Archive of Our Own

Minho sighs as he looks outside. Clouds are coming in, and he guesses that it would rain this evening, just like they announced on the weather forecast in the morning. He has been craving to go somewhere with Jisung for a while, but it seems like that plan is not going to go through either. Well, the rain could be falling late, but he is stuck on this goddamn paper anyways. It is only due the next day, but Minho has this policy for himself to finish his papers a day before the deadline so he can just relax the day itself. It gives him some kind of satisfaction.

Unfortunately, he has been stuck on this one part of his paper for an entire 30 minutes, not able to add any words to the part. He has done the research and has all the information he needed, but he has to add his own arguments to it. His class of dance history isn’t exactly boring, he actually likes the class a lot, but he’s just exhausted. It’s his third paper due the same week and the other two had drained him completely. He had kept this one as last because first of all, the deadline was the latest, second of all, it was a subject in the history of dance that he likes. But right now, he couldn’t care a single bit about the paper itself.

“It’s not like the prof’s actually going to care about my opinion about contemporary dance anyway,” he mumbles to his laptop. 

“Well I care because I wanted to read that paper,” a voice comes up.

Minho jumps in his seat, his head turning to where the voice came from. A soft smile appears on his face when he sees the person to whom the voice belongs to, though. “I know you like reading through my papers for my history of art class Sung, but urgh,” Minho groans, dropping his head onto the table. He whines at that though, as he hurts himself in the process. 

Jisung, his roommate and boyfriend, chuckles, and walks into the room towards the elder who is rubbing his forehead. He places a small kiss on it, and looks Minho right in the eyes. “Have you saved the document?” Jisung asks, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. 

“If I’ve saved the document? Yes, of course I have!” Minho says, checking the document anyway. He clicks an extra time onto the save button of his word document before mumbling “See, it’s saved,” crossing his arms right after.

Jisung chuckles, places his hand on the elder’s laptop and closes it. Minho’s eyes go big. “Wait, Jisung, why did you close my laptop I have to-”

“Come with me somewhere! It’s Friday evening, you have until tomorrow for that paper.” 

Minho sighs. “I’d love to, Sung, but I really need to finish this. I want it to be done so I can just focus on my showcase.”

“And I think that you deserve a goddamn breather after those two other papers that tired you out. You have a showcase coming up and you deserve a break before you even start thinking about it. Your body needs to be rested for it anyway.”

“Can’t we just enjoy an evening inside? It’s going to rain anyways; why go outside and get soaked? Let’s just watch some drama or anything.” 

“Nah-ah-ah,” Jisung responds, his index finger going left and right, “we’re going outside so you can take a good breather. I checked, it’s only going to rain in three hours and we’ll be back by then. So I,” he grabs Minho's hand and pulls him up from his chair, “am taking you out so you can have a great time. I’ve prepared some snacks that we can eat. So you, mister, are going to put on a pair of jeans or anything you’re alright with wearing outside right now, while I grab our coats. Hep hep, move!” he continues, pushing Minho towards their bedroom. 

Minho couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face. “Okay, okay, you won. Let’s go.” He pecks the younger’s lips briefly before sliding into the bedroom to put on a random pair of jeans and taking a hoodie with him for later. 

Jisung is driving his bicycle in front of Minho, turning his head around once in a while to check that Minho is still following him, and is not stuck at a red light. Minho keeps his focus on the younger, to be sure to not lose him. He knows the roads they were on the first 10 minutes of the ride, but at some point Jisung started following roads Minho hadn’t taken yet. 

They keep on biking, sometimes stopping at a red light, through the streets. It’s mid March. The sun has yet to go under, but the rare orange and pink-like pastel colors in the cloudy sky indicate it wouldn’t be long before that happens. 

Jisung raises his right arm to show they were going to turn right, and they enter a small park Minho had never been to. There is a fountain in the midst of it, which Jisung bikes past. Minho follows him, and they pass a small, abandoned building. Well it seems to be abandoned.

“It’s the forester’s storage building!” Jisung screams over his shoulder. Oh, so it isn’t abandoned. “We’ll be turning left right after it!”

Minho shouts a quick okay and follows Jisung who turns into a small pathway next to the building. It’s a smaller way, seemingly less used, and pretty sparse. Him and Jisung wouldn’t be able to ride alongside each other here. It is filled with trees, making it an actual forest. Minho had seen on the road that the park was beside a forest, but didn’t think it would lead into it.

“It’s the only way to get into the forest!” Jisung screams over his shoulder again. Minho nods at that, although Jisung can’t see it. 

A lot of shrubs lined the way, most of them green colored, small but closed buds of flowers appearing here and there. The path continues straight ahead, and crosses a small little stream. A little bridge has been built over it, a simple one made of wood. A little bit further, the trees start to spread out and lessen in numbers and the boys arrive at a great clearing.

