Archive of Our Own

Jihoon wakes up to the insistent vibration of his phone next to him on his pillow. He groans, ever thankful that he turned the ringer off before he went for his ‘nap’ lest he had been ungracefully scared awake. (In all honesty, he went to bed planning to sleep through the rest of the night. But you won’t catch him ever admitting that he was in bed and passed out before 7 PM on a Friday. Never in a million years.)

He cracks an eye open and ignores the smarting in the head, flipping over the device and wincing at the bright light that blinds him. He sighs and blinks slowly until his eyes focus on the display, making a small noise of confusion as he answers the phone.

“‘Ello?” Jihoon grunts out, the person on the other side of the line letting out a little laugh.

“Ah, hyung, did I wake you?” Jihoon makes a little sound, neither confirming or denying the voice's statement.

“Wha’s up Min?” He hears Seokmin puff out a small breath and he jerks when he realizes it sounds sad. Confused, Jihoon waits for Seokmin to say anything to prove his assumptions right. He’d hate to overreact to something like a huff if it was actually really a laugh.

“Did you forget?” Jihoon feels his eyebrows pinch, glaring at the shades of indistinct dark that his room is swathed in. Seokmin sighs when he doesn’t answer and Jihoon’s sure he’s shaking his head. “That’s okay hyung, we can cancel if you’re busy.” Jihoon lets out a sharp noise, lurching forward even as it makes the pain in his head flare even more.

“No, Seok, no. I just,” he barely gets out, shoving a hand through his hair in frustration before it moves to cradle his aching skull. “After this week I feel brain dead, I’m sorry. What am I missing?” Seokmin sighs once more and Jihoon hears the noise of tags jingling through the speaker, alerting him that Sakura is with him wherever they are. Jihoon searches his mind for why, his eyes widening on their own accord once he gets an idea.

“Shit, it’s date night isn’t it?” He half hisses, Seokmin laughing at him even if it sounds a bit subdued. They don’t have a date night every Friday or anything, both of their schedules being so erratic that their goal is usually once a week at least. It’s why he forgot - he’s been so preoccupied with his impending deadlines followed by this lovely let down migraine that he hasn’t had much time for anything. The only reason he ate or slept the past week was when Seungcheol or Soonyoung forced him to, and he belatedly realizes that he’s been neglecting Seokmin horribly. The thought makes his chest ache. 

“It’s okay hyung, Kura and I can head home if you’re not up for it,” he says in that tiny voice that Jihoon hates to hear, and suddenly the way his head hurts means nothing. He’ll deal with an eternity of suffering if it means he never has to hear or see Seokmin so small.  

“You’re outside?” Seokmin hums in affirmative and Jihoon practically bolts out of his bed, a hand pressed to his head as an ice pick drives through his temple. He has half a mind to put up some sort of front, but he knows that Seokmin would see through it almost immediately so he’d rather not waste the time. After what feels like a lifetime he finally gets to his front door and flings it open, grabbing Seokmin by the front of his hoodie and dragging him inside the apartment before slamming the door shut behind him once he’s sure that Sakura’s out of the way. Once the door’s locked he practically throws himself into Seokmin’s arms, burying his face into Seokmin’s neck and holding him tight. The pain in his temple only intensifies, the ice pick growing in both size and force as it drills through his skull but he can’t find it in himself to care, not right now. He pushes his nose further into Seokmin’s neck and fists the fabric of his hoodie in his hands, ignoring the waves of heat crashing through him suddenly. 

Seokmin takes a minute to respond, clearly taken aback by such a large display of affection without any true warning. Eventually his arms circle around Jihoon, cradling him in a way that betrays his true age, but Jihoon still can’t be bothered to care. He likes being wrapped up in Seokmin, likes being so fully enraptured in his warmth until he’s so thoroughly soaked in love that he feels like he’s about to drown. Likes being held like he’s something precious, like it would physically pain Seokmin for them to be apart.

“Hyung?” It’s a long time later when Seokmin finally breaks the silence between them. Jihoon’s arms have long since wormed their way under both Seokmin’s bag and hoodie to press against the soft thin cotton of his t-shirt and steal the warmth from his skin, Jihoon’s arms suddenly freezing despite how he’s still practically sweating in his core. He hums but doesn’t bother to do much else, Seokmin shifting the hand he has cradling Jihoon’s skull so that he can run it through his hair. “Not that I don’t love this or anything, but what brought this on?”

“I’m sorry,” he mutters against Seokmin’s neck, but the younger man only shakes his head.

“Don’t be sorry. I just wanted to know if there was any reason you felt extra cuddly today.” Jihoon lets out a little sound of thought, searching for words that are content to stay just out of reach.

“Been so busy,” he eventually mumbles, grasping at words as if they’re straws trying to evade his slippery fingers, “‘Nd missed you so, so much .” Seokmin hums at the words and Jihoon can tell from the noise alone that he’s smiling, even more certain when he noses at Jihoon’s hair. They’re quiet like that for a little longer until the sound of pitter patters ring throughout the space, a noise of discontent slipping from Jihoon as Seokmin moves to pull away. 

“Hyung, hey, it’s okay. Just lemme let Sakura free.” His voice is softer than silk, his hands gentle where they slide against Jihoon’s burning skin. Jihoon doesn’t keep protesting the actions, instead allowing his hands to drop from Seokmin’s back and pressing his entire left palm to the aching side of his skull. The pain shifts to bounce between his temples and he presses his other hand to the opposite side, his pulse thrumming from where the heel of his hands press into his temples all the way to the top of his palms and where they’re pressed a little above where the muscles in his jaw connect. He can feel the muscles flex as he subconsciously clenches his jaw, wishing for the ache to cease. His eyes remain closed as he waits for the pain to be slightly more bearable, disappointed to only find it worsening on both sides of his skull.

“Jihoonie? What’s wrong?” Seokmin’s speaking so lowly he almost can’t hear him, which Jihoon would appreciate more if he wasn’t enveloped entirely by the disgusting feeling in his head. 

“Migraine,” he eventually grits out, Seokmin letting out a little concerned noise.

“Did you have to finish everything today with it? Is that why it’s so bad - you couldn’t rest?” He shakes his head minutely, though even that small motion is enough to send the pain racketing around his skull like he’s playing Brick Breaker with his brain cells. 

“Let down.” Seokmin makes a confused little noise but Jihoon doesn’t have it in him to explain, not when the pain flares again to the point that he’s whining softly and stumbling where he stands. There’s a steady hand on his bicep within an instant, another finding its way to his waist as he begins to sway dangerously. 

“Let’s get you to the couch.” Jihoon’s about to agree, it honestly sounds a lot better than the current alternative of risking falling flat on his ass, when the nausea hits in full. He moves his hands so that one can cover his mouth and the other is against Seokmin’s chest, ready to shove him away forcefully if there ends up being a blasting zone. Seokmin freezes at the change in positions, hands moving to gently wrap around Jihoon’s outstretched forearm.

“Hyung, tell me what to do,” Seokmin says almost urgently even as he keeps his voice soft. Jihoon appreciates the sentiment, patting Seokmin’s chest in thanks as he sucks in a few deep breaths through his nose. The nausea eventually settles enough so that he can relax his stance, cracking an eye open when he feels incessant pawing at his leg. 

“Hi Kurakura,” he coos softly, the dog at his feet wiggling excitedly. He’d love to reach down and pet her but he has a feeling that any sort of bending will make him feel like death warmed over at best, not to mention he’s rather certain if he bends down he’ll puke instantaneously. He looks up at Seokmin then with a sad smile, eyes shutting as the pain moves right behind them. Which, ouch, when the fuck did it ever start doing that? He lets out a heavy sigh as a new round of shivers tear through him and Seokmin’s soft hands are back on his torso in a minute.

“Are you okay to move?” He whispers, and Jihoon forces down a thick swallow before he tries to talk, his voice still a bit strangled.

“If you bring a bucket.” The sound of Seokmin sucking in a breath rings through his apartment so Jihoon attempts to offer him a grimace while keeping his eyes closed, following where he leads him blindly. His knees eventually bump the back of the couch and Seokmin helps to ease him down, his favorite fuzzy blanket appearing on top of him within a moment. A sigh escapes him involuntarily as he sags further into the couch and leans against the pillows behind him. 

“Comfortable?” Seokmin teases softly and Jihoon hums. 

“Room stopped spinning.” He shoves the blanket off of the top half of him as his skin begins to sear, relishing in the cold air that’s kissing his biceps. Jihoon listens as Seokmin leaves the room before he reenters, the sound of a trash bin settled next to him ringing through the air and a soft pair of lips pressing against his forehead. He smiles at the feeling, reaching up until his hand connects with Seokmin’s shoulder and he can give it a little squeeze.

“Hey,” Jihoon whispers, his smile growing as he feels Seokmin’s lips quirk up against his forehead before he pulls away. 

“Hey baby.” Jihoon hums happily at the words, squeezing Seokmin’s shoulder again. “What do you need me to do?” He winces as the pain intensifies once more, using his free hand to yank the blanket back up his now freezing form. Fucking annoying, he thinks, can you just pick hot or cold?

“Can you grab me one of the sports drinks in the fridge that I have? I don’t care what brand or flavor.” Seokmin hums, pressing a kiss to his cheek before he pulls away, a feather light touch skimming his forehead and pushing his bangs out of his eyes.

“I’ll try and keep Kura from attacking you too.”

“Thanks,” Jihoon breathes out, wincing as an ice pick finds its way to his temple once more. He can’t remember the last time everything kept changing so drastically so quickly, at least everything but his temperature. Hot and cold fluctuations, while annoying, were pretty much commonplace and weren’t truly the worst to deal with. However, the pain in his head changing so rapidly from aching to sharp to throbbing is really starting to piss him off. He hasn’t ever really had to deal with this before and wishes he never has to again - he’s suffering enough as it is, he doesn’t know why it has to be so infuriatingly unstable. He’s eventually broken out of his annoyed thoughts by a soft touch on his knee, excited cries coming from in front of him.  

