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There’s a soft light shining through the window on 17th Street. Even as it’s muted by the blinds, it still remains golden; a beacon of hope to any sodden, frozen onlooker. Though there isn’t anyone to be seen, the light still exudes the feeling of warm and sweet love, something soft and pure and saccharine in its nature. Even as the dark and endless night paired with the punishing rain tries to snuff out the soft little light, it shines on, burning like a candle long into the night.
The inside of the apartment feels as soft as the little light looks, warm like a hearth with love and the smell of a vanilla candle burning in the kitchen. Seokmin’s encased in the fuzziest blanket in his apartment with a book in his lap and a fresh mug of tea, his dog snoring softly wherever she decided to flop down after her (undeniably short) walk. There’s something so wonderful about how cozy he feels, even with how cold Jihoon’s toes feel where they press against his calf. His boyfriend is probably part of the reason his apartment feels like chicken soup for the soul, his hair grown out enough that it hangs endearingly in his eyes. Even with his attention glued to his phone, Jihoon keeps wiggling his toes against Seokmin’s leg, a reminder to both of them that the other is there. Seokmin loves it, loves this, the calm and casual way that they can just exist together. And by God does Seokmin love Jihoon.
Despite his wandering mind, Seokmin does focus back on the words demurely laid out in front of him, humming softly and practically subconsciously to the music Jihoon has playing. It’s some sort of soft playlist if he had to guess, but he can’t say that he minds. After all, it helps to make his apartment feel so warm.
“Hey.” It’s a little while later that Jihoon speaks up, calling Seokmin’s attention to him immediately despite the fact that he’s mid sentence mid poem. Jihoon’s smiling and Seokmin can’t help but to smile back.
“Hmm?” Seokmin hums, which makes Jihoon smile bigger as he wiggles his toes against Seokmin’s leg once more.
“Wanna order pizza?” It’s easy to grin, Seokmin often finds when he’s with Jihoon, but this is even easier than expected.
“You know I’ll never say no to that.” A gummy smile is sent his way and it makes his heart burst with affection. Seokmin doesn’t understand how one singular person is enough to lift his spirits like this, but time and time again Jihoon does just that. It’s marvelous and something he wouldn’t trade for the world.
They order pizza and tip the driver handsomely, feeling a little bad that he has to work in the cold and wet weather, ending up on Seokmin’s couch, curled into each other with their respective pizzas in their laps. Jihoon put on some cult classic movie, filled with actors that Seokmin recognizes but can’t recall the names of, and CGI that shows its age. It’s a good movie though, funny and sad in the way that the good ones always are, made even better with his pizza and his boyfriend and their cuddles. The warmth that’s been present in his apartment all night is even more pervasive, but that might just be the heat swirling throughout the air.
Time passes without his consent or true notice, aided by how he’s half asleep on Jihoon’s shoulder, when he feels it coming. He’s awake in an instant, scrambling to stand with his hands under his nose, tilting forward in an attempt to keep from ruining any of his things. After a quick peek, he proves his worst suspicions.
It’s blood.
“Seok?” Jihoon calls in a worried voice, but Seokmin doesn’t have a moment to respond, not with how there’s a puddle of blood in his hand and now he’s sure on his face. Fuck, it’s even in his teeth.
Somehow Seokmin makes it to the bathroom in one piece, even if it is a bloody one at that. He wads up a piece of toilet paper and presses it firmly against his gushing nostril, leaning over the sink as he looks over the damage done to his hands. There’s blood everywhere, so sickeningly bright red that it looks fake. It’s caked on his fingers and thumbs and the backs of his hands, some drips even extending down his wrists from the puddles still held in his palms. He looks like he just came from an extra gory production of Macbeth. The thought only makes him sigh.
He doesn’t notice that Jihoon joins him until the older man touches his arm, making him flinch from where he had gone to get a new tissue. Jihoon shoots him an apologetic look but Seokmin easily shrugs him off, and Jihoon lets it lie, clearly far more preoccupied with another line of thought.
