Archive of Our Own ^beta

It's been about a week since Minghao and Jeonghan started dating. It's funny because it was a little out of nowhere, a simple confession when they were calling late at night because apparently Jeonghan 'just wanted to hear Minghao's voice'. Though that was an insane thing to say, Minghao wanted to hear Jeonghan's too.

"Minghao-yah," Jeonghan told him, voice weary yet sweet, an hour into the call and eight minutes since either of them had talked. "You still awake?"

Minghao let out a soft breath of affirmation that definitely wasn't loud enough. There was a crinkle, then Jeonghan suddenly whispered into the phone speaker like he was speaking right into Minghao's ear, "Minghao, I think I might like you. Is that crazy?"

"It's not crazy," Minghao murmured, too tired to really feel anything but warmth. "I think I might like you, too."

Jeonghan made a happy sleepy noise. "That's so nice."

And that was it. They both fell asleep moments later, so Minghao ended up waking in the morning to a dead phone and a whole lot of confusion on whether that was a dream or not. But when he put his phone on the charger, it buzzed minutes later with a few messages.

天使哥
hello boyfie~
if last night was a silly dream of mine then for legal reasons this is a joke
if not hiiiiii <3

Minghao relaxed instantly.

hi <3 -

- !!!

Their first week of dating has been uneventful but pretty nice. They haven't actually gone on any dates yet, but for some reason Jeonghan asked his younger cousins 'what do Gen Z do while dating' and now he sends Minghao selfies and videos of him holding a crab leg with an angelic smile or running through a park giggling or doing more of the most random things, sends him cute pictures of cats and bunnies and even sheep captioned 'us!', and asks Minghao if he would still like Jeonghan if he was a worm.

Minghao knows Jeonghan's doing this because he thinks it's mischievous and silly but honestly, Minghao's enjoying it a lot. Jeonghan's so cute that it hurts.

"I need to keep you interested," Jeonghan tells him over the phone when Minghao's doing the dishes one night. "We're literally in different generations, Minghao-yah. You're dating an oldie!"

"You've got two years on me, hyung," Minghao chuckles. "I can hear cars, are you outside? It's late."

"Ah, it's okay, there was just an open house viewing tonight. I would've been home already but I'm taking a bit of a detour!"

"A road closed or something?"

"More like I'm adding an extra stop to my route?"

Minghao's about to ask where when there's a knock on his door. He wonders who it could be at this time, drying his hands before going off to check. "Hold on, hyung, someone's at the door." 

"Ooooh, really?" Jeonghan gasps, a little over-the-top which has Minghao raising an eyebrow. When he gets to his door, he's about to just open it before remembering he should look through the peephole; but he almost thinks he's imagining things when he does. There's no way...

"Hyung?" Minghao asks in surprise when he opens the door to reveal a beaming Jeonghan, his smile just getting brighter at the sight of Minghao. "You- this is what you meant by detour-?"

"Minghao, why are you so cute?" Jeonghan laughs like Minghao's the funniest thing ever. "I was saying all that and you didn't even consider I'd be coming over?"

Minghao wants to argue his case but he doesn't really have anything to say, involuntarily huffing a little as his cheeks blotch pink. Jeonghan smiles at him dearly, stepping forward so he's as close to Minghao as he can be without actually being inside before taking hold of his hands. 

"It's been a week," Jeonghan says, swinging their hands, "and I was just thinking wow, it's been a whole week and Minghao isn't sick of me yet! I'm a pretty chill guy but I suddenly thought that if I didn't get to see you soon then I might die."

Minghao can't believe this. "You're the cute one, hyung." 

"I'm also here because I don't think I can keep up all this Gen Z stuff so we should probably just try to see each other in person more. There are suddenly so many videos and photos on my phone of me or animals that my storage has run out...I feel like such a milennial..."

"It's okay," Minghao says with a smile. "You can delete them on your phone because I'll keep them forever on mine." 

There's something warm in Jeonghan's eyes that makes Minghao feel fuzzy inside as Jeonghan disentangles one pair of their hands so he can rest it on Minghao's cheek, thumb brushing under Minghao's eye. "Minghao-yah, you look tired. I'll go in a minute, I won't keep you but-" 

"Let's go on a date soon," Minghao says. Kind of blurts out, really, which isn't something he usually does. Jeonghan's eyes widen a fraction, shining, before he just bursts out laughing. Minghao bristles for a moment until Jeonghan manages to say through his fit, "W-Wow, that's what I was going to ask you!" 

"We can?" 

"Of course we can, silly. As soon as possible."

Minghao lifts their other pair of hands, pressing his lips against the back of Jeonghan's (something he thinks he's secretly wanted to do for a long time) which has Jeonghan making a delighted noise. "As soon as possible." 

Maybe this was out of nowhere, but Minghao doesn't think he's known anything that feels so right.

Unfortunately, that changes.

A funfair comes into town this week, and Minghao knows that some of his friends are talking about checking it out. Minghao's just about to say he'd like to tag along too when Jeonghan texts something in the group chat that nearly makes him drop his phone. 

jeonghan
count me out I wanna take minghao there for a date~

seokmin
oooooooh? 😉

hansol
man its wild that u guys r dating 

jihoon 
? who's dating

seungkwan
hyung where have u BEEN 
THIS IS LITERALLY THE TALK OF THE CENTURY

jeonghan 
how is it the talk of the century I've barely seen you guys talking about it???

joshua
oh yeah we mostly talked abt it without you and minghao
we had to make an emergency group chat and there was a lot of screaming
but now we're cool with it 

jeonghan
... 

you
is THAT why u all disappeared on us when we told you

jeonghan
minghaooo <3

you
hi hyung <3
none of you even rlly congratulated us except for wonwoo. wonwoos great

wonwoo 
🥰

seungkwan
don't lump chan in with us he's probably still halfway through drafting a super long emotional letter saying how much he loves you both and how happy he is as if he's part of the relationship

chan 
wh
i kno ur making fun of me but that was v specific
and. maybe true

seungkwan
oh my god ur a loser

mingyu 
MAYBE u guys shouldve told us in person instead! 

you
i would rather die than try to gather all thirteen of us together

junhui 
yea...

hansol 
tru

seungcheol 
i know that's fair but i'm extremely hurt

seokmin
but jeonghan hyung and minghao if u guys r free then it still mite be nice for u to come w me chan and hansol then u can separate off for ur d8 later!

jeonghan 
no! how will I know that you won't end up stealing my minghao away from me!!

you
hyung u havent even asked me on this date yet

jeonghan 
oh my gosh
okay imagine me. on one knee in front of you. holding out begging hands towards you saying: 
my dearest minghao. light of my life. a delightful spectacle filled with raptures and glee has traversed to our lovely city, were you aware? I was hoping you would be so kind as to let me take you there so we can experience these wonders together

you
kinda think i'd prefer it if you asked me normally

jeonghan 
love you're KILLING me here 
would you like to go to the funfair with me!!! 

you
heh. i'd love to <3

seungkwan
SHUT UP THAT WAS SO CUTE 

mingyu
GET A ROOMMMMMMMM 

The two of them decide to meet at the funfair just before the sun sets the next day. Minghao arrives there first and he can't stop smiling as he looks around, dazzled by the bright lights and attractions but mostly enamoured by the amount of people there looking like they're having the most fun in the world. After taking a picture to send to Jeonghan so the guy will know his whereabouts, he considers buying a treat for them to share. That feels like a good date thing to do.

He checks to see if there are any stalls near him, but he spots something else that instantly takes his mind off of food. Because there Jeonghan is just a few feet away, looking very cute in a big pink jumper and light pink jeans but that's the last thing on Minghao's mind because...the guy's crouching on the ground with a few children crowded around him, one of the littler kids hanging off his back. What's going on?

"What's the story behind that one?" one of the kids ask as Minghao goes over, and Jeonghan replies, "Ooh, good eye. This is an ancient relic from hundreds of years ago." 

"Hundreds?"  

"Mhm. You see, a princess was going to a fun event - just like this one! - and she had a precious puppy that she loved to bits and took everywhere with her. At the event, she was so excited that she didn't notice her puppy had disappeared." 

"What happened?!" 

"It all turned out okay! Because she had this special trusty whistle which whenever she blowed it, her puppy would come running back to her. That's exactly what happened this time, too. Unfortunately, she and her puppy ended up having so much fun at the event that she dropped this whistle there and lost it, but it's alright because the two of them lived happily ever after." 

"I want it! I want doggies to come running to me!" one of the kids cheer with grabby hands but Jeonghan shakes his head, hugging the whistle to his chest. 

"I'm afraid I can't give you this one. You don't know how to use it properly yet so you might upset the doggies." 

The kid pouts, but then Jeonghan unlatches the bunny keyring attached to his phone to give to her and she's more than happy again. That's when Jeonghan spots Minghao and he perks up, carefully setting the little guy on his back down on the ground before straightening up and hopping over to Minghao. "Guys, I need to go, my date's here!" 

"That's your date?" one of the kids say in surprise. "You don't match at all." 

Minghao thinks about his black nails, black shirt, black leather jacket, black jeans, black heeled boots, then glances at Jeonghan who looks like the epitome of bubblegum beauty, and thinks miserably that maybe the two of them should've talked a bit about what they were wearing before coming. This doesn't usually happen...

"That doesn't matter! I adore my goth date," Jeonghan teases, and Minghao's about to complain until Jeonghan pecks his cheek and his mind goes blank. "Bye, guys!" 

The kids wave as Jeonghan takes Minghao's hand and the two of them go off. Jeonghan tells him, "I kinda know those kids, their mother's a colleague. I saw them looking sad so I asked what was wrong and it seems like their parents had called to say they had to leave the funfair to get home for dinner. So I just rummaged about in my bag for random things to give them to make them feel better." 

"And you made up very not-real stories about said things?" Minghao asks with a raised eyebrow, and Jeonghan grins. 

"It made them excited! I know it was dishonest but it was for the good of the world, I promise." Jeonghan hugs his whistle again. "But thank God I got to at least keep my dog whistle."  

"Is it special to you?" 

"Nah, I just bought it at a yard sale to see if it would work on Mingyu and he throttled me when he found out," Jeonghan trills, making Minghao snort. But then Jeonghan suddenly stops, tugging on Minghao's hand to stop him too. When Minghao turns to ask what's wrong, Jeonghan's looking at him with a bright smile and warm eyes that reflect every bit of light bursting from all corners of this funfair and somehow even more as he looks at Minghao. 

"You look so nice, Minghao-yah," Jeonghan tells him, awed. "I know you always look nice but I'm still gonna think you dressed up for little old me." 

Minghao's ears tip pink. "I did dress up for you, hyung. But...our outfits..." 

"It's okay! We can be Kuromi and My Melody," Jeonghan chirps like Minghao has any idea what he's talking about. "Now just stand there so I can stare at you for a little longer."

Embarrassingly, Minghao does. But that's mostly so he can stare at Jeonghan, too, who looks so perfect in a place like this. As colourful as the attractions and as lovely as the cheer-charged atmosphere with his pretty face already glowing with merriment. It also starts glowing with a blush soon enough. "A-Ah, you actually listened...you're so good to me!" 

Minghao grins, letting Jeonghan tug him along again.

Now, Minghao has goals for this date. Not many because he mostly wants to have spontaenous fun with Jeonghan and not have to worry; but he's heard people talk often enough about how romantic Ferris wheels are so he really wants to try that, and he has to win at least one thing for Jeonghan at the games stalls. Just two goals! That can't be too hard. 

