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i.
Bambam has never seen Yugyeom so annoyed, with his cap pulled down low over his eyes and his shoulders hunched as he turns pointedly away from Bambam.
He can’t stop laughing anyway.
“I can’t believe you failed,” he sputters, clutching on to Yugyeom’s shoulder for support as he cackles in delight.
Yugyeom whines, nudging Bambam hard with his hip, sounding like he’s on the verge of throwing a tantrum. “You failed too!” he points out, but his tone is plaintive.
“Well, I’m not the one who got all the practice questions right but flunked the actual test,” Bambam crows, pushing his head against Yugyeom’s shoulder as he tries to catch his breath. Yugyeom shrugs half-heartedly, but Bambam refuses to be shaken off.
“We’re going to have to retake it,” the taller boy mumbles, sounding disconsolate. “Jaebum hyung is going to laugh at me!”
That sets Bambam off into hysterics again, and Yugyeom ends up dragging him out of the driving centre before they can be forcibly kicked out by the increasingly annoyed-looking receptionist.
Out in the afternoon sun, Bambam whips his phone out and immediately begins to text feverishly, shouldering Yugyeom away when he tries to peek over Bambam’s shoulder.
“Who’re you messaging?” Yugyeom asks, a subtle whine returning to his voice. Honestly, Bambam kind of loves the duality of his boyfriend – some days he gets the placid, sweet, clingy Yugyeom; other days he gets the excitable, loud, still clingy Yugyeom.
“Youngjae hyung,” Bambam replies distractedly, throwing Yugyeom a triumphant grin. “I’m telling him that you failed your driving test.”
Yugyeom’s jaw drops. “But so did you!” he screeches, and Bambam takes off at a dead run just a second before Yugyeom lunges towards him.
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ii.
----- Sunday, 22 October 2017 -----
bambam 8:33 PM
gyeom
at this rate we shld just switch housemates lol
KYUM 8:36 PM
hahahahaha yeah omg
jaebum hyung is always over at your place nowadays
u don’t think maybe………
him and youngjae hyung???
bambam 8:38 PM
tbh idk????
like all they do is STUDY
????
imagine if we tried to study tgt
KYUM 8:39 PM
:-)
i’m sure we would be v productive
bambam 8:39 PM
u’re so optimistic
we’d be productive but not in studying lol
;) ;) ;)
KYUM 8:40 PM
i miss u
you shld come over :-(
bambam 8:40 PM
midterms……………….
i’m gna fail
help
KYUM 8:42 PM
no you’re not!!! i believe in u!!!
lunch on wed after ur paper?
bambam 8:43 PM
that’s like 3 more days ughh
not kidding abt the housemate switch
tell jaebum u want to live w me
he thinks u’re an angel he’ll never say no to u
KYUM 8:44 PM
………..he needs the safe room for full moons bam
hahahahaha did u srsly forget about that
aka unsafe for u
bambam 8:44 PM
OH
yea shit i literally forgot abt that LMAOOOO
we can sleepover non-full moon tho
we can………..cuddle
;) ;) ;)
KYUM 8:45 PM
bam what
hahahahaahhaah
WHY ARE U WINKING
bambam 8:46 PM
thinking abt cuddling w u makes me hot
;) ;) ;)
KYUM 8:46 PM
oh my god
bam stoppppp
bambam 8:47 PM
R U BLUSHING
WHEN I’M NOT ARND TO SEE U BLUSH
NOOOOOOOOOOOO
send me a selfie
pls pls pls
KYUM 8:48 PM
maybe after u finish studying :-)
bambam 8:48 PM
wow
why r u such a slave driver
KYUM 8:48 PM
i’ll study too!!!
bambam 8:49 PM
…………..fine
ttyl my gyeomie!!
xoxoxo
KYUM 8:50 PM
:-) :-) :-)
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iii.
“Lovebirds.” Jaebum mumbles the word like a particularly nasty curse, before shuffling back towards his own room, still slit-eyed and tousle-haired.
Muffling a snicker, Bambam shuts the apartment door quietly behind him. It’s already five in the evening, but he supposes that’s still too early for a couple of werewolves the day after the full moon.
Yugyeom is still completely knocked out, face turned away from the door, breathing deep and even. He doesn’t stir even when Bambam takes a careful seat on the side of his bed, although his covers do drag down a little, revealing a pale expanse of skin along his back and shoulders.
Bambam’s eyes fly wide open, and his first instinct is to look away – they may have spent the past two months doing a disproportionate amount of kissing, as well as a fair bit of touching, but somehow they haven’t quite reached the seeing part yet.
Something stops him though, something not wholly related to his desire to see Yugyeom naked. (The thought itself feels almost sacrilegious with Yugyeom innocently sleeping in front of him, and he shudders a little.) Instead, it’s the barely-noticeable gleam of off-colour skin along the back of Yugyeom’s shoulders, shining slightly in the light filtering in through the gap in the door.
Slowly, carefully, Bambam sets his palm along Yugyeom’s back, and he feels his stomach drop. He’s familiar enough with Yugyeom’s wrist to recognise the feeling of scar tissue beneath his fingertips immediately.
He traces the long row of claw marks down Yugyeom’s back, to the puckered area along his ribcage, the only remnants of the bite that made Yugyeom what he is now.