“That’s a lotta blood.” Seokmin can only shrug, watching in a sickening awe at how the second he removes his (admittedly saturated) toilet paper, blood pours from his nostril like it’s a faucet on full blast. He’s gotten nosebleeds since he was a kid — none of them have ever been so aggressive. It’s like someone opened the floodgates, destroyed a major dam. He doesn’t even think his clothes were spared. Just his luck.
“Hopefully it’s just fast and loud this time,” Seokmin manages despite how his throat feels clogged with sticky blood. He can even taste it in his mouth, and not just from where it stains (stained? He’s not sure, he hasn’t really looked in the mirror yet,) his teeth. Jihoon makes an odd noise that Seokmin can’t discern, at least not when he has a hose for a nose, before he leaves the bathroom. Seokmin can’t blame him; the crime scene vibes that always come with his nose bleeds may simply annoy him, but he knows they freak other people out. Settling on the toilet seat, Seokmin prepares himself for the long haul.
He sighs, both from the guilt brewing in his chest from making Jihoon uncomfortable and due to his annoyance in being forced to become a mouth breather. Fuck, he hates this. But even with his annoyance glaringly obvious in his chest, Seokmin starts on the terrible task of trying to clean himself up while he clogs the leak. It’ll be a while until his burst blood vessel is finally repaired, but the longer he waits to clean himself the more he allows his blood to coagulate. And it’s in between his fingers this time. The sticky thick feeling every time he moves his hand is enough to make him want to scream. But the puddy like puddle in his palm might just be the worst. It’s not a debate he cares to fully dissect.
Well, no point in making it last longer.
It’s been a while since he’s had to use his one hand cleans itself without coating the rest of the bathroom in blood technique, an art he had once perfected when he was in high school but is now terribly rusty at. It helps to start by cleaning the excess of blood gathered in his palms so that it stops turning into rivulets down his arms, but before he does that it’s fingertips first. He doesn’t want to track even more blood around his bathroom, and getting them free of wet blood is the best way to do that. It’s enough to clean up already. Crumpling a wad of toilet paper between his fingers, Seokmin does what he can to not tip over the puddle of blood still in palm while making sure that his fingertips no longer are covered in wet blood. Once he’s certain that he won’t make it worse for himself later, Seokmin makes his way to the sink and turns on the tap, shoving his palm under the water and watching the water go bright pink. He’s so focused on trying to get all of the blood off of his hand that he doesn’t even notice Jihoon coming back into the bathroom, his arms laden with things Seokmin can’t discern.
“Sorry,” he mumbles, only to watch Jihoon shake his head at him. Jihoon places his things on the counter, a few rags, wet wipes, salt, lemon juice, and a bag of what must be dried apricots. Though he wants to, Seokmin doesn’t ask. Without a word, Jihoon gently takes hold of Seokmin’s bloody hand, soaping it gently before he rubs at the stains covering Seokmin’s skin. He makes quick work of it, looking over everything before he carefully pats it dry.
“Thanks.” Jihoon nods even as he doesn’t look up at him, trading his now clean hand for his still bloody one, but not before he hands him another wad of toilet paper. Seokmin greatly appreciates it, but admittedly he appreciates the slowed blood flow more. Jihoon gives his other hand the same treatment until it’s clean before he ushers Seokmin onto the toilet seat, giving him a good once over.
“How’s it look, Doc?” Seokmin teases, his heart skipping a beat when Jihoon finally meets his eyes again, but especially with how his lips are curled into a soft smile. Sure, he still seems a little concerned, but Seokmin’s simply grateful that Jihoon doesn’t seem to be terribly freaked out.