Whenever Jeonghan's eyes sparkle at a game prize or he even breathes something similar to 'that's cute!' (which is often because Jeonghan loves cute things), Minghao's immediately on it and paying the game fee, telling his date, "I'll win it for you, hyung." Jeonghan seems to be more endeared by Minghao than impressed, throwing his arms in the air and cheering sweetly, "My hero!", but Minghao will show him, he'll knock this out of the park and he really will be Jeonghan's hero.

He loses every single time. 

"Ahhh, what a shame," Jeonghan says sympathetically at the eighth loss, rubbing Minghao's back while Minghao hunches over the stall counter utterly defeated. "It's okay, darling, you did so good. I got you this to cheer you up!" 

Minghao slowly looks up, then blinks in surprise when he sees Jeonghan holding out a little frog plushie that looks a bit familiar. "Wha...where'd you get that from?" 

"A game," Jeonghan says, pointing to a stall they were at just at ten minutes ago (a shooting game where Minghao had also greatly failed), and Minghao has to take a good minute to process. 

"But...you've been by my side the whole time?" And Minghao's pretty sure of that because Jeonghan's a very cute and supportive spectator, constantly cheering and praising. Jeonghan nods, saying, "Yeah, I just ducked away for a moment to get you this. It's a frog!" 

Minghao knows it's a frog. He almost says that he knows it's a frog but bites his tongue because no, he's not about to get curt because the guy he's been trying desperately to win a prize for just won something himself in...seconds? 

Jeonghan is so, so annoying. And he's looking at Minghao with the most sweet worried eyes, holding out an adorable frog that he won for Minghao just to raise his spirits. It's enough to make Minghao realise that he's being the worst date ever. "God, hyung, do you want to play any games? You've just been watching me for the past..." Minghao checks his watch, and his eyes bug when he sees the time. "...hour?!" 

"Don't worry, don't worry," Jeonghan laughs even though Minghao is very much worrying. "Time really flies when I get to see my lovely Minghao being very hot when he looks so focused and determined to win and then very cute when he ends up losing terribly. I'm having the time of my life!" 

"You suck," Minghao says though now he's a bit shy and can't even help the laughter in his voice. Jeonghan giggles with him and when he offers Jeonghan his arm so they can finally get away from these godforsaken game stalls, Jeonghan takes it merrily, telling Minghao that he'll get him enough candyfloss to fill a bathtub. 

They finally get to the Ferris wheel soon. Seems like Jeonghan wants to go on it just as much as Minghao does, his eyes lighting up in sheer excitement once they near it.

"Oh, I'm happy we got on here when it's darker out," Jeonghan sighs contentedly, cuddling into Minghao's side almost the instant they get inside their little pod. "Everything looks so pretty at night."

"You're prettier," Minghao has to say because that was just asking for it, and Jeonghan laughs bright but shy as he rests his head on Minghao's shoulder. Jeonghan being shy is such a rare thing, even throughout all the years they've known each other, that Minghao marvels for a moment.

It's true. Ferris wheels are romantic as hell. There's just something about being so close while they get to watch over their town, a light breeze accompanying them as they entwine hands like second nature because there's no harm in yet another reminder that they're together, here, anywhere. It's exhilarating to think that Jeonghan likes Minghao when they're holding hands, Jeonghan likes him when they're nowhere near each other, Jeonghan just likes him. One week later and maybe it's just now that it's sinking in.

Minghao gets to see something beautiful whether he's looking at the town, the sky, or the man next to him.

The Ferris wheel stops once they get to the top, which Minghao thinks is normal. Jeonghan looks starstruck as he sits up and looks around, tapping Minghao's arm because 'you need to take some photos, you're better at photos than me!' so Minghao takes all the photos Jeonghan could want. And for himself, he makes sure to capture some with Jeonghan in the frame, the city the canvas to his sparkling eyes and serene smile. 

"It's like we're on top of the world, Minghao-yah," Jeonghan tells him, before he sends Minghao a teasing grin. "Are you going to call me childish for saying that?" 

"No," Minghao says, a little affronted because he thinks that's a lovely sentiment actually. Jeonghan laughs as he cups Minghao's face like he finds him cute. 

"Do you like being on top of the world with me?" 

Minghao honestly wishes this moment would never end. "I love it." 

Jeonghan's smile grows, and Minghao wonders if this would be the perfect time for their first kiss. But all he does is wonder - he can't quite go for it.

Something starts feeling wrong when a pretty long time has passed and they still haven't moved. Jeonghan seems content to just stay there forever, hugging Minghao's arm and humming a gentle tune, but Minghao frowns and looks down to see if he can somehow find out what's going on. He blinks in alarm when he sees that there's a considerable amount of people suddenly milling around the bottom of the wheel, and just when he's about to bring it up to Jeonghan, someone with a megaphone calls up to them, "SORRY, EVERYONE, I'M AFRAID WE'VE RUN INTO SOME TECHNICAL ISSUES WITH THE FERRIS WHEEL. WE'LL TRY OUR BEST TO GET IT MOVING AGAIN IN NO TIME!" 

"Oh dear," Jeonghan tuts while Minghao drops his head into his hands. This isn't what he meant when he thought he wished this moment would never end...

Jeonghan, lovely Jeonghan, hugs Minghao's head to his chest and strokes his hair the instant he sees Minghao's reaction. "It's okay, darling, it's okay. Now we just get to be on top of the world for a bit longer."  

"What if it's for hours," Minghao says in distaste. "What if it's until tomorrow?"  

"Hm. Then I wouldn't mind because I'll be with you?" Jeonghan says, making Minghao pause. "And if I get hungry then you'll let me snack on your arm a bit, won't you, Minghao-yah?" 

Minghao rolls his eyes and shoves Jeonghan away, making Jeonghan giggle but it quickly morphs into a gasp when their pod rocks to the side and Jeonghan stumbles. Minghao's eyes widen, panicking because the sides of this pod are open so he's quick to grab Jeonghan's arm and pull him away from the edge (and, subsequently, right into his chest).

"Oh, you saved me," Jeonghan says in wonder, voice lilted but a real flush in his cheeks that Minghao can't see because Jeonghan's face is hidden in his jacket. "Wah. My date is so very cool." 

I almost fucking killed Jeonghan, Minghao thinks despairingly instead of clocking any part of Jeonghan's reaction, hugging Jeonghan so tight that the guy makes a surprised squawk.

An hour. Nearly an hour they're stuck on the Ferris wheel and though that's not as bad as all night, it's still nowhere near what Minghao wanted for tonight. He can already count this as being one of the worst dates ever. Jeonghan's being sweet about it, talking about anything that comes to mind as well as trying to direct Minghao into fun poses so he can take photos too; but he's sure that once they finally get off this wheel, the guy will want to leave. Minghao won't even get a chance to salvage this trainwreck because Jeonghan will say he's tired because he's too nice to tell Minghao to his face that the date has been bad and then they'll go home and probably never do this again.

But he snaps out of his pity party when Jeonghan starts walking two fingers up Minghao's arm, humming a jaunty tune that matches their 'steps'. 

"My Minghao is sad. Why is he sad? Maybe Mr Fin and Mrs Ger can help," Jeonghan sings, his fingers jumping from Minghao's shoulder to his face. Minghao flinches but they just rub away the creases between his eyebrows and pull at the corners of his mouth until he can't help but smile. Then Jeonghan presses his fingers against Minghao's lips and gasps. "They gave you a kiss! They must like you so so much." 

Minghao's melting in fondness when he watches Jeonghan press the fingers against his own lips next. "Hehe. They kissed me, too." 

"I can't believe you're pushing thirty," Minghao murmurs, genuinely amazed but unsurprised as he leans closer. Jeonghan pretends to be offended but it doesn't really work, his smile uncontrollable as he rests his hands on Minghao's shoulders and flicks his eyes down to his mouth. As much of a green sign that is saying that this is it, this is the perfect moment...just when Minghao's about to close the distance, their pod rocks gently to life and they're moving again. 

"Oh my gosh. Minghao!" Jeonghan cheers, squeezing Minghao's shoulders while Minghao buffers. "It's fixed! We're getting down!" 

"It's fixed," Minghao repeats slowly, a little existential. "We're getting down..."

Jeonghan scolds the staff when they get off the wheel, even saying, "You made my perfect date sad, that's the worst thing you could ever do!" which has Minghao flushing, and they get a full refund for the ride. Jeonghan winks at Minghao before grabbing his hand and not saying a thing about being tired and wanting to go home. Oh. Now Minghao doesn't know what to do. 

For some reason, this manifests into him thinking that he could try at least one more time to win Jeonghan something, and Jeonghan looks like he doesn't know whether to steer Minghao away or cheer him on. It should've been the former, though. Minghao once again does not win a thing. 

"Gah, Minghao, no more games!" Jeonghan whines afterwards, pulling Minghao along so he doesn't crumple to the floor in defeat. "I'm sick of them, they're not even good ones!" 

Jeonghan takes him to a gift shop, and Minghao wonders if Jeonghan's going to get him something to try to make him feel better again - but then Jeonghan points at a pink headband covered in pearls and says, "That's cute, right?" 

"Hm? Yeah, it's cute."

"Put it on me!" 

Minghao blinks. "What? Why?"

Jeonghan clasps his hands together. "I am a damsel in distress who needs a hero to put a cute pink headband on me. I don't know, just do it!" 

"Geez, hyung," Minghao laughs but he obediently takes the headband and does what Jeonghan says. Jeonghan closes his eyes when Minghao carefully hooks the ends of the headband behind his ears and combs his hair back with it. There's something...intimate about this? Jeonghan's hair feels as soft as it looks where it touches his fingertips and when Jeonghan opens his eyes again, batting his eyelashes and smiling up at Minghao as sweet as candy, Minghao's breath hitches.

"Do I look good?"

Minghao's mouth has gone a little dry. "Y-Yes."

Jeonghan beams. "Then buy it for me." 

Holy shit. Minghao's stupid - he doesn't have to just win games to get things for Jeonghan, he can also buy him stuff. Even if it's not the same Minghao's still set alight by this realisation, ready to buy Jeonghan the entire fucking store until he sees Jeonghan stifling a yawn.

Right. Jeonghan might not end up telling Minghao he's tired, but it's definitely time for this date to end. 

Still, he's much happier than he was minutes ago when he buys Jeonghan the headband and some other cute trinkets at the gift shop (with Jeonghan being adamant on making the poor worker scan the barcode of the headband while it's still on his head since he doesn't want to take it off) and they hold hands the entire way home. Jeonghan waves at the funfair when it's far in the distance, calling out to it, "Thank you for coming!" and nudges Minghao to wave too. Minghao shakes his head but indulges Jeonghan all the same. 

"My chivalrous date walked me home," Jeonghan says dreamily when they're at his doorstep. "How do I thank him?" 

"No thanks needed," Minghao tells him, honest. Jeonghan's the whole reason that any part of this dreadful night ended up being nice. "Have a good night."

The look Jeonghan gives him in reply is almost sad. "I'm so sleepy. But I don't want to go inside?" 

That's when Jeonghan takes out the dog whistle from his bag and clutches it in his hands. "I wish I could have a whistle to make my Minghao come over whenever I want."

Minghao's heart skips a beat every time Jeonghan calls him his, and Jeonghan's done it far too much today. "You don't need a whistle to make me come over, hyung."

Jeonghan frowns at him. "But you're busy." 

"You're the busy one." 

"We're both busy! It's genuinely devastating. But if we can have nights like this then it's all okay." 

Though Minghao hopes that things in the future go a bit better than they did tonight, he still means it when he says, "I think you're right."