“Are you okay to say hi to Kura now? She’s really excited to see you.” Jihoon smiles and manages to open his eyes, holding his arms open towards the fluffball. Seokmin gives him a concerned once over before he lets her free, Sakura climbing into Jihoon’s lap and smothering him with kisses within an instant. He giggles at the affection, burying his hands in the hair of her sides. The hand on his knee squeezes him softly and when he manages to look back at Seokmin he’s offering him a confused expression. 

“You up to telling me what a ‘let down’ is?” Jihoon cracks a sad smile, helping situate Sakura on his chest while he pets behind her ears, ignoring how he begins to grow hot as hell once more.

“Basically, if I’m super stressed about somethin’, after it happens and I finally have a chance to relax I get a migraine. So like in college I’d always get one after finals, sometimes after big enough exams or like projects or performances too. They’re super fuckin’ annoying.” Seokmin makes a sad little noise, squeezing his knee once more.

“Oh Ji ,” he lets out and Jihoon shrugs. “Why didn’t you cancel date night then?”

“Even if they’re kinda predictable, more so than my normal ones at least, I still forget about them.” Seokmin’s eyes furrow like he doesn’t believe him, especially as Jihoon’s left eye closes on its own accord. “They don’t come after every stressful thing that happens, so sometimes I don’t remember they happen until they’re starting. Besides,” he cuts him off when he sees Seokmin open his mouth to protest his words, “I wanted to see you.” Seokmin’s cheeks flare red and he ducks his head, much to Jihoon’s amusement. 

“You missed me that much?” Jihoon offers him an intimate smile, cocking his head to the side as he gazes at him fondly. 

“I always miss you like crazy.” Seokmin blushes even deeper, shaking his head as he waves Jihoon off. 

“You still wanna watch movies tonight? Or do you wanna just have a super quiet night in?” Jihoon considers it as the aching in his head turns into something more brutal, a knife driving into the base of his skull. He shuts his eyes and lets out a breath, freeing a hand from Sakura to run through his hair. 

“As long as you don’t mind how much I’ma fidget while we cuddle, movies sound good.” He eases Sakura off of him and kicks the blanket free, splaying out on the cushions in attempts to make the heat under his skin settle into something less searing, something that won’t make him sweat so badly like he had just hit the gym. Seokmin squeezes his shin before he hears him stand and leave the room, Sakura’s tiny pitter patters following behind him. 

Jihoon eases himself off of the cushions, squeezing his eyes shut as the insides of his head begin to swish around his skull like some sort of stew in a shaken can. It’s a little bit later when he can finally open his eyes, smiling at the sight of his drink right before him. He grabs it and chugs a solid half of the bottle, looking down at his grimy ass outfit as he pauses to catch his breath. There’s something crusted to the front of his shirt and he’s pretty sure these are his sweatpants that are covered in things like paint and grease stains, an unappealing outfit all around. He runs his hand through his hair one more time and grimaces, finally noticing how gross it feels since it’s been stocked full of sweat on top of its usual product. It’s then that Seokmin reappears with snacks in hand so Jihoon offers him a smile, looking down at himself again before he looks back up.

“You okay?” Seokmin asks, his brows furrowed lightly. Jihoon shrugs, holding out a hand in an attempt to find some help up. Seokmin obliges, holding his forearm and watching him carefully as Jihoon sways a bit on his feet. 

“I realized I’m wicked fuckin’ gross. I wanna shower but I don’t think I have it in me.” Seokmin hums, his expression kind when Jihoon looks up at him.

“I can help if you want?” Jihoon ponders the offer, squinting at Seokmin in consideration. 

“How many pairs of clothes did you bring?” Because it’s a real concern - Seokmin won’t leave Jihoon when he’s unwell unless he has to, and even then he’ll be reluctant to in the end - especially if he’s not 100% better. With him and Sakura already here on a Friday night, he’ll be lucky if he can convince him to sleep in his own bed on Sunday. God forbid if they have to go anywhere, Seokmin will be stranded in whatever Jihoon can scrunge up that’ll remotely fit him and his gangly proportions. Seokmin grins at him, offering him a cheeky little wink.

“I could always go around naked.” Jihoon smacks his chest and rolls his eyes. Seokmin relents, sweeping in and pressing a kiss to Jihoon’s aching forehead. “Enough for the weekend, especially if you let me borrow some shirts and stuff - you know I don’t care about rewearing sweats.” Jihoon quirks an eyebrow at him.

“You sure you don’t mind?” Seokmin shrugs, leading him towards the bathroom with a smile.

“I’d rather my boyfriend not die when he falls in the shower like he’s in Psycho or something.” Jihoon scoffs at him before he laughs, Seokmin shaking his head before his smile softens a step. “If all it’ll take for you to feel eons more comfortable is a shower then I really don’t mind helping you take one.”

“Thanks,” Jihoon says gently as Seokmin waves him off. He leaves Jihoon sitting on the toilet as he turns the shower on, running a hand through his hair as Jihoon raises his own hand to his throbbing skull once more. 

“I’ll go grab clothes while the water heats up. You’ll be good on your own?” Jihoon squints at him even as his fingers dig in a bit in a futile attempt to stop his head from hurting worse. 

“I have a migraine, not a life threatening ailment, asshole.” Seokmin laughs at him, shaking his head fondly at Jihoon’s rebuke.

“What do you want? Shorts and a tee? Sweats and a hoodie? Just a pair of boxers? Nothing?” He wiggles his eyebrows at him and Jihoon uses his free hand to smack him upside the head.

“If you don’t stop trying to seduce me I will murder you. I don’t need to be horny and in pain, thank you very much.” Seokmin chokes out a laugh, almost falling on his ass as he loses it. He eventually looks up at Jihoon from where he’s curled in on himself and clutching the counter with his hand to keep him standing, a fond look on his face ruined when he offers Jihoon an exaggerated wink.

“So it’s working?” Jihoon rolls his eyes before he closes them, free hand going up and squeezing his now spasming neck.

“You say that like it never does,” he huffs out and Seokmin laughs again.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop for now.” Jihoon cracks open an eye just to glare at him. “But seriously, shorts and a t-shirt okay?”

“And a hoodie too please.” Seokmin presses a kiss to his forehead before he leaves the room and Jihoon lets himself sag now that he’s no longer under his boyfriend’s worried gaze. Even if he’s sure he looks sick - a quick look in the mirror proves he’s awfully grey - he’s dead set on not letting Seokmin see the true extent of everything. He’d really rather not worry Seokmin if he can help it - sure his head feels like it was ready to explode like a watermelon being subjected to one of those dumb how many elastics can we squeeze on it before it literally bursts challenges (games? things? whatever you call thems) and the rest of his symptoms are out to play, but even still Seokmin doesn’t need to see all of it. If he could convince Seokmin that he really was fine he’d feel a hell of a lot better about everything. (He’d also be able to convince Seokmin to stop doting on him and to stop worrying about him, which would ease the guilt settled in his stomach at least slightly.)

He forces himself to sit up when he hears Seokmin approaching, offering his boyfriend a little smile once he comes into view. Seokmin plops the bundle of clothes he had in his hands into the counter and shoves a hand into the water to check the temperature, smiling at Jihoon as he turns back to him. 

“You alright?” Jihoon forces a nod as he swallows, gripping onto the counter and getting himself standing. He ignores the way the world starts to tilt and clutches to the counter harder, waiting for his balance to find itself. 

“Sorta,” he amends. Seokmin’s watching him warily, his hands held out like he’s waiting for Jihoon to go down at any moment. He probably is, Jihoon thinks on the offhand, righting himself once everything seems to settle and looking up at Seokmin with a half playful expression. “You won’t let me fall, right?”

“Never.” Jihoon can’t fight back his smile at how serious Seokmin is, reaching out and squeezing his hand. 

“I love you, y’know.” Seokmin finally smiles, squeezing his hand back and leaning in to press a kiss to the top of his head. 

“I do, and I love you.” Jihoon’s smile grows into a grin at the words, blinking up at his super silly boyfriend with such a fond feeling in his chest that he thinks he’d puke rainbows if given the chance. Seokmin quirks an eyebrow at him, nodding towards the shower in question. “You still wanna try or are you over it?”

“It’s worth a try. Hopefully it’ll help,” he says on the offhand, moving his hand so that he’s gripping Seokmin’s forearm by his elbow and Seokmin is doing the same to him. He takes a deep breath and eases his hold off of the counter, sticking his free hand out to act as a balancing assist, Seokmin’s free hand reaching out to hold him steady. 

“You okay babe?” Jihoon huffs a bit before he looks up, forcing himself to nod. 

“It’s a weird one today,” he says softly, waving a hand towards his head vaguely. Seokmin hums, squeezing Jihoon’s ribs softly. Eventually the ground takes its rightful place and is still under his feet and he bats off Seokmin’s hands, moving to feel the water temperature himself. Finding it to be good enough he sighs, yanking off his shirt but bracing himself against the wall while his head swims again. 

“You sure you’re okay to do this?” Jihoon opens his eyes, confused about when he closed them, and takes in Seokmin’s terribly concerned expression. Well, so much for not worrying him, he thinks, offering Seokmin an attempt of a smile that he’s sure is similar to a grimace. 

“No. But I really wanna be clean, ya feel? I can only sit in filth for so long before I’ll lose it.” Seokmin sighs before he nods, giving Jihoon one last look over.

“If you’re sure, then let’s get this over with.” Jihoon nods, glad he’s not wearing socks as trying to kick off his pants is enough of a struggle for his liquefied brain, even with Seokmin helping both with the action and to keep him steady. Once he’s succeeded in stripping he steps into the shower, lining up so the hot water is thrumming against his neck in a desperate attempt to get the muscles to relax. He sighs at the feeling, bracing himself against the shower wall more as a just in case action than anything else, blinking up at Seokmin when he feels a gentle hand on his elbow. 

