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the weeks had been long. too long. comeback drawing closer, the group’s days had been filled with practices and schedules, leaving minimal time for what would’ve been a long awaited break post-tour.
hurried days aside, kai couldn’t have dreamt of missing this day. not only was it an excuse to call yeonjun old, it was a day to celebrate his lover in a way that they simply hadn’t had the time to lately.
therefore, kai stood outside of yeonjun’s room, present in hand, quietly turning the doorknob to open and close as he let himself in.
“he looks so peaceful” , kai thought, looking at the sleeping man who was curled onto his side, the soft light of the morning shining through the window onto the soft skin of his bare face. as much as yeonjun pretended that he was powering through, kai knew that this preparation had been hard on him. he always knew when things got too much, and time spent to themselves, even for a few short minutes, regenerated any motivation lost the day prior.
taking a deep sigh, kai looked at the clock. bright red letters shone 6:21, meaning that they still had 39 minutes until they had to technically get up and ready for the day. figuring that they could spare a few extra minutes, kai placed the present that he had sneakily grabbed from the hallway closet just moments prior onto yeonjun’s bedside table, and crawled into bed behind the older, wrapping himself around the sleeping form.
yeonjun shifted slightly, breath hitching slightly and eyes beginning to open.
“happy birthday, sweetheart,” kai whispered into the soft hair that fell messily against the back of yeonjun’s neck.
“mmmh?” yeonjun murmured, the drowsiness of exhaustion still tainting his vision, settling into kai’s gentle hold.
“happy birthday, sweetheart,” kai said once again, closer to his ear, pressing a kiss onto the silver hoop hanging off of it.
“thank you,” yeonjun replied, taking hold of the hand kai had strewn across his chest and pulling it upward to press a kiss to his knuckles.
“do you want your present now, or later?” kai smirked as yeonjun turned to face him, resting his head on top of kai’s bicep.
“can i say both?” yeonjun insinuated, placing his hand on the back of kai’s head to pull him into a kiss.
“most definitely, but i want to give you that now,” kai retorted, gesturing to his nightstand, and the professionally wrapped box waiting to be opened.
“what’s this?” yeonjun said, still slightly groggy, taking in the crisp white box topped with a gingham bow.
“just a little something,” kai smiled, the knowing grin of a perfect surprise creeping across his face.
“you know i didn’t want anything,” yeonjun said, fake disapproval creating a furrow in his brow. every year, yeonjun repeatedly said that he didn’t want gifts, ‘you are my present enough’ as he would say, but kai knew that yeonjun would treasure absolutely anything that he were to get him.
“i know, i know, but they just jumped out at me,” kai smirked at the way yeonjun’s left eyebrow raised when he said ‘they’.
“can i?” yeonjun asked, preparing himself to launch toward the box.
“it’s your birthday, old man,” kai said, enjoying the glare that yeonjun shot him (along with a grumble of ‘ i preferred sweetheart’) before he leaped out of kai’s arms, sitting up in bed with the box in his lap.
settling next to yeonjun shoulder to shoulder, kai looked down at the older with suspense written in the adoration in his eyes.
yeonjun’s hands nearly tore the fabric as he hurriedly untied the bow, the box’s lid getting thrown aside. a gasp left yeonjun’s pout, turning his gaze to meet kai’s eager grin.
“how did you know?” yeonjun questioned, staring in slight shock at the pair of boots, neatly placed in the box surrounded by monogrammed tissue paper.
the black leather nearly sparkled in the dim light of the room, the cowboy-like style seemingly in contrast with yeonjun’s casual aesthetic. but the key element, a lace-style white leather heart placed on each side, created the perfect balance of androgyny that he knew the older loved.
“i might have seen you looking at them on instagram,” kai said sheepishly, knowing he’d have a thousand questions about how he saw that later. but for now, the smile that lit up the older’s face would get him through the 24 minutes until they had to get up.