Work Text:
Jihoon is in his studio, but when is he not? The screen in front of him turns into blurry dots. When he closes his eyelids, gray dots dance in his vision. Jihoon knows it's not a block, knows that his creativity well hasn't run out. But he still can't make sense of this song. All the demos he has come up with yet, are mediocre at best and he doesn't do mediocre, seventeen doesn't do mediocre.
He opens his eyes after hearing the punching of the pass code. Only a few people have access to his studio: Bumzu hyung if he wants access to his files; Vernon who makes use of the studio in his spare time, producing; Seungkwan, the younger pleaded to know the password despite visiting only a few times; and Soonyoung, the second resident, almost always in the studio while Jihoon works. Sometimes asking Jihoon to help him in composing or sometimes laying on the sofa, monitoring their dance performances on phone. Most importantly, making sure Jihoon eats like a normal human being.
"Did you eat, gremlin?" Soonyoung closes the door after entering,his footsteps light on the floor. He sits on the edge of the sofa, stretching his neck.
Jihoon turns to the computer after checking Soonyoung's face, eyes roaming on the opened files trying to find something to get distracted by. He grunts in reply, face away from Soonyoung.
"As I thought. So, I brought us takeouts." Soonyoung says, swinging the plastic bag in his hand. He gets up and leaves the bag on the table. Jihoon catches the scent of his perfume, fruity and fresh. He can't help but trace Soonyoung's freshly washed hair with his eyes. Soonyoung's hand on the back of his chair is gone in an instant.
Jihoon grunts a non-committal grunt that's full of playful annoyance and also a whole lot of gratitude. He feels something in his stomach at the thought of someone caring for him, caring enough to deal with him when he's being rough and also when he's being real.
At the thought of Soonyoung caring for him, the reaction his body has to this is hard to decipher. All he can tell is that it's strong, stronger than most things he feels for others. Almost as strong as what he feels for music, which scares him but also makes him want to jump off a cliff without harness.
"Bungee jumping."
Jihoon snaps out, his face is warm. "Huh."
He doesn't look at Soonyoung.
"We're going bungee jumping for the next gose. Hyunseok hyung just texted and Mingyu replied with 'I am leaving seventeen." His eyes trained to the phone, lips stretched out in an absent smile.
Jihoon breathes in trying to calm his treacherous heart. For a second he feared that Soonyoung had read his mind. Before he could breathe out, his chair is yanked from behind. He's turned with full force. He breathes out, centimeters apart from Soonyoung's face.
"What are you doing?" Soonyoung looks into Jihoon's eyes. His eyebrows shoot up as if asking what are you up to, Lee Jihoon. Jihoon averts his eyes.
"Nothing, let's eat." He tries to get up but Soonyoung doesn't budge. Soonyoung is still looking at him with a calculated gaze. Jihoon pushes Soonyoung's shoulders. "Get off Soonyoung."
Soonyoung stumbles back, chuckling.
They eat in silence. Sometimes they would talk and bicker and sometimes they would just bask in each other's presence. It's comforting, it's familiar.
Jihoon likes familiar. He likes when Soonyoung tells him a story that he's already told him before. He likes the occasional hums and ahs from Soonyoung when he talks about the progress he's made in the album. He likes it especially more when Soonyoung warms him with his body, with his hands and lips and heart.
He likes this more than occasional visits to his studio accompanied by a dinner date(what he calls it in his mind) or a makeout session (to relieve stress, yes.) More often than not he wishes that these activities continue to take place outside of this studio too. But so far his wishes have been unanswered.
And why would they do it outside of the studio? They are not boyfriends (though he wishes they were.) They are coworkers or friends. And friends don't kiss each other just because they want to. Maybe they would when they are both stressed and in need of relief, maybe when they are flushed from dance practice and they happen to be the last two to leave, maybe when one of them (Jihoon) gives in to his heart and places one on the other's forehead when the other is asleep. Maybe-
"JIHOON."
He jumps in his seat.
"Go to sleep. I'm being so serious, Jihoon." Serious he indeed is. His mouth is doing the thing that it does when he's pissed. Jihoon opens his mouth to reply but he's cut off.
"I don't care when the deadline is or what edit is important to make, YOU are going home now."
Jihoon is shocked by the authority in his tone and he can't say that he's not slightly turned on by this. But his stubborn nature makes him fixed on his seat.
"Right. Fucking. Now." Soonyoung's voice reaches a demanding tone and Jihoon's words are out of his mouth before he can comprehend what he just said.
"I'm not going to bed unless I'm going to your bed."
The silence stretches and Jihoon is about to slam his head on his instruments when Soonyoung smirks, "Okay, then. My bed it is."