“Better, now that you don’t look like you belong in a slasher film.” Seokmin automatically snorts before he realizes it, cringing at the goopy gross feeling in the back of his throat that he desperately tries to swallow down. Jihoon’s looking at him with enough concern to make his skin itch, but when Jihoon knocks his knuckles into Seokmin’s cheek he finds himself settling.
“You okay there?” Seokmin smiles back at Jihoon, still close-lipped in case there is still blood on his teeth. It feels like there is anyway, which is just gross all the same.
“Yeah. Rookie mistake.” Jihoon makes a soft noise before he cups Seokmin’s cheek, looking over him dutifully. Seokmin allows it, holding the toilet paper firmly against his nostril but otherwise becoming putty in Jihoon’s doting hands.
“You’ve still got some blood on your face,” Jihoon mumbles, his fingers tapping near the corner of Seokmin’s mouth. The younger man hums easily, pressing a kiss to the pad of Jihoon’s fingers before he settles once more.
“I’ll deal with it later.” Though he makes a face, Jihoon doesn’t say anything, instead just stroking Seokmin’s cheek as he seemingly thinks.
“How often do these happen?” Jihoon eventually asks from over by the sink, having moved away from Seokmin to wet a washcloth. Seokmin uses this opportunity to swap his toilet paper out for a fresh piece, doing his best to assess if the flow has slowed at all, squinting at the blood stained paper.
“A lot more when I was a kid and in high school. But it seems to be slowing now, so that’s nice.” Jihoon pauses before he makes a sharp noise, his face concerned as he looks back at Seokmin.
“Do they usually not?” After licking his teeth a few times, Seokmin smiles as he winks. Jihoon’s expression stays as thoroughly concerned as it can be, a worried frown still present on his lips.
“Depends. I think the longest one I’ve had was like an hour and a half?” Jihoon freezes midstep, his eyes wide as he looks over Seokmin with so much concern that Seokmin can practically taste it, even over the blood coating his mouth.
“That’s, that’s scary.” Seokmin just shrugs, allowing Jihoon to shift his head every which way in order to wipe away errant streaks of blood on his face.
“You get used to it.” This time Jihoon grimaces.
“Scarier.” Seokmin can only hum; he’s right after all.
By the time Jihoon has him cleaned up, Seokmin’s pretty confident that he can remove the toilet paper from his nostril. The blood has gone a pretty pink, a tell-tale sign that the bleeding has slowed, so with as much confidence as he can muster for Jihoon’s sake, Seokmin removes the toilet paper and doesn’t move to replace it. He’s sure that his grin is boyish as he looks up at Jihoon, his cheeks instantly cradled by Jihoon.
“Done?” Seokmin simply hums, earning himself a kiss to his forehead that he simply cherishes. But then again, what doesn’t he cherish when it comes to his boyfriend?
Sakura makes herself known then, barking from somewhere in the front of the apartment. Seokmin cringes before he sighs, standing up and tapping at his nostril with the back of his hand. He checks for blood and finds it still mostly clear, giving Jihoon’s neck a sweet squeeze before he sets off to find the tiny terror.
“Kura? You gotta go outside, baby?” She barks again and Seokmin sighs softly, tugging on his raincoat with what he’s sure is a defeated posture. He jumps when he turns and sees Jihoon behind him, not having heard the older man follow him to the door.
“Company?” Jihoon offers in that kind yet blunt way he seems to whenever his head is occupied with something else. Seokmin pays it no mind, knowing that Jihoon will tell him whatever it is whenever he’s ready to — no point in dwelling on it.
“Of course. Thank you.” Jihoon waves him off before he squeezes Seokmin’s hand. The action brings a smile to his face as he moves to put his boots on, sure that Jihoon’s monitoring him the whole time.
It’s cute when he dotes.
Jihoon clips the leash to Sakura’s collar and then they’re off, chatting softly as the rain falls around them. It’s picturesque, the two of them with their tiny dog, surrounded by the warm lighting of apartments and the smell of wet pavement. If he were any more sappy, Seokmin would say that this scene is straight from a romance novel.
