Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jihyo huffed as she hurried from her car into the house, a takeout bag in hand. It was cold . Single digits cold. Too cold to even think of being outside, let alone actually be outside, cold. But she had plans, and she would brave anything—even the freezing cold—for Sana. She was just grateful that when she practically fell through the door, shutting it quickly behind her, she was hit by an overwhelming warmth. One of the perks of living with her eternally cold girlfriend: the heat was always on.

“Honey?” Jihyo shucked her shoes off, placing them next to the door. “Are you home?”

“In my office!” Sana shouted from upstairs.

Jihyo had known Sana was home, because she worked from home and where else would she be in this weather? But there was something she really liked about shouting for her, hearing her reply, as if Sana’s voice was the only thing leading Jihyo right to her.

Jihyo bounded up the stairs, smiling as she rounded the corner into the first room off the hallway and saw Sana hunched over her desk, typing away. She was illuminated solely by the glow of her laptop. She tended to work with the lights off during the day, but in the shorter winter months, that meant her room was pitch black by the time the work day was ending, and she never seemed to notice. Jihyo flicked on the lights and made her way to Sana, wrapping her arms around her from behind.

“Mmm, you smell like the cold,” Sana said, leaning her head against Jihyo’s arm.

“That’s how you greet me when I get home?” Jihyo feigned offense.

Sana pulled away and turned her swivel chair around to face Jihyo. She took her by the collar and pulled her down, kissing her.

“No, that’s how I greet you,” she said with a smirk.

Jihyo thought of sitting on Sana’s lap, just making out with her all night, but she had plans . She had a whole date night lined up for the two of them. She just mentally added making out with Sana to those plans.

“Are you wrapping up work?” Jihyo glanced at Sana’s laptop and saw confusing spreadsheets.

“Yeah, let me save the file.” Sana turned around and saved a few things, then shut her laptop. “I’m officially all yours.”

“Perfect,” Jihyo said with a grin. “I had some ideas for tonight. It’s too cold to take you on a date, so I wanted to bring the date to you.”

“A date? But it’s just a random Wednesday night?” Sana’s confused look was one of Jihyo’s favorites. The way her brows indented and her lips formed into a little pout… It was just too adorable.

“I didn’t know there were only certain nights I could take you on a date,” Jihyo said.

“You can take me on a date any night,” Sana said with a wink. “What do you have in mind?”

“Come with me and find out?” Jihyo held her hand out to Sana, and smiled when she took it. Sana could most definitely find her way downstairs, but Jihyo liked leading her anyway. There was something intimate about it that she couldn’t quite name.

Jihyo led Sana to the kitchen, pulling out a chair for her. Sana blushed as she sat down.

“Chivalry isn’t dead after all,” Sana giggled. 

Jihyo got busy taking the food out of the takeout bag, humming as she bustled around the kitchen. Sana, predictably, was right on her.

“Food? Takeout?” Sana held onto Jihyo’s shoulders, trying to see the food. “From where?”

“You’ll see in just a moment, so sit down, Ms. Minatozaki,” Jihyo said. “Let me take care of this.”

Sana pouted, but listened. Jihyo pulled out dishes and glasses—she knew just which wine would go best with this—and set them on the counter. She continued trying to hide the food from Sana, but she couldn’t hide the smell.

“Is that… is that the lasagna that I love?”

Sana was obsessed with a lasagna the Italian restaurant in their town served. Jihyo wasn’t a huge fan, but she delighted in Sana’s happiness too much to resist it tonight.

“Bingo,” Jihyo said, unable to hide her smile. She slid a dish in front of Sana, setting one down for herself as well. She poured their wine and finally took a seat. “Mangia, or whatever they say in Italy!”

Sana laughed and dug in right away.

“This is so good,” she said after the first bite. “You shouldn’t have.”

“I wanted to,” Jihyo said. “So enjoy, honey.”

They ate in relative silence, just enjoying their food and each other. She poured them another glass of wine after the first ones were drained. Sana’s cheeks were getting a bit rosy—she didn’t hold her alcohol quite as well as Jihyo—and she was a bit more giggly. Of all the versions of Sana to exist, giggly Sana was one of Jihyo’s favorites.

When they finished, Jihyo cleared the table, putting the plates in the sink to soak as she prepared the next part of their date.

“That was perfect,” Sana said, resting her head on her arms atop the table. “I’m sleepy,” she whined.

“I should have cut you off,” Jihyo said with a little sigh. “Think you can rally? There’s more.” She glanced at Sana who sat up right away.

“More?”

“Yes, so you just wait here, okay?”

Sana nodded, sinking back down. Maybe the wine had been a good idea—a sleepy Sana wasn’t as likely to get in the way of Jihyo setting up the next part of their date.

Jihyo raced off to their room upstairs, shutting the door behind her. A few weeks ago, she’d ordered a projector, and she tested it out last weekend when Sana was out with Mina and Dahyun for the day. She set it on their nightstand, connecting it to her laptop. It whirred to life, projecting the blue start screen onto the wall. Jihyo took the framed pictures down after seeing where the projection hit.

Her and Sana at the beach. Her and Sana in college. Her and Sana skiing. Here and Sana with their friends. Her and Sana, her and Sana, her and Sana.

She pulled up the movie of the evening: The Sound of Music. Sana had been obsessed with it as a kid, and she loved to watch it during the holidays. She had shown Jihyo when they first started dating, but they hadn’t watched it since. Jihyo figured it would be nice if they could revisit it together, all these years later.

Jihyo took their spare blankets off the foot of the bed so they were ready to go. Sana loved to snuggle up against Jihyo under a few blankets. Normally, Jihyo got too warm, but tonight she would deal with the warmth.

