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The day Euijoo had been waiting for finally arrived. After what felt like an eternity of separation, his discharge day from military service was here. It had been a long 18 months. Euijoo had counted the days, the hours, and the minutes until he could finally return to the life he’d once known, the familiar group of eight other boys they liked to call his "pack".
Euijoo bid his final farewell to the military staff and left the base to make his way down to the parking lot. He knew he was going to be picked up by a manager and some of the members, since they were going to film some scenes for a vlog celebrating his discharge.
From a distance he could spot two familiar silhouettes, one of them already bouncing around like an excited puppy. It was their eldest and their youngest welcoming him at the company van, K and Maki. "JUJUUUU", Maki could barely be stopped, nearly toppling Euijoo over with the force of his hug.
It actually wasn't that long ago that he met the members on one of his last leaves from his service, but he let himself enjoy the attention of their overexcited maknae knowing he wasn't required to return to the military base at the end of the day.
Once they were able to pry Maki off of Euijoo, he discreetly glanced around if there wasn't a certain third member present he was hoping to see. There must've been a pang of disappointment visible on Euijoo's face, because as K swooped in for his hug, he whispered to him "He's probably still asleep, you know what he's like", at which Euijoo let out a low chuckle.
After filming a few scenes for the vlog they packed things up and got on the road. Euijoo had some appointments with management and the rest of the group later that day at Hybe, but first they were going to drop him off at his new apartment he was going to live in with Nicholas, to give him some time to acclimate.
The group moved out of their last all-member dorm during Euijoo's service and were now living alone or in various member combinations. At this stage of their career the members spent most of the time being randomly split up between Seoul and Tokyo anyway, fulfilling solo promotions, variety appearences and the likes.
Standing in front of the apartment building, a sudden feeling of peace came over Euijoo. This was it. The beginning to the next chapter of his life. Meeting the world with a newfound maturity, living for the moment without the looming presence of conscription over him, and, most important of all, being able to finally have a sense of normalcy to his relationship with Nicholas.
When Euijoo opened the door, the soft scent of their home greeted him. He carefully peeked in. Except for some discarded pairs of shoes at the entrance there was no sign anyone was home. He slipped off his army boots, quiet as he entered, not wanting to disturb the peaceful atmosphere.
"Nicho?" he called softly, peeking into the living room. No sign of him. He checked the kitchen next, where the smell of fresh coffee lingered in the air, but there was no Nicholas there either.
Curious, Euijoo opened the door to their shared bedroom, and there, hidden under a mound of blankets, was Nicholas — fast asleep.
A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he leaned against the doorframe, watching his boyfriend sleep soundly. Nicholas had always been a heavy sleeper, especially when he’d stayed up late the night before. It looked like he’d overdone it today.
Euijoo quietly approached the bed, the faintest smile pulling at his lips as he looked down at the dishelved head of hair peeking out of under the blanket. He reached out to gently tuck a strand of hair behind Nicholas’ ear. He couldn’t help but laugh again.
The sight of Nicholas in bed, all tangled in blankets, was so comforting. With a soft sigh, Euijoo knelt down next to the bed and simply watched Nicho's peaceful face for a minute or two.
Euijoo got up and slipped out of his army jacket and pants. He lifted the covers and gently layed down next to the sleeping figure. He layed on his side and shuffled closer to Nicho.
"Hey, Nicho!", he breathed quietly. "Nicholas!". No reaction. "Yixiang!". Finally Nicho began to stir, his eyebrows scrunching together. "Hm?", without opening his eyes he let out a questioning hum, stretching his arms as he rolled on his back.
"Yah! What kind of welcome is this?", Euijoo let out an exasperated scoff with a wide grin on his face. Nicho still didn't open his eyes, but an equally wide smile was forming on his face. Euijoo had enough, he tackled his boyfriend and trapped him in a mix between a judo grapple and a tickle attack.
"Wah! Juju! What are you doing! Stop it!", Nicholas was trying to fend off his boyfriend's attack, but his efforts were proving to be futile. At some point Nicholas succumbed to his fate, letting Euijoo manhandle him into the sheets.
When Euijoo finally stilled, Nicho opened his eyes again, their faces now just inches apart. Euijoo was watching him with big round eyes and a familiar smile. A smirk was tugging at Nicholas' lips. His hands moved up to cup the round face in front of him. "Juju... welchome home", he breathed out, closing the distance to a sweet, lingering kiss.
"Yeah", Euijoo thought, letting himself fall into the kiss, "I am finally home"