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Letting out a deep sigh, Seonghwa stares up at the rotating blades of the ceiling fan above his head. Typically he’s more patient, but after the day he has had dealing with the other members and the stress of recording, he just wants to be with the one person he is waiting for and not have to worry about his idol duties for at least 24 hours, seeing as they all have a day off tomorrow.
“Are you okay, Hyung?” San’s sweet, mellow voice sounds out into the wide living room from his space in the hallway.
“I’m okay Sannie, I’m just waiting for Hongjoong.”
Seonghwa’s ears twitch with the pitch of the exhale San lets slip from his lips.
“Okay, just make sure not to stay up too late, I am heading over to Yeosangie and Yunho’s place for the night. They wanted to show off their new couch they got a few days ago.”
With the light stomps across the wooden floor signaling San’s departure, Seonghwa raises his arm in a half-hearted thumbs up to let his roommate know he heard his words. With the absence of anyone else in the home, seeing as Mingi had also chosen to spend his night away from their dorm and instead decided to stay with Wooyoung and Jongho in their space watching horror movies, Seonghwa goes back to drowning in his thoughts. The new choreography he has to practice before their next comeback, the classes he has to take to learn the proper pronunciation of the English words that are included in their new songs, and planning out his schedule so he can let his mom know sooner rather than later what dates he will be able to be free enough to come visit his family.
His mind feels so heavy, the thoughts almost becoming silent because of how quickly they are floating through without pause. The click of the lock on the front door breaks his focus slightly, but not enough to lift his head and see who is coming in. Almost like a sixth sense, he knows it’s Hongjoong coming back from his studio, already expecting the captain to come through the door since he texted him about 2 hours ago letting him know he would be leaving soon.
“Star? Have you eaten? I wanted to pick something up on my way back, but you didn’t answer my messages, so I figured I’d order something when I got here.” Hongjoong’s voice doesn’t mask the concern that he tries to bury within the question, already knowing the response he is going to get, just wanting to hear the man's confirmation.
Instead of receiving words like he expects, Hongjoong just sees arms raise over the armrest of the couch. The limbs were obviously heavy with exhaustion, straining to stay up for longer than necessary.
Seonghwa waits for the footsteps to get closer, traveling from around the entranceway of the dorm into the open layout of the living room once the thump of shoes coming off at the doorway floats through his ears. Without moving any other muscles in his body, his head gives way into a slight turn, waiting to see the black hair slide into his eyesight. He feels the skin in his cheeks stretch to a small smile once he sees the man he has been waiting for, with his pretty eyes wide in admiration and worry.
“Hi Jagiya, any new songs about me?” Seonghwa attempts to make a joke, his voice soft and almost going unheard.
Hongjoong’s eyes start to shine hearing the mischievous tint line the words of his lover. “When do I leave the studio without a new song about you, my Star?” He says as he looks down at the lying body, taking note of the shirt that definitely came from his own closet, and not the man who is wearing it.
All he receives back is a slight giggle, Seonghwa’s head tilting in invitation towards the man to join his position on the sofa, his legs fully stretching out to lay across the other armrest on the opposite side, his arms opening up just enough for a human body to lay down without them being crushed.
Hongjoong slides into the space that is made for him, feeling hands start to wrap around his shoulders and thighs bend up and bracket his waist, his cheek resting on the collarbone that peaks through the neckline of the old shirt his star decided to put on. Fingers start running through his hair, tension being pulled from his body with every pass the hands make. The tension doesn’t only seem to exit his bones either, based on the way he can feel them sink lower into the cushions underneath them, evidence of the pressure leaving the man underneath him.
Seonghwa’s chest should feel tighter with the added weight on top of it, but instead he only manages to feel lighter, every worry washing away. His lips bend down to place a soft peck on the forehead that seems to be tempting him, all of the hair pushed out of the way, offering itself up for the kiss that gets placed onto it. He can feel Hongjoong’s head push softly into the kiss, wanting more before he decides to lift it entirely.
Their eyes latch on to each other as soon as they can, soft brown meeting almost black, both sparkling in mixed emotions. Seonghwa moves his fingers to give a little tug, trying to hint at what he wants.
With his arms moving to straddle the waist underneath him, Hongjoong lifts his body higher, moving closer to where the hands are trying to direct him. Lips press softly against each other, sighs being let out between the both of them, finally feeling more at peace after all the tasks of the day simmer into nothing more than menial hardships.
Leaving a soft lick against the straight teeth that move to bite into his mouth, Seonghwa pulls back, pressing one more peck before letting his lips part into a whisper. “Can we order food please? I haven’t eaten all day.”
