Work Text:
[ imnotningning just posted: 🦘🦘🦘🦘 ]
—
🌙 aerichandesu: you went shopping..? what about me??
🦋 imnotningning: no gift but kisses 🤍
🌙 aerichandesu: ㅎ
-
Minjeong, who was stuffed in her black fur hoodie, couldn’t help but giggle behind her phone at Yizhuo’s reply, scrolling with her slim fingers and eyeing the rest of the comments.
After many restless weeks, and their recent successful tour in Australia, there was finally some time for a little leisure, and by leisure: it meant being able to do nothing and not feel guilt whatsoever. It was nice, and needed for sure.
“Wow. Ning-ah, are you flirting?”
A smirk toys the edges of Yizhuo’s lips as she lays carelessly on the bed, her phone gleaming a reflection amongst the dimly lit bedroom. She wishes she saw Aeri’s reaction to her daring reply.
“Perhaps. It’s just fun to flirt with Aeri-unnie,” Yizhuo answers with a mischievous ring to her tone.
In one swift motion, she taps her thumb on the heart next to that one specific comment under her recent post. There was a temptation to say more, but Yizhuo refrains herself from writing further… flirty replies. All the fans and the public – all these eyes watching. Surely it must be entertaining to read though, no?
Minjeong rolls her eyes, “Jimin is rubbing off on you.”
“Um. Don’t act like you hate when she teases you and makes up those stupid, witty pick-up lines.” Yizhuo scoffs, and Minjeong’s following reaction of horror leaves her with delight. “Clearly it works on you – you just don’t want to admit it.”
“Y-Yizhuo !”
“Yeah yeah. You’re literally the textbook definition of a tsundere. Give it up already,” Yizhuo sticks her tongue out playfully.
Minjeong huffs with a big pout and scrunched eyebrows. She might just throw a pillow at her face.
“I am not.”
“Ah? What’s that? Oh, Minjeong didn’t you say the other week you missed Jimin-unnie and wanted to hug–“
Minjeong does throw a pillow at her face.
Aggressively.
But instead of pain, all Yizhuo does is laugh with her usual high pitched squeal, fighting the cramp in her hip with small squeezes, losing her breath the more she thinks about Minjeong being a total pine for their leader underneath her aloof, cool front. She wipes the small tear tucked in the crease of her crescent eyes.
“Okay I’m sorry, that was too much.”
“You better be,” Minjeong’s ears are flushed, her cheeks noticeably warm enough that they might emit steam, and Yizhuo realises that actually, teasing all of her members is just too fun. It’s just that with Aeri, it’s different.
She’s a special case.
-
When Aeri and Jimin come back home from a late gym session, Yizhuo briefly peaks at the door from the lounge, hearing the loud thuds against the wooden floor as they remove their shoes. Jimin in particular seems exhausted, her wispy bangs frazzled underneath her cap. On the other hand, of course Aeri doesn’t seem fazed at all. As always, she’s pretty serious about the gym: it’s her own personal definition of leisure between schedules. And It’s admirable really, knowing that they’ve been touring around Asia yet still finding the opportunity to go.
Yizhuo likes that she’s strong. That she can pick her up easily like how she gave her a piggyback ride in one of their soundchecks. Whenever she asks Aeri to flex, the firmness of her biceps sends light flutters to her stomach. She makes her feel giddy, like some kindergarten crush that causes her to act a bit more childish around the older girl.
Though, it makes her happy to know that Aeri is always around to play jokes with her, make some stupid videos, act dramatic for fun and many more. Like they have been, for years now. And it’s not just those parts that place importance in Yizhuo’s heart.
It’s also the nights when they’re together in near silence, either painting or listening to a new album of their favourite artists, sharing earbuds and talking about their struggles all at the same time, making up conspiracies or watching their favourite shows in bed to pass time.
There are so many things to love about Aeri that the girl doesn’t realise herself.
(It makes Yizhuo determined to ensure she always feels that love whenever she’s around her.)
“We’re home!” Aeri hums, taking off her jacket alongside Jimin. “Minjeong-ah, Ningie!”
Minjeong had already gone to sleep minutes before their arrival, buried in her bed with her maltese plush tight in her arms. She’s probably even dreaming about puppies, knowing that girl.
“Minjeong-unnie went to sleep already,” Yizhuo lifts herself off the couch, heading towards the two. “How was the workout?”
“Good, thanks. We were actually supposed to head back earlier but someone got distracted by a cat on the way back.” Aeri’s eyes slowly follow Jimin, her lips pursed.
“Injeong. Couldn’t help it,” Jimin shrugs, and looks over to Minjeong’s room with a slight frown. “…I guess she must be too tired from flying a lot.”
Yizhuo lowers her head with a murmur, “She needs it more out of all of us, really.”
Her surgery.
After a momentary loss of words, Aeri places a hand on Jimin’s shoulder, her expression melting into a tiny, reassuring smile. “Minjeong will be okay. She’s just stubborn sometimes.”