His heart still swells at that thought, even as the rest of him laughs at that mushy idea.
“So,” Jihoon starts when they’re finally back upstairs, drying themselves and Sakura off before they leave the entryway, “is there anything else I should be worried about?” Seokmin feels his head tilt on its own accord, earning him a huff from his boyfriend.
“With your nose, dummy. I’m assuming no touching it just in case, but anything else? I don’t wanna make you bleed again.” Seokmin takes a moment to think as he continues to shed his wet garments, only turning back to Jihoon when he’s about to walk into the rest of his apartment. He has his hand outstretched, and he doesn’t bother to move until Jihoon gives in and laces their fingers.
“Yeah, no touching is for the best,” he starts, tugging Jihoon back to the couch before he flops down, tugging his boyfriend down with him. Once they’re settled, there’s another dip in the couch by their feet, Sakura clearly joining the cuddle session in the least obtrusive way lest she gets crushed or sweats to death. “But otherwise unsure. Sometimes they just happen, especially after the first one.” Jihoon makes a sad noise against Seokmin’s chest, his hands squeezing Seokmin’s waist.
“These don’t seem fun.” Even despite his boyfriend on top of him, Seokmin manages to shrug.
“They’re annoying, but they’re not the worst thing in the world.” Jihoon makes a noise like he doesn’t believe him, but Seokmin just lets it be.
Besides, even if they were as cruel as Jihoon seems to believe, their edge would be taken off by Jihoon’s presence alone. Seokmin can’t be anything but grateful for that.
—
It’s pitch black when Seokmin opens his eyes. Eerie, almost, if not for how his boyfriend is clinging to his side. He has to wonder why he’s not only awake but mostly alert despite the hour, but everything makes sense less than a moment later.
There’s something hot beginning to stream from his nostril. It’s bleeding again, it has to be.
Normally, Seokmin would do something akin to a spot test to truly see whether or not it’s blood pouring out of his nose, but he can’t really do that without a light. Unfortunately for him, snot and blood have similar enough textures that he needs the color to clue him in, and in the dark he has no idea. Wary of waking Jihoon, Seokmin instead makes his way out of bed gingerly, his hand cradled under his nose to catch the liquid escaping him. From the feeling and amount alone, Seokmin’s positive that it’s blood.
Which is simply beyond annoying.
Somehow he makes it to his bathroom without tripping over Sakura or any stray clothes or plushies in either his room or his closet, grateful for his grace in the moment as he flicks on the secondary light of the bathroom. He’s still well aware that Jihoon and Sakura are sleeping in the room next door, and he’s beyond wary of waking them. With a big sigh, Seokmin turns to face the rest of the room, pausing when he catches a sight of the mirror.
Finally, Seokmin can see the complete mess that he is.
There’s blood streaming from his nose to his chin, red trails tracing up his bare forearm and twisting and turning in a gleeful dance that he has no desire to be a part in. He has blood on the tip of his nose too from where it’s dripping now that he has his head tilted forward. It’s smeared everywhere and ran around his lips, furthering the mess he has left to deal with.
He huffs out a sigh and gets to work, wadding up some toilet paper and pressing it to his nose to try to dam the steady flow. It’s not as aggressive as it was earlier, not a spouting faucet but instead a river, moving at an expected pace even if it’s moving large quantities at once. He has a feeling that he’s in for the long hall this time.
Quicker this time than last, Seokmin manages to clear the pool of congealing blood from his palm without too much left behind. In between his fingers remain gross and sticky but he doesn’t care, not after he ensures that any blood left on his hands won’t be tracked throughout his bathroom nor drip like a leaky spout. The rest of the blood on his arm is congealed enough he doesn’t have to worry about rushing, but he does clean as much as he can with one hand occupied. It’s not perfect but Seokmin figures it’ll do, even if his arm is stained red. He’s just grateful he decided to sleep in a t-shirt tonight.
