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Ink and oil, Jooyeon's hair ravels through his fingers, spilling over his knuckles and palms. Too much for him to hold in either hand. He dips Jooyeon's head back, soaks them in the water. They splay and spread below the surface, tendrils of smoke. Jiseok brushes through it.
"Pretty boy," he hums, unable to help himself; craning his head and kissing Jooyeon's forehead before it's frothed over and damp with shampoo. Jooyeon smiles, small and pleased, his knees easing ever so slightly away from his chest.
Jiseok smiles too, leaning back, shuffling his knees closer to the tub's edge, lifting Jooyeon's head back up. He picks up his shampoo, even if it isn't as good for Jooyeon's hair as the one Jooyeon's mom sends him. It's nice, smelling like the other. It's a comfort, to smell like Jiseok.
He drizzles it over Jooyeon's head, Jooyeon's brows furrowing at the cold sensation. Jiseok is quick to warm him, massaging his hands into Jooyeon's scalp. "You're my favorite boy, don't you know it?" he asks, voice low, delicate in its earnesty.
Jooyeon doesn't respond, but his smile grows, his legs coming fully away from his chest, leaving it bare. Only for Jiseok to see, only for Jiseok to know. Jiseok pinches the tip of Jooyeon's ear lightly, hoping it feels enough like a kiss to convey even a smidge of his fondness.
It's self indulging, the length to which he washes Jooyeon's hair thoroughly. He enjoys it without any reason. Holding Jooyeon's heavy head in his hands, lightening any weight from Jooyeon's chest. Able to watch without check, each minute shift in Jooyeon's lax, creased expression.
"Was today good?" he asks, bordering on a whisper he can't raise any higher. He's dulled down all the way to the soft mush of his heart like this. Only the small sounds of rippling water and the dim mirror lights washed over them. They're blanketed in gentleness, and Jiseok only aims to butter it.
Subdued, just slightly Jooyeon nods against Jooyeon's palms. He mumbles near content, "Was good. Felt fine." It's an answer everything and more to Jiseok, a content warmth blossoming and buzzing in his chest. He presses against Jooyeon's shoulder, and just as easily as before, no question, all trust, Jooyeon once more leans back.
Jiseok rinses his hair gently, avoiding Jooyeon's face, rubbing his thumb over Jooyeon's ears. "Good," he murmurs, "I'm glad." Jooyeon's hair now sud-free and clean, Jiseok leans back in, presses his lips to Jooyeon's cheek until Jooyeon is giggling faintly, pushing him away feebly.
He sits up, and Jiseok twists his hair, pulling it over one side, resting it over Jooyeon's collarbone. Stroking his fingers over the bare side of Jooyeon's neck, the smooth skin of his shoulders. Jooyeon opens his eyes, just barely, looking at Jiseok soulfully, vulnerable and exposed. At the mercy of the prickling air and Jiseok's unjudging eyes.
He ghosts a skittering touch over his hair, the way it reaches down his arm. "It doesn't…?"
Jiseok shakes his head. "Of course not. Long hair, short hair, whatever it's cut at changes nothing." He rests their foreheads together, uncaring of the way his bangs grow damp. "You're still my favorite boy." He pecks Jooyeon's nose, Jooyeon melting into him.
"Okay," Jooyeon says, and for now, he believes him. Trusts Jiseok as much as his mind will allow, and that's more than Jiseok can ask for. It makes him so happy, when Jooyeon doesn't just believe Jiseok, but believes himself too. His grin displays it.
Jooyeon nuzzles into his neck, circling his fingers around Jiseok's wrist, tugging it along his soft chest, his soft thighs, stopping them to rest without motive on the cusp of his knees. "I love you," he hums, and Jiseok folds over the side of the tub, head weightless against Jooyeon's.
"I love you too," he says back. That, neither of them will ever doubt.