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it was the middle of the night, and hikari couldn't bring himself to sleep.
that sort of thing happened often, sleepless nights becoming just another hindrance to him. he sometimes found his way back to sleep, sometimes stayed up for the rest of the night; but no matter what he did, he'd always feel extra tired in the morning.
even so, hikari always found his way to get energized – lingqi. with how affectionate and talkative he was, lingqi was like his own morning coffee; warm, gentle, and always got hikari out of bed.
what didn't happen often was lingqi waking up late. he slept like a baby, and no matter how early or late he went to bed, he'd still want to stay there in the morning for as long as he could.
so it was a genuine shock to hikari that when he turned his head, lingqi's eyes were open, already looking at him sleepily in the dim light of the bedside lamp. he'd fallen asleep right beside hikari, head still resting on his chest and arms wrapped protectively around his waist.
"kari..." lingqi said softly, bringing up a hand to rub his eyes, "you're awake?" his hand clung onto hikari's loose night-shirt tighter, as if making sure he were really there.
"yeah, are you alright?" hikari asked, not able to subside the worry in his mind. lingqi was always sleeping at this hour, so seeing him like this was unusual. something was up.
lingqi gave a slight nod, but he noticeably avoided eye contact. "yeah. only... tired."
hikari knew ling qi well. he could tell it was more than tiredness. and with just one questioning look from hikari, tears sprung to lingqi's eyes.
without a word, hikari clung onto lingqi's body, running a hand through his hair in attempts to quiet his soft cries. he waited for lingqi to speak; didn't want to overwhelm him, to rush him.
a moment later, lingqi brought his hands to rest on hikari's chest, pulling himself further into his arms. "i… bad dream…" lingqi's words were cut off by his cries, which only made him sob harder.
"it's okay," hikari reassured softly, encouraging lingqi to continue; without judgement or impatience, with only love and worry in his eyes.
"bad dream..." lingqi said again in a shaky voice, "you... you weren't here, again."
hikari frowned, brushing lingqi's hair from his eyes. he knew how badly that short time apart affected lingqi, especially considering how much time they usually spent together. hikari felt it, too; it was weird, waking up alone in his dorm room and knowing the boy who was usually by his side was far away.
it hit lingqi even harder, though, and from the stories hikari had heard from sungmin, lingqi didn't go a single day without mentioning hikari.
"baby..." hikari started, and lingqi looked up at him right away, his wide eyes still glossed over with tears. "it's okay. i'm here now, remember?"
"i know, but... scary. it felt real." lingqi's sobs were noticeably getting quieter, less frequent, but he still had a look on his features that was somewhere between fear and sadness. "and you didn't like me... anymore."
"what?" hikari questioned, smiling softly, "you know that wouldn't happen. never ever."
lingqi could only mumble a quiet "i don't know" in response, already moving to hide his head in the crook of hikari's neck.
hikari insisted, "look at me, please?"
slowly, lingqi sat up, and hikari turned to face him. the two of them were only a short distance apart, thanks to the narowness of hikari's bed. hikari took lingqi's hands in his own, looking him in the eyes; as if he were both searching and admiring him.
"lingqi, i like you a lot."
even through the tears, hikari noticed lingqi's eyes light up, if only the slightest bit. "i like hikari, too. i missed you."
"really?"
lingqi gave an enthusiastic nod, making hikari laugh. "don't go again," lingqi said, his lips forming a pout.
"i won't."
"no, you have to promise."
hikari giggled at lingqi's bossiness, "okay, okay. i promise you."
without any warning, lingqi leaned forward to press a soft kiss to hikari's lips; quickly, fleetingly. hikari blinked a couple times, finding himself smiling once he met lingqi's gaze again.
"good?" lingqi asked.
"really good," hikari assured.
"again?"
"again."
lingqi brought both of his hands to cup hikari's cheeks, kissing him again. it felt slow and careful, with how late it was and how tired they both were, but at the same time, felt sincere; like with every small peck, lingqi was pouring more of his emotions into hikari.
it felt right. this was where they were meant to be; next to one another, spending each moment together. hikari had missed it so much, lingqi's affection, lingqi's words, lingqi himself.
"kari..." lingqi breathed out, leaning his forehead against hikari's, "thank you."
"for what?" hikari tried to ask, but before he could get a response, lingqi had captured his lips once again.
hikari draped an arm around lingqi's shoulder, his hand coming to rest at the back of lingqi's head, pulling him in further.
hikari wasn't sure how the night had escalated this far, this quickly, but he didn't mind, not at all. even with how late it was, he found himself craving more of lingqi's touch, his taste, his everything. because it'd been months since they'd been able to be like this, properly alone and free to do what they desired.
lingqi pulled back, looking hikari in the eye before asking, "can i… do more?" his cheeks were still stained with tears, and he was still letting out the occasional hiccup.
but beneath that, hikari could read the look in his eyes; the longing, the pure love that outweighed any lust.
hikari agreed enthusiastically, bringing up a hand to ruffle lingqi's hair. "of course. just not too much, baby, it's late."
lingqi smiled widely at this, and the sight brought hikari to do the same. lingqi was adorable; he was handsome, he was pretty, he was sweet, and he was all hikari's.
lingqi's hands began moving to roam hikari's back, slipping under his shirt slowly, as if he were merely testing the waters. hikari shivered at the contact, at how lingqi's hands felt as they brushed across the front of his waist.