He replaces his toilet paper once more before he sighs, sitting on his toilet seat and settling in for the long haul.
His phone is still in the other room and his bones are heavy with exhaustion, leaving him alone with nothing but his annoyed thoughts and the soft sound of Jihoon’s breathing from the next room. He’s resting against the wall, dutifully replacing toilet paper wads as he bleeds through them, when he hears a tiny shuffling approaching the door. A touch of concern floods him, worried that he somehow was too loud and woke up Jihoon, when the door pushes open and it all bleeds out.
There, tiny and grumpy and tired, based on the massive yawn, is Sakura in all of her glory. Seokmin smiles at her and realizes that he’ll have to brush his teeth again to get the blood off of them, preemptively wincing at the thought of the metallic mint taste. Immediately he ignores the thought and smiles fondly at his dog.
“Hi baby,” he whispers, watching as her tag sluggishly begins to wag. Seokmin wiggles his (mostly) clean hand at her, humming happily as she begins to wander over. She stands there happily as Seokmin scratches behind her ears and under her collar, sure that his expression is beyond sickeningly sweet.
“You’re gonna keep me company, huh?” Sakura doesn’t respond much except to ask for more love which Seokmin is more than happy to oblige in. Eventually, she curls up at his feet, back to sleep in mere seconds. Seokmin’s extremely jealous. But there’s nothing he can do as his nose continues to bleed other than tough it out.
Seokmin’s admittedly dozing, sighing every time he checks his toilet paper to see it just as red as the last but otherwise allowing his eyes to rest and body to sag. He’s tired even as he continues to bleed, so tired in fact that he almost misses the quiet noise from the bedroom. The confused groan somehow gets him more awake, Jihoon’s sleep thickened voice dancing through the still silence of the night being the one thing to fully call his attention.
“Seok?” Seokmin manages a hum, looking through the crack in the door, made larger with Sakura’s break in. He can’t see Jihoon but he can hear rustling, almost sure that the older man is sitting up. “You okay?” Seokmin hums again.
“Yeah.” Jihoon makes a noise like he doesn’t believe him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nose.” His own voice is tacky with sleepless exhaustion and seasoned with blood. The sheets rustle once more but Seokmin’s immediately making a soft noise, hoping to prevent what he’s sure is about to happen. “Go back to bed, love, it’s alright.”
Of course, Jihoon refuses to listen.
Tired and heavy footsteps stumble their way to him, and eventually Jihoon’s messy blond hair catches the light as he opens the bathroom door. Seokmin manages a smile, albeit it’s an exhausted one, looking at Jihoon fondly before he shakes his head.
“You should go back to sleep. I’m okay, I promise.” Jihoon scoffs then, walking over to Seokmin in order to cradle his cheeks and press a kiss to his forehead.
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Jihoon says after he’s pulled back, running his hand through Seokmin’s hair a few times.
“It’s alright,” he mumbles really just to say it, unsurprised when JIhoon scoffs in front of him.
“Hush.” Seokmin listens this time, his head aching and eyelids heavy as he does his best not to fall asleep. There are gentle fingertips against his cheek in a moment, and when he manages to flutter his eyes open it’s to see Jihoon looking over him in distress. “Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?” Seokmin feels his eyebrows pinch as he blinks up at Jihoon.
“Why?” Jihoon searches his face for a few moments before he speaks again.
“You seem really sluggish.” Seokmin hums softly, patting at Jihoon’s stomach gently in order to get him to back up. Once he’s sure that his boyfriend is out of the splash zone, Seokmin swaps out his toilet paper. It seems to be slowing down, but it’s still bleeding heavily enough that he has to keep pressure on it.
Annoying.
“I’m just tired,” Seokmin mumbles when he remembers to, sighing softly and leaning into Jihoon’s touch to his cheek.
