him to get some sleep, but Seungcheol remembered how earlier that day Jihoon had promised he would come earlier and the eldest decided to have little faith in him. He had settled into bed with his phone and was treading the drowsy barrier between sleep and consciousness when he heard the telltale sound of the key in the lock, making a sleepy smile spread across his face.
-
Jihoon knew exactly who was behind him, but he still jumped slightly in surprise having not heard Seungcheol’s sock feet make their way across the kitchen. He groaned and let his hands fall forward on the counter before admonishing Seungcheol, “You scared me again, I’ve told you not to do that! I thought I was going to get murdered or something.”
But he couldn’t stop the affectionate smile from spreading across his face as Seungcheol only cuddled against him harder and giggled.
“I’m glad you made it home earlier tonight, how are the songs coming?” Seungcheol ignored Jihoon’s scolding and asked, reaching under Jihoons arm to place the tea bag in his mug for him.
“Pretty well I guess, well enough that i managed to tear myself away,” Jihoon replied, smiling over his shoulder as Seungcheol stirred the tea. When the eldest finished and put the spoon down, he brought his attention back to Jihoon and pressed a kiss against his lips before giving him a matching grin and saying “I’m very proud of you.”
At that Jihoon finally caved and rotated in Seungcheol’s arms so that he could lay his own over Cheol’s shoulders and sigh contentedly at the way he pushed Jihoon back into the counter and kissed him, strong and deep, on the lips. As Jihoon licked his way into the kiss and into the warm expanse of Seungcheol’s mouth, he couldn’t help but sigh and think about how much he missed this. They had gotten together during a relatively quiet period for the group (or the closest thing they had to one) so the two had had time to enjoy each other’s company and explore their new relationship, but that was two eras ago and yet again they were in comeback mode. This meant that Jihoon was spending long nights in the studio again and Seungcheol was usually asleep by the time he got home and they just really never got any time to themselves. Jihoon swore to himself that he would change that, even in the midst of the craziness, as he felt the way Seungcheol rubbed the sides of his ribs with his hands and pulled at his bottom lip with his mouth. Seungcheol tasted like ramen and tea and /home/ and Jihoon couldn’t help but let out a noise at the way their mouths moved against each others. He then let out a slightly more surprised noise as Seungcheol grabbed him gently by the thighs and lifted him on to the counter, solving their height difference and allowing Seungcheol to slot himself between Jihoons legs and press their torsos flush against each other. Jihoon tangled his hands in Seungcheol’s hair and went back against his mouth with new vigor, first biting at his lower lip ever so slightly and then moving to kiss along his jaw. Seungcheol was a solid wall of heat against him and his skin felt so good and soft against Jihoon's mouth, but it was when he moved further back to kiss behind Seungcheol’s ear that he realized they weren’t the only two in the room. Poor Hansol was attempting to get a glass from the cabinet and leave the room unnoticed, but gave Jihoon the best /im sorry/ look he could when he realized he had been spotted. Jihoon sighed and gently pushed the eldest away from him, indicating over his shoulder in response to Seungcheol’s confusion. Seungcheol’s reaction was amusingly more extreme than Jihoon's, jumping slightly as he saw hansol and quickly flushing from his ears all the way to the neckline of his shirt.
“Hansol!! I’m sorry you should have said something….um we should go to bed anyway I guess.” Jihoon snorted at the way Seungcheol then scratched behind his ear and became incapable of looking at Hansol, before hopping off the counter.
He was pretty nonplussed at being walked in on if he had to be honest, with thirteen people living in close proximity and more than two of those people being in relationships meant that this happened fairly often. If anything he was disappointed that they had been interrupted, but he grudgingly agreed that it was probably for the best considering how soon they would have to up again. Jihoon grabbed seungcheol by the sleeve and tugged him towards their room, already fixated on getting in bed as soon as possible now that any amount of arousal that might have started building had quickly faded away and left him with only his crushing sleep deprivation. He only took the time to pull on a different shirt and pair of boxers before collapsing next to where seungcheol had fallen seconds earlier, allowing the older to pull him under the covers and into tight bear hug. Jihoon quickly settled in and wrapped his arms around Seungcheol’s waist before laying his head gently against his chest, feeling Seungcheols warmth wrap around his as his heart thumped a soothing rhythm right by his ear. They stayed in peaceful silence like that for a few minutes before Seungcheol pressed a quick kiss to Jihoon's hair and he looked up at him.
“Well that was rather anticlimactic,” he said, and Jihoon couldn’t help giggling into his chest.
“If I’m being honest I was hoping there would be some climaxing involved before we went to bed,” Jihoon agreed, “but at the same time that’s the first moment we’ve had together in a week, so I’m happy with anything.”
In the dark Jihoon saw Seungcheol smile and his eyes crinkle by the edges.
“I guess in the next few days we’ll just have to find some time to ourselves in the studio…” he said as he playfully brought his knee against Jihoon's crotch.
“Save it for then big guy,” Jihoon said tiredly in response, tucking his head away again in indication that he was ready to sleep. Seungcheol chuckled one last time before putting his head down by Jihoon's ear and whispering three short, wonderful words.
“I love you” Seungcheol said as way of goodnight, and Jihoon hummed in response before whispering back into the darkness of the sleeping dorm
“I love you too Cheollie.”