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The earliest memory he has of Goo Inhyuk is not particularly striking, and yet Seongha can recall it in startling clarity.
Everything surrounding their first meeting is a bit of a blur, in all honesty. A mix of adrenaline from attending one of his first gatherings as a newly inducted Union member and exhaustion from a rigorous training menu on top of his growing responsibilities made the routine meeting with so many representatives of big name groups an exercise in focus and patience. The contents of that meeting and any words exchanged are left in that time, aged by the years and experiences between now and then, but he can remember the jolt that sparked down his spine when their eyes met. They were simply passing by each other in one of the grand halls, surrounded by peers and superiors of their separate worlds, and yet it was a half second stretched into eternity before their gaze broke, continuing on their separate paths.
Inhyuk hadn’t started slicking his hair back at that point in time, in his late teens and already shouldering so much responsibility, so his dark hair fell around his face in soft waves, the tips barely brushing across his cheekbones from the length. Inhyuk had been wearing that polite, professional smile he’s so well known for, but Seongha knows he hadn’t imagined the slightest edge of deviance in the upturn of those lips, a side of the man very few would ever see.
They’d met again during that meeting but sitting far away and across from the other, no words exchanged or acknowledgements given outside of introductions, but the sensation of those intelligent eyes burning into him stays fresh in his mind even almost ten years later.
He hadn’t realized it at the time, but the squirming in his gut and the heat at the back of his neck would just be the beginning.
“What’s got you thinking so hard? Are the eggs being difficult?” An amused voice teases, two strong arms looping around his waist with a sharp chin hooking over his shoulder.
Seongha barely represses a shiver, neck sensitive and bare without his uniform. Instead he lightly elbows the man behind him, going for disgruntled and failing miserably. “I’m an expert at dealing with “difficult”, but you know that from experience,” he sighs, a traitorous smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.
“Ah! Your accusations! A dagger to my heart!” The laughter in his ear and tightening grip around him is unfairly distracting. “I take offense to that, but I suppose I can let it slide this time for your cooking if nothing else.”
Seongha deftly finishes plating their breakfast but doesn’t shake off his extra burden. He turns around in Inhyuk’s arms instead and is unprepared for the terribly soft look he finds on the other mans face, framed by dark hair and the morning light -- what’s worse, he thinks his expression isn’t too different.
“Only my cooking?” he hums, sliding a hand around the back of his partner's neck, heat traveling down his spine at the way the other mans gaze darkens.
He doesn’t even need to pull him closer because Inhyuk is leaning in anyway, the brush of their lips almost immediately deepening into something a little more eager and probably inappropriate for their kitchen. Seongha can’t find it in himself to mind, not when Inhyuk sinks his teeth into his lower lip and presses him tight against the counter, the heat radiating from him almost stifling at every point of contact from their knees to their chests. The low, smoldering embers in his gut ignite at the tongue sliding against his own, tasting the roof of his mouth and back of his teeth, so terribly hungry for more than the meal he’s prepared for them. His body trembles with the low groan born deep in his chest, and Seongha’s tempted to count every pounding beat of his heart, thinks he can count Inhyuk’s as well from how close they are.
Just as quickly as the kiss had escalated, it winds down, no less intense but the ringing in his ears disappears and he can match his breathing with the rise and fall of Inhyuk’s chest. They pull apart slowly, reluctantly, and Seongha feels pulled apart, limbs loose and just barely holding the pieces together. His lips are slick and stinging, and what puts him back together again is the way his partner looks gratifyingly similar.
“What I wouldn’t give to call in sick right now,” Inhyuk murmurs intently, eyes impossibly dark, their foreheads resting against each other and still so close Seongha can feel his warm breath puff against his skin.
He can’t help the huff of laughter that sounds far too fond, far too endeared even to his own ears. “You’ve never taken a sick day in your life. Now move, we need to eat and go.”
Inhyuk groans and drops his forehead onto his shoulder, arms wrapping around him again with an almost childish whine. Seongha can’t stand how much he feels for this man, and instead of expressing any of the sappy, sticky, gooey sentiments pooling around his heart, he just pinches Inhyuk’s side until he gets a betrayed yelp and a good foot of distance between them. He’s far too used to the wounded look Inhyuk gives him now and shoulders passed with both plates of food in hand.
“How are the children doing now?” he asks as they settle at the tiny dining room table, knees comfortably knocking together.
It’s the most comfortable topic for them these days, with no secrets about either of their organizations in jeopardy or clashing ideologies to navigate around. There’s no test of loyalty to each other or the people they serve, and they both honestly just truly care about the group of little troublemakers and trailblazers surrounding a single, caring boy and his intimidating cat.
“Well, you wouldn’t believe the mess they’d gotten into recently…” Inhyuk starts, animated and so full of life, and despite his scolding words and dismayed tone, Seongha can easily read the amusement in his lovers eyes, the joy in his laugh and the newfound purpose that’s begun to fill his days as they watch over their little piece of the new generation, and it makes sense why Seongha has never forgotten those fox-sly eyes or calculating smile.
While the memory of their first meeting is forever in his mind, he cherishes the ones they make together even more.