“You okay?” Jihoon smiles as he nods, slowly uncurling his shoulders and forcing the muscles back where they belong. The world seems to have stopped lurching under his feet, his pained mind seemingly putting the pieces back together to where it should be. He’s sure his smile is relieved even as it fades out to a more neutral toned expression, sure that Seokmin can tell he’s rather happy just standing there. 

“Yeah.” He squeezes Seokmin’s elbow back, watching as his boyfriend grins at him. Jihoon closes his eyes when he feels a hand through his hair, the movement surprisingly out of content and not pain, lips quirking up when he hears Seokmin start to hum some silly little melody. 

“Maybe you were right about the shower,” Seokmin starts, hand leaving Jihoon’s hair and moving to his cheek so that he can tip his head back and he can wet Jihoon’s unruly blond locks fully, “Your hair is pretty gross.” Jihoon huffs at him but doesn’t protest the words - it really is nasty . He hears Seokmin fiddle with the shampoo bottle and he squeezes his elbow to get his attention once more. 

“Just, be gentle please.” There’s a kiss pressed to his forehead once the words leave his mouth, soft hands threading through his hair. He knows he didn’t have to say anything but he can’t help but to be overly cautious. He’s quite certain that if they make one wrong move the ground will lurch out from underfoot and the room will swirl around him like a whirlpool. Braining himself on the bathroom floor doesn’t sound super fun, after all.

But Seokmin’s always gentle when it comes to Jihoon. His smiles are always softer around the edges, movements a fraction slower. More apt to cradle than cling, hold on rather than hang on. It’s most likely because he knows how iffy Jihoon can be when it comes to touching or the general touchy-feely things in life, how he always throws Soonyoung off of him to the point Seokmin waits for the day Jihoon suplexes the other. But Soonyoung and Seokmin have different rules, whether they know it or not. It’s not on purpose per say, but Jihoon is much more likely to take love and affection from his boyfriend than his overly clingy best friend. It’s always been like that, and Jihoon doesn’t mind it one bit. 

His head is tilted back and Seokmin runs his hands through his hair again, rinsing out the suds leftover from his shampoo. Seokmin’s back to humming again and Jihoon can’t help but to smile when he finally recognizes the tune. 

“Are you singing that car commercial jingle?” Seokmin laughs loudly, quickly quieting down when Jihoon flinches at the sound and how it echoes through the tiny space. 

“It’s catchy!” He (softly, oh so soft that Jihoon feels like his entire life has been drenched in lavender fabric softener) cries in faux offense, Jihoon’s grin only widening at the words and at the tone of his voice. 

“You’re a dork .”

“Ah, but I’m your dork,” Seokmin teases and Jihoon hums back happily.

“Yeah,” he agrees softly, squeezing Seokmin’s elbow where he still is gently holding it. “You really are.” Kisses are suddenly rained down on his face the same way that the water is, a grin growing on his face as Seokmin is pressing sweet little kisses everywhere he can reach. 

“Alright, alright,” he eventually says, taking his anchoring hand off the wall to press it against Seokmin’s cheek. “I appreciate the love and all, but I’ll also appreciate it more when we’re outta here and not risking slipping and, ya’know, dying.” Seokmin laughs softly and a kiss is pressed against the palm of Jihoon’s hand. He can’t fight back his smile, patting Seokmin on the cheek a few more times before he moves his hand back against the wall. Seokmin starts humming again and Jihoon listens as he fiddles with another bottle. Soon hands are back on his hair and he can’t help but to sigh, dropping his forehead to rest against Seokmin’s collarbone. Seokmin doesn’t say anything about the new position, instead just humming even happier than he has been. Soon there are nails scratching at his undercut and Jihoon has to squeeze Seokmin’s elbow in warning before he can continue. 

“If you keep doing that I will collapse.” Seokmin squeezes his shoulder, making an inquisitive sound. 

“Because it feels nice, right? It’s not like you hate that?” Jihoon smiles softly, pressing a kiss to wherever he can reach on Seokmin’s chest. 

“Yeah, don’t worry. It’s, it’s really nice.” Seokmin squeezes his shoulder once more and Jihoon can hear him start to fiddle with another bottle. He drags himself away from Seokmin’s chest and goes back to standing on his own, one hand still delicately wrapped around Seokmin’s elbow and the other braced against the wall. Seokmin starts washing his shoulders and arms, eventually working his way to Jihoon’s back and stomach. His touches stay soft and sweet, never changing into anything more teasing or anything of the sort. Jihoon appreciates it greatly, even goes as far as to voice to just have Seokmin tut at him. 

“You feel like shit, hyung, of course I’m not gonna try and push anything on you. If I ever did, I’d hope you’d tell me no right away. I don’t ever want to hurt you or take advantage of you or anything like that.” Jihoon smiles softly, moving the hand he has on Seokmin’s elbow to the back of his neck, pulling him into a sweet kiss. They rest their foreheads together when they finally break apart and Jihoon lets his smile keep growing. 

“I love you.” The words earn him another kiss as well as a kiss to his cheek, soft hands replacing the feeling of lips on his skin. His head is guided back underneath the spray, gentle fingers coming through his hair to rinse the conditioner out. Seokmin says I love you back through his movements and his adoration, and Jihoon feels oh so full of love and warmth that he feels like a cake frosted when it was way too hot. Sugary and sweet and melting, soft and gooey and saccharine liquid pouring out from everywhere it can reach. Someone keeps piling frosting on as the rest of it melts and Jihoon quite frankly doesn’t mind feeling so liquidity and sweet. 

Eventually Seokmin maneuvers him enough to rinse the soap and suds free, a hand holding his waist steady as he reaches around him and turns the tap off. The sudden absence of the hot water leaves Jihoon instantly shivering, locking his jaw on instinct to keep his teeth from chattering violently. Seokmin soothes him softly, wrapping an arm around Jihoon’s shaking shoulders as he grabs a towel and wraps Jihoon up in it like a blanket. He leads him out of the shower and waits for him to dry his feet on the mat, arm still draped over Jihoon’s shoulders in an attempt to warm him up. Seokmin guides Jihoon’s free hand to the counter, the other still curled loosely around Seokmin’s arm as a way to orient himself. 

He still hasn’t opened his eyes. He doesn’t really plan to either. 

He feels Seokmin move to most likely grab another towel and based on the movement of his arm Jihoon assumes he’s tying it around his waist. He’s probably freezing - he didn’t get under the spray directly at all but he’s still sodden, meaning that the way the cold is seeping into his skin must be doing the same tenfold for Seokmin. Jihoon feels guilt start to grow in his stomach, blossoming into something wretchedly barbed that tears at his insides. It scrapes along the soft parts of him even more when he feels Seokmin’s cool hands on his shoulders, easing the towel off of him and helping to dry him off. He squeezes Seokmin’s elbow then, holding his arm in place as best as he can in order to stop his gentle movements. 

“Get yourself set first,” he tries to say normally, a little confused when it comes out as a raspy whisper. He clears his throat and swallows, trying again when Seokmin makes no move to listen to Jihoon or ignore him, makes no moves at all. “You’re cold, so please get yourself warmer before you help me. I’ll be okay for a little longer.”

There’s a kiss pressed firmly to his temple, Seokmin’s lips warm and soft where they stay connected to his head. He doesn’t bother to pull off when he whispers his response, a hand moving to scratch at Jihoon’s scalp before it slides back to the towel on his shoulders. 

“Stop worrying, hyung, baby. I’m good, I promise.” Jihoon goes to protest but Seokmin doesn’t let him, stifling the words with his own lips on Jihoon’s. “Lemme take care of you Jihoon, please.” The words are murmured against him and remain a bit desperate, the guilt that had been steadily growing in and coating Jihoon’s insides pausing in an instant. Though he’s still not necessarily happy he feels the fight leave him, Seokmin smiling when Jihoon sighs against his lips. 

“Fine,” he mumbles and Seokmin moves to press a kiss to his nose, his eyelids, his forehead. 

“Thank you baby.” Jihoon ignores how the word makes him flush, instead just basking in the warmth that is Seokmin. His boyfriend takes his time making sure that he’s fully dry before attempting to put any garments on him, eventually helping him into his underwear and shorts, horribly gentle with slipping his shirt over his head. Jihoon notices he chose a random super wide scoop neck he has around (there are a few in his wardrobe for this purpose, each of their collars stretched beyond their limits from years of abuse), Seokmin not even having to come within inches of his head when he slips it on. It’s beyond soft too, and Jihoon has an inkling it’s one of his ones from high school that had always been far too big for him. Once Jihoon’s fully situated, Seokmin’s hands curl around his shoulders, thumbs tracing Jihoon’s bare collarbones softly. 

“You want your hoodie now or should I ask after I finish getting dressed?” Jihoon had stopped shivering a little while ago and his temperature had settled into something more even. It was a relief, to be honest, to not have his internal temperature left to the will of his fucked up head anymore. At least not to the same level - he could take fluctuations if they weren’t so extreme. 

“I think I’m okay.” Seokmin squeezes his shoulders, thumbs pressing firmly across the length of his collarbone once more before he pulls away. He doesn’t go far, Jihoon’s fingers are still on his arm after all, but he feels him move to the side, a towel gently draped over his dripping hair a moment later. 

“You know what you can or can’t take right now, so I’ll let you handle drying your hair. Unless you need help,” Seokmin rushes to add, the corners of Jihoon’s mouth tugging upwards at the words. He leans to the side until his hip is pressing heavily against the counter, the corner biting at the poorly padded bone. Only once he’s sure that the room won’t turn into a whirlwind around him does he let go of Seokmin’s arm, blindly reaching out and patting at some part of his chest. 

“I’m okay. Situate yourself.” Based on the scuffling noise alone Jihoon assumes Seokmin actually listens to him. He’s glad that Seokmin is finally taking care of himself, after all his boyfriend has always been selfless to a fault, carefully rubbing at his soaked hair to the best of his ability. He needs it to be at most damp, knowing that if Seokmin and he do end up cuddling and Seokmin has any say in it, Jihoon’s wet ass head will be on top of the younger man’s chest. Even if Seokmin won’t say or do anything about it he’ll know it’ll be uncomfortable as hell for both of them. He lets himself sigh, unhappy with his current predicament. 

