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a combination of light movement, short sighs, and more silence has been on a loop since about midnight on junhui’s side of the bed. chan knows junhui doesn’t mean to rouse him at all, but it stirs him awake anyway, so he drapes an arm over junhui to calm him down.
but the man next to him stays restless and kisses his fingers gently instead of sleeping. chan peeks one of his eyes open to stare at junhui’s side profile. it’s dark, almost too dark, but his husband’s prominent features make him easy to find amongst the darkness.
it’s so dark in the rest of the room that the furniture has turned into monochrome shapes; of course the daylight would bring brilliant colors to the whole room, but in the dead of night, it makes the room look like it could be a scene from a black and white movie.
the nighttime air is also slightly cooler than it should be in the summer. chan has found over the years that summer nights in ilsan usually get warmer weeks after junhui’s birthday, so he should be glad it’s only the beginning of june. otherwise he wouldn’t dare touching junhui, afraid that his sweaty skin would make them stick together.
his gaze trails from the man to the window a few meters away from them. it feels like the sun could come out and kiss the sky orange, igniting a new dawn, at any moment, but it’s barely past three in the morning. in no way would the sun come out right now, and it’s only then that chan realizes how late it is. he really wants to sleep again.
“bǎobèi,” junhui calls quietly, kissing the ring on the younger’s finger. junhui always loves doing that, mostly because he knows that chan loves it too, so he does it any chance he gets. “i know you’re awake.”
he groans. “hyungie,” chan whispers groggily, his eyes shut and still heavy from sleep. he feels junhui’s head immediately flip on the pillow, all attention on him like it always is. “why are you awake?”
“you wanna go on an adventure?” junhui asks instead of answering, wrapping his arms around the younger gingerly. he runs his fingers through chan’s blonde hair, and chan would be lying if he said it wasn’t sending him straight back to sleep, but he keeps himself awake for junhui.
“what? no, it’s three in the morning,” he can practically feel junhui’s pout with his eyes closed, “and by adventure, you mean a trip to seven eleven.”
junhui barks out a laugh and releases his husband from his grip, keeping himself up on his elbows. chan whines at the loss of warmth, wanting to cuddle longer. “c’mon, it’ll be fun,” junhui urges. one of his hands come up to thread through chan’s hair again, brushing his hair out of his eyes, and chan leans into the touch gratefully. junhui thinks it’s like petting a cat.
“why were you awake?” chan echos, eyes still shut.
“i dunno, i didn’t feel tired so now i’m awake.”
“and now you want to go to seven eleven?”
“mhmm, i wanna buy mountain dew.”
chan’s eyes shoot open at that because it’s the most random thing he’s ever heard in his life. never has he ever heard of junhui’s desire to acquire such citrus beverage. ever. in their almost seven years of being together, he has never heard the words ‘mountain dew’ come out of junhui’s mouth. so hearing it at three in the morning on a saturday is really messing him up. “mountain dew?” chan asks, confusion dripping from his tone. junhui nods almost too passionately. “you know that’s bad for you, right?”
“sure i do! i know many things.” he taps a still confused chan on the nose with an elated ‘boop!’ chan scrunches his nose distastefully. “for example, i know that you hide a bunch of snacks in that cabinet we never use. hm. and i thought this relationship was built on honesty and loyalty.”
chan gasps, scandalized, because he’s been wondering how those snacks have been disappearing over the years. he thought that he had eaten them already and forgot about it, but apparently it’s been junhui who was eating them all along. chan scoffs. “oh, please! they’re just snacks, not nearly as bad as mountain dew.”
“yeah, right. it’s not gonna kill me.” junhui starts slipping from the bed, his mind already made up. even after being with junhui for years, he’s never figured out how to change junhui’s mind once it’s made up. he has power over junhui in every sense but his mind, and it’s kinda infuriating, especially when junhui wants to go to seven eleven at three a.m. and he can’t do anything to stop him.
speechless, chan stares. “you’re a doctor, hyungie.” he has a doctoral degree that literally proves that he knows what mountain dew will do to him. but his complete determination to have it in his system right now is baffling to chan.
“ah, but i’m also only a man,” he slips on the shirt that chan threw off of him last night, “a man who has an aching desire to taste mountain dew.”
“but mountain dew, really?” he scoffs, pushing himself off the bed to join his husband. “sprite is definitely superior.”
chan takes one of junhui’s hoodies and tosses it on carelessly, not caring if it worsens his already messy hair. junhui bounds to his side, saying “sure, but when was the last time you had mountain dew?” he smooths out the younger’s hair, and chan pauses. he can’t remember the last time he had mountain dew and it’s kinda crazy to him, so he stays speechless. “see? you don’t know. an even better reason to get mountain dew right now.”