Minghao almost doesn't see it coming when Jeonghan steps forward to kiss him, because there's something so gentle and quiet about it. No build-up, no thinking, just fingers gently curling into Minghao's jacket and warmth that spreads down to Minghao's toes. Jeonghan didn't pick a perfect moment - he just made a random moment perfect. 

"Good night, love," Jeonghan whispers when they're still so close that Minghao can feel Jeonghan's candyfloss breath. "Tell the frog I got you to look after you or I'll be mad at them, okay?"

Minghao grins, pecking Jeonghan's lips one more time (and then maybe another). "I'll let them know."

There's an apple orchard at the edge of town that Minghao's always wanted to go to but never quite got round to it. You can book a slot to pick as many apples as you could want, and Minghao's had friends tell him about how good of a date idea it is. He's never thought about taking a date there himself, but maybe that changes when he sees his maybe-boyfriend biting into an apple. 

"Your studio is so pretty, Minghao-yah," Jeonghan says in awe as he looks around, his mouth full but Minghao finds it more cute than gross. "I get to see so much of your lovely art and your process all in one place...can't believe I've never been in here before!" 

Minghao rubs the back of his neck, shy. "I don't bring a lot of people here. It's my workspace so there's not really any need for anyone but me to come." 

Jeonghan hums, leaning back against one of the tables. "Remember when you were looking into buying studio space a few years ago? You didn't ask for help because you were sure you could get it all sorted and I'm sure you could have but I'm literally an estate agent! I stuffed a bunch of listings into your mailbox and Seokmin told me they helped so I'm glad."

"I didn't know that was you until, like, last year."

Jeonghan gasps. "You found out? Who snitched?!" 

It's weird to think that Minghao's known Jeonghan for a long time. At first, it was just hearing Seokmin talk about his eccentric older friend every now and then. Then Minghao did a houseshare with Seungcheol and Joshua, two people he'd met during a placement who he was friendly but not too close with (that changed for the better) to think that living together could ruin their relationship. Jeonghan was tight with the two of them so Minghao started hearing and seeing a lot more of the guy then, and Jeonghan always had a smile and a bright call of, "Minghao-yah!" ready for him. 

Then Minghao slowly started to find out, almost one by one, that quite a few of his friends knew Jeonghan. Even friends that he hadn't made yet. The larger but more entwined their group became, Jeonghan loved and still loves to gather them at his place for movie nights, dinner, even a few pyjama parties. There's a running joke that Jeonghan (who is very much a bachelor who lives alone with no pets either) bought a house just so he could have a place big enough to bring all his friends together. For a joke, it's got a pretty lovely premise.

When Seungcheol made their group chat, that was it. The thirteen of them were set for life.

It was temporal links and loose threads that kept Minghao and Jeonghan in each other's circle, with intermittent interactions that weren't so often but never failed to make Minghao feel warm. Minghao would think that they weren't that close, then Jeonghan would rest his hand on the table and Minghao would find himself playing with it for the next hour. Minghao would think that Jeonghan couldn't like him all that much, then Jeonghan would declare at outings, "I have dibs on sitting next to Minghao!"

Minghao would think he was developing a small but inevitable crush, then Jeonghan would call him in the middle of the night and confess. And Minghao would realise that it wasn't very small at all.

Jeonghan's only here because he's early to a viewing for a house on the same road as Minghao's art studio, and when he spotted Minghao heading over, he waved brightly from the other side of the street. Cheered Minghao's name like no-one else was there but them and didn't stop until Minghao turned pink and yelled back at him to shut up. Yet somehow, he still felt compelled to invite Jeonghan in.

"Ah!" Jeonghan starts after he checks the time on his phone and instantly straightens up. "Time for me to head off." 

Jeonghan goes over to kiss Minghao who tastes apple and sweetness. "Thanks for letting me inside, love. It's really so you and I adore it." 

"Hyung, would you wanna go to an apple orchard with me?" Minghao asks before he thinks, and Jeonghan blinks at him with big awed eyes.

"Oh, that sounds lovely. Of course I would." 

Minghao didn't realise he was nervous but now he feels himself relax. "I'll let you know, then."

Jeonghan takes the opportunity to pick up Minghao's hands and place his barely-eaten apple inside them like it's a gift before leaving quick with a sprite wave. Minghao smiles exasperatedly, taking a bite of the apple before getting ready to work.

Minghao ends up booking a slot for Sunday morning. He's quietly buzzing about it all throughout the week, enough for Mingyu and Seokmin to poke fun at him for it, and Seungkwan won't talk to either him or Jeonghan for days because apparently the 'apple' part of it all is betrayal according to him. Minghao wonders if Seungkwan's ever even eaten an apple.

"Seungkwan-ah, what if we promise to go to an orange orchard too one day, hm?" Jeonghan says to the guy who has his arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "I mean, a tangerine one! We'll even go all the way to Jeju for it so we only get the best of the best."

"We can take our trusty Seungkwan with us so he can show us around his hometown," Minghao adds, and Jeonghan's eyes sparkle at him while Seungkwan seems to be breaking. 

"Really...you guys would go to Jeju with me? Because I will give you such a long extensive tour. I'll show you everything!" 

"Sounds right up my alley," Jeonghan chirps, holding out an arm and Seungkwan huffs but still slides over to burrow into Jeonghan's side. Minghao and Jeonghan fist-bump under the table. 

Finally, the day comes. Minghao wakes up feeling refreshed, the sun's shining brightly, and Jeonghan meets Minghao outside his apartment by appearing out of nowhere and wrapping his arms around Minghao from behind. "Minghao!" 

"Hyung?" Minghao asks in shock, trying to turn around but Jeonghan moves with him, clamping onto him even tighter. "Wasn't I meant to go pick you up?" 

"You were, but I wanted to surprise you. Also couldn't go another minute without seeing you. Another minute!" 

Minghao shakes his head fondly, and that's when he feels something gently knocking against his leg. He looks down and sees that Jeonghan's holding onto a wooden basket. "Oh, you know they provide baskets?"

"You didn't tell me that," Jeonghan complains. "Well, it's all good. Now we'll just be unique." 

"Sure. Now will you let go of me so we can safely go to my car?" 

"Nope!" Jeonghan snuggles into Minghao's shoulder. "You can totally walk there like this and you know why? 'Cause I believe in you."

"An encouraging leech, that's nice," Minghao snorts, but still turns his head to the side to peck Jeonghan's lips which has Jeonghan humming happily. "I've got food in the back, too. I was hoping we could have a picnic there, I know they have a field for that sort of thing - is that okay?" 

"A picnic! That sounds absolutely magical." 

It's not a long ride there, filled with music and sharing stories about their week and Jeonghan complimenting Minghao's driving so much that Minghao feels himself turning as red as the apples they're going to pick.

"Hyung, stop..."

"I've never been in a car with you driving it before! When else am I gonna get to tell you how sexy you look when you drive with one hand?" 

Minghao's going to crash at this rate and Jeonghan won't think he's very sexy then, but he does say, "If I'm driving with one hand then why aren't you holding my other one?" 

Jeonghan gasps, sounding thrilled as he instantly clasps Minghao's free hand in his. "Xu Minghao, you take my breath away."  

They near the orchard in no time and follow the signs that lead to the car park. It's a little strange how it's practically a ghost town the further they go, not another car in sight, but it's when they get to the car park that both their jaws drop. 

"Uh, Minghao," Jeonghan begins warily. "Is it normal for the car park to be completely empty?"

Minghao has no idea how to answer that. He frowns, parking his car anyway and wondering where to go from here. Maybe there's another car park somewhere else that's being filled up first? Maybe Sunday is just a very slow day? It's still the morning, after all...but something still doesn't seem right. It's weird that no staff are here to direct them.

"Let's head to the orchard, hyung," Minghao says, trying not to sound nervous and Jeonghan entwining their fingers together helps. They're mostly alone on the long walk down the wide dirt road, no matter how far they go, and Minghao knows the instant he can spot the orchard in the distance but he refuses to admit it to himself until they're there. There's no way that there's no people in the whole orchard. There's no way that there's no staff, nowhere to pick up baskets or instructions, because Minghao is not about to freak himself out thinking that he imagined that you can pick apples here. He knows it's real - even Seokmin came here a month ago! 

"Maybe we've stopped by out of office hours?" Jeonghan tries to lighten the mood when they finally get there and see that even the gates are locked. Minghao takes it seriously, though, muttering apologies to Jeonghan as he takes out his phone to check what the hell is going on. He doesn't see anything out of the ordinary, this is in his calendar for today, the website he booked from still exists and has his booking saved for this time and...oh.

"I booked for Monday," Minghao says slowly. "I booked for this time tomorrow. Not- not today, obviously, because it says they're closed on Sundays."

"Oh no," Jeonghan says sadly. "I'm not free tomorrow." 

Minghao knows that. It's precisely why he booked today, now, so they could have a good time together before a long week ahead - but before he can spiral more, hands clasp his face and Jeonghan's suddenly all he can see. Never a bad thing. "Minghao-yah, you definitely made a booking, right?"  

"Yes..." 

"Then it shouldn't matter too much if we still try to do it today, right? We won't be able to do it tomorrow. We're here right now. And..." Minghao watches with wide eyes as Jeonghan chucks his basket over the gate only to cling to it, haul himself up, and climb over with ease, dropping to the other side with a wild grin and his arms out. "Ta-da! Not hard to get over the gate at all!" 

"Hyung, what the hell?" Minghao hisses, still kind of reeling from everything and this is not helping. "This is like, trespassing, and stealing, and- there's probably security cameras and you'll get into trouble-"

"And if that happens I'll handle everything, but live in the now with me. We're not embezzling anyone! You already paid for this! And now we'll be alone." Jeonghan reaches out through a gap in the gate and pulls Minghao close by the collar of his shirt, whispering, "Won't this be so much more fun when it's just us?"

Some traitorous part of Minghao's brain agrees, and it's so hard not to be taken by Jeonghan's twinkling eyes and mischievous but so excited smile. Minghao can already feel himself buzzing at the thought of having a whole orchard to their disposal, where he can kiss Jeonghan under every single tree if he wanted to because they'll have no time limit to worry about. Ah. Looks like Minghao's heart has already made its decision, too. 

"Stand back, hyung," Minghao says and Jeonghan lights up like the sun, cheering. Minghao's quick to start getting over the gate - he's climbed enough things in his lifetime (as a notably not-so-studious kid). It really isn't that difficult, but he stumbles a bit on the landing and Jeonghan immediately swoops in to steady him with hands on his hips, murmuring, "Careful, baby." 

Minghao feels his ears burning so violently red that he wants to hide them. Jeonghan's never called him that before. 

"Now," Jeonghan says brightly, clasping Minghao's hand and gesturing to the rest of the orchard with his free one, "we get this whole gorgeous place to ourselves. Thank God we brought our own basket, eh?" 

Minghao won't lie, it's wonderful. The sunlight bathes the orchard in enchanting gold so it's like they're running through a slice of heaven when Jeonghan picks up his pace out of nowhere. Minghao stumbles after him in surprise, only kept up by Jeonghan's hand in his and the beam the guy throws Minghao over his shoulder that's so beautiful in its happiness. Minghao feels giddy, relieved, charmed - if Jeonghan's this elated then maybe breaking and entering can't always be too bad. 

They pick apples. They kiss under trees. Minghao laughs at the way Jeonghan cutely jumps for apples he can't reach but then Minghao jumps for him and Jeonghan marvels at how high he can go, insisting that Minghao's secretly a frog. 

Jeonghan's freakishly good at climbing trees which becomes an issue when Minghao looks behind him and suddenly Jeonghan's not there anymore, leading to him whipping his head around in confusion until he hears a hearty laugh. He looks up just to see Jeonghan sitting on a branch of a tree that's not even that low, kicking his legs and grinning like the Cheshire cat. 