Jisung turns left at the end of the path and slows down his speed. He gets off his bike fluidly, walks a bit further back to the trees creating the border between the grass and the forest and puts his bike against one of the trees. Minho puts his bike against the tree next to it, as Jisung looks at him expectantly. Minho looks back at him and sees Jisung walk towards him, the younger grabbing his hand and dragging him along. Minho looks around as they walk up the small hill, finding the clearing very charming. Then Jisung arrives at the top of the hill, swings his backpack from his shoulders, pulls out one of the blankets he prepared and lays it down. 

Minho follows him, and his eyes widen upon the sight they have in front of them. The clearing is gigantic, a large, vast and grassy terrain encircled by forests filled with trees. There’s a small lake in the middle of it all, created by multiple small streams. 

Minho looks down at where Jisung is seated, the younger already looking back at him with an expectant gaze. While Minho was gazing over the clearing, he had pulled out all the snacks he had prepared, and Minho’s gaze landed on his favorite snack. A giggle leaves his throat, and he rushes to sit down next to the younger who he pulls into a big hug.

“Thank you, Jisung. I really needed this.” 

Jisung hugs him tighter. “It’s my pleasure.” 

He pulls away to look at Minho. “And now I can spend some quality time with you as well without all that school work on our backs.” 

He gives him a quick kiss and then turns his body to the clearing. He lifts his arms up, showing the large landscape as if he’s presenting a friend. 

“Welcome to my secret hideout! I discovered it a week ago or so but I’ve been wanting to show it to you ever since. School said fuck you to that plan though but here we are!” 

Minho giggles at his boyfriend’s banter, and looks over at the view again. Although it’s cloudy and the sun is starting to actually settle, the different colors are still visible. The green grass is spread across the whole valley, the dark colored trees surrounding it imposing their presence. The lake reflects the grey sky, the clouds visible in the water. 

Minho puts his hands behind him as support and closes his eyes, enjoying the breeze coming up. It’s not too cold yet, and he breathes in the fresh air, immediately relaxing. He hears Jisung rustling beside him, and then music is playing. The notes of Jasmine by DPR Live start playing. Jisung and Minho’s hands find their way to each other, as they enjoy the soft breeze making both their hair and the flowers and the valley dance. 

They start eating some of the snacks, a combination of candy and crisps, as they launch into casual conversation, talking about school, their classes and assignments. They rant about their idiotic professors, and laugh about stupid things their friends did. Jisung explains he found this place when Seungmin, one of their friends, took Jisung with him to the park. Seungmin had a date with someone he had been talking to for a while online, and Jisung went along to make sure it wasn’t some creepy pervert. Minho could recall that situation, as Jisung had told him about Seungmin’s request. 

Jisung met Seungmin’s secret date, a short but buff person called Changbin who introduced himself to Jisung right away. As Jisung deemed that the secret date seemed to not be some kind of weirdo, he went on a stroll instead of immediately going home. He found the secret passage, and then found the clearing. He spent a good hour there before going back home, and decided to show Minho the place.

They also dig up some childhood memories, laughing about the shenanigans the other’s done in their past. 

Multiple songs later, one bag of snacks finished, the notes of an electrical guitar start playing, and a soft voice rings through the air. Minho smiles as he recognizes Vincent Blue’s “It’s Raining”. The smile turns into a pout however, as Jisung’s hand leaves his. He looks at the younger, his pout very visible, as Jisung stands up. The latter giggles as he sees the pout on the elder’s face, and reaches his hand back out. Minho’s pout turns back into a smile as he grabs Jisung’s hand, and stands up on his turn. 

Minho’s hands find their way around the younger’s neck, and Jisung’s hands sneak around the elder’s waist. Their gazes find each other, soft smiles lingering as they start dancing. Although, Minho should admit it’s more of a shuffling than dancing, but it’s a dance nevertheless. 

They get halfway through the song, when something cold and wet splatters on top of Minho’s head. Minho jumps at the feeling, the drop of water sliding down the back of his neck. Jisung starts laughing, when a drop falling onto his head stops him in his tracks. 

But then another drop falls, and another, and another, until the rain pours down on them. Both boys’ eyes widen as they look at each other, and they rush to put everything back into Jisung’s bag. They don’t bother to turn off the speaker, and the sound of the music comes out as muffled, hidden in a pocket of the bag. 

Jisung slings his bag over his shoulder, but stops as he realizes the music is still playing. Muffled, Rad Museum’s “Dancing In The Rain'' finds its way into the air. Minho moves towards the bikes, but Jisung grabs him by the wrist, turning the elder around. Both boys are already drenched, Minho’s hair sticking to the sides of his face. His face looks flushed from the sudden cold and the rush of cleaning, and Jisung thinks he couldn’t look more beautiful.

“Jisung, let’s go, we’re already soa-woah!” 