“i read somewhere that it causes infertility.” chan’s not sure if that’s true but says it anyway. it’s not good for either of them regardless, so it doesn’t matter if the fact is true or not.
“yeah, if you chug a liter every day, maybe,” he leans down and plants a kiss on chan’s cheek with a loud smack of his lips.
“i’m worried for your patients.”
“well, they’re not dead yet, are they?”
chan rolls his eyes fondly before following junhui out the front door. his eyebrows shoot upward when junhui completely bypasses the bowl for their keys, and he smiles smartly. “hyungie, you forgot your keys,” he calls, teasingly jingling the keys to his bugatti in front of his face, making fun of him for his mistake.
“oh, bǎobèi, we’re not taking the car!” a huge smile tugs at the edges of junhui’s mouth and he lovingly wraps his arms around chan’s waist. the triumphant grin falls from chan’s face because huh? “we’re going to walk! if we’re going to drink mountain dew, we need to get some steps in, right? it’s exercise! trust me, i’m a doctor.”
chan groans because 1. it’s still three in the morning, 2. he doesn’t really feel like walking in the street in the dead of night and 3. his body is still slightly aching from yesterday’s dance rehearsal. “but i’m tired.” he whines, giving junhui his best and most prominent pout, puppy dog eyes and all.
usually, junhui, weak to chan’s pout and puppy eyes, would give in and take the car, but junhui’s particularly unruly tonight, so he shakes his head happily instead. “you’ll walk it off! c’mon, let’s go take a walk!”
another groan releases from chan’s lips because the nearest seven eleven is a whole two blocks from their house and it’s too early for this, so chan’s not in the biggest mood for walking. “do we have to?” he murmurs petulantly. junhui takes his hand, already leading him out of the house and onto the street.
“yes,” his husband insists, smile still huge on his face as he swings their hands back and forth in the space between them. “didn’t you say you wanted to spend more time with me this weekend?”
“i don’t remember ever saying that,” chan replies, laughing as he shakes his head. “i think i see you more than enough.”
“aw,” junhui feigns being hurt, slapping a hand against his heart like he’s in pain. “you wound me, baby.” chan just snorts in response.
it’s even cooler outside than inside of the house with a chilly breeze that messes up chan and junhui’s hair ever so slightly. the birds start to wake up around them, making a slightly annoying croaking noise with each step they take, but it’s nice. it feels like he and junhui are the only two people in the world right now, slowly making their way to a seven eleven at three in the morning like it’s a normal saturday tradition.
their way is lit by yellow, orange-ish lights that fill the dark morning sky warmly. it’s quiet save for the birds and their shuffled steps. it’s calming. tranquil.
after five minutes of silence, they ease into a conversation about the reunion they’re supposed to have next week as the seven eleven peaks into sight. the two, along with their eleven other friends, have made it customary to celebrate junhui and soonyoung’s birthday all together. it’s the only date that has always aligned well with everyone’s schedule, so it stuck. it may sound weird and random, but it works for all of them; it’s convenient.
“i was thinking of making that feta pasta you liked the other day,” chan mentions, “but we’ll have to stop by that market at the edge of town sometime soon.”
junhui hums contentedly. “oh yeah? i really liked that one! i’m sure they’ll love it.” chan thinks they better because feta is pretty hard to find at the nearby market and it takes an hour drive to another market just to get said feta. if he’s going to put so much effort into this pasta dish for junhui and soonyoung’s birthday, they’ll enjoy it alright. “let’s go to the other market today.”
“yeah, at, like, one.” chan scoffs, purposely reminding junhui that he’s still tired. “there’s no way i’ll have enough energy to go anywhere after this ‘adventure.’”
“oh, you’ll be plenty energized when you have your first sip of mountain dew in your system!” junhui exclaims excitedly, jumping a bit.
chan furrows his eyebrows, confused. “who is paying you to say this?” junhui just laughs, shaking his head, but chan persists. “no, seriously, who is paying you to want mountain dew this bad?”
“no one!” the elder chuckles loudly, ruffling chan’s hair. junhui pretends to open the door to the seven eleven despite the automatic doors, bowing slightly and holding out his hand. “anyway, we’ve arrived, my liege.”
chan laughs at him as they step into the store. they’re greeted by the most exhausted man to ever exist behind the counter, who yawns shamelessly as he welcomes them. it’s way brighter in the store than chan thought, so he squints to let his eyes adjust as junhui sprints towards the beverage aisle.
he feels like he’s chasing a child in the middle of a mall with the need to keep his eyes on junhui at all times. they’re three years apart, junhui the older of the two, but chan thinks that he’s about five years more mentally mature than his husband is. after all, they’re in a seven eleven at three a.m. for a reason and that reason is no other than to appease junhui’s desire for mountain dew.
junhui jumps happily when he gets his hands on a liter of pink and blue mountain dew. “look, it has different flavors! i thought there was just one flavor.” he’s way more excited about this than he should be, but it makes chan laugh anyway because he didn’t know there had that many flavors either.