"What d'you want me to do, hyung?" Minghao says with his hands on his hips, pretending to be unimpressed which makes Jeonghan laugh more. "Berate you like you're in primary school?" 

"Nooo, join me! Let me give you a hand." 

With Jeonghan's help, Minghao gets up there too. Jeonghan seems very pleased to have him there, squeezing Minghao's arm and resting his head on his shoulder, and Minghao can't help but liken them to two birds nuzzling against each other on a branch.

"Do you know that English kiddy rhyme?" Jeonghan teases. "Minghao and Jeonghan sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-" 

Minghao tries to kiss Jeonghan before he finishes, wanting to catch him off guard (and be a little cute in the process). But it's just his luck that moving so quick makes him wobble on the branch instead, and he's seconds away from slipping off - when a hand grabs his shirt and tugs him back just in time.

When Minghao, a bit dizzy, looks at his saviour only to see that Jeonghan seems to be biting back a laugh, Minghao wants to hit him. "I-I think we should get down, love." 

Minghao gets on Jeonghan's shoulders at one point to try and reach for some of the higher apples because for some reason they thought that was a good idea (more like Jeonghan did and he looked so determined that Minghao couldn't say no), and it really seems to be working when Minghao spots a shiny big round one that looks perfect. Unfortunately, leaning forward for it sets Jeonghan off balance and he rocks back with a yelp, making Minghao's eyes widen and try to grab onto anything he can. But all he can reach are leaves and those can not stop him from crashing down onto Jeonghan who groans from under him. 

But those groans transform into laughs soon enough, loud and free as Jeonghan knocks his head back against the ground and closes his eyes while he cracks up. All Minghao can really do is look down at him fondly. 

"Oh, Minghao, I'm sorry," Jeonghan says even though it's between giggles. "I dropped my perfect date...I made him fall...I'm a failure, a frail failure. A frailure!" 

"You are not frail and you did not fail, I'm fine," Minghao chuckles. "Are you okay?" 

"Absolutely dandy," Jeonghan affirms, beaming. "That was funny, wasn't it. I dropped you before you could even get one apple!" 

"It's okay because I got you instead," Minghao replies, the pads of his fingers tracing over the apples of Jeonghan's cheeks that are brushing red themselves. Jeonghan jibes, "Cheeeeeesy," and laughs in glee when Minghao leans down to kiss him quiet. Well, he wants to, but just when their lips touch, he swears he feels something wet hit his neck. 

"Minghao?" Jeonghan questions when Minghao freezes up. "What's wrong?" 

"Hyung," Minghao starts, a slight tremble in his voice. "Did you check the weather forecast today?" 

"Oh, no, I never check the forecast. That's probably terrible but it's fun, like playing Russian roulette with the day but more boring than actual Russian roulette - uh, not that I've ever played actual Russian roulette. I usually have an umbrella around somewhere, anyway!" 

Minghao stopped listening after 'I never check the forecast', feeling his world caving in again. He knows that's dramatic but if it really is going to start raining then they don't have all the time in the world here anymore, Minghao's hopes for a nice little picnic outside are ruined, the car park's a considerable distance away so they'll get drenched, and there'll be no way the date can continue since they'll have to part ways to their respective places to shower and make sure they don't catch colds- 

"Ah!" Jeonghan suddenly yelps, snapping Minghao out of it. "It's raining!" 

Minghao finally kicks into action then, grabbing Jeonghan's hand so he can jump to his feet and pull Jeonghan up with him at the same time. The rain is getting heavier by the second, one of those sudden showers, and Jeonghan's quick to grab his basket (that's luckily pretty full) and run along with Minghao just like they were a mere hour ago but in a different direction this time. 

Back to Minghao's car. Back to no more of this.

But just over half the way there when they're definitely soaked through and Minghao's mentally cursing everything, Jeonghan's hand slips out of his. When Minghao looks back at him to ask what happened, what he sees has his loud mind suddenly falling silent.

In all his distress, Minghao had forgotten that he likes the rain. He's always liked the way it looks, the way it hits his skin, the way it's impossible to ignore, the way it feels like the earth around him is being refreshed so it can keep doing its best. Being encased in the moisture, the sound, the smell makes Minghao feel more connected to nature than anything else does and now he's found another thing to connect it to.

This moment of his boyfriend with his eyes closed and face tipped up to the sky, relishing in the raindrops and gently panting from their run but his smile is still big and bright enough to make rainbows. 

"Minghao-yah," Jeonghan calls out, breathless and light while senseless laughter spills over into his voice. "Y-You know my stamina sucks so let's take a break...the rain didn't mean to interrupt us so...come back here and kiss me...!" 

Minghao was on his way before Jeonghan even finished his sentence, fingers threading through long dripping hair and mouth hastily fitting against the prettiest smile he's seen. A blissful noise catches in the back of Jeonghan's throat and he melts into Minghao like the rain into the orchard soil, arms winding around Minghao's waist to draw him impossibly closer like Minghao's his. 

Because Minghao kind of is, undoubtedly, Jeonghan's. 

97 + 3 = 💯

you
guys
i think
wait. who tf changed the gc name

mingyu 
who do u think 

seokmin 
i think its CUTE !!! 
we're 97
theres 3 of us
and together we're 💯!

you
i got that seokmin i can do maths

seokmin
but its not JUST 100
we're
💯

mingyu 
oh my god stop saying 💯

you
💯

mingyu 
WHY ARE YOU STARTING??? 

you
anyway
i think me and jeonghan might be cursed

mingyu 
? 

seokmin 
CURSED??? HOW
did u guys see a ghost. did u smash a mirror. is it always raining when ur together. r u seeing the no.4 everywhere. r there always crows around u two
WAIT. DIDNT U GUYS GET TOGETHER ON FRIDAY THE 13TH HOW DID I NOT REALISE???????!!!!!!!!!!

you
we got together on a sunday

seokmin 
oh
no yea knew that i was joking hahhahahaha

mingyu
that was a few too many ha's 

seokmin
shut UP

you
its just our dates. they almost always go wrong and i dont get it

seokmin
rlly?
even ur movie date tonite?

you
i got frightened by a jumpscare and accidentally elbowed him so hard that his nose started bleeding and we just spent most of the night in the ER. thats why i thought to text u tbh

mingyu 
the FUCK 
YOU DIDNT THINK TO LEAD WITH THAT??? 

you
hyung didnt actually want me to tell anyone. he says hes ok now and so does the doc but i feel so bad...

seokmin 
hyungggggg 😭

you
what do i do? we go to a funfair and get stuck on a ferris wheel. we go on a walk and he gets chased by a dog. i go to his place just to break one of his plates and he cuts himself on the shards. he comes to MY place and my tea gives him an allergic reaction. we go to the movies and i hospitalise him
this isnt even half the list

seokmin 
): 

mingyu 
hyung's allergic to TEA? 

you
not in general. we actually might be doomed if he was
but i made him a herbal one and he was allergic to sth in it
which makes it even more ridiculous bc i have like twenty types of tea and i had to make him the ONE which he ends up being ALLERGIC TO
what if i end up killing him before i tell him i love him

seokmin 
omg omg
u LOVE hyung?? 

you
why is that what ur focusing on...
look i didnt come here to talk abt that or complain this much im sorry just. ur my lucky charms. give me a date idea and i'll do it bc i trust u

seokmin 
☹️💕

mingyu 
minghaoooo that is so sweet ur so sweet
but u guys have been dating for a while
havent u probably done all the general date things by now?

seokmin 
have u ever gone out to eat tgt? 

you
yea a few times
i go to his company for lunch sometimes
but thats usually twenty minutes max

mingyu 
what isnt hyungs company already like 20 mins from ur studio

you
yeah but the walk is nice
and
i like seeing him in a suit

seokmin 
"£$EFSDfsdjf^%

mingyu 
god get a room

you
hes not even here!

seokmin
wait WAIT i might have an idea

you
knew i could count on u

seokmin
pets yoga!!! remember me and soonyoung did it a while ago?
its just a chill yoga class with a few other people but there are also animals. u can choose to do it w doggies or cats or maybe even other animals idk 
and u dont rlly need 2 do that much yoga! hyung will lov it!

you
wow? that sounds amazing seokmin thank u

seokmin
😘

mingyu
i agree
but more than one pet peeing on you two might make or break ur relationship so be careful

you
would it genuinely kill you to be supportive
why cant you be more like seokmin

seokmin
🥰

mingyu
OI IM LITERALLY JOKING I LOVE U GUYS. I WILL FIGHT TO BE YOUR BEST MAN I HAVE METHODS

you
wtf are u gonna murder my friends or sth

seokmin
dont murder minghaos friends!!!

you
yeah dont murder my friends mingyu

mingyu 
.

you
ok ill go check it out now
in the meantime i want you guys to do something for me

seokmin
anything! 

mingyu
yea anything but what is it 

you
i want u to
keep it 💯

seokmin
😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️💯

mingyu
banging my head against the fucking wall what has jeonghan done to u

It's not like Minghao never makes jokes, and you can't have Seokmin as a best friend without being indoctrinated in silliness, but Mingyu's right. Jeonghan's done something to him. Dates that don't go to plan haven't quelled the happy thrill that stays with Minghao for a long time whenever Jeonghan texts him, calls him, looks at him, kisses him. There's something about his quick-witted teasing boyfriend that keeps Minghao on his toes, then something about his affectionate gold-hearted boyfriend that keeps Minghao in love.

Love. Maybe he should talk to Jeonghan about that soon.

On a nice Saturday afternoon, Minghao arrives at the building where the pet yoga is taking place. When he'd told Jeonghan about this, Jeonghan had ogled him and said in the most hesitant tone to exist, "You want us to...exercise...on one of our dates?" Minghao had to bite back a laugh, telling Jeonghan he could do as little or as much actual yoga as he wanted and that was what got Jeonghan on board.

Jeonghan texted him that he was here a few minutes ago so Minghao expects to go inside and have to try to find him (Minghao feels bad being later than the guy when he was the one who bought their places but Jeonghan tends to be pretty early to things). Instead, he finds Jeonghan waiting outside the building. He looks sweet and simple in a baggy white shirt and pink knee-length shorts, strawberries and cream. Minghao wants to stare a bit more but the instant Jeonghan spots him, the guy jogs over and just...starts showering Minghao in kisses.

"Hyung?" Minghao asks, a bit dizzy but more worried as he rests a hand on Jeonghan's back to steady the both of them while Jeonghan pecks his lips and jaw and nose so many times then just settles with squishing his cheek against Minghao's. "You okay?"

Jeonghan nods, sighing softly. "Sorry, darling. Just had a long week. I was thinking about cancelling because I didn't want to be a downer but I've been looking forward to seeing you for days..."

Minghao doesn't think it's possible for Jeonghan to be a downer. He's the one to kiss Jeonghan now, suggesting, "If it's just me you want to see, we can still cancel. Go to one of our apartments and chill."

Jeonghan shakes his head adamantly. "I can't do that when my Minghao went to all this trouble."

"Just a couple clicks on the computer, hyung."

"And you're wearing the cutest sporty clothes! You look beautiful."

"So do you," Minghao bounces back, and Jeonghan gives him a wry smile.

"Really? I don't look like I'm tired as hell and ready to punch something?"

"You look like my boyfriend. He's always beautiful."

Minghao hopes that was just cheesy enough to make things a bit better (though he does mean it), but he panics when it almost looks like Jeonghan's going to cry. In the end, Jeonghan simply sniffs and lets go of Minghao just to take his hand and drag him into the building. Minghao's happy to follow. 

