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“We made it,” Jisung smiles at him.
“Yeah,” Chenle can’t help but return the contagious smile. “We did.”
Chenle’s smile only widens as Jisung flings both arms around his neck and kisses him on the lips. The sound of fake gagging and lighthearted complaints to “take that somewhere else” comes from their friends, making Jisung laugh as he pulls away from the kiss.
“We’ve been like this for four years now, you guys should be used to it!” Jisung playfully argues back, making Chenle laugh.
A warm feeling spreads through Chenle’s chest — his heart feeling more like a furnace as warmth floods him completely. Four years. They’ve been in a relationship — himself and Jisung — from their first year of high school to now. Four whole years.
Chenle vividly remembers their first year of high school: shy glances, awkward attempts at flirting, sappy notes in lockers, and most importantly, their confessions. It was as cheesy as it gets, a silly little folded piece of paper with a note scribbled in pen: ‘will you go out with me?’
When Chenle had gotten over the initial shock at the fact that Jisung was asking him out, he wasted no time scribbling a dorky response of, ‘only if you go out with me first’ on the note before passing it back to Jisung.
And now here they are, four years later: clad in caps and gowns, hand-in-hand, graduating together. Making it through high school together, with all of their friends by their side is an accomplishment. But staying together without even a sliver of doubt in their relationship is the bigger accomplishment.
“We made it,” Chenle repeats Jisung’s words aloud to himself, and then a few more times in his head, like a mantra. We made it. We made it. We made it.
✧༺♡༻∞
“We made it!” Jisung exclaims as he parks their car in the assigned parking space marked ‘119’.
“Barely,” Chenle replies with an overly exaggerated sigh, “Remind me to never let you drive again.”
“Oh shut up, my driving isn’t that bad!” Jisung laughs, getting out of the car and popping the trunk before continuing. “I got you here in one piece, didn’t I?”
Chenle pauses after getting out of the passenger’s side, making a show of patting himself down to make sure that he is actually in one piece. The action makes Jisung giggle and Chenle takes it as a win.
“You’re so extra.”
“You love me anyway,” Chenle teases.
“Yeah,” Jisung takes a few bags out from the trunk, sliding them onto his arms. “I do.”
Chenle smiles at that, grabbing the remaining shopping bags before pecking Jisung’s cheek and closing the trunk. They walk to the parking garage’s elevator together, pressing the button for the sixth floor once inside. As the elevator carries them up, Chenle’s mind floods with beautiful realizations.
The two of them — Jisung and himself — are still together. Side by side. Going up to their apartment that they will live in together .
The process took them all summer long; Searching for an apartment that suited their style and budget. They’d both made the decision to enroll in online college courses so that they could continue their schooling together from the comfort of their new home.
It took a month for them to find the right apartment and then another month for them to actually be able to move in. Their official ‘allowed to move-in’ date was last week, but they spent that week shopping for and furnishing the inside of the studio apartment they’d picked.
Now, it’s time to officially move-in. They’ve got groceries on their arms, ready to stock the refrigerator and make some final decorating adjustments. The sound of the elevator doors sliding open brings Chenle back to the present as he follows Jisung to their apartment door.
Apartment 119.
This is it. This is their place. Sure they’ve been here a few times already to set things up, but this will be the first night they actually spend together in their new place of residence.
“Home sweet home!” Jisung exclaims, toeing his shoes off in the entryway before excitedly heading for their small kitchen-space.
“Home sweet home indeed,” Chenle agrees, kicking off his own shoes before closing the front door behind him and joining Jisung by the kitchenette.
“You can put all the food away while I put everything else up.”
“No fair, why do I have to do the boring part?” Chenle groans lightheartedly.
“Putting food away isn’t boring, it’s fun!”
“If it’s so fun, why don’t you do it?” Chenle counters, calling Jisung’s bluff.
Jisung hums in thought for a moment. Undoubtedly coming up with an unconvincing answer.
“Because I’m very generous and think that you should get the fun job.” Jisung flashes his brightest smile at Chenle, knowing his boyfriend will give into his charm.
Chenle huffs in defeat but then chuckles. “Yeah right.”
Jisung leans forward to press a kiss to Chenle’s cheek, grinning from ear-to-ear as he takes the bags not containing food and skips away to put those items away. Chenle shakes his head, laughing to himself as he begins to load the remaining groceries into their refrigerator and cabinets.