“just grab the original and let’s go.” chan holds out his hand for junhui to take, but the man shakes his head petulantly.
“no, i want gummies, too,” junhui avoids his hand to run to the snack aisle.
chan sighs, exasperated, mostly because he’s tired, but he follows junhui anyway and tells him to grab him some chocolate-covered almonds. junhui finally takes his hand again when he’s satisfied with his items and paid for everything. chan’s just glad they’re heading back home.
the street lights are even brighter on their way back. the sun has started to color the rest of the sky a dark, greyish blue instead of black and the air feels a bit warmer than it did an hour ago. he hears junhui humming from his side, singing their favorite song slowly, and by ‘their song’ it means he’s singing never stop by safetysuit very slowly to the point of the song being unrecognizable. but chan knows, of course, with every line he hums.
junhui’s pace slows down, and chan kinda wants to complain because he’s gotten a bit more tired and wants to sleep, but he lets junhui set the pace and swing their arms together. “y’know, i was thinking about this on the way over, but the lights and everything reminds me of our wedding night.”
chan looks around with a hum, thinking: so that’s why he was singing that. it kinda does look the same as their wedding night sans the attendees, hawaiian palm trees, and literally anything else that could be at a wedding. their venue was outdoors, lit up only by tiny, orange fireworks their friends and family had as well as lights that hung on the trees, so maybe that’s where junhui’s getting his inspiration from. his gaze lands on one of the street lamps and he laughs quietly. “nah,” he replies airily just to rile junhui up. “i don’t really see it.”
“just look!” junhui gestures around the street. the most that the venue and the street have in common is that they both are shining or had shined yellow lights in the darkness. that’s really it besides the fact that both he and junhui are there. “it’s basically the same.”
no, chan wants to say, because this a street in the middle of ilsan, not hawaii. but he smiles widely instead, agreeing (relenting) before junhui lets go of his hand and stops walking to set the bag on the ground.
confused, chan whips around before witnessing junhui get down on one knee as he did on their wedding day (mind you they’re still on a street in the middle of ilsan) to ask “may i have this dance?” very seriously.
the younger can’t help but guffaw at his husband’s actions, slapping his shoulders. “get up, get up! you’re making your sweats dirty! i’m gonna have to clean that!” but the ever so persistent junhui doesn’t budge until he gets an answer, so chan relents. he acts reluctant as he sets his hand in junhui’s, but there’s a huge, goofy smile on his face. “alright, fine! let’s dance, you idiot.”
it’s feels nice, to say the least, for chan to dance so liberally with junhui in the streets of ilsan like it’s their wedding night. it comes so naturally to them, like they practiced this dance just yesterday, when in reality it’s been three years since then. the world is shut off to them at the moment, and even if someone is watching them, they don’t care. they’re in love, sue them.
they dance dramatically, humming that safetysuit song—their wedding song—until a sheen of sweat appears on junhui’s forehead and he complains that his aging body is aching. chan’s too used to moving his body at his dance studio to even consider this tolling to him, so he laughs at junhui despite the both of them having pink on their cheeks, slightly out of breath.
“i can’t believe you made me do that,” chan laughs incredulously. “i’m surprised you remember how to dance it at all.”
junhui picks up the bag from off the ground, patting off the dirt on the bottom. “i told you, i know many things.” he tries to catch his breath between his chuckles. “and my memory is great. impeccable, even.”
his words make chan laugh again, and as he puts his hand back in junhui’s to walk back home, he thinks about how he got so lucky, how he cuffed junhui in the first place. a chuckle escapes his husband’s lips at that moment, and chan’s head snaps up, confused. “what’re you laughing at?” he inquires.
junhui squeezes his hand. “nothing, just thinking about the day we met.”
chan barks out a laugh, his cheeks already turning red. “stop thinking about that!” junhui keeps laughing over him, letting his laughs run wild. “i thought we promised to never talk about it!”