There's a small group of people waiting inside already who are probably going to join them, so they both sit down near a fish tank that Jeonghan marvels at. Minghao watches with a smile when Jeonghan purses his lips a little like he's a fish and starts moving his head in time with one of the fish who's swimming round and round. "I think that cute fishie's had a bit too much sugar, Minghao-yah."

The most random things make Minghao feel like he needs to kiss Jeonghan or he'll die. "Is there sugar in fish food?"

Jeonghan tilts his head to the side like he's seriously thinking about it, before he says a bright, "No idea!" 

Before Minghao really can kiss him, someone stops for a second in front of them which has Jeonghan looking up. Minghao, still looking at Jeonghan, furrows his eyebrows when he sees the way Jeonghan's eyes widen slightly and his smile starts to slip.

"Oh, Insu?" Jeonghan says, pleasant. "It's nice to see you, it's been a while."

Minghao finally looks to see who this Insu guy is, and is faced with a man he's definitely never seen before. The guy narrows his eyes, then instead of replying to the greeting, he just keeps walking. The person he's with looks between him and Jeonghan a bit nervously before she bows and hurries after Insu, and it takes a moment for Minghao to find his words.

"...hyung, that was a bit rude, right?"

"But it makes sense," Jeonghan shrugs, laughing a little. "That kid does not like me one bit."

That stumps Minghao completely. He fully understands that there are people who simply don't gel and there can be all kinds of reasons for that, but...not liking Jeonghan? "How is that possible?"

Jeonghan flushes, his laugh coming out more real this time. "Of course it's possible! I'm sure there are tons of people who don't like me, I was pretty annoying in uni and I'm a big joker, you know that."

Then Jeonghan points a proud thumb at himself. "And everyone hates estate agents!"

Minghao frowns. "You're great at your job."

"One could argue that that makes me even more hated," Jeonghan chuckles, but when he sees Minghao frown harder, Jeonghan clarifies, "But I promise I'm not one to oversell and lie! Sometimes charisma carries me a bit further than it should but I swear I'm being very truthful these days! Cannot in good conscience be dating the most lovely virtuous guy ever without living an honest life."

"I'd prefer if you practised honesty even despite dating me," Minghao sulks, but he can't fault the charisma part; Jeonghan could probably sell a soggy sponge even without a single lie. "But wait, weren't you popular in uni? That's what Seungcheol and Joshua say."

"A little?" Jeonghan scratches the back of his neck. "I did know a lot of people but, well, I know quite a few didn't like me and I get it. I really was annoying!"

"What do you classify as 'annoying'?"

"Well, isn't it common for some people to dislike someone who's popular? I did well in school but I still went out a lot. I got a lot of love confessions, too, but I never accepted any. There were rumours that stemmed from that...not great ones..." Jeonghan fiddles with his fingers, looking uncomfortable and Minghao wonders if it's too late to end this conversation. "Insu, he was my underclassman in the same department as me. I would spot him a lot at gatherings and bars and the like and I'd try to be friendly. I think it wasn't so bad at first, but then the girl he was kind of seeing confessed to me."

"Oh..."

"Yeah. Things immediately went downhill from there. He'd find every opportunity to nitpick something about me and try to turn people against me. I thought that I should just let him, I knew that the few close friends I had would stick with me and that would be enough, but most people actually kept taking my side. That must've angered him, too."

"I understand he was angry, but there was no reason to take it out on you," Minghao says, taking hold of Jeonghan's hand. "You did nothing except be your lovable self."

Jeonghan laughs, looking down. "That sounds so annoying, Minghao-yah."

"Honestly, yes. You're annoying," Minghao replies, making Jeonghan pout. "You're good at everything, you tease like it's second nature, and you are so incredibly loved. You could annoy me as much as you like yet I'll still never be able to imagine not being so taken by you."

Jeonghan smiles at him now with sparkles in his eyes, murmuring, "Thank you," before Minghao finally gets to kiss him. 

Though Minghao hopes that things will start looking up after that, they don't. At least the dogs are adorable enough to be a working bandaid to slap over it all. 

Once they're taken to a studio, the yoga instructor says that there should be four people at a mat. She just splits them according to who are standing next to each other, and Minghao looks to their side and can't help but make a face when he sees it just has to be Jeonghan's underclassman and his friend. He can tell that Jeonghan's noticed too but he's acting blissfully unaware, simply intertwining their fingers and pulling Minghao over to their mat. 

Jeonghan's underclassman pointedly doesn't look at them when they're all seated, though his friend smiles at them. Minghao just hopes that for the most part they can ignore each other, because he's only here to have a nice time with Jeonghan. 

"Minghao, Minghao, the dogs are out!" Jeonghan hisses, slapping at Minghao's arm. Minghao watches fondly as the dogs start running around the room, the volume in the place increasing exponentially as everyone coos at them, then one almost flies into Minghao's lap. Jeonghan gasps in delight as he ducks down to fuss all over it and Minghao chuckles, telling Jeonghan to calm down a bit or the dog will get annoyed. 

Jeonghan frowns up at him, whining, "You keep calling me annoying today," but settles with just scratching behind the dog's ears. Soon Minghao nuzzles the little thing's head before he lets it go to someone else.

Minghao actually tries to get some yoga done during the session, and sometimes he sees Jeonghan begin to follow the moves too; but mostly when Minghao's in the middle of a position, he'll look over at Jeonghan and see the guy lying on his back not doing any yoga while holding up a puppy in the air, rubbing noses with it or babbling in baby-talk. A lot of the time, Minghao has to forego the yoga himself to take (many) photos. He's never seen anything cuter.

Unfortunately, though, that's the extent of how good things get. Jeonghan's underclassman won't stop glaring at them, so instinctively Minghao wants to glare back which sours his psyche. Every time Minghao and Jeonghan are starting to get into a conversation, the guy's elbow or leg or one of his annoying limbs will bump sharply into Jeonghan who yelps. He'll say a saccharine apology and then his friend will say a sincere one so Minghao can't do much. Jeonghan's slowly warming up thanks to the dogs but he's hyperaware of his underclassman even though he's trying not to be obvious about it and his energy is still low, eyes a bit glassy as he goes the wrong direction for poses and has to ask Minghao to repeat what he said a few times.

It's little things, but they add up and Minghao almost wishes this will end. That blindsides him a little - they've had all kinds of terrible dates before but he's never actually wanted one to end.

He really hopes it doesn't become a habit.

They take a five-minute break soon where they can play with the dogs to their heart's content. Jeonghan coos at one that patters past them, making grabby hands at it and lighting up when the dog goes over to him and lets Jeonghan scoop it up without any trouble.

"They like you," Insu's friend tells Jeonghan and Jeonghan beams, replying, "That's good 'cause I swear all my friends' dogs usually hate me! I think it's because I'm overbearing..." 

Minghao watches curiously as Jeonghan's underclassman's jaw sets, hand almost white-knuckling the mat while his friend and Jeonghan pleasantly chat. Minghao notes their clothes then, matching headbands and colours, and thinks that Insu and the person he's with could be dating. Does the guy really think Jeonghan's going to 'steal his girl' during a yoga session with dogs?

"Oh, Minghao-yah, sorry! I've been hogging this little guy," Jeonghan apologises, trying to hand the dog over but Minghao shakes his head. 

"You seem to enjoy their company more than mine." 

It's obviously a joke and Jeonghan plays into it, gasping loudly as he sets the dog down and takes hold of Minghao's face instead. "I don't! That's a lie, Minghao, that's defamation!"

"I think it's true, though," Minghao teases, smiling when he rubs noses with Jeonghan like Jeonghan was doing with that puppy earlier and his boyfriend closes his eyes, content. 

"Well, it's not. Especially since you're my favourite puppy, anyway."

"How am I a-" 

Jeonghan shuts him up with a kiss which has Minghao rolling his eyes but it's not like he has the will to pull away. The break ends then as the instructor calls them all back, and as Minghao stretches out his arms, he manages to notice that Jeonghan's underclassman actually seems to have relaxed a little. But then for some reason the guard comes up again, and he meets Minghao's gaze with so much distaste that Minghao's fight-or-flight almost kicks in. What is this guy's problem?

Near the end of the session, they all get given a small bowl of complimentary peaches and cream and Jeonghan fizzles happily. Minghao knows Jeonghan loves peaches so he teases, "You barely did any yoga, you don't deserve this," and Jeonghan sticks his tongue out at him. Minghao's still going to give him half of his.

Jeonghan's underclassman left a moment ago to fill up his water bottle or something, and Minghao and Jeonghan are too busy being grossly cute feeding each other to notice him coming back. That means they're completely thrown for a loop when the guy walks into Jeonghan's back heavily enough for him to knock over and drop his bowl...all over his legs and the mat. Jeonghan and Minghao stare down at the mess with wide eyes and when Minghao hears a simple, "Sorry," from behind them, he swears he sees red. 

"Ah," Jeonghan says, frozen to the spot. "That. That's not good-" 

"That's it," Minghao growls, starting to get up but he falls back down with a stifled yelp when Jeonghan elbows him in the side.

"I'm sorry," Jeonghan whispers, too genuine with the big sad eyes of a kicked bunny. "It's okay, Minghao, you don't have to worry about me. If Insu really is still mad at me, it doesn't matter because he's not someone I care about. You are. We'll get to go home in a minute and forget about this."

Minghao sighs. Jeonghan's right, but: "I don't want to ever look forward to going home when I'm out with you."

"Then come over to mine. I've got Junhui's tape of a Chinese movie that ended up with my stuff from back when we were roommates and I've been dying to watch it for years but it doesn't have subtitles. Since you like me even when I'm annoying, explain it to me!"

Minghao grins, amused that Jeonghan doesn't even seem to be considering returning the tape to Junhui. "Sounds perfect. I'll go get you tissues - eat the rest of mine." 

Jeonghan looks at Minghao like he's the moon and the stars. "What would I do without you?"

When the session draws to a close, Jeonghan hobbles onto his feet while Minghao stays on the mat a moment longer to check his phone. He sees that Seokmin texted to ask how the date's going. He's wondering what to tell him without hurting the guy's feelings when there's a yell and gasps fill the room, making Minghao whip his head up. What could he have possibly missed in the last...ten seconds...

Holy shit.

Apparently he could have missed his boyfriend, pure rage written all over his face, punching his underclassman who's clutching his blaringly red cheek while his friend by his side covers her mouth in shock.

What a day.

🐶🐶🐶

"JEONGHAN-HYUNG!" Minghao yells probably louder than he should in a police station as he jogs down the corridor. His heartbeat slows in relief when he finally sees Jeonghan who gets to his feet and rushes to the bars of the holding cell he's in.

"MINGHAO!"

"Hyung, I'm so sorry I took so long," Minghao breathes, resting his palms flat against the bars and Jeonghan does the same. "I had to fill in this paperwork and then your underclassman was deciding on whether he wanted to press charges and then I had to settle the bail and-"

"Minghao, shh, you are so great, you've got nothing to apologise for," Jeonghan soothes him. "And I'm doing just fine, it's only been like an hour or something - I made some friends!"

Someone dressed in a full Elmo costume, someone with half their shirt torn off, and at least three other people wave. Minghao hesitantly waves back.

"Step away, please, sir," the police officer that was meant to be escorting Minghao down here before he ran off says, and Minghao quickly moves to the side so she can open the cell door. "Yoon Jeonghan, you are free to go."

Jeonghan and Minghao practically fly into each other's arms, Jeonghan's arms curling tight around Minghao's middle and Minghao grabbing Jeonghan's face, squishing it to see if Jeonghan might have been hurt anywhere even though he knows that Jeonghan was the only one who threw a punch but he is not thinking clearly right now.

