Work Text:
If anyone asks, it was entirely Shotaro’s fault. He was the elder, after all. Although, if Sungchan was being completely honest, he was the one who had grabbed the box of Christmas decorations from the training room locker, so he probably had a greater liability for their entire predicament in the first place.
“Where are we going to put this up?” came a voice from somewhere below his chin. Sungchan startled out of his daze and looked back down to the head of light brown hair that was lightly bobbing to the Christmas jazz they had put on. Shotaro held up the offensive object, the one that had sent Sungchan into his prior daze, and was sending him right back into a renewed state of panic.
He couldn’t help it, and he suspected no one in his position would have been able to either. It was the eyes, he swears.
They had dragged him out of practice one day into one of the small recording studios the seniors liked to hang out in, introduced the boy (senior?) standing in the corner as his roommate, and told him he was going to debut.
Doubts and nerves were gradually soothed by the calming presence of his new friend, who never seemed to run out of cheerful smiles to give and whose eyes shone constantly, even as he learnt to navigate a new country and language barrier.
Promotions were exciting, that was a given, and the high they got from the thrill of new activities was always enjoyable, but it was inevitable that fatigue would catch up at some point. On days when Shotaro’s eyes shone a little less bright, Sungchan made it a point to stick close to him, let him lean his head on Sungchan’s shoulder or press closer to him. Eventually, it had become the norm for the elder to gravitate towards Sungchan’s side, tucking himself in subtly if the younger was busy talking to someone else and demanding it with a shove if Sungchan’s attention happened to be on him.
It was fine, really. Sungchan enjoyed having a little portable heater stuck to him constantly (he ran cold alright, it wasn’t on purpose). And if tugs on sleeves had morphed into hands intertwined in jacket pockets and hugs on set while waiting for their turn became curling around each other at the end of the day while fiddling with their phones, well. So long as Shotaro didn’t mind, Sungchan had no objections.
For all the comfort Shotaro had brought to Sungchan, Sungchan wanted to alleviate the homesickness he knew Shotaro was feeling as Christmas season creeped up upon them, the first hints of snow covering the pavement with a light dust of white. Which was why, when the two of them had squeezed into the bathroom to brush their teeth that morning, Sungchan had suggested putting up Christmas decorations around the dorm. He knew there was a stash of lights and wreaths in the trainees’ lockers from their celebration the year before, and he was sure no one would miss it, what with the majority of trainees having gone home for the holidays. The appreciative smile Shotaro had shot him as he leaned his head back on Sungchan’s shoulder was all the thanks Sungchan needed.
And that brings them to their current predicament. He hadn’t realised that the small bunch of mistletoe someone had brought as a gag gift last year got tossed into the cardboard box, not until Shotaro had held it up to scrutinise in the quiet of their dorm. Sungchan didn’t know if this was a cultural thing, but he was pretty sure that mistletoe held the same connotation in every country.
“We...want to hang this up?” Sungchan asked slowly.
“We don’t? It’s kind of cute, and when we invite the members over to chill we can totally catch them off guard with this.” Shotaro turned around to face him and said with a slight frown, bottom lip jutting out slightly. Was he...pouting? Well, at least Sungchan’s question was answered. It did translate the same in Japan.
“Well...” Sungchan trailed off, brain not really processing much beyond the fact that Shotaro’s eyes were so sparkly . “Is it glitter?” he murmured to himself.
“What?” Shotaro reached up on tiptoes to get closer to Sungchan, straining towards him to hear him better. As Shotaro lifted himself closer, Sungchan watched the hand holding the mistletoe rise even higher, till the bunch of leaves were dangling above their heads. His eyes widened.
“What?” Shotaro said again. The mischief in his voice was obvious, but what really caught Sungchan’s attention was the slight hardening of determination that the gaze leveled towards him had taken on. If standing on stage for the first time was like having his breath taken away, maintaining eye contact with Shotaro in this situation was like having his lungs stuffed with cotton.
Would it be okay if he...? Sungchan inhaled deeply and inched his head forward slightly, hoping Shotaro would read the question in his eyes. If he had to verbally ask, he might actually shatter. The small movement earned him a small quirk of Shotaro’s lips, noticeable only if you were looking out for it. Sungchan was looking. Very hard.
The elder inched even closer, and Sungchan could feel their noses brush against each other briefly. This was no friendly territory, and Shotaro had to be aware of that. Taking the opportunity, Sungchan angled his head down and pressed forward, feeling their lips make contact briefly. It was the lightest of pressure, probably not even a real kiss by proper standards, but Sungchan felt his blood freeze anyway as his eyes darted back up to Shotaro’s.
There was no fear or disgust in those eyes. They had widened, and grown impossibly brighter. How were they so bright ? Before he could say anything, Shotaro nudged his head down with his free hand and connected their lips again, this time with a firmer pressure. Oh, this was really nice. Sungchan couldn’t help the small smile creeping onto his face as he inhaled once again and pressed harder into the kiss, savouring the way Shotaro’s lips felt under his.
Sungchan pulled back to survey the look on Shotaro’s face, relieved to see the happiness he felt reflected in the wide smile Shotaro was giving him. Feeling more confident, Sungchan reached behind Shotaro to wrap his arms around the other’s shoulders, pulling him closer in the way they often did. Except this time, instead of tucking his head into the crook of Sungchan’s neck, Shotaro pressed a kiss onto Sungchan’s jaw, sucking lightly and drawing a chuckle from the younger. This was...very nice.
“I think we can hang this up later.”
“I agree. Kiss now.”
“You’re demanding? Already?” Sungchan stared down incredulously at Shotaro, now snuggly wrapped around his front and pouting. Again. With another petulant nod from Shotaro, Sungchan huffed a chuckle and pressed back in, this time tasting cocoa butter and feeling a surge of warmth at the way it felt so right to be holding Shotaro this way. He could definitely get used to this.