Jisung pulls Minho forward and connects their lips, interrupting Minho mid-sentence. His hands cradle Minho’s face, kissing his lips long and sweetly. Minho kisses him back, his hands fiddling to hold Jisung’s jacket. It kind of fails, so he ends up just holding the younger’s waist. 

Jisung smiles against his lips and pulls away softly, still smiling. He takes the elder’s hand from his waist, lifts it up and makes the other twirl. Minho giggles, following Jisung’s lead. Jisung leads Minho further from him, both bodies facing the clear but gazes linked. Minho turns into Jisung, the latter’s arms surrounding and hugging him. They keep on dancing, until the end of the song, giggling all over. As the song ends, the rain has already calmed down, but droplets are still falling from the sky. 

“At least it’s not a rainpour anymore.” Minho speaks up, as they walk back to the bikes. 

Jisung agrees. “Yeah, the road will be more visible under this drizzle than under the actual shower that it was five minutes ago.”

They grab their bikes, and walk back to the small path they took on their way. Both decided it would be safer to walk next to their bikes on the way back. The sky had colored a much darker tone than when they initially left their apartment and the pathway wasn’t illuminated enough to be able to safely bike through it. They walk back carefully, the path just not transformed into a pool of mud. 

They arrive at the entrance of the trail and climb on their bikes. They leave the park, the drizzle still hovering over them. 

The moment they enter through the door, they shiver at the change of temperature. Their apartment is warm, which is a big contrast to their cold, thoroughly soaked clothing. They take off their shoes and make a direct bee-line for the bathroom. They shake out their jackets above the drain of the shower and hang them up above the heater. 

With their clothes hung up to dry, they take a long, warm shower. After that, they snuzzle themselves into their softest clothes, and relax in front of the tv. They make some simple instant noodles for dinner, some vegetables and meat from leftovers added into the mix. 

Minho fishes out his laptop where they’re sitting on the sofa when Jisung has fallen asleep on his shoulder. He turns off the TV and finishes the paper he was working on. He sends it in, shuts down his laptop, puts it aside and softly nudges Jisung awake. 

Minho coos at the younger’s adorable sleepy state and helps him get up. They do quick work of brushing their teeth and then shuffle under the cover of their bed. One of Minho’s arms is slung over Jisung’s waist, his head resting on the latter’s chest. Jisung’s body faces the elder, his arm lying along the pillows, his other draped over Minho’s body as well.

“Thank you for pulling me away from my laptop, tonight.” Minho continues. “Even though we got soaked,” at which Jisung giggles, “I had a great time. So, thank you.”

Jisung lets out a noise and tightens his grip around the elder. “It was my pleasure, you definitely deserved it. And thank you for letting me take you with me.” He presses a kiss onto the crown of Minho’s head, upon which Minho scooches closer and nestles his head in the crook of Jisung’s neck. They fall asleep in a deep, peaceful slumber, filled with music, flowers and raindrops. 

“ Ah-CHOO !”

Jisung’s sneeze can be heard through the whole apartment and Minho chuckles. “That’s on you when you want to take me out and keep me in the rain just to dance.” 

Jisung sniffs before talking. “Well, it waz all worz it!” Jisung answers, his stuffy nose taking over his talk. “I got to take you on a date and I get you all,” he sneezes, “to,” he sneezes again, “to myzelf today!” He brings up his arms in victory, and Minho coos at the sight. “And at leazt, I’m ze one that got zick! And not you,” Jisung sing-songs. 

Minho shoots Jisung an unimpressed look. “I would have much preferred that none of us got sick.”

The younger shoots him a sheepish smile. “Whoops?”

Minho shakes his head in disapproval, but a soft smile tugs at the corners of his lips. He warms up some soup, and does take care of Jisung the whole day.

When Minho leaves for the kitchen to prepare 2 cups of tea, Jisung grabbles his notebook from the small compartment under the small table in front of their sofa. He grabs a pen that lies discarded on said table, and opens the notebook to the marked page. 

Minho’s and Jisung To do bucket(-date)-list!

• Go to a karaoke
• Go to a roller skate park
• Eat instant noodles at midnight
• Take him to a secret spot
• Kiss him under rain
• Take him to a cat café
• Sing him the song I wrote for him

He scratches through the fourth and fifth option on the list, and quickly adds two things to the list. 

Minho’s and Jisung To do bucket(-date)-list!

• Go to a karaoke
• Go to a roller skate park
• Eat instant noodles at midnight
• Take him to a secret spot
• Kiss him under rain
• Take him to a cat café
• Sing him the song I wrote him
• Love him forever
• And add other dates to this list of course

He closes the notebook, puts it back in place and throws the pen back on the table. He grabs the blanket Minho draped around his shoulders and pulls it closer around his body. 

And when Minho enters their living room with two cups of tea and with the most radiant smile on his face, Jisung smiles, and his body is filled with warmth.

“Yep, me getting sick was so worth it.”