“We should have a housewarming party,” Jisung calls from inside the bathroom where he’s putting away toiletries.
“Yeah?” Chenle calls back, in the middle of organizing fruits into a drawer of the fridge. “Who all do you want to invite?”
“Everyone.” Jisung responds without having to think about it. “Jeno, Jaem, Renjun, Hyuck, and Mark. The whole squad.”
Chenle smiles at the thought. Their friend group hasn’t had an opportunity to hang out as much as they normally would during the summer — considering they’ve all graduated and are working on taking the next step in their lives.
“That sounds like a great idea. It would be nice to see everyone again.”
Jisung hums in agreement, leaving the bathroom once he’s finished putting everything away in there.
“I was talking to Jaemin on the phone earlier to see how he and Jeno are doing. Apparently, they got a dog!” Jisung rambles on excitedly. “Jaemin said it’s a Samoyed. I should tell him to bring it with them to the housewarming party so I can pet it!”
Chenle laughs at that, but nods in agreement with his boyfriend. “Glad to hear they’re doing good. Definitely let them know their dog is invited too.”
“I will.” Jisung lays down on their bed, stretching before curling up and pulling out his phone. “I’ll text the group chat about the housewarming party idea and see if everyone is free. How does this weekend sound to you?”
“Sounds perfect to me.”
Chenle closes the refrigerator when he’s finished putting away the last of the food. He stares at the double-burner stove in front of him, debating whether or not he wants to cook. A glance at his watch tells him it’s half past 6pm and he decides that cooking sounds like a lot of work.
As if Jisung can read his mind, he suddenly asks, “Can we order-in tonight? I really want a margherita pizza.”
“I’m so glad you asked. Some takeout sounds amazing, I’m starving.”
“Me too,” Jisung agrees. He opens up the food delivery app on his phone and puts in an order while Chenle catches up on messages he’s missed in their group chat.
“Our food will be here in approximately forty minutes.”
Chenle slips his phone into his pocket and joins Jisung on their shared bed, spooning him from behind. “Perfect.”
He kills time watching Jisung play (and repeatedly lose) countless iMessage games with Renjun.
✧༺♡༻∞
Two hours after they’ve finished eating and taken showers, Chenle and Jisung stand side-by-side in front of their bathroom sink, brushing their teeth together. They’re both wearing sweatpants with white t-shirts: Chenle’s sweats being black while Jisung’s are a light grey.
They help each other apply and peel off charcoal face masks. When the masks come off, Jisung helps Chenle moisturize his face, rubbing in an unscented lotion and cupping Chenle’s face to kiss him when he’s finished. Chenle happily returns the kiss before rubbing moisturizer onto Jisung’s face too, enjoying the way his boyfriend’s soft skin feels under his hands.
“You look pretty,” Chenle speaks fondly, a small smile on his lips as he brings Jisung’s face close and presses kisses all over it. His forehead, his cheeks, his lips, his nose. Chenle leaves no spot unkissed, only stopping when Jisung pulls away to attack him with kisses too.
“You’re cute,” Jisung smiles, pushing a few strands Chenle’s hair away from his face.
“If you’re pretty, and I’m cute, I guess that means…”
“Together we’re pretty cute,” Jisung finishes Chenle’s sentence, like always. They share one sappy brain cell, after all.
When they finally finish their skincare routine — lengthened by playful kisses — they settle into their bed.
Jisung yawns as he lays down first, patting the spot beside him with a sleepy smile. “I want to be big spoon tonight.”
And who is Chenle to say no to such a wonderful offer?
Chenle fits himself into the arms reaching for him, snuggling with his back against Jisung’s chest. He feels the gentle press of Jisung’s lips against his nape — a short kiss followed by a sleepy murmur of, “I love you” from his lover.
A familiar warmth blooms in Chenle’s chest at the words — the same feeling he got the first time Jisung ever said those three words — the same feeling he will get anytime he hears those words come from Jisung’s mouth.
“I love you too.” The words flow naturally from Chenle’s lips. He closes his eyes as he matches his breathing to the steady rise and fall of Jisung’s chest behind him. It’s their first night spent in the new apartment they can now call home. But to Chenle, Jisung’s arms are — and always will be — the sweetest home.