He's just so happy to have Jeonghan back, and Jeonghan giggles when Minghao pinches his cheeks so he pinches them harder.

"Hyung, why did you do that?" Minghao scolds but there's hardly any bite in his voice. "Weren't you the one trying to calm me down?"

Jeonghan nods, not quite meeting Minghao's eyes. "I know. I guess the week just caught up to me and seeing Insu really didn't help..."

"You should have told me if things were too much. I would've had us leave immediately."

"I know you would have. You're so so good to me," Jeonghan mumbles, knocking his forehead against Minghao's shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Minghao-yah. Today hasn't been nice at all, has it? You're probably so upset with me, you don't need to hide it."

Minghao doesn't know how to reply for a moment, kind of shocked. Jeonghan has never said anything about a date being bad, not once. He's this beacon of problem-solving and fun who fixes things that go wrong for the better or at least makes them seem not so bad and gets Minghao to laugh along the way. Minghao is always so awestruck by him and how good he is at taking a sucky situation and making something out of it, even before they got together.

Honestly, the only real conflict they have in their relationship is to do with their overwhelming bad luck on dates. Otherwise they just have petty arguments that don't last long at all because Jeonghan's an inherent mediator and Minghao doesn't see the merit in dragging things out. The last time was a few days ago, when they were on Minghao's bed making out which was already exhilarating and Jeonghan's fingers slipped just under the hem of Minghao's shorts. 

"Ooh," Jeonghan said in wonder, looking down while Minghao was still dazed and wondering why Jeonghan's lips weren't on his neck anymore. "Tattoo?" 

Minghao slowly blinked and looked down too to see his thigh tattoo visible where his shorts had ridden up. "Oh, yeah." 

"It's an eight." 

"Huh? It's an inifinity sign." 

Jeonghan squinted. "Hm...if I tilted my head to the side then it would be. But it's an eight!"

For some reason, Jeonghan was insistent about it. Minghao couldn't help but argue back (which just made Jeonghan smile so the guy was probably messing with him) even though he was going a little bit insane from the way Jeonghan kept tracing the tattoo with his finger over and over since it's a design that doesn't really have an end. But then Jeonghan got called into work and, before leaving, he dipped down to kiss the tattoo like nothing happened which kept Minghao flushed for a good half hour. 

For the next few days, Minghao contemplated that maybe it is also an eight. He has always liked the number.

Stupid tattoo, Minghao thinks to himself now. I got you for infinite luck so where is it?

Jeonghan droops at Minghao's silence. "Oh, you really are upset with me. I'll do so so much to make it up to you, just give me a few days and-" 

"No, no, sorry, hyung, I was just...thinking. I'm not upset. Confused, maybe? But you're fine." 

Jeonghan nods even though there's disbelief in his eyes, so Minghao will just have to prove it to him later. It's gotten late but hopefully that movie is still on the table. 

What Minghao says now is, "I hope you know, hyung, that you can show any side of yourself to me. That if you're sad, mad, disappointed, if you tell me then I'll come running. I know you probably don't hide it on purpose but you never really tell me when things are tough for you so I'm glad you did today."  

Jeonghan's eyes are warm, a soft adoring smile tipping up his lips that he presses into Minghao's cheek. "Thank you, baby. Usually when I'm not feeling so great I do call you or go to you because I know you'll make me feel so much better, but...I just feel like it would be a waste to talk about bad things when we could just have a good time."

"I think you can find a kind of enjoyment with sitting in it, though. When you accept your emotions and even when you talk about them, that's when you really..." Minghao frowns, wringing his hands trying to figure out how to get his point across, then Jeonghan rests hands over his and Minghao's able to find the words looking into Jeonghan's encouraging eyes. "...feel them the most. Yeah. It's like, closure with yourself. Even just a simple 'I'm so tired' can be enough." 

"You're so pretty," Jeonghan admires. "Everything about you. You're not arrogant at all." 

That seems like a non-sequitur. "Uh, thanks? I think I am a little bit, though. I like myself a lot." 

"Well, that's good, that's really good. And I love your fashion sense so much. You always look wonderful and fun and like you stepped straight out of that film, you know, The...Angel Wears Gucci?" 

God, Minghao needs to educate Jeonghan on pop culture so bad and he's not even great with it himself. "It's Devil." 

Jeonghan tilts his head to the side. "Why would a devil wear Gucci?" 

"Because they're not, it's Prada, and- well, why would an angel wear-" Minghao cuts himself off because he shouldn't let this topic get out of hand. "Just...thank you, hyung. But where is this coming from?"

"Nowhere, really. You're gonna get mad at me for this but I'm kinda feeling a lot better after that punch." Jeonghan shakes himself about like one of those inflatable balloon men. "Feels like I've let off steam and now I'm all loosey-goosey."

"Maybe it was worth it, then."

"Nooo," Jeonghan complains playfully, stepping close enough for the tips of their noses to touch. "You're the type of person who always says that violence isn't the answer! Don't warp your morals for me, my love."

"Not having any of my morals warped," Minghao replies, fond. "Maybe just loosening up a little. How can't I when I'm dating you?"

"Oh, you really know what to say to make a guy swoon," Jeonghan teases, but he gives Minghao a kiss so sweet that he seriously must've said the right thing. There's a special kind of ambience about this, feeling so in love kissing your boyfriend outside of a holding cell he was just in. Minghao really hopes it doesn't happen again but he likes it, too. He just likes so much about being with Jeonghan, he lo- 

"Minghao, I think I might love you," Jeonghan whispers, voice hushed, close, reminiscent of how all of this started. Minghao's eyes widen and for a moment he can't quite speak because his breath catches in his throat. So instead, he takes one of Jeonghan's hands and presses it against his chest so Jeonghan can feel the way Minghao's heart is beating fast.

"I think I might love you, too." 

Jeonghan smiles again, relieved and enamoured, and a fizzle of laughter escapes him as he bumps his nose against Minghao's cheek and intertwines their fingers over Minghao's heart. "That's so nice." 

This might have turned into Minghao's favourite date-gone-wrong yet. 

🐶🐶🐶

Minghao runs into Joshua the next day while shopping for groceries. Joshua invites him over after so they can cook dinner together like they did back when they were roommates, and Minghao's more than happy to acccept. 

Joshua heads off to his room for a minute once they get to his apartment while Minghao starts taking the groceries out of their bags, then Joshua's phone buzzes from beside him on the kitchen counter. He looks over instinctively, about to call out for Joshua, but the words die in his throat when he spots Jeonghan's name. Seungcheol's, too. It's from a group chat called 'working 9 to 5'. 

See, Minghao would've looked away in any other circumstance. Sure, seeing his boyfriend and friends involved in something always piques his interest, but this isn't for his eyes. This is his friend's phone and texts, not his, and that's that. 

But then he sees his own name which makes him freeze. As the texts keep coming, he forgets to look away.

jeonghan
he had to go and drag minghao into it!

seungcheol
minghao??

jeonghan
I was just walking past him and he was talking to his friend about me but then
he suddenly started saying stuff about minghao. that he looked FLASHY and had an arrogant air?? just because minghao kept glaring at him??? 

Well, that explains most of Jeonghan's randomness at the station last night.

jeonghan
he also said that...I was probably just stringing minghao along since I never dated anyone in uni. called him a sucker

Oh. 

seungcheol
well now this whole thing makes sense
my blood is boiling and all but ofc you wouldn't punch a guy because he was talking shit abt You
you must've been really angry huh

jeonghan 
I adore minghao so so much seungcheol. I really do 

seungcheol
I know, it's so easy to tell

jeonghan
insu couldn't tell

seungcheol
WHO CARES ABT INSU

jeonghan
but something good did come out of this! 
insu said something about minghao looking at me like he's genuinely in love and it was gross blah blah and I thought really? he does??

seungcheol
u
yes jeonghan. like YES. HE REALLY DOES

jeonghan
I know that now!!! 
I know because now that I was looking for it
he looked like he loved me when he came to get me from the police station and he looked like he loved me when he was telling me off and he looked like he loved me when I told him I love HIM  
and I just hope he believes me

Minghao feels a storm brewing inside him that's hard to reel back when Joshua returns, asking if Minghao's seen his phone anywhere.

"Hyung, I saw some messages on your phone," Minghao admits, incredibly guilty. "I'm so sorry." 

Joshua smiles, shaking his head as he reaches over for said phone. "Don't worry. You're one of my best friends, Minghao-yah, I know you wouldn't do it maliciously. I don't have anything to hide from you, either." 

"You're an angel, hyung...please don't get scammed..."

Minghao tries to put it out of his mind so he can focus on cooking. Joshua seems to be having something troubling him, too, but Minghao decides to wait and see if Joshua will want to talk about it and the two of them still end up having a nice time together like they always do. Though when they're almost done with their food, Joshua sounds nervous when he asks, "Minghao?" 

"Hm?" 

"Earlier, were the texts that you saw...?" 

So Joshua knows. Minghao nods, and Joshua looks a little defeated. 

"Are you going to-" 

"I think so," Minghao says apologetically, making Joshua sigh. "I'm sorry. I'll do it in a way that he won't get mad at you because it wasn't your fault at all." 

Joshua shakes his head, patting Minghao's arm. "Don't worry about that. You gonna head off once you're finished eating?" 

"Probably." 

"Then tell Jeonghan hi from me." 

Minghao doesn't think he leaves Joshua's apartment with any urgency but the more he walks, the faster he gets. He's almost out of breath when he reaches Jeonghan's place and knocks loud, quick. His heart races when he hears a sweet voice call out, "Comiiiing~" and moments later, a sweeter person opens the door and peers at him with awe but also bewilderment. "Minghao? What a lovely surprise, I-" 

"I love you," Minghao breathes and Jeonghan's eyes widen. He reaches out almost absent-mindedly and Minghao steps closer, into Jeonghan's arms and so Jeonghan can be in his, too.

"Oh, darling, I love you too but why-" 

Minghao kisses him because he can't wait another second and Jeonghan makes a soft strangled noise in the back of his throat. "I love you. So. Much." 

Jeonghan furrows his eyebrows slightly, pulling away and stopping Minghao from kissing him more by resting a hand over Minghao's mouth and carefully watching his face. Soon something seems to dawn on him, and he says with clearer eyes, "You know." 

Sometimes Minghao forgets that Jeonghan's one of the most emotionally intelligent people in existence. "Yeah. I know." 

Jeonghan looks hesitant, gaze darting away from Minghao now but Minghao pulls it back by saying, "And I know how much you love me. I do. I've never had doubts about the way you feel about me since the start of our relationship and if there's even one person out of hundreds who can't see your feelings, it doesn't matter. Because I can."

It's slow but Jeonghan starts to brighten up again, eyes big when he asks in awe, "Really?" 

Minghao almost laughs. "What do you mean 'really', hyung? You love so painstakingly, and so loud. You've never tried to hide it or be quiet about it and it makes me so happy." 

"Really?" Jeonghan repeats, a pretty smile finally gracing his face again. "Even when I fight for your honour?"

"Violence and police stations aside," Minghao says, bumping his forehead against Jeonghan's. "I am swooning a little bit right now." 

Jeonghan looks overjoyed by that, laughter bubbling out of him as his arms wind tight (and safe) around Minghao's waist. "I'll always catch you!" 

That's when Minghao realises that they've just been standing in Jeonghan's doorway for the past ten minutes and he swears he can feel people across the street staring. Jeonghan doesn't seem to mind, but Minghao still thinks he was probably too unsolicited about this.