“Hm?” Gentle fingers are pressing into his delicate wrist bones, the touch more reassuring than Jihoon had expected it to be.

“I might need help,” he breathes out, Seokmin’s hand moving to trace up and down Jihoon’s forearm. He think he can hear Seokmin vigorously scrubbing at his own sort of wet hair and smiles, sort of wishing he could see the dumb expression on Seokmin’s face without opening his eyes. The pain that was dispersed so evenly throughout his head that he didn’t mind it the entire time he showered had not only started localizing but started growing more and more severe once again. It’s current epicenter? Right between Jihoon’s watering eyes. 

“How motion sick are you? Motion sensitive?” There’s a pause and Jihoon can practically see Seokmin’s eyebrows furrow, see the frustration of not knowing the right words blossom on his features. “How gentle do I need to be?” Jihoon cracks a smile at that, moving so that he can intertwine their fingers and press a kiss against Seokmin’s knuckles. 

“I should be alright if I sit.” Seokmin’s spare hand is on his hip in an instant, carefully turning him so that he’s parallel to the counter. Jihoon’s hand is given a squeeze before Seokmin untangles their fingers, Jihoon’s hand guided to the other’s shoulder. He smiles at Seokmin then, something inside of him warming that his boyfriend had noticed such a little thing. Sure, he’d been gently holding onto him the entire time they were in the shower, but he’s still sort of convinced that most people would’ve taken the actions as fall insurance only. Well, it kind of was in a way - a good point to latch on and right himself had he lost his balance on the slippery floor (he was wicked worried about braining himself after all, even if he didn’t really need to be) - but he’s pretty sure Seokmin caught on to the more important reason, not just the added benefit. 

People tend to always underestimate Seokmin, at least in Jihoon’s humble opinion. Quick to dismiss him as a fool, naïve at best and just genuinely kind of dumb at worst. But he isn’t, not really. Even if something doesn’t come easily to him he works on it tirelessly, and even goes as far to do the same with the things he’s effortlessly brilliant at. So what if books weren’t his specialty, at least not outwardly? They weren’t really Jihoon’s either, if he’s honest. Jihoon’s brilliant in the ways of music and wringing out emotions into a few half steps, and Seokmin’s brilliant in so many ways that Jihoon doesn’t think he can even count that high, but especially in the ways of people; something that he himself can only make do, not understand. Don’t tell Seokmin, he’ll go red and instantly refute any kind of the sentiment, but Jihoon always thinks that Seokmin’s the true genius between them. 

He’s pulled back to the present by a pair of hands squeezing his waist and he smiles up at where he knows Seokmin is, even without opening his eyes. He lets his hand fall from the other’s shoulder and down to his bicep, tapping his fingers in a playful rhythm. 

“You okay if I lift you?” Seokmin asks and Jihoon only shrugs, squeezing his bicep lightly before going back to tapping against it. He figures Seokmin takes it as the permission it is and in one swift motion his feet are off the ground and his butt is firmly on the counter. Jihoon crosses his ankles where they hang in an attempt to prevent from childishly swinging his legs, tilting his chin outwards and hoping Seokmin gets the hint. (He doesn’t really have to hope, not when Seokmin is so focused on him like this.) The kiss is short but sweet, and the warmth in Jihoon’s chest grows even more. 

“You okay?” Jihoon’s nod earns him another kiss, this time on the cheek, and he can’t tame the smile on his face if he wanted to. “Tell me if I need to stop, alright? I don’t wanna hurt you.” 

“I dunno if you ever could.” The words slip out before he can even think of reeling them back in, Seokmin’s forgotten hands on his waist starting to slowly caress his sides. 

“I hope not.” Jihoon just hums back at him, his hand on Seokmin’s arm falling to his elbow once more as the younger man begins to dry his hair. The movements are thorough but gentle, and every now and then Jihoon’s forced to try and keep himself from sagging at the feeling of Seokmin’s nails on his scalp or his undercut in particular as he supposedly “checks the dryness of Jihoon’s hair”. (Jihoon doesn’t believe that. Seokmin is always so eager to please, always trying to make everyone around him happy, take care of them all. Seokmin must know what scratching his scalp does to him, know that this is the easiest way to make him go boneless no matter his anger or his worries or his pain. Jihoon only wishes he’d remember these things about himself, at least sometimes - that it’s okay to want or need someone to care for you, that all he has to do is ask.) He’d let himself go boneless if he weren’t so afraid of crashing down to a disappointing death on the tiles below him. Seokmin seems to know this the same way Seokmin knows everything when it comes to Jihoon, and his head ends up tucked into the juncture of his boyfriend’s neck within a moment. 

“I won’t let you fall,” Seokmin whispers, and Jihoon finally gives in to the content exhaustion that stains his throbbing mind. 

“I know,” he whispers back, moving his hand off Seokmin’s elbow so that he can wrap his arms around his waist and sagging where he sits, “I know.”

It inevitably becomes a fight to stay awake on the bathroom counter, even if the risk of disaster is ever so present. After he blinks himself back from the precipice of sleep for a third time he uncrosses his ankles and wraps his legs around Seokmin, locking them together behind him. It feels a lot more secure like this, even when his arms start to slacken where they lay. Seokmin laughs a bit at his movement, running his hands through Jihoon’s hair a few times. 

“Your hair’s mostly good,” Seokmin says softly, nails scratching at his scalp once more and laughing even more when Jihoon sighs happily. “Are you okay with it being kinda damp? I don’t wanna try to blow dry it with your head exploding.”

“Yeah.” Jihoon feels his face scrunch in pain, the throbbing in his head turning back to a more severe stabbing feeling that runs like train tracks from ear to ear and temple to temple. He knows Seokmin can feel the wetness of his sudden tears on his skin, especially when his hands move from Jihoon’s hair back to cradling him carefully. 

“Wanna go to the couch? I’ll carry you.” Jihoon considers it. Considers a lot, really. He’s thinking about how much he hates being taken care of and coddled. How every little thing like someone carrying him or helping him reach something feels like a jab at him , sometimes his appearance and others just personal. He’s always been mistaken as younger, especially before the baby fat finally fell from his face, and every time someone significantly got his age wrong it made him more and more jaded, made him hate being taken care of that much more. 

But with Seokmin he’s never really felt like that. Never felt the same sort of pity or condescendingness that his peers often regarded - hell, regard - him with. It’s another thing that’s always been different about him - he’s far too genuine to try and hurt someone for fun. 

“Sweetheart?” Seokmin asks gently when he hasn’t answered in a while and Jihoon’s tears don’t stop (even if his heart does. Damn pet names). He feels Seokmin’s fingers press a little firmer against his head before they lighten up, nails scratching at his undercut once more. “The TV in your room is a smart TV right? We can go there instead of the couch if that’s better. A lot less moving around after we get you settled, and we can still watch whatever you want.” Jihoon’s practically dead brain might as well be trilling at the sound of that. He tightens his arms around Seokmin slightly, wishing he could move and nose at Seokmin’s jaw, pepper kisses to the soft skin there.

“That sounds good,” Jihoon eventually forces out, and his answer is rewarded with hands running down his back in the way that Seokmin knows he loves, even if he won’t admit it. 

“Can you intertwine your fingers?” It’s an odd question but Jihoon doesn’t bother to ask more, pain in his head flaring annoyingly and sharply once again. Immediately after his fingers are laced Seokmin moves his arms so that they end up with Jihoon’s elbows hooked over his broad shoulders. He hadn’t thought about it, but the hold of his fingers make sense - it’ll be a lot harder for his arms to slip off Seokmin’s shoulders and will make him feel more secure in the hold. His heart warms even more. “Ready?” Jihoon nods. 

“Ready.” There’s a kiss pressed to his head followed by one on his bare shoulder, Seokmin pressing their chests together before scooping him up. He goes completely limp then, Seokmin’s sturdy frame having no difficulty holding him steady. The gentle swaying from each of Seokmin’s steps lulls him into a semblance of sleep, any tension that was once in him seeping out from him like water through a strainer until he’s only left with his soft and mushy feelings of contentment. He feels kind of like over cooked rice and he can’t even say he hates it. 

After not long enough, Seokmin leans forward slowly and soon Jihoon feels his back sink into his mattress. He lets his grip on Seokmin go loose, allowing himself to let his exhausted limbs lose their fight against gravity. Seokmin laughs softly and Jihoon’s sure that he’s laughing at him, but he honestly can’t seem to care. Especially not when he feels the blankets around him being manipulated, Seokmin tucking him into an almost cocoon but without really wrapping him up. It’s nice; warm and full of love, somehow even softer than Jihoon’s heart in the present moment. The feelings are only amplified when Seokmin gently lifts his arm up, a rotund angry shiba plushie tucked firmly against his chest before Seokmin lowers his arm back down. (Of course Jihoon doesn't have to look to know what it is - Oscar is the only plushie he allows on the bed, the rest smattered around his apartment randomly. Plus, The Grouch had been a gift from Seokmin, of course. Seokmin took one look at the angry expression on the fuzzy cylindrical thing’s face and couldn’t be stopped. Something about how angry it looked despite being so soft and squishy, how it reminded him of someone. (Jihoon smacked him for that one, hard.))

He feels the mattress bounce underneath him, an insistent little gremlin worming her way into his cocoon. Jihoon laughs as she licks at his face before settling back down, the soft feeling in his chest amplifying tenfold. His hair is brushed off his forehead with the softest touch he thinks he’s ever felt, a kiss taking its place in an instant. Another is pressed to his nose, the hand that was brushing through his bangs moving to caress his cheek. 

“You okay?” Jihoon hums happily.

“Yeah,” he breathes, his lips slightly quirked up, “Thank you.” Another kiss is pressed to his nose, the hand on his cheek shifting so that its thumb can trace his cheekbone. 