“Are you sure?” Seokmin hums easily, leaning against the wall and even more firmly resting against Jihoon’s gentle touch.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Jihoon makes a noise like he doesn’t believe him but doesn’t move to fight on it. Instead he begins softly yet diligently cleaning the blood from Seokmin’s features, humming as he goes. The wet wipe he managed to dig up is a touch cold and scratchy, but Seokmin welcomes it like a woolen sweater. Jihoon is diligent as he cleans Seokmin’s face, his brows pinched adorably in concentration as he swipes at Seokmin’s mouth and chin and jaw and even the tip of his nose. Seokmin’s hands are then cradled in Jihoon’s own, and with a gentle reverence the seams of his fingers are freed of their goopy mess. His arm is then guided upwards so that Jihoon can clean that too, gentle in his ministrations.
“All clean,” Jihoon murmurs, shifting Seokmin’s bangs out of his face, his fingers leaving cool lines in their wake. A kiss is then placed to Seokmin’s temple before a hand rests on his cheek, calling his attention back to his boyfriend. He blinks blearily up at Jihoon, humming through the stickiness in the back of throat. Jihoon’s still looking at him with so much concern that it has his heart skipping a few beats.
“How’s the bleeding, baby?” Seokmin feels a little smile creep its way onto his face, his blinks stretching longer as he continues to stare. Eventually he realizes that he needs to actually check the blood flow to know, and with a sigh Seokmin removes the toilet paper to squint at it.
It’s still slowing, he thinks, puttering out in that sad melancholic way that only a dead of night nose bleed can. He dabs at his nose with the back of his finger and gets tutted at for his efforts, his hand confiscated immediately as Jihoon cleans it once more. Seokmin can only shake his head fondly, grabbing himself another bunch of toilet paper and blotting at his nostril with that, grateful to see that he was right in his assumption that it was slowing down.
“It’s stopping,” he eventually remembers to respond, earning himself a kiss to his forehead for his efforts.
“That’s good.” Jihoon’s fingers are working their way through his hair again, and even with the blood still trickling out of his nose, Seokmin has to admit that he feels awfully content in the moment.
“You don’t have anywhere to be tomorrow, do you?” Jihoon hums back at him softly, moving to cradle Seokmin’s head against his stomach as he continues to card his fingers through Seokmin’s hair.
“Nothing in the morning, and nothing I can’t postpone.” Seokmin feels a little noise escape his throat but Jihoon is soothing him at once. “Baby, don’t fret.” Another noise pulls itself out of his throat, but this one is much softer, a flare of heat burning softly under the skin of his cheeks. Jihoon just laughs at him softly, seemingly waiting for Seokmin to respond.
“We can sleep in then. Do a late breakfast and everything, if you wanna.” Jihoon’s hand moves to the back of his neck and presses him in closer to his stomach, his thumb pressing thoroughly into the knots there.
“Of course I want to.” Seokmin reaches up to find Jihoon’s hip and squeeze it, more than giddy about the promise of the morning. “Don’t be silly, Seokminnie. Of course I wanna have a nice and easy morning with you.”
“I love you.” Jihoon moves away then, hands shifting Seokmin’s bangs off of his forehead again and a long and firm kiss is pressed into his forehead.
“I love you too.” The words are murmured into his skin and settle there in such a cool comfort that Seokmin isn’t sure there’s any way for him to ever be more content.
Seokmin’s nose does stop bleeding, slowly yet inevitably just like the passage of time. When he can finally and confidently remove the tissue paper from his nose he finds a gentle kiss laid to the bridge of his nose before Jihoon’s lips trail a line up his cheekbone, stealing giggles from his chest.
“Bed, love?” His question earns him a saccharine sweet kiss to his lips before Jihoon pulls away, his hands cradling Seokmin’s cheeks.
“Yeah.” And together they stumble their way back to the darkened bedroom, but not before Seokmin gently rouses Sakura so that she won’t wake up alone. Together, the three of them move back into the bedroom, falling gracelessly onto the bed in a rumpled heap.
