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jiho likes the smell of strawberries. he’s a sucker for any sweet smell, but the smell of specifically any strawberry candy has him hooked instantly.
he’s not quite sure why — it may be because he shares a room with vari, who very much likes to turn himself into a strawberry with perfume. maybe he’s gotten so used to the smell, that he’s grown to adore it.
it’s not any different when he steps into the stairwell of the building their dorm is in. he’s instantly enveloped in the sweet artificial smell of strawberries and can’t help but climb up the stairs instead of down, in an almost desperate search for the source of the addicting smell.
of course, jiho soon finds vari standing that the top of the stairwell, back leaning against the wall and pink lollipop resting between his lips that have been tinted a soft pink due to the artificial flavouring of the candy. his eyes were almost glued intently on something displayed on his phone screen.
jiho hid behind the stairs after taking a glimpse at the older boy. he took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair and shutting his eyes tightly. he wanted to leave — he needed to get out of there and away from the strong smell, but it was addicting and he felt frozen in place.
maybe vari’s scent was a bit too intoxicating.
maybe so much that jiho’s body moved almost unconsciously up the stairs, straight towards vari where he just stood in front of him almost awkwardly.
vari looked up at the movement, putting his phone away and putting the now finished lollipop into his pocket as he watched the younger boy.
“jiho?” he questioned, tilting his head slightly as jiho just stood in front of him. “are you okay?”
the smell of strawberries was so strong now that jiho couldn’t manage to even slightly gain control of his body. he stepped towards vari, and wrapped him in a hug.
vari stumbled in shock, his back pressing further into the wall behind him. “what’s this?” he whispered, voice breathy from surprise. “is something wrong? you don’t like hugs..”
jiho just shrugged, looking up at vari. he kept one arm around the older’s neck while the other moved to wrap vari’s hands around his own waist.
the older just stood at watched jiho’s actions with big, curious eyes. a small smile appeared on his face when he saw jiho’s eyes trail down to his pink tinted lips.
“you like strawberries?” he asked quietly, giggling when jiho nodded almost too enthusiastically. he leaned a bit closer to the black haired boy, smiling when he flinched away slightly. “is anything up? you’re not usually this cuddly.” he said, and jiho looked up to meet his eyes again.
he didn’t say anything, just locking eyes with vari before his gaze trailed back down to the older’s lips again. vari quickly got the hint, leaning his head back against the wall and his grip around jiho’s waist getting very slightly stronger.
“strawvari...” jiho whispered, his voice barely audible, but their close proximity making it easy for vari to hear him. he smiled brightly, his eyes turning to crescent moons as he giggled.
“yeah, strawvari.” he whispered fondly, his thumbs moving to lightly caress the younger’s waist.
jiho unconsciously leaned into the touch, his lips curving slightly upwards as his eyes fluttered closed.
“jiho,” vari whispered, and the younger’s eyes flickered open again. they made eye contact, and the strawberry smell suddenly felt incredibly overwhelming again. “is there anything you need? you’re acting different.”
the concern in vari’s voice made jiho want to melt. the sweetness and care in his tone made jiho’s heart flutter and his insides feel warm and happy.
he nodded quietly, and for the third time, his eyes fell to look at vari’s pink lips.
“what is it, jiho?”
jiho took a second of hesitation, before whispering out a small, “you.”
jiho’s intentions were made obvious to vari at the small word, although it was already pretty obvious at the amount of times jiho’s gaze fell to vari’s lips.
jiho’s hands moved to slightly cup the sides of vari’s face, and the older pulled him a bit closer by the waist. the silver haired leaned in, his eyes fluttering closed and his head tilting to the side, but he stopped just before any contact was made, hesitating.
vari noticed this, eyes opening halfway to look at the boy that was barely centimetres away from him. “are you okay?” he whispered, looking for final confirmation.
jiho nodded quickly, taking in a deep breath that was full of the strawberry smell, before he leaned in and took the older’s pink tinted lips in a sweet kiss.