“it’s too funny, though!” junhui over trips over some rocks on the ground because he’s too occupied with his laughter.
chan wants to agree, but the day they met was probably the most embarrassing day of his life. nothing could have prepared him for that day, or what would follow after it, either.
it went like this:
junhui was working his shift at mcdonald’s to save up for christmas gifts that year. he probably could have gotten a way better job, but he only needed it for a while, and it was convenient to him.
it was pretty late, maybe around ten at night, when it was junhui’s turn to man the cashier. he had this job for about two months now and had spent nights on end staring into the dining room of the mcdonald's for so long that he committed it to memory. he also knew regulars like the back of his hand and could probably recite their orders, too.
among one of these regulars was a dude around his age, maybe one or two years below him, who came in with his buddies every friday night to order a mountain of food and gobble it down in the corner of the dining room.
by the time it was junhui’s last shift at the mcdonald’s on a friday—he had already saved enough money for his family’s gifts—the dude walked towards him looking nervous with red all over his cheeks. he was surrounded by his buddies, who were pushing him towards the cashier. by just looking at him, junhui felt the unnerving urge to tease him. he’s never even had a conversation with him, be he was so drawn to make fun of him at that moment.
“guys, stop—“ the dude tried to beg, but his friends were relentless, pushing him towards the front with the strength of the spanish armada. junhui just stood with a smile on his face, observing silently. “fine! ok, uh, hi, can I get two orders of number five and number eight?”
junhui smirked, cocking his head to the side. “no.”
obviously, this wasn’t the response any of them were expecting, and he watched as all of their jaws dropped towards the floor. the guy looked even more flustered and flabbergasted, and he started stammering, his ears burning red. junhui thought it was cute. “wha—I—please?”
the reaction had junhui almost toppling over. “yeah. yeah, sure, sorry.” it got increasingly harder to keep his cool as he punched in the order. “will that be all?”
“n-no, actually.” junhui lifted his head, expecting him to add something to the order, but he asked “can i have your number on the side?” instead.
junhui turns a furious red at that, ignoring the guy’s little friends, who are all losing their minds behind him. even if he kinda lost his cool, he still has the willpower and complete determination to tease this guy, so he relaxes his face into an unbothered smile. “what did you want on the side? number what?”
“no, like…” the guy awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. (in retrospect, chan probably thought junhui didn’t understand the joke. that or he was just really nervous.) “your number. like, your phone number.”
“ahhh,” junhui sang, feigning understanding. he puts his hands on the counter and slightly leans forward. “but that comes with a meal, is that alright?”
“a meal—oh! oh, like a date? oh. yeah. okay. yeah.” junhui didn’t think it was possible for his ears and cheeks to turn any redder, but the bright scarlet on the boy’s face proved him incredibly wrong. “that’s alright with me.”
junhui only replied with a hum and stuck out his hand for the guy’s phone. the latter stared at his hand foolishly and placed his hand in his before almost everyone in their vicinity lost it. the guy stared dumbfoundedly, wondering what was wrong. “no, not your hand, dude, your phone,” junhui supplied, and it only then did the dude realize what he did.
“right! sorry, here.” junhui watched as he shamefully fished his phone out of his pocket and handed it to him. junhui added his number as jun <3 just for fun and handed it back.
“i’m junhui,” he mentioned. “call me jun.”
“jun,” the guy tried, and junhui liked the way his name sounded on his lips a bit too much. “i’m chan.”
junhui grinned. “alright, chan, your order will be out soon!”
chan then realized that he was holding up the line and jumped out of the way, scrambling with his friends to the back of the dining room. junhui just chuckled and watched him run away.
“anyway, don’t talk about it,” chan pouts.
“alright, fine, i won’t.” junhui leans over and places a big, wet kiss right on his cheek. it has chan squirming and groaning, but he doesn’t push junhui away. “i lub yu!” his husband exclaims cutely against his cheek.
chan pushes him away at that because it’s kinda gross that he’s smothering his saliva all over his cheek. “ew!” he wipes the saliva off with his sleeve.
“say it back!” junhui grabs him by the waist and lifts him off the ground, spinning them both around.
“wh—put me down, you’re gonna wake up the whole neighborhood!” he laughs loudly, hands grasping junhui’s broad shoulders.
“say it back!” he echos.
“i love you!”
“no no, say it the way i did!”
yet another reason why he is mentally older than his husband. “i lub yu!” he chokes out. junhui laughs. “now put me down!”
junhui doesn’t let him down just yet, jutting his lips forward to kiss chan right on his lips. it catches chan by surprise, but he eases into it, wrapping his arms around junhui’s neck. they stay like that in each other's arms for a moment. chan's face flushes because he admits it’s kinda romantic while junhui lets him down and they continue walking like normal.
by the time their house is in sight, junhui lets go of his hand and smirks. “last one home has to do the dishes for two weeks!” he screams and starts running before chan even has the chance to comprehend what he said.
he throws his head back laughing, watching his husband flail his arms wildly as he runs, and figures he should at least give junhui a headstart before completely obliterating him.