And to be honest, Seokmin wouldn’t have it any other way.
—
Seokmin wakes up with his head pillowed on what must be Jihoon’s chest, fingers working through his hair and a hand tapping little beats against his bare flank. He wakes up with a splitting pain in his head too, and can only wish that he never has to move. Jihoon scratches at his scalp then, and Seokmin can’t even faux offense when after he lets out a content sigh, Jihoon laughs at him.
“Oh hi,” Jihoon teases, back to combing through Seokmin’s hair, slowly moving his bangs so that the hair flicks against his forehead in a ticklish manner. Seokmin can’t help but to preen.
“Morning Hoonie.” Jihoon hums back softly, his hand splaying across the warm skin of Seokmin’s ribs.
“How’re you feeling, baby?” Seokmin makes a grumbling noise, wiggling a little before he does his best to hide his face in Jihoon’s chest.
“M’head hurts.” A sympathetic noise pulls itself from Jihoon’s chest, the noise vibrating throughout his torso and warming Seokmin’s insides.
“Headache or worse?” Seokmin huffs out a breath, but his huffing turns into a sigh when Jihoon covers his eyes with a gentle palm. Seokmin could kiss him silly. He would if his head didn’t feel so gross and terrible.
“Not like what you get.” Jihoon scoffs, the hand on Seokmin’s flank shifting so that Jihoon can tug him closer, his other hand still cradling Seokmin’s head.
“I’m not a baseline, baby. How bad is your head?” Seokmin makes an indecisive noise, something that rumbles in his throat and has Jihoon soothing him.
“Screwdriver to the temple?” Jihoon winces in sympathy, tugging Seokmin closer to him to the best of his ability.
“That’s shit.” Seokmin manages to nod, but there isn’t time to respond before a whining fills the room. It takes Seokmin a minute to place what’s happening, but eventually the dots in his head finally connect. “Fuck,” he murmurs.
“You gotta go out, Kurakura?” She whimpers once more. Seokmin puffs out a sigh and goes to move, but within a moment he’s instantly shushed.
“You stay here, baby, I’ve got this one.” Seokmin pats at Jihoon’s chest in a wordless thanks, allowing himself to be shifted so that his head is buried in the pillows and he’s cocooned in blankets once more. A kiss is placed to the crown of his skull and a hand traces down his spine before Jihoon moves off the bed, Sakura’s collar jingling as if she were dancing. Seokmin doesn’t have to look to know that it’s adorable.
“C’mon Kurakura,” Jihoon whispers, his footsteps fading as he leaves the room, “let’s get you set.” The eventual sounds of the door shutting is what cues Seokmin in on them being gone, but he can’t really find himself caring. Instead he finds himself burrowing into the mattress a little more, allowing his limbs to relax as he remains sprawled out.
He’ll just rest for the few minutes it’ll take Jihoon to help Sakura. Then he’ll hang out with his boyfriend. Yeah, that’s a perfect plan. And with that thought remaining soft yet firm in the back of his mind, Seokmin finds himself drifting off once more.
—
Seokmin wakes up to his head hurting worse, but also less. He’s not sure how it’s possible but he doesn’t bother to ask any questions - he figures that knowing the answers won’t really do him much good. Instead he just grits his teeth and moves, ignoring how his head is far lighter than it should be and how the feeling makes him worried about collapsing. Sitting up requires a few moments of rest and recalibration, as does standing, but eventually Seokmin manages to stumble out into the living room in search of his babies.
“Hey Seok.” Jihoon’s voice is soft where it sounds from the couch, and Seokmin stumbles there without another thought. The worried noise has him finally realizing that he must look like complete and total shit, but he doesn’t really care, all but collapsing on the couch. His head ends up in Jihoon’s lap and he has arms wrapped fully around Jihoon’s hips, tiny huffs joining his chaotic chorus of movement. When he manages to crack an eye open, he can’t help but to giggle at Sakura’s adorable glare.