“Have you eaten?” Jihoon scrunches his face up as he thinks about it, his brain fuzzy and foggy where it throbs in his skull. 

“What time did you get ‘ere?” Seokmin doesn’t call him out on his nonanswer which Jihoon appreciates. Besides, he’s sure that Seokmin’s soft expression is pulled in consideration, and he can feel when his attention is back on Jihoon. 

“Around 8:15 I think? Maybe 8:30, but I can’t be sure. When’d you go to bed?” Jihoon sighs softly.

“Sixish.” Seokmin makes a worried noise.

“And when’d you eat before that?” Jihoon grimaces - he knows Seokmin’s not going to like the answer. 

“Cheol hyung and Soons got me to eat,” he pauses, trying to recall the time and the words to describe it, “Brunch? Lunch? Food, before noon, I think.” Seokmin curses softly, the hand on his cheek moving to cup his neck as his thumb traces his jaw, his free hand tangling with Jihoon’s. 

“You think you can stomach anything?” Jihoon hums, tugging Seokmin’s hand up so that he can press a series of sweet kisses to his knuckles. He knows Seokmin is smiling at the gesture and he can’t help but to feel almost giddy, a kiss pressed into his forehead in response. 

“Did you eat?” Seokmin goes to cut him off but Jihoon shakes his head before he can. “Just tell me that, please.” He hears Seokmin sigh, so Jihoon presses his lips more firmly against Seokmin’s hand. 

“Yeah, I had a little dinner before I came over. Figured we’d be eating snacks during movie time so I didn’t wanna necessarily fill up.” Jihoon hums once again, squeezing Seokmin’s hand. “You want me to make something small? Or some rice or something? I’m good with just  snacks, promise.” Jihoon noots slightly before his lips fall into something resembling a pout, their entwined hands moving with the motion. 

“Whatever’s easiest, quickest. I,” he breathes out, stealing himself to say the next words begging to be freed from the recesses of his mind despite how just the thought of them alone fills him with embarrassment, “I really just miss you, wanna be with you.” Seokmin lets out a little wounded noise, moving their hands from where they rest against Jihoon’s face so that he can kiss him properly, slowly, deeply, thoroughly. Jihoon can practically hear everything Seokmin’s trying to relay to him even in the absence of words, the loudest by far being the tender touches reassuring him that Seokmin’s still here and that he’s not going anywhere. When they break apart Jihoon doesn’t let him go far, a hand on the back of Seokmin’s head holding their foreheads together as they both try and catch their breaths. Jihoon doesn’t know how he does it but he manages to open his eyes then, smile only growing as he takes in Seokmin’s soft and stunning features. 

Damn, I really am in love.

Seokmin’s own eyes flutter open then, widening a bit when they meet Jihoon’s. He breaks out into a giant grin, pressing a few more sweet kisses to Jihoon’s waiting lips. Seokmin only stops when Jihoon’s giggling too hard for it to really work. 

“Hey baby,” Seokmin whispers, the hand he has on the side of Jihoon’s neck shifting to card through his hair. 

“Darling,” Jihoon tries, drowning in fondness as he watches Seokmin’s face flood red and his demeanor go shy. He kind of figured that Seokmin had a thing for pet names since he kept calling Jihoon baby before he even asked him out, but he hadn’t realized that the softer and more intimate ones would turn his charming boyfriend into a big ol’ goofy mess. Watching Seokmin as he blushes and looks away with the signature embarrassed smile tugging at his lips makes something in Jihoon’s chest practically melt , certain that there’s honey like goo pouring from his ribs. Maybe the embarrassment is worth it, he thinks, if it means I get to see him like this.  

Of course Seokmin recovers from his momentary lapse, far too quickly if you ask Jihoon (if the roles were reversed, Jihoon’s certain he'd still be brain dead at this point, thank you very much. It’s unreasonable that Seokmin is able to brush all this off with what feels like a wave of his hand), eyes soft as they look back at Jihoon once more.

“Pet names, huh? I thought you said you didn’t like them,” Seokmin teases and Jihoon huffs at him, playfully rolling his eyes. 

“You seem to like them, and I like you.” Seokmin goes red at the words, shyness returning in full. Jihoon will have none of it, moving his hand off of the back of Seokmin’s head and onto his cheek. It has the desired effect, Seokmin’s attention back on him even if he still looks bashful. “Y’know I’ll do anything I can to make you happy, right?”

“Hyuuung,” Seokmin instantly whines, batting at Jihoon’s chest and hiding his face in his sternum. Jihoon smiles at the sight of his dorky little boyfriend, moving his hand that was on his cheek to comb through his hair. “Why are you so greasy?” Jihoon laughs, tugging softly at Seokmin’s hair until he gets the message and looks back up at him. He juts out his chin once more, Seokmin practically surging up from where he was burrowed to kiss Jihoon senseless. It’s not like he can complain - with his focus solely on Seokmin, his migraine doesn’t seem to hurt so bad.

“Is it so bad,” he whispers into the space between their lips when Seokmin finally lets him breathe for more than a mere moment, “Is it so bad that I’m hopelessly in love with you?” Jihoon watches as tears begin to well in Seokmin’s eyes, moving his hand to cup Seokmin’s cheek once more in the gentlest motion he has done in years. Eventually Seokmin takes a shuddering breath and shakes his head, looking back at Jihoon with  tears still barely kept in his eyes and a smile that makes Jihoon’s fingers itch for a pen.

“No,” Seokmin says as if the word itself is a prayer, “Not when I am so helplessly enamored, bewitched, that it is bound to drive me mad.” Jihoon can’t stop the laugh that bubbles out of him, not that he even wants to when he sees Seokmin smile harder at the sound. After a few minutes of just sunny and soft laughter, basking in each other’s presence, Seokmin hums a question to call Jihoon’s attention back to him. 

“Food?” Jihoon smiles softly, reaching up and pressing a kiss to Seokmin’s nose. His action is rewarded by a bright blinding grin that Jihoon holds tightly to his heart. 

“Sure.”

“Anything in particular?” Jihoon feels himself noot a bit as he thinks, Seokmin taking it as permission to place a few sweet pecks to his lips (much to his delight, even if Jihoon refuses to admit it). 

“I’m cool with whatever snacks you found in my kitchen and the Gatorade you grabbed me earlier. I’m not really hungry.” Seokmin sighs something sad and worried but doesn’t fight his words, using a hand to drag his bangs off of where they now lay messily against his forehead and practically in his eyes, Seokmin pressing a firm kiss to the skin he just revealed. 

“I’ll be back in a few, babe.” Jihoon hums back and lets his eyes fall closed. 

“I already miss you, my beloved.” Seokmin makes a choked noise and lightly smacks Jihoon’s arm, fleeing the scene only after he presses a kiss to Jihoon’s temple. 

Jihoon lets himself relax into the mattress, gently scratching behind Sakura’s ears much to her delight. The left side of his head is starting to pound again and he sighs heavily, a mirrored pain blooming in the back of his skull. Why or what the fuck, he’s not sure, but all he knows is that he is miserable. He’s glad Seokmin came over though - if he were trying to manage this beast himself he probably would have given up by now. By the time he hears footsteps approaching he’s already lost in the foggy mush that is his mashed potato brain, not even bothering to acknowledge Seokmin until the other speaks first. 

“Hey, babe.” The tone is soft and hesitant, but something about it is clearly off. Jihoon furrows his eyebrows, humming inquisitively to encourage Seokmin to continue. “Your mom called.”

“Ah, shit,” he mumbles, dragging a hand over his face. He doesn’t even remember the last time he called her. What a good son he is, eh? “Do you have my phone?” The device is placed on his chest within the moment and he shoots Seokmin’s general vicinity a smile before he has his phone call her. What he thinks to be a choked noise rings through the air and Jihoon feels his eyebrows furrow further, wondering why Seokmin’s suddenly acting kind of weird. He holds out his hand and pulls Seokmin next to him once their fingers are intertwined, resting his head against his boyfriend’s thighs and smiling happily as his hair is played with. 

It’s only when his mother answers and Seokmin freezes once more that Jihoon realizes what the issue is - he still hasn’t told his parents they’re a thing. Oops. 

“Hello?”

“Hi Eomma,” he says softly, his mom making a weird little noise in response. 

“Jihoonie, did I wake you? I didn’t expect you to be in bed yet.” Seokmin starts to scratch at his undercut once more and Jihoon has to be back the soft pleased noise that desperately wants to escape him. His body goes boneless all the same, tugging Seokmin’s hand towards his face so he can kiss his knuckles once more. 

“Ah, it’s been a rough week is all. Ended up with a migraine.”

“Do you need anything? It must be awful if you’re in bed before 9:30.” Jihoon hums, thinking about how long it would take his mom to get to Seoul from Busan and the warm body underneath him. 

“Nah, I’ll be okay. Worst case I’ll have my friends come by tomorrow to make sure I’m okay.” Her voice sounds relieved as she responds softly. 

“That’s good. Which ones? I want to send them something to thank them.”

“Eommaaa,” he groans, his mother laughing at him. After a quick glance he realizes Seokmin is laughing at him too, gently smacking at his boyfriend’s thigh with his free hand. 

“If you don’t tell me I’ll just call Seungcheol.” Jihoon groans once more, shaking his head adamantly even if she can’t see it. 

“No, no, don’t do that. Cheolie’s week has been worse than mine, same with Soonyoung’s. I’ll probably just text Seokmin - he lives the closest anyways.” She hums with thought and Jihoon can tell that she’s trying to figure out if he’s lying. Which, rude.

“Send me his contact. I want to make sure you actually have someone check on you or else your father and I are getting on the earliest train tomorrow.” Jihoon sighs loud enough to make sure she hears it, ignoring how she laughs at him again. 

