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Jongin pulled on a black turtleneck and turned to look at himself in the mirror. He tucked the knit into his jeans and tried to smooth down his hair, which was perpetually dry and frizzy these days due to the blond color he was maintaining. He gave up on trying to make his hair look presentable and grabbed a beanie instead. As he walked out of his closet into the hall his phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me, I’m here.”
A little smile appeared on Jongin’s face at the thought of seeing Baekhyun so soon. Ever since promotions ended for Super One they hadn’t seen much of each other. It was also the first time Baekhyun was visiting him at his new place and he was excited to have him over. Jongin’s thoughts were interrupted by a persistent banging as he approached the front door.
“Hyung,” he said with a pout, “is that really necessary?”
Baekhyun said nothing and flashed him a cheeky grin as he slipped inside and took off his shoes.
“I brought snacks,” Baekhyun said while waving around a convenience store bag. “There’s no way there’s anything in this house other than meat and… let me guess,” he said while exaggeratingly stroking his chin, “protein shakes?”
Jongin made a show of rolling his eyes but also couldn’t help but giggle a little at how accurate Baekhyun was. He was still in the middle of preparing for his debut solo album and was on a particularly grueling diet.
“You know I can’t eat whatever’s in that bag, right? I have to be on camera on and off for the next few weeks--I can’t look puffy.”
Now it was Baekhyun’s turn to roll his eyes.
“Jongin-ah, one night of a handful of snacks aren’t going to ruin this ,” he said while dramatically outlining Jongin’s jawline.
Jongin swatted his hand away.
“I mean it, hyung, I really can’t eat any of that stuff.”
Baekhyun chucked the bag on the massive couch in the living room and shouted, “Suit yourself!”
“Would you like the grand tour?” Jongin said as he gestured around.
Baekhyun smiled a little bit. It didn’t happen all the time, but occasionally Jongin’s everyday movements were as graceful as his dancing on stage. It was something he found endearing.
As Jongin showed him around, Baekhyun couldn’t help but laugh at the amount of hidden doors and the way every room seemed to be connected in one way or another. Despite the cost of everything and Jongin’s general good taste, there was an inescapable feeling that this was a child’s idea of what an expensive house would be like. The teddy bears and Legos in various places didn’t help either.
Baekhyun loved every bit of it. It was so Jongin.
“Are you planning on putting anything on these walls?” Baekhyun asked.
Jongin looked a little hurt.
“I only moved in a few months ago and I’ve been working the whole time,” he said while folding his arms.
“Hey,” Baekhyun said, in a softer tone than he’d used all night, “I was just messing around. It’s an amazing place, Jongin, really. I know it’ll look even better once you’re finished with it.”
Jongin continued to pout.
“Are you going to make me beg for your forgiveness?” Baekhyun added with a hint of impishness to his voice.
Now Jongin couldn’t help but laugh.
“Oh you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Not as much as you’d like me doing nothing but praise how great everything in here looks.”
Jongin smirked a little and his eyes flashed. Baekhyun felt his cheeks start to flush a little bit in spite of himself. He’d known Jongin for almost 10 years and he was sometimes still taken aback by how quickly he could switch it on.
“It” being the intense charisma and sex appeal he was known for as a perfomer.
As KAI.
“Everything looks great in here?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Baekhyun said dismissively, “You look good and you know it.”
Jongin giggled and did a little twirl. Just like that, he was back to typically goofy, adorable self.
“Do you wanna watch a movie?” he asked.
“Sure, but can we watch something that’s not a horror movie for once?”
Jongin pouted.
“Why not? ” he whined.
“Because--”
“Because you won’t be able to sleep with Taeyong and Mark afterwards this time?”
“Because it’s all you ever want to watch.”
“Fine, but I get veto rights,” Jongin said with a fake whine.
Baekhyun picked up the remote and started flipping through the available titles. He could tell that Rahee and Raeon had been over several times lately because of the recommendations that were coming up.
“How about this one?”
“Lady and the Tramp ?” Jongin squealed, “Really?”
Baekhyun ignored him and hit ‘play’. He took Jongin’s silence to mean that despite his teasing, he was totally onboard.
About 15 minutes into the movie, Baekhyun realized that only Jongin’s legs were beside him. He turned around to see Jongin perched on top of the couch.
“You really don’t know how to sit like a normal person, do you?”
Jongin pushed Baekhyun’s shoulder with his foot and wiggled his butt down into the top of the couch, indicating that he had no intentions of moving.
“Besides, who are you to judge anybody when it comes to acting normal?” Jongin teased.
Baekhyun stuck out his tongue and pulled a face before turning back to the TV.
Over time, Jongin somehow found himself sliding down and sitting directly next to Baekhyun. Jongin found him to be a comforting presence and was glad they were able to find a time to hang out like this. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so nervous about, well, anything. Probably when he made his debut with EXO. He still had a million thoughts about his upcoming debut rushing around his head, but he found it easy to ignore them while Baekhyun was there.
“Come on,” Baekhyun nudged, “Have just one bit of strawberry lace.”
“I can’t. I’m shooting something for the group YouTube tomorrow morning. My face will be all swollen.”
Baekhyun pulled a piece out of the bag and sucked up slowly, maintaining direct eye contact with Jongin the entire time.
“Mmmh, mmmh, mmmh! This sure is good stuff!”
Jongin turned to the TV and pretended to watch intently.
Baekhyun picked up the bag of candy and scooted even closer to Jongin. He rustled the bag in his direction.
Jongin remained unwavering.
“Ah ha!” Baekhyun exclaimed.
Jongin jumped a little at the sudden increase in volume.
“What? ”
“Look!” Baekhyun said and pointed at the screen. “It’s the spaghetti scene! Now you have to have a bit of the candy with me.”
“Says who? It’s not even spaghetti.”
Baekhyun grabbed another bit of strawberry lace and dangled it in front of Jongin’s face. He then put one end in his mouth and held the other up near Jongin’s mouth.
“Fine,” Jongin sighed, “If I do this? Will you stop trying to ruin my diet?”
Baekhyun nodded enthusiastically.
Jongin picked up the free end of candy and placed it in mouth. He begrudgingly started chewing and moved his face closer to Baekhyun’s as the strawberry lace got shorter and shorter.
Baekhyun had a twinkle in his eye when their faces were nearly touching and he could feel his heart rate start to rise.
As their lips met in the middle, neither made any effort to move away. Jongin was surprised by himself. Sure, the two of them had flirted plenty over the years, but he always thought it was more playful than anything. He certainly wasn’t expecting to feel this way during a kiss.
Baekhyun pulled away and beamed at him with such sincerity that it almost moved Jongin to tears. He knew that for all of Baekhyun’s antics and silliness at the end of the day, he was someone who cared very deeply for the people he loved.
Baekhyun repositioned himself and placed a hand on either side of Jongin’s face before kissing him again.
This time the kiss was a proper one, and entirely intentional.