“Bam?” The younger boy shifts, voice sweet and wondering as he turns over to smile sleepily up at Bambam. His hand reaches out, grasping blindly until Bambam takes hold of it.
“I’m here,” he whispers. “I’m here.”
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iv.
Just about the last thing Bambam expects to see as he leaves campus is a very familiar figure leaning against the wall by the entrance gates of his university, and he almost stumbles to a halt in shock. A moment later, his strides are eating up the distance between them, a sputtering laugh escaping his lips.
“What are you doing here?” he demands, catching Yugyeom by the arm with the widest smile he’s worn all day.
Yugyeom ducks his head, a subtle pink flush already creeping up his neck, all the way to his ears. “I was just passing by,” he mumbles, and both of them know it to be a blatant lie. Yugyeom is still carrying his school things, and his campus is nowhere near Bambam’s.
Bambam grins, just a little sly as he says, “You’re cute,” and then tiptoes to place his lips by Yugyeom’s ear. “So cute that I really want to kiss you right now.”
Yugyeom pulls back, looking mortified. “Bam,” he whines, and he’s still pouting as they make their way down the street, fingers interlaced casually.
“It’s not my fault you make it so easy,” Bambam protests, lips quirking up at the corners as he takes in Yugyeom’s disgruntled expression. “Let’s get chocolate shakes and head back to mine.”
He doesn’t bother to hide his smile at the way Yugyeom’s face immediately lights up at that. As he said – easy – and he adores Yugyeom for it.
“Youngjae hyung’s working today, so he won’t be back till late. We can chill for a bit before starting on homework,” Bambam says carefully, head cocked slightly as he watches Yugyeom turn to him, pink lips parting in response.
“Sure, I love chilling in your room.” Yugyeom blinks and smiles, and his eyes are anything but innocent.
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v.
“Hey, Gyeom,” Bambam says, lips twisting into a frown as he sets his sketchbook down.
Yugyeom pauses mid-dance, his eyes leaving the full-length mirror affixed to Bambam’s closet. “Yeah?”
“I was just suddenly wondering – how many werewolves are there? That you know of?”
Yugyeom’s brows furrow in confusion at the odd question. “In Seoul? It’s just the two of us, me and Jaebum hyung. We’re a rare breed, you know.” His lips quirk up into a playful grin, but Bambam doesn’t smile back – that’s not the answer he’d been expecting.
“Oh,” he says blankly, and then he falls silent for a moment, the gears in his mind working hard through his confusion.
“What is it?” Yugyeom pads over, bending down to drape his arms over Bambam’s shoulders. He smells very faintly of sweat, but Bambam doesn’t care; he leans to the side, tilting his head to catch Yugyeom’s lips with his own.
“The wolf that attacked you,” he says when they part, just a tad more breathless than before, “what happened to him?”
Yugyeom goes very still – that unnatural, wolfish stillness that Bambam recognises from before. The stillness of mingled fear and unease.
And then he relaxes, as if in surrender, the weight of his body pressing against Bambam’s back. “It’s always just been me and Jaebum hyung,” Yugyeom repeats carefully, but his voice is tense and pleading, and it’s not hard to understand what he’s trying to say anyway.
Bambam closes his eyes – the words won’t come. He doesn’t even know what to feel.
“He didn’t mean to,” Yugyeom says softly, as if that excuses anything.
But Yugyeom’s eyes are dark and apprehensive, and Bambam feels his anger fade into a dull burn. He stands and turns, arms winding about the taller boy’s neck, leaning up on his tiptoes to close the distance between them. If his kisses are a little angrier, a little harder, a little deeper – well.
There are some things that he wishes he could unknow.
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vi.
Bambam will never get over how swiftly Yugyeom’s face lights up at the sight of him, and he’ll never get over how it makes him feel – that slight ache in his chest, the way his breath steals its way right out of his lungs, the sudden lightness of his entire being.
“You’re here!” Yugyeom exclaims, utterly delighted in that lovely, pure way of his.
Bambam can’t help grinning. “I told you I was on my way. It’s not like you didn’t know.” He holds up the bag in his hands, looking particularly pleased with himself. “Also, I got us ice-cream.”
Yugyeom beams, flinging an arm around Bambam’s shoulders and tugging him close. “You’re the best.”
“Even without the ice-cream?” Bambam says with a smirk, pressing himself into Yugyeom’s side, the two of them stumbling slightly as they make their way to the kitchen.
“Even without ice-cream,” Yugyeom confirms with a laugh, as he takes the bag from Bambam and stuffs it into the freezer. He turns and smiles, head cocking to the side. “There – no more ice-cream.”
Bambam raises his brows, bemused but smiling back all the same.
Then all of a sudden, Yugyeom leans forward and pecks him on the lips, light and quick and barely there, just a brush of warm air that leaves Bambam blinking dumbly in response.
“But I still love you,” Yugyeom singsongs, and then he whirls out of the kitchen before Bambam can even register what he’s just heard.
“Wait –” Bambam sputters. “Gyeom – Yugyeom.” Finally, he manages to get his limbs to cooperate with his stunned brain, and he dashes off after the high-pitched laughter still trailing about the apartment.
This time, he’s the one blushing bright red.
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Limerence: n. the state of being infatuated or obsessed with another person.