“Fine, fine, I’ll send you his contact. Is that why you called? To bully me into giving you my friends’ numbers? I thought you still didn’t understand how I know all of them.” His mom laughs at him again and Seokmin tugs at his hair with clear amusement in the movements. The younger man is 100% sporting a shit eating grin, so Jihoon does the mature thing - he sticks his tongue out at him. Seokmin must have to bite back a laugh, his legs moving under Jihoon as he curls up and with a quick touch to Seokmin’s chest Jihoon discovers he’s shaking with them. Good, serves him right. He can suffer in forced silence for all he cares.

“Actually, your father and I were hoping to see you soon. We’re so proud of you, but we miss you so much Jihoonie,” she says all soft and sad and Jihoon can’t help but to feel guilt start to eat at his insides like an acid, his bubbly mood from Seokmin’s antics popping in an instant. 

“Sorry Eomma, you know how work gets.” She sighs but doesn’t try to argue - she’s long since accepted how little time her son has for dinners with them, much less visiting. It still doesn’t make him feel good. “The month’s about to end though, are you and Appa still going out? I know that that was tradition when I was still home.” 

“Yes, actually,” she says with amusement and Jihoon can tell his words have put a smile on her face. “Should we make a reservation for next Saturday? Will you come home for the night?” Jihoon smiles at the idea, looking up at Seokmin hesitantly. Seokmin squeezes his hand and watches him curiously, making Jihoon decide well, fuck it.

“Will you make that reservation for four?” Seokmin’s eyes widen a bit before he smiles, gently combing through Jihoon’s hair as he looks at him fondly. 

“Ooh, Jihoonie’s bringing someone?” His mom teases and Jihoon can’t help but to groan. 

“I won’t if you’re like this, Eomma. You can suffer with anticipation for at least another month,” he threatens without any bite, his mother laughing at his words. 

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop teasing. Will you two be taking the train or does this mystery person plan on driving?” Jihoon hums noncommittally, shaking his head at Seokmin as he tries to silently communicate with him. 

“I can let you know later, Eomma. Still gotta make sure that they're free first, otherwise I’ll just drag Cheol or Soon down.” She hums happily at his words and Jihoon is forced to remember how long it’s been since she’s seen any of them. “Maybe you and Appa can come up soon, come see the hooligans in all their glory.” She laughs again. “We can get the Kwons and the Chois up too, even. Have a family weekend or something.” 

“I like the sound of that, Jihoonie.” He can hear the smile in her voice and feels his rumpled feathers soothe a bit - even if it feels like he always is, he hates being a bad son. And don’t tell his mom or she’ll lord it over him for ages, but he misses them desperately. “Let me know if you need us to pick you up and when you start feeling better. Oh, and send restaurant suggestions too.”

“I will Eomma. Love you, say hi to Appa for me.” He can practically feel her smile widen through the phone, something he hasn’t realized that was aching in his heart soothing at the thought. Apparently his guilt had long since set up camp there, only packing up to leave if he dealt with how much he missed his parents and how homesick he truly was. 

“Love you too. Make sure you send me Seokmin’s contact!” She calls playfully and Jihoon sighs. 

“Yes, Eomma. I’m hanging up now.”

“Bye Jihoonie.” He hangs up then, looking up at Seokmin with a sheepish expression. 

“Your mom sounds fun,” Seokmin says softly, his eyes glimmering where they look down at Jihoon. 

“Sorry I didn’t ask first. You wanna meet my parents?” Seokmin’s smile only grows at the words. They haven’t been together for that long, all things considered, but Jihoon’s never felt more sure in a relationship before. Hell, he was already planning on giving Seokmin a spare key to his place the next time he has to go to the hardware store - it makes sense in Jihoon’s mind for them to meet his favorite person.

“I’d love to meet your parents babe.” Jihoon smiles at him, sighing softly as Seokmin scratches at that one spot on his scalp that he knows he loves. “Are they still in Busan?” Jihoon nods as his eyes fall shut. 

“Yeah. The train’ll be quicker than driving, but if you want an escape plan or to bring Kura I don’t mind us driving.” Seokmin just hums back at him, stealing Jihoon’s phone from where it rests on his chest. “Hey,” Jihoon play whines but Seokmin just tuts at him. 

“I can leave Kura with my sister, she’s been dying to see her and have a quote ‘girl’s weekend’. I just think she’s trying to convince her fiancé to get a dog.” Jihoon chortles softly, scratching behind Kura’s ears once more. 

“So why’d you steal my phone?” A conspiratory giggle rings through the room and Jihoon is tempted to give Seokmin a deadpan look. He almost does it but his migraine moves to the front of his head again, making him scrunch up his face and let out a sharp breath. Seokmin untangles their hands so that he can rest it against Jihoon’s forehead, pinky right above Jihoon’s eye and his thumb, forefinger, and middle finger rubbing at the front of Jihoon’s scalp soothingly. It’s only when Jihoon feels Seokmin’s phone buzzing in his pocket that he realizes what he did. Seokmin answers his phone on speaker, allowing him to use his other hand to rub reassuring circles on Jihoon’s shoulder. 

“Hello?” He asks hesitantly and Jihoon is reminded just how good of an actor his boyfriend is. It makes sense considering what he does for a living, but Jihoon doesn’t ever really see Seokmin as much other than genuine to a fault when they’re together. 

“Hi, is this Seokmin?” He hums in consideration. 

“Who’s asking?” 

“Ah, sorry sorry. This is Jihoon’s mom.” Seokmin makes a soft little noise, hand on Jihoon’s shoulders moving to rub his neck. 

“Mrs. Lee, what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Have you heard from Jihoonie today? He’s not feeling too well and I’m worried.” Seokmin makes another soft little noise, hand on Jihoon’s forehead moving so that he can press his thumb lightly into Jihoon’s aching temple. 

“Not directly, no. Soonyoung hyung said something about him overworking himself but that’s all.” She makes a sad little noise and Jihoon feels even more guilty. He hates making his mother worried. 

“Will you go check on him?”

“Yes, of course. Should I head over tonight?” Jihoon looks up at him then, raising an eyebrow underneath Seokmin’s hand. The younger man just shrugs at him, his smile soft. 

“Are you busy? I don’t want to disturb you.” Seokmin hums casually, dismissing her concerns easily. 

“Don't worry Mrs. Lee, I can be over in a little bit. What’s wrong with hyung? Is he sick or is it another migraine again?” She makes another sad sound and Jihoon actually feels sick this time, his stomach swirling like a whirlpool. 

“A migraine. It sounds really bad this time and it just really worries me that he has no one in the city.” Seokmin tuts softly, hand that was on Jihoon’s neck moving to rub his stomach almost as if he knows that Jihoon felt sick with guilt. Jihoon has to hold back his pleased hums, gently resting his palm on top of Seokmin’s hand as it keeps tracing circles on his tummy. 

“Mrs. Lee, don’t say that. Hyungie’s got us.” The words are sure and steady and Jihoon feels a smile bloom on his lips, reaching behind him so that he can squeeze Seokmin’s thigh underneath him. “I can send you updates if you would like.” She sighs in relief. 

“Thank you so much Seokmin. It truly means the world.” Seokmin hums back at her. 

“I’ll get ready to go now. Thank you for letting me know, Mrs. Lee. Hyung’s stubborn, he wouldn’t have told anyone he wasn’t doing well.” She makes an annoyed little noise that makes Seokmin laugh. 

“He gets that from his father. I’ll let you go Seokmin. And thank you.” Seokmin wishes her a soft goodbye, hanging up the phone and turning to look at Jihoon with a smile. 

“How’re you feeling babe?” Jihoon hums a bit, wiggling so that his head is more firmly in Seokmin’s lap. 

“Okay. Tired.” A kiss is pressed to his nose and Jihoon huffs a bit. 

“Want me to help you settle more?” Jihoon shrugs. 

“Don’t care as long as you’re here. Though my mom probably wants picture evidence to make sure I’m alive.” Seokmin laughs, squeezing at Jihoon’s ribs before he’s back to rubbing his tummy. 

“I like your mom already.”

“Yeah, she does that to people. Made my friends at uni confused when they realized she’s like my real birth mother.” Seokmin laughs again, pressing another kiss to Jihoon’s nose. 

“They just didn’t know you as well as I do, baby.” The words settle into the air like a warm weighted blanket, wrapping Jihoon up with a comfortable love that presses into him in all the right ways. 

“You’re right,” he hums back, moving his hand off of Seokmin’s thigh so that he can pet Sakura once more. They’re quiet for a bit before Jihoon remembers Seokmin’s earlier quest, looking up with a question shining in his eyes. “Hey, did you get distracted when you were grabbing food?” Seokmin’s eyes go comically wide before his expression goes sheepish. 

“Yeah, a little. You still don’t want anything specific?” Jihoon shrugs as he smiles up at Seokmin. 

“Nah, not really.” The smile he receives warms his chest and Jihoon can’t help but to sigh happily. 

“I’ll be back in a few babe.” His head is eased gently off of Seokmin’s lap and a pillow is slipped behind his neck and head. Seokmin does a great job at not jostling his head too much, well aware of how sensitive he can be to any sort of movement when he’s like this, but the movement still sends sharp knives through his skull without warning. Jihoon can’t stop his features from scrunching up and his eyes squeezing shut nor the whimper that escapes him, and he can feel Seokmin hovering over him in an instant. 

“Shit , I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Fuck. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Seokmin sounds more guilty than Jihoon thinks he’s ever heard, his heart aching at the sound of his voice. 

“It’s okay,” he whispers but Seokmin won’t hear it, his hands on Jihoon’s sides and rubbing soft circles into his ribs. 

“No it’s not. I hurt you Jihoonie hyung, and I’m sorry.” Jihoon sighs softly, hands skimming up Seokmin’s arms until they find their way to Seokmin’s ribs, tapping a fun little rhythm at the bones he feels there almost as if they’re piano keys. 

“Even if you won’t believe me it’s still okay. I forgive you all the same, sweetheart.” Seokmin makes a wounded noise before he drops his forehead to Jihoon’s collarbone (gently, as gentle as if he were a falling flower, a feather caught in the breeze) and hides himself there.