A chuckle leaves Hongjoongs throat before he moves to sit up, grabbing and maneuvering the legs that were underneath him to now lay across his thighs, before he reaches for his phone he had set on the coffee table in front of them. His right arm comes to lay on Seonghwa’s stomach, tracing soft circles over the top of his shirt while his left hand is busy searching through a delivery app in search of dinner options.
Seonghwa watches the man in silence, realizing not many words have come out from either of them ever since Hongjoong entered through the door, but not minding the silence that has safely surrounded them either. He almost jumps when he hears the high-pitched tone of the man he is with come in the form of a question.
“How about kimchi jjigae? I can tell you’ve been stressed today.” Seonghwa hums as if contemplating the decision, despite how his stomach seems to wake up from the name of the stew. “Kimchi jjigae sounds wonderful, do you think you could ask for it to be a little spicier today?”
Hongjoong’s shoulders shake up and down in a silent snicker, already requesting on the restaurant's app to up the spice level. Once the order is sent through and confirmed in his phone, he reaches across from the legs lying on top of him to place the device back on the table, turning his attention back to his star.
“Do you want to talk about what has your mind all in shambles?” The question seems simple enough leaving his captain's voice, but Seonghwa can’t find the answer to come out quite as easily.
Seonghwa rests his hands across the arm still tracing his stomach before his lips part in his answer. “The boys kept having trouble with the choreography, which is normally okay, but I couldn’t get it down either. Yunho was the only one who was able to answer their questions, but I could see having 5 boys constantly bombarding him was weighing him down, so I started trying to help where I could, but it just wasn’t what they needed. Once practice ended Jongho and I went to the recording booth, and I had so many problems in getting the correct tone and not being able to pronounce the English words correctly. I couldn’t even get the timing right Joong, nothing I did worked.”
The hand on his stomach doesn’t stop the entire miniature rant Seonghwa lets out, instead, it only seems to travel in bigger areas, more determined to touch more of the surface it rests upon, trying to offer soothing energy through the fingers that leave slight tickles and pinches in its wake.
“Well, maybe we can get the choreographer to come in some day this week, just to help us fine-tune the parts we can’t figure out. And you know how recording when you are stressed works, you always end up leaving more frustrated than you come in. Why didn’t you just switch recording times with one of the others?” Hearing the solutions Hongjoong comes out with makes Seonghwa want to groan into the moving air around them, of course as the leader it is so simple for him to think of ways things could be easier.
“I didn’t want to burden the boys and the producers with switching recording times, and having the choreographer would be really nice, maybe he could tell me where I am going wrong in my steps instead of just guessing.” The irritation is obvious in his voice, not even trying to hide the self-deprecating tone that is seeping through the cracks.
Hongjoong’s hands travel up across Seonghwa’s collarbones, tilting his jaw up slightly before landing on the soft cheek of his partner. His thumb rubs back and forth from his ear to the corner of his lips, giving a little tug every time the pad lands on the pink skin, pulling a smile out of the older man.
“It isn’t a burden to have a bad day, all of us have them. Mingi had one yesterday, remember? He couldn’t even walk straight without running into one of the others.” Seonghwa’s melodic giggle seems to bring a small curl into the corner of Hongjoong’s lips.
“I’ll message our manager before we go to bed, have him set up a good time for the choreographer to stop by the company and help us. Even I need some help since I couldn’t make it to practice today. It wouldn’t be fair on you or the others if I am fumbling around while the rest of you are hitting every step now would it?” Feeling the chuckle leave his star’s mouth while his thumb continues in its motions across the cheek it is lying on, Hongjoong lets his lips stretch into a smile, feeling the weight of the day disappear in the task of making his partner happy.
“That sounds good Joongie, thank you for always knowing how to help. I’m sure you had a stressful day too, but I was only thinking of myself. Would you like to share?” Hongjoong’s fingers give a soft pinch before trailing down onto Seonghwa’s waist, pulling the taller man closer into his lap, more of his body resting on his thighs instead of just his legs.
“I’m alright Star, my day was uneventful. All I could think about was this, coming home, getting you in my lap, and ordering something to eat.” Hearing the desire for something so minimalistic come from Hongjoong’s mouth, Seonghwa snuggles closer to his partner, feeling a surge of admiration flow through his body. He doesn’t think he will ever get used to this feeling, the safety, the support, the love. Knowing he can come home and not be subjected to dealing with his hardships on his own, he falls into a calm state. Leaning against the shorter man, his eyes start to drift closed, content with waiting in silence with no new topics to be talked about before their food arrives.
Once the food does arrive, the two men settle down on the couch cushions together, no longer on top of each other, but still touching. With his left side completely in Hongjoong’s warmth, they finish off their meal before laying down once more as one, content to end the night out in the open wrapped up in each other.