Work Text:
Jeonghan was a lot of things, but artistically inclined was certainly not one of them. The poor boy tried time and time again to outline shapes and flowers the way he wanted, but the series of lines just wouldn't work for some reason. It was frustrating, taking a rather large chunk of patience out of his being to sit at the desk and sketch away— only for it to end up looking terrible. He wanted to rip his hair out in anger, and if he didn't cherish his hair so much, he probably would have.
Occasionally, he'd ask his best friend, Jisoo, to examine his work and give constructive criticism. Lucky for him, Jisoo was a rather soft-spoken man and would try his best to sugarcoat his suggestions as a means to avoid hurting the older's feelings. He would point and smile at the drawings or paintings (or whatever else they happened to be that day) and then proceed to pat Jeonghan on the back, politely telling him to keep up the good work.
But Jeonghan knew he was lying. He knew that maybe art was just something he wasn't meant to do. Alas, Jisoo's encouragement gave him the inspiration to keep going in vain hopes that he'd get there someday. It wasn't all trash, I mean in comparison to some of his earliest pictures, some of them were okay enough to keep. However, if the average passerby were to look at the pieces, Jeonghan would inevitably be shunned.
So here he sits in his room, pencil in hand yet again, preparing himself to make what was thousands of miles short of a masterpiece. Various ideas flood his head, and he can't quite decide what to attempt today.
Suddenly, thoughts of Jisoo flood his head and he has to take a step back to reminisce on their hangout from that morning. The two were very close in terms of what was normal, and Jeonghan would be fibbing if he said he didn't have a small crush on the younger. How could you blame him though? They'd been connected at the hip since middle school, and it was impossible to ignore that Jisoo was attractive.
Jeonghan's mind goes to work as he leans forward once more, smiling gleefully and pressing the tip of his pencil to the white paper. His hands start to move on their own, and he's soon sketching out the faint design of two people embracing. He even pulls up a reference picture on his laptop for a quick view at what it should turn out like.
Maybe he wouldn't show Jisoo this one. This one was all for him.
"Jeonghan!" A shout calls out to him halfway through his creative process. Under normal circumstances, said boy would scoff and yell back, telling the stranger to go away, but the voice resonating through his ears is instantly identified as Jisoo's, and he doesn't have enough willpower to ignore him.
He pushes away from his desk and leaves the paper in its spot— it wasn't like Jisoo was going to see it anyways, right? He had nothing to worry about.
"What is it?" Jeonghan enters the kitchen, where his friend is leaning over the counter, Jeonghan's spare key in hand. Scattered around his feet were a plethora of grocery bags, all which implied the two would be spending the night in with a movie. It was a common scenario for the pair. Jisoo liked watching films, and Jeonghan liked making Jisoo happy, even if it meant sitting through six hours of sappy romcoms— that admittedly made him want to poke his eyes out.
"I was just wondering where you were." Jisoo shrugs before nodding gently to one of the bags on the floor. "I brought snacks."
"It looks like you brought the whole gas station." Jeonghan lets out a light and airy laugh, coming closer to look into the plastic sacks. Jisoo was always like this, over-prepared. The older didn't necessarily mind.
Jisoo's lips press into a thin line and he hums. The room drops to silence for a few moments until Jeonghan picks it back up, clearing his throat before he speaks.
"I'm going to go use the restroom, okay? We can start the marathon when I get back." He suggests, not needing to pee, but rather needing to wash his face as if it would help clear his mind too. He knew it wouldn't though, because it never did. His imagination was too wild for him to tame by himself. It wasn't that he was nervous— actually he'd been quiet open about his feelings before, but it seemed to make Jisoo uncomfortable, so he restrained.
Jisoo nods and mentions something about going to find more comfortable clothes in Jeonghan's room, but the latter isn't listening by that point. In fact, he's already zooming out the doorway and into the bathroom down the hall.
After washing his hands and face, Jeonghan glances up at himself in the mirror, rubbing his skin loosely and hyping himself up with words that radiated a confident aura. He wanted to keep his composure, but it was proving to be a difficult task.