“I never want to hurt you,” Seokmin mumbles in that small voice and Jihoon feels his heart break a bit with the sound, especially as it’s paired with those words. 

“Sometimes, love, that is inevitable.” Seokmin whimpers against him and Jihoon shushes him in an instant. “But if I moved myself the same thing would have happened. Actually, it probably would have been even worse.”

“Still, I’m sorry.”

“And I forgive you.” They don’t move for a little while, not until Sakura starts to shuffle around the bed and begin to paw incessantly at them. Jihoon appreciates it - she’s not trying to rupture his brains with a bark. Seokmin reluctantly pulls back and he and Jihoon both look at the tiny gremlin with love pouring from their eyes. 

“What do you need, baby? Gotta go outside?” Seokmin asks softly and Sakura’s ears shift at the words. She stands up immediately and Seokmin laughs, bundling her in his arms and pressing a kiss to Jihoon’s forehead. 

“I’ll be back in a few, okay? Will you be okay?” The pain in his skull is increasing once more but Jihoon ignores it; there’s nothing Seokmin can do about it anyways. 

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. We should text my mother when you get back though.” Another pair of kisses are pressed to his now closed eyelids, a smile blooming on his face from Seokmin’s sweet actions. “Go on, I already miss you.”

Though they’re hesitant, Seokmin’s footsteps do finally leave the room. Jihoon doesn’t truly mind his few minutes alone, forcing his eyes open and searching for his water bottle that he knows he left earlier. He eventually spots it on his nightstand, wiggling around until he can crawl and reach it. The movement takes a lot more out of him than he expects it to, and he finds himself panting against the headboard of his bed as he chugs the bottle. 

God does he feel like absolute shit. 

Biting back another wave of nausea, Jihoon sags where he sits, clumsily grabbing his remote and turning on the TV. He doesn’t think he has the brain power to actually follow along with a real plot but the last few movie nights have been spent catching Seokmin up with Jihoon’s favorite movie series, meaning it’s the younger man’s choice. Even still, Jihoon tabs his way to the romance section, leaving the selection on the first film there before he mutes the TV and closes his eyes. He doesn’t even know what he’s picked, mind so fuzzy that he feels half conscious, until Seokmin comes into the room a good bit later and lets out a displeased sound immediately. Jihoon didn’t even hear the door open. 

Well, shit . That’s almost a major issue. He’s glad he at least has someone looking out for him while he’s so out of it. He doesn’t want to even think about how dangerous this could have been if he were alone.

“Hyung, no way are we watching A Story Sadder than Sadness . Do you want me to cry? Do you?” Jihoon cracks a smile as he shakes his head, blinking up at Seokmin languidly as the younger man turns his attention to him. 

“It’s your pick tonight, Minnie. I just clicked here for the category.” Seokmin makes a soft little sound, moving to cup Jihoon’s cheeks as he looks at him with concern. 

“Baby, are you okay? You’re a funky color.” Jihoon shrugs, blinking slowly at the magnificent man in front of him. 

“Not really,” he says truthfully - if he’s gone ashen there’s really no point in lying. “But that’s alright. Thank you for being here.” Seokmin complies to his silent request for a kiss, running a hand through Jihoon’s hair afterwards. 

“Next time call when you don’t feel well. I don’t like to think that you suffer through these alone.” Jihoon hums a bit and nods but doesn’t bother to respond otherwise. If his migraines keep getting this bad or God forbid even worse , he’s a little scared to try and push through them alone. 

“My mom?” Thumbs sweep against his cheekbones once more and Jihoon smiles at the feeling. Seokmin pulls off of him and Jihoon listens to the little noises the younger’s phone puts out while he types. 

“Told her you were alive. Lemme go get you some more water and your Gatorade and we’ll see if that helps.” Jihoon offers him a smile and a nod, reaching out to catch one of Seokmin’s hands to give it a little squeeze. 

“Hey,” he says softly, waiting for Seokmin to look at him before he continues, “I love you.” The smile that blooms on Seokmin’s face is worth all of the pain he feels and more. 

“I love you too,” Seokmin practically whispers back, pressing a kiss to Jihoon’s knuckles before he leaves the room once more. Jihoon shuffles himself down against the pillows until he’s half propped up, allowing his body to go limp as his head continues to thrum. A phone chimes nearby and it’s soon followed by Seokmin’s laugh. 

“You were right; you’re mom’s asking for photo evidence that you’re okay.” Jihoon snorts as he shakes his head, familiar with his mother’s antics. He blinks up at Seokmin when he feels his hand on his shoulder, thumb back to tracing his collarbone. “Do you want me to send her a current picture? Or like one of the selcas I have from the other day? I just, I dunno, will she storm up here if you look super sick?” Jihoon sighs and moves his hand so that he can loop his fingers loosely around Seokmin’s wrist. The action earns his shoulder a squeeze. 

“Depends on what pictures you have. She would storm up here if she thinks I’m super sick though, you’re not wrong.”

“Well you do look like a zombie.” Jihoon laughs, losing himself even more as Seokmin starts to sing Day6’s Zombie. Smiling as he keeps singing, Seokmin pulls out his phone, swiping through his camera app to find a seemingly good enough photo. He makes a frustrated little noise as he moves to sit next to Jihoon, allowing the elder man to see his camera roll. 

There’s a lot of dog pictures, which makes sense. Most are Sakura but there are ones Jihoon doesn’t recognize and the rest of their friends’ furry friends too. (It’s endearing how soft Seokmin is, especially for any random dog he sees. A few of the pictures are 100% from places like Pinterest though and Jihoon suddenly has to wonder if he’s looking for a second dog.) Speaking of their friends there’s a lot of meme pictures of them that keep making Jihoon startle out big laughs. Some selcas are spattered around and Jihoon vows to steal his phone and send them to himself because damn, his boyfriend is attractive in more ways than he can count. There are some of him alone or with Seokmin or a few of their friends too, both bad and good and, well, others, but after a few moments Jihoon realizes the dilemma. 

“We don’t have any we took here, do we?” Seokmin huffs a bit as he shakes his head. 

“Not since you dyed your hair, no. Maybe even not since I dyed mine.” Jihoon stifles another bit of laughter, knocking his head against Seokmin’s shoulder beyond lightly. 

“This is what I get for losing a bet to Kwon Soonyoung.” Seokmin laughs, nosing at the crown of Jihoon’s head softly. 

“He wasn’t wrong though, you look good blond.” Jihoon huffs again, Seokmin laughing brightly even if he keeps it quieter than normal. “How long until you get to dye it back?”

“I think he said something like three root touch ups? I’m not paying or even booking them so I really don’t care.” Seokmin snorts, pressing his nose into Jihoon’s head a bit harder. 

“Do you have any selcas on yours?” Jihoon hums softly, unlocking his phone and handing it over to Seokmin, shifting so that he can rest his head against Seokmin’s shoulder. An arm wraps around his waist and Jihoon hums once again, the sound purely from happiness. 

Jihoon’s camera roll is a lot more bland than Seokmin’s is. He has a fair amount of memes and cute animals saved, random screenshots from videos that he found funny and other random stuff like the giant cat he saw on a rooftop, but nothing terribly interesting. Of course the rest are pictures of and with Seokmin (and their friends too, of course, even if the heathens don’t always deserve to be mentioned (Kwon Soonyoung especially)), ones from his shows or downloaded off Twitter or ones that he just randomly snapped. (He ignores the ones that are, uh, less than safe for work and vows to clean up his camera roll before someone like Seungcheol or, God forbid, Soonyoung sees them. Soonyoung’s seen his dick more than enough times, he doesn’t need to see it again (or his boyfriend’s either for that matter)).

“No dice,” Seokmin says as Jihoon watches him send himself one of Jihoon’s post gym selfies. 

“Don’t you already have that?” Jihoon teases and Seokmin ignores him, swiping to a different picture of Jihoon with Sakura. He sends that to himself too, and much to Jihoon’s delight he opens his own phone and immediately sets the picture as his home screen. The smile he shoots Jihoon afterwards is blinding. 

“That’s better.” Jihoon flushes at the words, only going redder as Seokmin coos at him. It’s a little while later until Seokmin actually breaks the calm quiet between them, Jihoon’s aching head tucked firmly in his boyfriend's neck. 

“Your mom’s getting antsy, babe. How do you wanna do this? I’d say I could just take one like this but that kinda outs us immediately. Which is okay if that’s what you want!” Seokmin’s tone is sheepish and though Jihoon feels bad, he can only groan. He shuffles with Seokmin’s help, propping himself mostly upright against the headboard until he can almost fully support himself. Seokmin offers him his Gatorade and Jihoon flashes an exhausted grin at him, doing his best to keep his head from thunking onto Seokmin’s shoulder. Seokmin holds the phone out in front of them and allows Jihoon to hide half his face with the bottle in his hand, his own half out of the frame. After a few funny faces and shutters of the camera Seokmin holds the phone between them, eyes flicking between Jihoon and his screen. 

“Send this one,” Jihoon says softly as he taps on the screen, finally allowing his head to rest on Seokmin’s shoulder. The picture is something he’d call adorable, but only in the privacy of his own head thank you very much, with the Gatorade bottle pressed into Jihoon’s cheek and his eyes closed from laughing at Seokmin’s earlier antics. Seokmin is just smiling a dorky smile at the camera, brown hair floofy where it’s been air dried. Jihoon looks back at his own hair then, very clearly still damp even in the low lighting of the picture. 

“You think she’ll know we showered together?” He asks Seokmin softly, looking up to find his boyfriend scrutinizing the picture before he turns back to him. 

“Nah, I think we’ll be okay. Let me just send this and we can work on getting food in you.” Jihoon nods and lets his eyes fall shut, petting Sakura as she settles into his lap. It’s nice to be able to just sit with Seokmin without any sort of worry or without anything else trying to grab his attention. The warmth from his boyfriend beside him and the dog on his lap are contrasted gorgeously with the cold drink in his hand, and he can’t fight back his smile as he thinks about it. He’s about to voice it, after all Seokmin does deserve to hear sweet words forever and always, when Jihoon’s phone’s ringtone shatters the silence. 

