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Hongjoong stared on fascinated as a baboon scratched its ass right against the glass of the enclosure. He had been waiting there for Hwa to return with their ice cream when he became enraptured at a creature that no shame. This small baboon, completely unaware of all those gathered, laughing at him, living his life the way he wanted. It was amazing.
At the soft call of his name had him turning away from the display. And there he was. The moon incarnate. A man so beautiful, Hongjoong still found his breath being stolen when he gazed upon the magnificence of his form.
“Are you waxing poetic about me in your head while your ice cream melts in my hands, Joongie?” Seonghwa spoke with a light lilt in his voice that made everything he said sound just a little bit musical. And dammit, if it wasn’t Hongjoong’s favourite song.
“I’m sorry for admiring your beauty, I’ll try to be less appreciative in the future.” Hongjoong snarked back. He dug into his chocolate cone with vigour and the two men walked away from the busy monkey exhibit. They soon finished their snacks, given that Seonghwa was annoyed at how messy they were, and linked hands as they made their way through various animals, habitats, and activities. They walked, and walked, and walked, and walked. The sun beat down on them, unrelenting. Water was guzzled, sunscreen was applied, and reapplied. They were exhausted.
“Babe, can we go to the aquarium section? I need out of this heat, like now.” Hongjoong complained. Seonghwa glanced away from the giraffe he was admiring (he thought to himself how much they reminded him of their gentle friend, Mingi). He gazed down at his sweating boyfriend with a look that was so imbued with adoration that Hongjoong felt that if he did not melt from the sun, Seonghwa would surely be his undoing. It was maddening and exhilarating how much he liked Seonghwa.
Then, Seonghwa smiled. And Hongjoong was done for.
The older man grabbed Hongjoong’s hand once more and they set off for the air conditioned aquarium building. As the cool air hit his reddened face, Hongjoong finally felt a sense of calm wash over him. He glanced around the room, awash in a blue glow from the reflection of various tanks. He thought it would be busier on account of it being the only air conditioned building but he was wrong. Hongjoong couldn’t surmise the reason that the two of them got lucky enough to be there all alone but maybe it was just a little nudge from the universe. A little whisper urging him to push himself in the direction he wished to go with Seonghwa. He felt a chill run down his spine that nothing to do with the manufactured breeze caressing his tacky skin. Seonghwa pulled him from tank to tank. Eyes glittering in the lights.
Hongjoong loved the zoo. He loved going to see the animals and eating ice cream and spending time with people he loved. But he was sure, beyond a doubt, that if someone held a gun to his head, and asked him to name two animals that they saw in the aquarium, he would not be able to. While the fish were probably beautiful, and the knowledge about them interesting, he simply did not care when faced with the man he loved.
And there it was.
He loved Seonghwa.
He loved him.
Oh fuck.
They were at the biggest tank. Hongjoong could see jellyfish floating in his periphery, casting shadows across the floor, their clothes, Seonghwa’s face. A face that resembled a renaissance painting. A face so beautiful that you stopped to look back at it again after you’ve seen it, almost to assure that it’s real. How did Hongjoong get so lucky? How did he manage to find his other half so quickly in life? What did he do in a past life to deserve this kind of love?
“Joongie?” Seonghwa asked gently, turning his head to face the younger man.
“Hmm?” He replied. Seonghwa hummed, and chuckled.
“You didn’t hear me, did you?” He asked with a small smile on his face. Hongjoong finally looked away from his love, blushing. He shook his head. He felt gentle fingers nudging his chin up so that they were looking at each other in the eyes. This was dangerous for Hongjoong. His eyes. Oh, his eyes. Hongjoong could write sonnets about them. He could paint masterpieces of them. He could get lost in them, and not even try to escape because he was right where he wanted to be. “Where are you, my darling? Where has your beautiful mind wandered?” He prompted, searching his partner’s eyes.
Hongjoong’s heart was not going to make it out of this aquarium. He would become one with the jellyfish, floating for eternity. If Seonghwa kept looking at him like he was a wonder of the world, like Hongjoong was an epiphany he was searching for, like Hongjoong was the final stop on a pilgrimage. “Hongjoong,” a gentle prompt, yet it fell like a prayer from sweet lips.
Seonghwa knew him. Knew that he could get lost in his head sometimes. Knew that it was mostly good, and he just needed a nudge to come back. Never judging, never angry, simply patient. Accepting. Simply knowing Hongjoong, sometimes better than he knew himself.
Hongjoong started crying. But he smiled. And Seonghwa wasn’t worried. Because they knew each other. They had always known each other. Hongjoong thinks that if there was such a thing as fate, this is what it would feel like. Rough seats underneath his thighs, blue lights making everything ethereal, humming from the building surrounding them, eyes that held eons and galaxies gazing at him, and fingers so light and soft and gentle and good touching his face.
It was this.
“I love you.” The first time he had uttered those words to Seonghwa.
Seonghwa smiled.
“I love you too.” He replied. It didn’t feel like an explosion. It felt like a campfire. Warm, intimate, comfortable. It felt like the rustle of a comforter as you settle in for the night. It felt like home.
Hongjoong brought his hand up to Seonghwa’s face, pulled him in for a kiss. Tender. Soft. Punctuated with an, “I love you.”
Seonghwa pulled away, gazed into Hongjoong’s eyes. “I love you.” A kiss to Hongjoong’s cheeks.
Hongjoong kissed Seonghwa’s forehead, “I love you.”
Seonghwa giggled. “I love you.”
I love you.
Somewhere in the zoo, a baboon was scratching its ass, a giraffe was chewing vegetables, and two boys were making out in a hidden alcove in an aquarium whispering “I love you” as many times as they could.
The jellyfish floated unawares.
Life went on.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.