“Oh, baby, did I steal your spot?”Jihoon’s giggling above him as Seokmin scratches behind the little dog’s ears.
“You did.” Seokmin just hums softly, finishing scratching Sakura’s ears before he curls himself around Jihoon.
“Oh well.” Jihoon laughs softly again, reaching out to run soft fingers through Seokmin’s hair.
“You still feeling shitty?” Seokmin hums in response, grateful for the hand that begins to knead the muscles in his neck. “You want me to get you anything?” Seokmin just sighs softly as he thinks about it, inevitably shaking his head.
“Gonna nap,” he manages to mumble, earning himself a squeeze to his side for his trouble.
“Okay.” Jihoon shifts his bangs once more before his hand falls back onto Seokmin’s neck. “Are you comfy or do you wanna shift?” Seokmin just shakes his head, tightening his hold on Jihoon just enough for it to be known.
“Shh.” Jihoon laughs at him once more as he smooths lines across Seokmin’s skin, but Seokmin cannot mind. No, he’s far too fond to truly worry about it, especially when he knows Jihoon’s not being malicious or anything. After all, he’s sure it’s a funny sight, him trying to curl his body around Jihoon’s legs while also fitting on half of the couch. The laughter makes a lot of sense. It also makes his heart feel warm. Seokmin wouldn’t change it for the world.
Despite his discomfort, falling asleep is easy and warm, just as it was to fall in love.
—
“You’ll let me know when you get home?” Jihoon laughs softly as he toes on his shoes, his jacket already firm around his shoulders and his backpack on his back. His smile is bright and fond and oh so soft that Seokmin feels his chest melting. He’s not sure how there’s anything else left to melt, the hours he’s had with his boyfriend turning him square into a puddle of goo. But, he figures when you’re dating someone like Lee Jihoon, well, there’s always miracles happening.
“Always do.” Seokmin swoops in then, planting a kiss to Jihoon’s cheek, square over his dimple and pulling a giggle from his boyfriend. The sound is as sweet as a tinkling wind chime and Seokmin’s heart surges with the sound.
God he loves him, so so much.
“You’ll let me know if your nose bleeds again? Or your head gets bad again? Or anything else happens?” Sekoimn hums in confirmation, allowing Jihoon to pull him down by the back of his neck so that he may place a sweet kiss to the top of his head, followed by his forehead.
“Of course, love.” Jihoon just hums against Seokmin’s skin before he pulls back, squeezing Seokmin’s neck before he lets his hand fall. His smile is soft as he brushes Seokmin’s hair from his eyes, his gaze dropping to Seokmin’s lips for a second. It’s the only warning that Seokmin gets before a kiss is pressed to his lips, and he can’t help but to smile against Jihoon’s lips. It always shocks him just how in love he is, and he can’t help but to love it all the same.
“Get home safe,” Seokmin eventually mumbles against Jihoon’s lips, earning himself a series of quick pecks despite how Jihoon seems to be smiling so hard that his dimple’s popped.
“Of course, baby.” Seokmin knows he needs to let Jihoon leave, but he doesn’t want to, not really. But Jihoon eventually does leave his apartment, unable to stall any longer because of a last minute favor another producer called in and his lack of computer in his bag. Seokmin lets him go but finds himself already counting the hours until he gets to see him again. He’s so love sick that it’s sort of funny, feeling as if he were something out of a k-drama.
His phone vibrating is what pulls him from his thoughts, and Seokmin can’t stop his smile as he looks at the message blinking up at him.
( ˆ ³ ˆ)♡
i love you dummy
That’s crazy cuz I love YOU
( ˆ ³ ˆ)♡
idiot
i’ll call you tonight?
Can’t wait ~~~
( ˆ ³ ˆ)♡
💚