“What the hell,” Jihoon groans, fumbling for the device and squinting at the contact shining up from the screen. He blinks in confusion, surging to answer it when he realizes it’s probably on its last few rings. 

“Eomma? What is it?” His mother makes a few soft noises as if she knew that Jihoon was starting to panic, Seokmin gently tracing up and down his ribs. Both at the same time do wonders in placating him, anxiety eased in moments. 

“Why didn’t you tell me about Seokmin?” The pair exchange looks, their eyebrows raised in matching confusion. 

“Eomma? I don’t know what you mean, I'm sure I’ve mentioned him before.”

“You never told me he’s handsome, Jihoonie. Where have you been hiding him, hmm?” For fuck’s sake, Jihoon thinks, ignoring Seokmin as he covers his mouth and his grin with his hand. 

“Eommaaa,” Jihoon groans, burying his face in his hands. 

“Sorry, sorry. But still, next time I’m in the city you best introduce us. Otherwise I’m calling Seungcheol and making him do it.” Seokmin can’t hold back his laughter anymore, the noise loud and rambunctious where it leaves him. Jihoon only flinches a little before he groans even louder, his mom making a funny noise on the other side of the line. 

“Seokmin? Is that you?” Jihoon glares at his boyfriend and huffs at him, making a might-as-well gesture at the sight of his sheepish expression. 

“Hi Mrs. Lee.”

“Seokmin!” Jihoon tucks his head into Seokmin’s chest and decides that he will Never Move Ever Again. Life is too embarrassing for him to exist anywhere else. Fingers card through his hair gently and Jihoon sinks further into Seokmin’s chest, truly content despite his (barely) annoyed mood. “How do you know Jihoonie?”

“I’ve known Seungkwan and Jeonghan hyung for a long time now, and then through them I met the rest of the guys.” She makes an inquisitive noise again as Seokmin plants a kiss to the crown of Jihoon’s head.

“Oh, so you’ve known him for a while?” 

“Yup!” Jihoon doesn’t know how he’s always so chipper and honestly it makes him love Seokmin more. The thought makes him smile as his chest warms, even as his mother’s questions get worse and worse.

“And yet we’ve never been introduced? What a son I have,” she grumbles and Seokmin laughs once more, squeezing Jihoon’s ribs.

“Awe, Mrs. Lee, I think that’s a bit unfair. My schedule is hectic at best, they probably just haven’t aligned when you’ve been in town.” Jihoon smiles at Seokmin’s gentle rebuke, tangling their fingers together and giving Seokmin’s a squeeze.

“Ah, you’re probably right. Sorry for the teasing, Jihoonie.” A soft noise of acquittal leaves him and his mother takes it in stride just as he knew she would. “But, if Jihoonie’s friend can’t make it next Saturday, you should come down and see us for dinner!”

“Eomma,” Jihoon groans once more, shaking his head, “You can’t poach my friends just ‘cuz you think they’re pretty.” He can tell Seokmin goes shy based on how the younger curls around him, reaching out with his free hand to pat Seokmin’s thigh placatingly.

“I can and I will Jihoonie. But I’ll leave you two be,” she says fast enough that he can’t get a word in, “Get some rest Jihoonie. And let me know when you feel better or if you need me to come up.”

“Don’t worry Eomma, I will.” She lets them go after that, Seokmin still shyly curled around Jihoon. Searching himself, he finds he doesn’t mind, more than happy to cuddle with his boyfriend as his head aches. With the way they’re sitting he’s able to get his nose flush to Seokmin’s neck, his left eye barely cracked open so that he can watch as he plays with Seokmin’s fingers where they rest against his side. Seokmin uses his free hand to squeeze at Jihoon’s knee in what seems to be amusement, the touch making his chest warm even more. It’s after a long few moments that Seokmin moves away a bit and when Jihoon looks up it’s to find the younger man looking at him fondly. 

“Hey.”

“Hi.” Seokmin smiles at him, his fingers that Jihoon isn’t holding hostage moving Jihoon’s unruly bangs out of his face. 

“Wanna try to eat something?” Jihoon hums and butts his head into Seokmin’s chest lightly, earning him a few fond pats to the top of his head. “How’s a tangerine?”

“Can we split it?” Seokmin’s smile only widens, pressing a kiss to Jihoon’s head without prompting.

“Sure,” he says as he twists around with Jihoon still in his lap, most likely grabbing the snacks he had brought in earlier, “But you should have a little more than that.” 

“Let’s see how it goes first,” Jihoon says softly as an icepick reappears in the side of his skull. Seokmin seems to notice his new distress, moving his hand to gently card through his hair.

“Do you wanna move? Do you think that’ll help?” Jihoon shrugs, moving slowly until he’s sitting on his own. 

“Worth a shot. Though I might just fall asleep on you.” When he looks Seokmin’s grinning at him, a swift kiss pressed to his cheek.

“That’s fine, baby. How do you want to sit? I’m happy as long as I’m with you.” Jihoon groans and hides his head in his hands, cringing at his boyfriend’s saccharine sweet words.

“Whatever,” he mumbles, ignoring Seokmin as he laughs. There’s some shuffling happening behind him before a gentle pair of hands find their way to his shoulders, pulling him more towards the middle of the bed before they ease him down on Seokmin’s chest. He cranks his head backwards and smiles softly at Seokmin, more than happy to be cradled in his arms. Seokmin moves his legs until they’re on top of Jihoon’s, effectively caging him in in the most nonthreatening way possible. Jihoon smiles even more at that, relaxing fully into Seokmin’s chest with a happy little hum. 

“Good?” Jihoon nods against Seokmin’s chest, wiggling upwards a bit until the back of his skull is right below Seokmin’s collarbone. 

“Perfect.” The word earns him another kiss to his head much to his pleasure. He watches with amusement as Seokmin peels a tangerine practically on Jihoon’s chest, not fighting him as he feeds him all but one of the slices. Seokmin swaps the peel for another fruit, but this time Jihoon doesn’t let him get away with eating so little, stealing a few pieces from Seokmin’s fingers and feeding him them. It’s well worth it to see the loving expression on Seokmin’s face at the gesture. 

Once the tangerines are finished Seokmin shifts a bit until a bag of what sounds to be a crunchy snack of some sort is beside them. Seokmin moves a bit more before he settles, a protein bar gently placed on Jihoon’s sternum. 

“Try that. It’ll help fill in what you missed today.” Jihoon hums a bit more, blinking slowly as he looks up at his boyfriend.

“You’re too good to me, Seok.” Seokmin tuts, hands squeezing Jihoon’s ribs.

“And that’s where you’re mistaken, my Jihoonie.” Jihoon flushes at his words, turning his focus back to his hands and ignoring Seokmin’s little laughs. A kiss is pressed against the crown of his head once more and Jihoon couldn’t stop his little happy sighs if he wanted to. 

“Turn the movie on you sappy shit.” Seokmin laughs a bit, squeezing Jihoon’s middle once more. The TV is unmuted but the volume is lowered in the same instant, the faint sounds of the remote clicking and Seokmin’s humming enveloping Jihoon in even more warmth. He’s nibbling on his protein bar when he realizes it, tilting his head back to look at Seokmin with a teasing grin. 

“Is that one of my songs?” Seokmin flushes a bit before he laughs softly, turning to watch the movies on the TV scroll once more. 

“Maybe.” Jihoon rolls his eyes at his antics but doesn’t bother to keep fighting, relaxing further against Seokmin’s chest as he closes his eyes. “You’ve seen Descendants of the Sun right?” Jihoon’s eyebrows furrow as he thinks about it, trying to sort through his soup brain. 

“Uh, no?”

“That’s a sin, Jihoonie. We’re watching that when you’re not dying.” Jihoon chortles, shaking his head at Seokmin’s goofy seriousness. 

“What if I say no?” He teases and Seokmin squeezes his ribs again. 

“I’ll turn it on after you’re too blissed out to fight me.” Jihoon flushes, smacking at Seokmin’s chest in retaliation. 

“Don’t play dirty.” Seokmin laughs some more, pressing his nose into Jihoon’s head. 

“Babe, you know I’m not, not yet.” Jihoon groans, his focus back on his protein bar. 

“Again, don’t make me horny when I feel like death.” A few sweet kisses are pressed to his head once more, hand on his ribs casually caressing Jihoon’s side once more. 

“Sorry baby. I can’t help being this sexy.” A laugh tears itself from his lips and he almost chokes on it, looking up at Seokmin with a wacky expression.

“You’re insufferable.”

“But yet you’re the one laying on me.” Jihoon groans a bit, ignoring Seokmin as he laughs and instead finishing the protein bar in his lap. Seokmin plucks the trash from his fingers the moment he’s done, and Jihoon can feel him twist a bit before he turns back, a swift kiss pressed to his temple as Seokmin resettles. At Jihoon’s happy little hum Seokmin slips his hand under the elder’s shirt, rubbing a few comforting circles on his tummy before he splays his hand out there. Jihoon hums again and Seokmin hums back, the remote finally clicking softly as Seokmin makes his selection. It looks to be a romcom based on the cover and Jihoon settles himself further into Seokmin’s chest, beyond happy with how he is. 

Jihoon feels himself slowly fall asleep, comforted by the soft feeling of his apartment, the warmth from his boyfriend underneath him and Sakura tucked firmly next to him. The whole apartment feels like melted marshmallows, gooey and sweet with love and warmth. Seokmin laughs at whatever someone says and the rumbling travels through his bones, easing the discontent that was there. Sure, his head still fucking kills, but wrapped in up thoroughly in Seokmin’s love, it feels like nothing in the world can get to him. 

“I l’ve you, y’know,” Jihoon slurs softly, voice half taken with sleep.

“I love you, too.” And with a kiss to his temple, Jihoon finally slips off into dreamland, his heart and soul at peace.