“Yeah, but she’s been opening up a bit more about her feelings recently. You know she hates showing vulnerability,” Jimin’s gaze softens. “Silly girl.”
It all prompts Yizhuo to wrap her arms around the two, the girls taken aback by the sudden affection from their youngest. Their eyes widen, before hearing a low whisper between their shoulders.
“I’m glad we have each other.”
Aeri looks back at Jimin with a small tug of her lip, and they eventually return the hug, gently securing Yizhuo in their embrace.
“Us too.”
-
They have dinner shortly after. Jimin is the first to leave, telling them she’s going to check on Minjeong, and brings her a glass of water in case she wakes up throughout the night from jet lag.
Just as Yizhuo is about to settle for her own night rest, a knock clacks against her door. A distant creek is heard as the door pushes open, revealing Aeri with a towel around her neck and damp, dark locks surrounding her bare face.
“Oh. Hi,” Yizhuo straightens herself up, “You okay?”
“Mm. Just wanted to hang out,” Aeri replies, taking a seat next to the younger girl.
Yizhuo isn’t quite sure, but she keeps a mental note of Aeri suddenly shying away from eye contact, the fiddling of her fingers evident in the hindsight of her view. She doesn’t mention it however, in case her mind says she’s wrong.
“Hmm okay, want me to help you dry your hair?”
Aeri perks her head up, a brief ponder before she slowly nods, “I’d like that actually.”
“Alrightie,” Yizhuo pats the duvet, “Turn around and sit here instead.”
She follows without question, legs crossed and her head turned towards the posters and polaroids plastered to Yizhuo’s walls.
As Yizhuo takes the towel, Aeri notices the one photo she’s always kept in her room – the one of just her, a solo shot back a few months after they debuted. A red marker line shaping the form of a heart surrounds the photo, with the caption ‘Hot girl’ in English and a small kiss drawing next to it. Aeri remembers the one time she caught Yizhuo sleeping with the photo above her headboard, unknowingly grinning to herself at the memory.
All these little things.
(Aeri doesn’t think she’ll ever stop loving Ning Yizhuo.)
“Tell me if it hurts,” Yizhuo starts rubbing the towel against her hair, scrunching it and grabbing a hairbrush halfway through to detangle and comb Aeri’s more difficult strands.
The older girl giggles, “If anything this feels like a head massage.”
“That’s because I’m doing it extra extra gently, for you.” Yizhuo taunts, unable to see the growing blush beneath Aeri’s lashes. She wonders how her hair is so smooth and glossy overall, running her fingers in between her hair.
“Maybe this is your gift then? Considering you went shopping without me,” she jokes with a slight awkward timbre to her voice. Yizhuo pauses.
Wait.
“Ah, were you actually hurt by that?”
Aeri tilts her head at almost breakneck speed, “No no no! No, I wasn’t. I was kidding.”
Yizhuo’s smile stretches from ear to ear. Maybe this was a good opportunity to poke some more fun at the older girl.
“Really? Or did you want that kiss?” she asks innocently.
Aeri’s mouth twitches, stammering unintelligible words as she’s stuck frozen in place.
Oh, it’s hard to resist teasing her unnie when she makes faces like these. It’s just different to how she makes fun of Jimin and Minjeong. She has a sort of expression that’s only made when Yizhuo specifically makes comments about her. An embarrassed, cute mush only Yizhuo can see.
“You weren’t expecting me to reply like that were you?”
Aeri’s throat goes drier. “I… um. Y-yeah, I wasn’t.”
“Did you like it though?”
…
“…Yes.”
Satisfied, Yizhuo cups Aeri’s jaw, pulling her towards a chaste kiss on the lips. Her pupils shudder in shock, before she relaxes and slowly Aeri shuts her eyelids, her hand taking hold of Yizhuo’s neck.
It’s divine, feeling as if they could get lost in time, a snapshot representation of their emotions bundled together. They continue like this for many minutes, losing count of how many breaths they’ve had to take every once in a while. Aeri tastes and smells sweet, a floral haze overwhelming her senses, blending with Yizhuo’s addictive, woody fragrance. Surges of dopamine infiltrate their bloodstreams, both content as they tilt their heads with accelerated passion, searching in each other’s parting lips.
Their foreheads rest against the other once they pull away, and Yizhuo realises the extent of Aeri’s plumped, reddened lips, then staring deep into her eyes like she’ll lose her forever if she breaks contact now. Aeri wants more, helplessly urging to lean in again, but she can’t stop thinking about how gorgeous Yizhuo looks in front of her and how amazing of a girl she is. Like all their memories together flooded into each other the moment their lips met.
(She thinks to herself that she wants to stay with her for the rest of her lifetime.)
“No gift, but kisses.” Yizhuo smiles, caressing her thumb into Aeri’s cheek.
Aeri then brushes her nose against the younger girl with half-lidded, yearning eyes, in a hushed tone saying,
“Well to me, that kiss was everything and more.”
– fin 🦋🌙