"Ah. Sorry for bursting in like this, hyung, I-"

"What are you talking about?" Jeonghan argues, quickly shutting Minghao up. "I get lonely in this place by myself, you know. Why do you think I host all those game nights and gatherings here?"

"...'cause you're the only one of us who has a house instead of an apartment?" 

"Sure, that's also a reason," Jeonghan snickers, "but what I'm trying to say is..."

Jeonghan tugs Minghao inside past the doorstep and closes the door behind him so they're cut off from the outside world and it's just them inside Jeonghan's warm cosy house. If anyone could make a home so homely despite being the only person living in it, of course it would be Jeonghan. 

For a fleeting moment, Minghao thinks about how nice it would be if they could have a place like this together one day. Full of a mixture of both of them. 

Just when he mentally kicks himself because it's got to be too early to be thinking stuff like that, Jeonghan reaches up to kiss his ear and tells him, "Please burst in more often." 

They're at Jeonghan's place one night watching the movie Titanic because it happened to be on the TV, snuggling on the sofa and feeding each other popcorn. Minghao has his head resting on Jeonghan's chest, Jeonghan's free hand playing with his hair, and whenever Minghao tilts his head back to look up at his boyfriend just because he wants to, Jeonghan smiles back and bops Minghao's nose.

It's not long before this one scene comes up. Rose says, "Jack, I want you to draw me like one of your French girls," and neither Minghao nor Jeonghan can help their laughter. 

"So romantic," Jeonghan gasps, fanning himself. "Wish that there was someone out there who would draw me like one of their French girls. Wait, oh my God. Minghao. Would you want to paint me like one of your French girls?"

Minghao short-circuits a little at that question. Jeonghan comes up in his mind a lot while he's working, but that's more because he's thinking about the next time he can see him or a text Jeonghan sent him that made him laugh rather than incorporating him into his art. Sometimes quick warm-up sketches morph into the flowing hair and sweet smile of his gorgeous boyfriend, but Minghao's never thought about painting him before. 

"Um," Minghao eventually says, voice a little higher than usual. "I don't have any French girls but...yeah, I kinda would."

"What?" Jeonghan asks in surprise. "You want to paint me naked?" 

Minghao flushes hard, immediately sitting up and twisting around to stare at Jeonghan in disbelief. "Who said anything about you being naked?!" 

Jeonghan points at the screen. "Look! He's drawing Rose naked! Except for that necklace thing, which I don't have but if you want I could try to-" 

"Hyung, we're not going to do it the way Titanic does it," Minghao whines. "Just- yes, I would like to paint you. I'd like it so much, actually." 

Jeonghan's eyes soften, a pretty pink dusting his face too as he reaches out for Minghao's hands. "Oh, Minghao-yah, I was just joking but that really is so romantic. Now we absolutely have to do this - we can make a whole date night out of it! Call me whenever you're feeling it and we'll play music and dim the lights while I pose as your lovely muse and Titanic will have nothing on us."

"Where's our movie?" Minghao asks with a grin because of how ridiculously perfect that sounds, endeared by the way Jeonghan huffs, "Exactly!" but melts the instant Minghao leans forward to kiss him.

In true date fashion, the power cuts out eight minutes later and they don't even get to finish watching the movie as they're plunged into darkness. But Jeonghan lights a couple of floral candles, says, "Who cares about Rose's and Jack's love story when I've got my own one that's far less tragic?", and the rest of the night becomes lazy candle-lit making out between a new movie (read: cat videos on Minghao's phone). Romance at its finest.

It's Jeonghan's idea for Minghao to bring canvas and some of his home materials over to Jeonghan's place for the date. Minghao's there a lot these days after all, and Jeonghan thought it would be nice for Minghao to have more of his things there. 

"It's like you're trying to slowly move me in," Minghao jokes over a phone call but Jeonghan doesn't laugh.

"Well, yeah, I'm totally gonna ask you about that in a month or something," Jeonghan tells him casually, making Minghao drop his chopsticks. "But you've realised that, right?" 

Uh, no. Minghao had not realised that. And now he can't stop thinking about it.

"If we move in together, won't one of us die?" Minghao questions randomly in the middle of lunch with friends, and Seokmin spits out his water at an unimpressed Mingyu. 

"There is so much in that sentence," Seokmin says with wide eyes as Minghao nudges over a tissue that Mingyu's about to take but Seokmin grabs it for himself instead. "First, though, this is you and Jeonghan-hyung, right? You're moving in together?!" 

"No," Minghao says, making Seokmin deflate while Mingyu decides to go get his own tissues. "But...maybe soon." 

Seokmin perks up in an instant. "Oh my God, you guys! Will you have a housewarming party? I'll bake you such a good cake."

"I don't think so, we'll probably just move into Jeonghan's current place so there'll be no new house to warm. But...our luck is still on the fence. Won't something bad happen?" 

"You're still on that?" Mingyu asks as he returns with a lot more tissue than he needs and when Minghao eyes them, he argues, "I'll put the rest in my bag! I'm being resourceful!" 

"...yeah, I'm 'still on that'. It's not like it's let up." 

"But it's also not like it's endangering your relationship whatsoever," Mingyu says. "You guys are going crazy strong, and though I've heard you worry about your bad date luck a lot, not once have you said anything about it making you want to break up with him." 

Because I don't think I'll ever want to... "But what's that got to do with us moving in together?" 

"Kinda everything? You've got this far and nothing has really soured so just keep going. If moving in's the next step, then go with the flow." 

"You should listen to romance guru Kim Mingyu who's been single for years," Seokmin says which has Mingyu throwing tissues at his face (notably not resourceful). "He's seriously right, though! I really think everything will be fine with you two, you know? There's so much love there and it'll carry you through." 

"I hope so," Minghao sighs, but he's smiling when Mingyu bends down to hug Minghao's head and Seokmin scoots over to hug Minghao's arm. They believe in him and Jeonghan, and you know what? So does Minghao. They'd be great at living together. 

Inspiration strikes him a few days later. It's out of nowhere, just Minghao in his studio getting distracted watching the sun set while he's cleaning up. Thinking about Jeonghan. Holding him close and watching the spilling sunlight paint warm colours over his gorgeous face as he tips it towards the sky and closes his eyes. Or maybe Minghao can be the one to paint his face, stroking a paintbrush dashed with rose-gold acrylic across Jeonghan's jaw and cheeks while Jeonghan laughs but lets Minghao do whatever he wants. Then Minghao will paint Jeonghan's lips red with his mouth, Jeonghan bleeding into him like the sun into the sky before nightfall, and hopefully some parts of him will never leave.

Minghao snaps out of his trance with a new realisation. He needs to paint Jeonghan tonight. 

"Oho," Jeonghan teases when Minghao's setting up in Jeonghan's living room barely half an hour later. "Love seeing my sexy artist and his sexy process. Made you a sexy cup of tea to keep your sexy brain refreshed!" 

Minghao stopped by his boyfriend's place knowing it was sudden, not even contacting Jeonghan beforehand, and Jeonghan already looked tired when he opened the door despite it being barely 7pm. But he lit up at the sight of Minghao and immediately ushered him inside once Minghao told him what he wanted to do.

Minghao looks over at Jeonghan who's leaning against the doorframe watching him, hair down and smile soft as a long purple open cardigan engulfs his frame. Minghao goes over, taking the mug of tea from him and setting it down on a nearby shelf, before he slips his hands into Jeonghan's cardigan and draws him close into a kiss. Jeonghan makes a lilted happy noise (a sweet habit he's always, always had whenever they do this) and his arms come up to lace around Minghao's neck. Minghao wants Jeonghan soft for this, wants some colour in his cheeks. The thought that the face he'll be painting is one he just kissed dizzy is driving Minghao crazy. 

"Oh, you want this off?" Jeonghan asks with a hoarse voice when Minghao starts slipping the cardigan down Jeonghan's shoulders. "Heh, maybe you really are going to paint me naked..."

"One day," Minghao murmurs without thinking, making Jeonghan's eyes flash wide. "Sit down for me?"  

Jeonghan goes over to the chair they set up for him with a tight grip on Minghao's arm like he needs help after that kiss, not even letting go when he's seated. Minghao gently takes hold of Jeonghan's jaw in his fingers and feels his breath stutter at the way Jeonghan looks up at him with slightly hazy eyes. 

"I was going to call you, you know," Jeonghan says as he lets Minghao maneouvre him how he wants. "When you knocked on my door, I already had my phone in my hand. You're magic." 

Minghao likes the idea of them thinking of each other at the same time. "Why were you going to call me?" 

"Can't I call you just because?" Jeonghan closes his eyes when Minghao threads his fingers through his hair so it splays over his shoulders and strands of his fringe fall over his eyes. "It was a 'want to hear your voice before I fall asleep' call, I was gonna catch an early night. I kinda wanna call you every night because I feel like you'd always end up in my dreams that way! But I hold back." 

That's so incredibly sweet that Minghao has to bite his tongue. "You never need to hold back, hyung. And you were going to sleep now? You didn't tell me that..." 

"It's okay." Jeonghan tugs Minghao down by his collar just so he can peck his nose. "Now my Minghao is really here instead of just in my phone so I want to stay awake."

Well, that's what Jeonghan says, but he does look very sleepy when Minghao finally gets started. It's not a bad thing, though, a gentle warmth laced with love present in his half-lidded eyes and quiet serene smile. Minghao could draw Jeonghan in so many ways because he can be so many things, chic, bright, tranquil, elegant, but the thing that Minghao thinks is so inherent to Jeonghan's state of being is how warm he is. How he emanates comfort and cosiness like a radiator and wraps Minghao up in it snugly every time they're together. Right now, with the sunset still on his mind, Minghao wants to capture that warmth more than anything. 

Like Jeonghan suggested the first time they talked about this, Minghao puts on some music. It's mellow, calming, probably won't do wonders for keeping Jeonghan awake, but Minghao likes the way Jeonghan melts into it. He hums along prettily (it's nothing compared to Seokmin but dating Jeonghan has made Minghao realise he has a massive random humming and singing habit) and tells Minghao about his day in bits and pieces while he draws.  

"I'm finished with your eyes for now, hyung, you can close them if you want," Minghao says and Jeonghan immediately does, mumbling, "You're so nice, thank you..." 

It startles Minghao when he thinks he's roughly done with his sketch, having been so absorbed. He's just looking over it when he suddenly hears a loud thud, and he freezes. What on earth could that have- 

"Oh dear," Jeonghan mutters groggily, and when Minghao looks past his canvas, his eyes widen at the sight of Jeonghan on the floor. "I must have- no, Minghao, stay there! I'm alright!" 

Minghao frowns, but when he sees Jeonghan pick himself up and sit back down just fine, he does reluctantly sit back down. Jeonghan's funny like that - he whines about achy joints and not being able to open water bottles and has Minghao carrying his bags most of the time but when he does something like this, he's fine by himself. "What happened?" 

"Ah, I think I should've kept my eyes open," Jeonghan laughs. "I ended up dozing off a little. Oh, my pose is probably all ruined now-" 

"Hyung, it's okay. Please sleep. My sketch is practically done, and portraits like this don't usually get finished in one sitting, anyway." Minghao wanted to, and he feels a bit dismayed ending this now when he's still burning with inspiration, but it's his own fault for coming here at night. 

Jeonghan chews on his lower lip, thinking, but eventually he says, "Okay. I think I'll do that, then. I feel like it hasn't even been that long...I'm sorry for being an old man, Minghao-yah." 

Minghao smiles, shaking his head as he gets a bit distracted by sharpening up lines of Jeonghan's hair. "No need to apologise for that." 