at first, vari was a bit taken aback. jiho had gone from not liking physical contact at all to hugging and kissing him in a split second. but he soon gave into the kiss, pulling the boy even closer by the waist and tilting his head for more access.
the kiss wasn’t too deep — they weren’t using their tongues nor kissing so much they couldn’t breathe, but there was definitely some shortness of breath, both from jiho who was intoxicated from the strawberry scent, and from vari in his state of shock yet joy.
their lips moved together in sync, as if they both knew exactly everything that was happening and would happen and had the whole situation planned out.
vari’s back pressed against the cold wall and jiho leaning infinitely further towards him — the whole situation felt too good to be true.
jiho just couldn’t get enough — the smell was so strong he couldn’t control himself, and now he could taste the strawberry from the lollipop on vari’s lips and just wanted to taste it until there was no flavour left.
vari’s hands started to trail along jiho’s torso — gently floating under his shirt and over his skin, barely even making contact. his fingers ghosted over jiho’s milky skin, and the younger felt as if his whole body was freezing up in one go. vari’s hands made it around jiho’s waist, linking at his back and pulling him even closer, if that was possible.
jiho never wanted to let go. never ever in a million years would he pull away from vari’s strawberry taste.
well, unless caught by surprise.
“jiho? vari? where are you? everyone is waiting for you!”
jewon’s voice was loud — it echoed through the stairwell and reached the two boys at such a volume that it felt like jewon was shouting straight into their ears.
jiho instantly pulled away, stumbling backwards, away from vari as he stood almost two meters away in shock.
vari laid against the wall in silence for a moment, processing. he eventually called out, “we’re coming! just had something to talk about!”
jiho had his eyes glued on vari, as they had been the entire time. he watched as he ruffled his hair, finally lifting himself from the wall and walking slowly towards jiho, his steps seeming almost cautious.
“is everything okay?” they heard jewon call out. vari glanced at jiho, who merely stared at him with sparkling eyes, his lips enchantingly red and swollen.
“yeah, we’re fine! we’ll be down in a minute!” vari called out, before turning back to jiho. they heard footsteps receding, and the soft sound of jewon’s steps pulled jiho back into reality.
he’d been too flustered to realise he’d been kissing vari just seconds before. as an image of the previous moments came into his head, he instantly lowered his head to look at his feet, blush scattered on his cheeks.
“you okay..?” vari said in almost a whisper, taking one of jiho’s hands in his own and intertwining their fingers slowly. jiho watched this movement almost breathlessly, examining how vari took great care in the simple physical contact he knew jiho wasn’t too big of a fan of.
“is this..—?” vari stopped himself when he saw jiho nod.
“i don’t mind touch if it’s from you.” jiho said shyly, the blush on his cheeks even more prominent.
vari smiled softly, giggling at jiho’s cute answer. he pulled him closer from their intertwined hands, smiling even wider when he saw jiho’s eyes go wide and his free hand lift to balance himself against vari’s chest.
“you’re so cute.” he smiled, jiho letting himself smile slightly as well. “is there any reason you… kissed me?”
jiho looked up, making eye contact with vari’s glittering eyes. “you smell nice.”
vari’s lips parted in surprise, before a small — barely noticeable — smile curled onto his face. “i smell nice?”
“too nice.”
vari giggled, placing a kiss onto jiho’s cheek. “too much for you?”
“strawberries are addicting,” jiho whispered, not letting go of their eye contact. “and you’re a strawberry.”
“…i’m addicting?” vari whispered in reply, pressing their foreheads together when jiho nodded.
he placed a last kiss onto jiho’s lips, his eyes fluttering closed alongside jiho’s. “god, i love you, jang jiho.”
jiho looked up at vari, his cheeks visibly turning red for the nth time. “love?”
vari nodded softly. “love.”
jiho smiled. he leaned back into vari, wrapping him in another hug and the older’s soft strawberry scent filling him again. “i love you too.”