"lingqi…" hikari gasped, becoming more out of breath the further lingqi's hands raised. a few soft whimpers left hikari's lips at the contact, and he subconsciously leaned into lingqi's touch.
"quiet," lingqi urged softly, not elaborating any further and making hikari giggle.
"okay, i'll try," hikari said before moving to close the gap between them.
their kisses were slower, more feelings and emotion put into each one as their hands travelled along each other's bodies. at one point, lingqi slings his leg over hikari's own, situating himself into hikari's lap and continuing his motions. their noses bumped together and their lips missed a few times, too caught up in the moment for that attention to detail.
by now, hikari's completely gone; the feeling of lingqi's body pressing down to his, his shorts riding up at the thighs, to the taste of his cherry lipbalm and the slight scent of his cologne that still lingered. it all encapsulated hikari, pulling him further and further into lingqi's presence.
it was too much, and hikari needed to let out all of those feelings. so he pulled back for a moment, heart still racing, and looked lingqi in the eyes.
besides the redness of his face and eyes, lingqi showed no more signs of having cried before; his eyes were half-lidded, and his gaze held so much affection that hikari could feel it coursing within him. hikari didn't even have to speak his mind, as lingqi was already on the same page.
"kari... more. please."
----
hikari made his way through the nearly-empty convenience store, the fluorescent lights beaming down on him as he walked through the aisles. after a minute, he found the spot lingqi had been saving for him, and hurriedly sat down next to them.
after the two had cleaned up and settled back into bed, lingqi suddenly mentioned his craving for ice cream.
hikari was hesitant at first – it was still the early morning – but he agreed after lingqi's persuasion. after all, the store near them was open 24 hours, and they had good deals (according to lingqi). so because hikari would, frankly, do anything for lingqi, he got himself ready and walked lingqi to the convenience store.
hikari handed lingqi the vanilla sundae he'd picked out, topped with chocolate syrup and a cherry, and lingqi's eyes were shining as he looked over to hikari from his seat. "thank you, kari!"
"of course," hikari replied, putting his arm around lingqi's shoulders for a quick hug. he set his own choice down – a milkshake – and took in the scene around him.
admittedly, he was still in a bit of a daze after his and lingqi's activities from earlier, but he didn't mind it one bit. lingqi didn't seem nearly as affected, already making jokes and telling hikari stories. hikari still listened intently, though; or, more-so, took in lingqi's expressions and his cute way of speech.
hikari didn't even notice how he began smiling at lingqi until he asked, "what?"
"oh, it's just... you're so cute."
"you think so?"
"of course i do."
lingqi smiled and took a bite of his ice cream. a little bit of chocolate syrup was left on his lips, which hikari noticed. so, hikari took his chance; gently, he cupped lingqi's cheek, kissing him once he turned his head.
when hikari opened his eyes again, lingqi was giggling. he licked his lips, looking up at hikari with a grin; "yours is yummy. strawberry."
"can i try yours, too?" hikari asked playfully. and with that, lingqi took a small scoop of ice cream onto his spoon, holding it out to hikari wordlessly. with a laugh, hikari tasted it, agreeing that his was good, too.
it was a good thing that the convenience store was practically empty; the two of them were a giggling mess, particularly loud and quickly kissing one another any chance they got (not to mention the very haphazardly-covered hickeys on hikari's neck; lingqi insisted that he didn't have to cover up, but hikari insisted it was important for his image).
as they eventually finished up their desserts, ling qi laid his head down onto the table in front of them. "i'm so sleepy."
"well, we did stay up all night," hikari commented.
"why? we could have slept instead."
"you know you wouldn't have done that."
ling qi laughed, eventually agreeing.
"when we get back to the dorm, we can sleep in late. deal?" hikari bargained, grabbing lingqi's hand.
"okay!" lingqi agreed cheerily, standing up from his chair and practically dragging him out of the door.
as they walked back home, hikari could practically feel his adoration for lingqi running through his veins. he knew he missed him a lot, but that night made hikari realize just how much he missed being with lingqi; how much he missed lingqi, in general.
and as lingqi fell asleep beside hikari mere seconds after they lay down, hikari pressed a soft kiss to lingqi's forehead, snuggling into the blankets with just one thought on his mind; i like lingqi.