Jisoo walks into Jeonghan's room, similarly to how he did on most days. They spent a lot of time together, what could he say? Not to mention Jeonghan's room always smelled amazing, like flowers— just how Jisoo liked it. It smelled clean and fresh, like his best friend.
He was somewhat shy when it came to romance. Especially in reference to Jeonghan's advances. Jisoo had assumed Jeonghan was flirty with everyone, so it's quite the shock to see a portrait of the two together in the corner of the bedroom.
A blush rises to his cheeks when his eyes draw towards the array of hearts hanging above the subjects' heads. Sooner or later, his shocked expression morphs into one of amusement as he analyzes an endless basket of opportunities.
This was going to be fun.
"Where did you go-oh." Jeonghan stops dead in his tracks in front of his door as he spots Jisoo standing in the center of his room, staring hard at that damned piece of paper in his clutch. All of a sudden, Jeonghan feels the need to run to the bathroom again as his heart drops to his gut. He has the urge to vomit.
Jisoo grins like an idiot, taking in the art and all of its... beauty. He doesn't say anything, and Jeonghan doesn't know what to do placed there with his arms hanging at his sides. This is really how he was going to let his secret out, huh? It was pitiful. He should have been more careful.
"What is this?" Jisoo flips the paper with both hands and displays Jeonghan's sketch, causing the latter to swallow the gulp rising in his throat. "Do you babysit or something? It looks like some kid tried to draw you and— whoever this is." He points at the boy who is meant to be distinguishable as Jisoo himself and Jeonghan starts to wallow in his own humility.
"That's you." He croaks quietly, feeing all of his former pep talk being sucked out of his body through the eyes that dart at his best friend in front of him. He didn't expect himself to get so flustered.
"Hm?" Jisoo smirks, holding a palm up to his ear as if to signal Jeonghan to repeat himself.
"I said that's you, Jisoo." Jeonghan rolls his eyes, knowing that the man was only doing this to act like a brat, testing him. "Can we go watch the movies now?" He pleads, looking pained by the fact that Jisoo had figured him out.
Jisoo places the sheet on the end of Jeonghan's bed and steps forward. "Don't you think we need to talk about this?" He questions.
"I don't feel like it."
"Look," Jisoo starts, "I know you like me." He says, his wavering tone contradicting his words. He was bashful yes, but he wasn't willing to ignore an issue as big as this one. It took all of his motivation to actually address it rather than let Jeonghan slip passed his confession yet again. He had the feeling that the older came close a few times, but he'd never just say it.
"And what about it?" Jeonghan snaps back, more forceful than he had intended. He immediately sees the hurt flash through Jisoo's gaze and he tries to redact his attitude, pulling him into a tight hug. "I mean— why is that important?" He rewords, sounding much kinder this time.
A slow hand reaches for his own and grips on softly. "I like you too." Jisoo admits, his breath fanning against Jeonghan's ear, which sends a shiver down his spine.
Jeonghan takes a step back in surprise. "You do?!"
Jisoo nods, his cheeks burning a bright red that Jeonghan finds adorable.
The world comes to a brief halt when Jeonghan giggles, coming in and capturing Jisoo's lips in a soft kiss, which makes the younger retaliate by kissing back, lifting his hand behind Jeonghan's head and rubbing carefully.
Their kiss only lasts for a few seconds before they break apart, beaming at each other. In a hesitant fashion, Jeonghan grips on to the boy's hand and pulls him back into the living room where the two spend the whole night cuddling up on the sofa and talking under the stars.
Who knew Jeonghan's terrible drawings would end up bringing him here, with Jisoo lodged contently in between his arms?
"You're so cute." Jisoo blurts quietly, head resting on Jeonghan's chest with a bowl of popcorn laying in between his legs. "Even if your drawings suck." He adds, snickering a bit and then tossing a piece of the treat into his mouth.
"Hey!" The other jokingly hits Jisoo on the top of the head.
If he had any idea things would lead to this, Jeonghan would've started pursuing art years ago.