She returned downstairs, putting the water on the stove right away.

“Whatcha making?” Sana said, looking up at Jihyo.

“Hot chocolate,” Jihyo said with a smile.

Sana sat up right away, looking more awake.

“With marshmallows?”

“The little ones, just like you like.”

Sana clapped her hands together. The way her face lit up in joy made Jihyo feel so warm inside. Jihyo had learned how to appreciate the little things from Sana. Sana could find joy in tiny marshmallows floating in her hot chocolate or the moon shining just right through the clouds. Seeing a cute trinket in a store could make her smile, as could reading her favorite book under a heavy blanket on a cold day. Jihyo admired it, and tried to emulate it. But more often than not, her joy came from Sana. She couldn’t, and wouldn’t want to, deny that Sana was the center of her world.

She handed Sana her mug of hot chocolate.

“Come upstairs with me,” Jihyo said, taking her own mug with her. She got ahead of Sana, opening their bedroom door for her. She watched as Sana took in the projector, confusion on her face.

“What are we doing?” She set her hot chocolate down on the nightstand. 

“Cuddle with me and find out?” Jihyo said with a small smile.

Sana took Jihyo’s mug and set it down next to her own, then pulled her onto the bed before Jihyo could register what was happening.

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Sana said, burrowing under the covers with Jihyo in tow.

“Let me just grab the remote,” Jihyo said, reaching back toward the nightstand.

Sana settled her head on Jihyo’s chest, sighing in contentment. Jihyo absentmindedly ran a hand through Sana’s hair as she hit play , and The Sound of Music was projected onto their wall.

“My favorite!” Sana squealed. She turned to look at her girlfriend. “I haven’t gotten to watch it yet this year. How did you know?”

Jihyo leaned down and kissed Sana’s forehead.

“You’ve been so busy that I just guessed,” she admitted. “I wanted to watch it again with you.”

“You’re gonna want to make dresses from the drapes after you watch this!” Sana giggled.

“I’m guessing I’ll understand what that means in a few hours?”

“Yeah, and you’ll decide which Von Trapp kid you are!”

Jihyo laughed, smoothing Sana’s hair back. They turned their attention back to the movie, and Jihyo was a bit impressed that Sana managed to stay awake. Jihyo was also surprised that she found herself so invested in the show—even tearing up at some points. They were silent for a moment when it ended, and then Sana was sitting up, beaming at Jihyo.

“Did you love it?” She asked, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.

“It was really good,” Jihyo said. “And I do want to make a dress from the curtains now.”

Sana laughed, then stopped, just staring at Jihyo for a moment. Jihyo started to squirm under her girlfriend’s gaze—it felt like she was staring right into her soul.

“Thank you,” Sana finally said. “Tonight was really sweet.” She cupped Jihyo’s face and gently kissed her. “I was really surprised, honestly.”

“I just wanted us to have a cute winter date,” Jihyo said, taking Sana’s hand. “And with the holidays and the cold, I knew the chances of us going out, just the two of us, were slim, so… so I did this.”

“Well, I loved it,” Sana said, kissing Jihyo again. “Are you tired?”

“I think you are,” Jihyo said with a little laugh. “So let me get the last part of our date ready.”

She told Sana to wait on the bed as she hurried off to the bathroom. She ran the water until it was warm, lighting a few candles as she waited. Then, she took out Sana’s favorite bath bomb—she’d picked it up after work a few days ago—and got the bath ready. She returned to their bedroom just in time to see Sana yawn.

“Come on, honey,” Jihyo said. “I know you’re sleepy.”

Sana followed Jihyo to the bathroom, hugging her when she saw everything Jihyo had done.

“Why are you spoiling me today?” Sana whispered.

“I’d spoil you every day if I could,” Jihyo said. She tugged at Sana’s shirt. “Ready?”

Sana blushed and nodded her head. She let Jihyo undress her, but it wasn’t sexual. Yes, Jihyo admired Sana’s body—how could she not?—but nothing happened between them because that wasn’t Jihyo’s intention. She led Sana to the bathtub, watching her sink into the soapy water.

“It’s so nice,” Sana said with a small smile. “Join me?”

Jihyo didn’t have to be asked twice.

Jihyo got in behind Sana, lightly kissing her neck before she wet her hair, shampooing it and massaging her head. Sana melted into her touch.

“I love you.” Sana said it so quietly that Jihyo almost didn’t hear it.

“I love you, too,” Jihyo said. She rinsed the two of them off, grabbing two fluffy towels, wrapping Sana in one. Sana giggled when Jihyo kissed her on the tip of her nose.

Jihyo dressed Sana in her fleecy pajamas and brushed out her hair. It was quiet moments like these that meant the most to Jihyo—seeing Sana’s eyes flutter shut as she let Jihyo take care of her made something glow inside her chest.

When Jihyo stepped away, Sana got up, taking the brush and hair dryer from her. Normally, Jihyo would protest, but tonight she let Sana take care of her, too. Sana hummed as she dried Jihyo’s hair, the sound barely audible above the whirring of the hairdryer. She let Sana put her face cream on, blushing under Sana’s delicate touch. And she let Sana lead her to bed, pull her close, hug her tightly to her. Only with Sana could she let herself be so soft and vulnerable. Only with Sana did she love every moment of it.

“Goodnight, honey,” Jihyo whispered as she stifled a yawn.

Sana kissed the crown of Jihyo’s head.

“Goodnight,” she whispered, and Jihyo could tell she was fading fast. “I love you.”

Date night = success, Jihyo thought as she closed her eyes and burrowed into Sana’s embrace.

“I love you, too,” she whispered. “I love you so much.” And just like that, she tumbled over the edge into a peaceful sleep, safe in Sana’s arms.