He expects Jeonghan to hit back with 'so you do think I'm old!', but there's no reply. Instead, footsteps make their way towards him that Minghao barely hears so he's taken aback when Jeonghan gently takes Minghao's pencil from him before sinking into Minghao's lap, so easily. Minghao wonders when things like this became second nature because his fingers also easily press into the dips of Jeonghan's waist.

Minghao thinks Jeonghan will say something. He doesn't, not yet. He just tips his head down, eyes closed as he brushes his nose against Minghao's and just stays like that for a moment as if he's trying to breathe Minghao in. He whispers an apology again, almost against Minghao's lips, and Minghao forgets to reassure him out loud that it's okay even though he thinks it. Thinks that nothing can truly be wrong if he still gets to hold Jeonghan like this. 

"Minghao," Jeonghan whispers into the corner of Minghao's mouth. "Want to come join me?" 

That sounds like heaven. But when Minghao opens his eyes and sees Jeonghan looking down at him with a face so sleepy yet it still holds every bit of love this earth can hold in it, Minghao feels his hands itch. 

Jeonghan knows Minghao's answer before he says it, smiling when he drops a kiss into Minghao's hair. "Love you. Don't stay up too long, okay?"

Minghao can make no promises so he just murmurs, "Love you, too," and gets more kisses in return because Jeonghan doesn't seem to want to let him go. But eventually he leaves, and Minghao has no physical muse to source from anymore. Yet Minghao can still see him. Minghao doesn't know if anything is as clear in his mind's eye as Jeonghan is.

He picks up a brush and paints and paints like a man possessed. 

🌇 🌇 🌇

- minghao 
- I woke up 
- went to the living room 
- saw your painting 
- and burst into tears 

oh hyung -

- do you know where I am 
- the floor 

what -

- I am currently ON the FLOOR minghao 

oh my god -
saying this in the most loving way possible. please get up from the floor -

- IT'S MY FLOOR I CAN DO WHAT I WANT 
- when did you even go HOME 

you dont want me to answer that -

- my goodness 
- I just 
- I don't know how to 

woah. have i made THE yoon jeonghan speechless?? -

- minghao you make me speechless so often but I still try to say things because you deserve to know just how brilliant you are
- I've just stared at it for so long thinking. that's ME?
- I look like... 

you? -

- I mean yes! but it's also so

you -
its very you. trust me -

- minghao be quiet or I swear to god

YOU texted ME -

- I knowww
- the COLOURS
- there's so many 
- actually no there's not. but it's still so colourful. so bright!
- burnt orange for my hair...how does it meld into the background like that...then that sunshiney gold for my face but the way it blends into pink for my cheeks and nose is just so. so! I KNEW you were magic. how does a pixie not have your ears 

my ears... -

- was i actually that pink? 

yes -
because i kissed you and you were sleepy and maybe you were cold ? -
it was rlly pretty -

- ㅠㅠ
- might've also been because you were staring at me...
- have I ever told you how intense your gaze can get sometimes? 

i dont think so -

- hehe well now you know. it's like I'm dating a hawk

a hawk -

- a hot one! 

thats not... -

- and I don't know art very well so I probably sound so silly talking abt all this but
- it's like
- you drew me as a sunset 

yeah. i did -
i only wanted to paint you in sunset colours. warm shades edged with brightness -
sunset is when it looks like the sun is spilling and seeping into the sky -
just like all your love and warmth does wherever you are. wherever you go. its neverending and i know itll always be there even if i dont always get to be around it because its essential to you just like a sunset is essential to a day. just like how i dont always get to see the sunset but i still know it happens -
every single day -

- oh no 
- I'm crying again 

hyung wtf you never cry -
why do you have to do it when im not there with u -

- then you should've snuck into my bed when you were done! stupid!

forgive me ): -

- of course I forgive you. stupid
- sometimes I just want to squish your face and tell you how pretty you and your soul are

you do -
you do already do that -

- and it's deserved!!!
- I never ever imagined wanting to hang up a big photo of me let alone a painting but when we move in together 
- I will hang this up Front and Centre 
- so that whenever people come over they'll ask who made it and I will be able to say the love of my life and then right on cue you will walk in all elegant and beautifully dressed and I will kiss you and everyone will clap 

you have a very romantic overactive imagination -

- I really do but also I'm SPIRALLING because
- where are you minghao
- I think I need to see you and kiss you so much or I'll never get off the floor

ur still on the floor?? -
...i would come over again but i havent slept yet so i might crash on the way there -

- DO NOT CRASH. I am coming to YOU 
- be prepared to be cradled to my bosom 

hate the way u said that. somehow still excited for it to happen -

- WAIT FOR ME MY LOVE

"Can we meet for breakfast on Saturday?" Jeonghan asks one lazy evening when Minghao's playing with the guy's hair, trying to do a cute braid hairstyle that Mingyu (who apparently knows a lot about this stuff because of his sister so Minghao's going to start asking him about it more) taught him how to do. Minghao hums a distracted noise of agreement and frowns when Jeonghan breaks his concentration by nuzzling his head happily against Minghao's thigh.

It's a little while until Saturday, so Minghao starts to forget about the breakfast date as the week passes. He knew that would happen so he set an alarm the very day Jeonghan brought it up. But on Friday, solely due to the fact that it's a Friday, he stays up late on a video call with Soonyoung while he's painting his toenails. 

"What I wanna know," Soonyoung says, sprawled over his bed in a way that somehow doesn't look comfortable, "is why you're painting your toes-" 

"My toenails." 

"-toenails when you'll barely even see 'em. It's freezing right now! I even need to wear socks indoors!" 

"You know me, hyung, I'll wear sandals no matter the weather." 

"Ugh, yeah. You would," Soonyoung digresses with playful distaste, then scrunches up his face when Minghao shoves his foot at the camera with a grin. And while he's tormenting Soonyoung with his feet, the guy's comment from earlier makes him think. 

"Hey, hyung. It is freezing right now, isn't it?" 

"Yeah? Isn't that what I just said?" 

"I know. It's just, that means I've been dating Jeonghan for quite a while now. It'll be three seasons once winter's over."

Soonyoung shuffles so that now it looks like he's hanging upside down. "Woah, that's wild."

Minghao smiles. "You know, our first date was pretty terrible. But after all that, he still wanted to kiss me, so...I think I loved it. Of course I wish it went better but regrets are a done deal and it's not like-"

There must be some sound that Minghao can't hear because Soonyoung suddenly perks up. "Ooh, roomie's home. Sorry to interrupt, Minghao, I totally wanna hear more about you and Jeonghan because you're very cute so let me just - SEOKMIN, GET OVER HERE, YOUR RIDE OR DIE'S ON THE PHONE!" 

"MINGHAO?!" Seokmin yelps excitedly in the distance, then he comes in and barrels into Soonyoung before getting so close to the screen that all Minghao can see is his nose. Minghao bursts out laughing and just like that, he loses hours of the night talking to his friends and doesn't even remember falling asleep. 

When he wakes up, it's to a hand brushing through his hair and a gentle citrus perfume he knows all too well. 

"Hyung?" Minghao asks groggily, arms instantly raising to curl around Jeonghan's neck and Jeonghan leans down so it's easier for him. 

"Hey, baby." 

"How'd you get in here?"

Jeonghan holds up a small tension wrench. "I was worried about you so I may have broken in a little." 

"Why do you know how to break into places...?"

"Let's not worry about that," Jeonghan says spritely, and Minghao feels like he should worry about that but he's only just woken up and Jeonghan pecking his lips is enough to make him forget. "I tried to get in touch with you but I'm glad you were just sleeping. Long night?" 

"Yeah, I..." Minghao furrows his eyebrows, cogs slowly whirring in his brain as he tries to think of why Jeonghan was trying to contact him. Then it clicks. "Oh. We- we were meant to go out to breakfast together, shit, what's the time?" 

"Pretty far past when we said we'd meet up," Jeonghan laughs, making Minghao groan. "No, it's okay, it's okay! I'm just happy nothing bad happened to you."

Well, Minghao's not happy. Maybe it would've been better if something happened to him, because sleeping through alarms and standing up the love of his life (Jeonghan called him that once and now Minghao's starting)? He's the worst. 

"Hyung," Minghao mumbles desolately. "How don't you hate me yet?" 

Jeonghan blinks in alarm. "Hate you? Why would I hate you, darling?" 

Minghao's heart flutters a little at how Jeonghan doesn't seem to have even considered something like that. "Just...our dates never go right. We try to do things together and something always gets messed up somehow and I hate it but you're always so good about it. And I should be trying hard to fix it and make things better but here I am...oversleeping..." 

"Minghao-yah," Jeonghan sighs, eyes soft. "I don't mind you oversleeping. If anything, I wish I was oversleeping with you! And why would I hate you for any of that stuff when it's never your fault?" 

"Because...sometimes it's my fault, and even when it's not...I don't know...associative trauma?" 

Jeonghan huffs out a noise that's almost but not quite a laugh, shaking his head. Then he's reaching back to unlatch Minghao's hands from his nape, heat rising up Minghao's face when Jeonghan presses a kiss to the inside of his wrist. "I'm not 'good about it' because I'm trying to be optimistic or hiding my true feelings. It's really just that..." 

Jeonghan kisses Minghao's other wrist. "...none of the things that happen ever seem quite so bad if I still get to be with you. And when I see you getting sad because something's gone wrong, it's second nature for me to do anything to cheer you up. Anything to show you that the company can make a date just as much as the activity can - or if a date gets cut short, it won't be long before we'll get to see each other again and I look forward to nothing more." 

Minghao watches breathlessly as Jeonghan hovers over him and presses Minghao's hands down either side of his head, linking each one of their fingers together. "Now will you ever think about something as silly as me hating you again?" 

"I love you," Minghao whispers, pinned down but he doesn't ever want to move anyway. "I am silly. We deserve good dates but I know it'll end up good anyway if you're there."

Jeonghan beams at that, glowing with triumph and joy and he's never been more beautiful. "Oh, this is so great. Do you know how long I've been trying to make you see that? Maybe stuff will even stop going wrong now, like a moral to the story kind of thing!" 

"That sounds like some wishful thinking. I just think we're cursed but we'll overcome it with love." 

"That sounds even more wishful than mine!" 

Minghao laughs, the sound coming out slightly scratchy from sleep but he doesn't care one bit. Jeonghan smiles down at him, saying, "See, this is it. It's so easy to be with you like this and I like it so much and that's enough. Whenever we're together, I feel like I'm on cloud nine." 

Minghao smiles too. "Can it be cloud eight?" 

"Eight? Why?" 

It's a lucky number in Minghao's mother tongue. A never-ending loop that crosses over itself. There are so many reasons, too many, but it mostly boils down to the fact that Jeonghan thinks his tattoo's an eight (now Minghao does, too) and the number feels like a promise. That even if good fortune doesn't follow them through dates, they could do them over and over and still be lucky enough to be so in love. 

But Minghao's deliriously enamoured and half-asleep so all he can say is, "Just like the number eight." 

That seems good enough for Jeonghan who laughs and leans down to press a kiss to the tip of Minghao's ear in the same breath. "Okay, my love. We're on cloud eight."

Turns out that Jeonghan asked Minghao out to breakfast so he could officially pop the moving in question. Instead Jeonghan asks him hours later when they're still in bed, all tangled up in each other and the bedsheets and doing absolutely nothing. Minghao looks him right in the eye and, after weeks of all this build-up and months of dating someone like Jeonghan, lies flatly, "No." 

He's left giggling so uncontrollably that he has to gasp for air when Jeonghan starts thwacking him with a pillow.