Work Text:
Jihoon was feeling giddy that day.
Maybe it was the excitement of leaving for a new continent, performing for a new crowd in a country they’d never been to before, and as headliners for a huge festival on top of it all, they would be meeting a lot of new Carats there. Or maybe it was a hint of mischievousness showing up again for the first time after over a month with his hair shorter.
It might have been all of the above.
Jihoon had kept his hair longer for quite a long time now, and he had to admit, cutting it short again still felt a little weird to him, and old habits like trying to tie it up or putting the side strands behind his ears were still frequent, for now . Soonyoung, however, seemed to love teasing him about it every single time he caught him doing it, which appears to be a lot since that’s all he’s been hearing for the past days since he went to the salon.
Jihoon’s overall excitement about everything was nothing compared to Soonyoung’s usual energy and playfulness. And so, since Jihoon was in such a good mood today and Soonyoung was as well, he decided he was gonna tease his boyfriend back. Just a little, just because he can.
And count on Soonyoung to unknowingly give him an opportunity. As soon as they were out of their own cars, Jihoon walked up to stand by Soonyoung’s side, waiting for the signal from their managers to cross the road. As usual, he tried to ignore the fans and reporters, looking around, focusing on checking his bag, fixing his mask and glasses, anything to keep himself busy to forget about all the cameras fixed on them.
Barely a second later, Soonyoung, probably sensing Jihoon’s usual nervousness at the attention ( he knows his boyfriend very well by now ), put up his hand, forming half a heart, waiting for Jihoon to complete it.
The first opportunity. Oh, Jihoon loved that man.
Jihoon stared at Soonyoung’s hand keeping his own firmly in the pocket of his jacket, before looking at his boyfriend’s face, laughing warmly, he knew Soonyoung wouldn’t get upset that he wasn’t cooperating, it was their whole thing after all, in public at least, and it was funny to watch Soonyoung pretend to be upset only for his smile to grow bigger and brighter.
And indeed, hearing his boyfriend’s laugh and teasing remarks, Soonyoung’s smile only grew. Jihoon could not see it directly since Soonyoung was also wearing a mask, but he knew from the way his cheeks bunched up, causing his eyes to close slightly, still looking incredibly fond.
Soonyoung quickly understood Jihoon was not gonna complete his heart, probably knew from the beginning that he wouldn’t, and so put his hand up to his own cheek, making Jihoon laugh even harder.
Soon enough, they were given the signal to cross the road and enter the airport. Jihoon stayed close to Soonyoung the whole time, it was a force of habit after all these years, but being next to his boyfriend still always eased his mind and nervousness a little amidst the usual chaos of the crowd.
As he followed the members walking to the waiting line, Jihoon secretly put his hand up to form a quick tiger paw, subtly imitating his boyfriend’s horanghae. Jihoon knew the other would be looking up photos of them and checking the fans’ comments later in the day. It would be fun to see Soonyoung’s reaction when he sees photos or videos of the little hand sign done by Jihoon.
As they waited in line, Soonyoung was busy clinging to Jeonghan, talking to the other members, or staring into space while waiting for a sign to move on. Jihoon unconsciously, or not, started staring at his boyfriend. At first, he was only looking just because he could, as his second opportunity to tease Soonyoung and see how long it would take for him to notice, how long he could actually go without getting caught. But then, while doing so, Jihoon got distracted, suddenly overwhelmed with emotions and admiration for his lover, getting lost in thoughts.
Jihoon tilted his head slightly while scrutinizing Soonyoung’s side profile. He truly was handsome, ethereal, mesmerizing… amongst the many adjectives that could be used to describe his boyfriend’s perfectly sculpted features, Jihoon could absolutely go on for hours. Sure, it might not be the day he put the most effort into his outfit, and he wasn’t even wearing any makeup, but Jihoon loved him like this the most.
Simple. Natural. Right now, he was not Hoshi, but undoubtedly his most natural self, his soft and loving boyfriend, his beloved Soonyoung .
Jihoon considered himself lucky to have someone like Soonyoung by his side, a partner that, with or without words, truly understood him, someone who was basically his biggest fan since their teenage years, always supporting him and cheering him on, pushing him to be and do better but most importantly, always here to catch him when he got lost in his work, even after all these long years, their support and love for each other never so much as wavered. Over the years, Soonyoung slowly but surely built himself a safe and warm place in Jihoon’s heart and became his home.
Soonyoung was like a bright star, guiding him back out of the darkness that was his own mind. And what would a universe be without its brightest star. Jihoon was infinitely grateful to have Soonyoung in his life. He was lucky to love someone like him and even luckier that Soonyoung actually loved him back.
It took Soonyoung about 2 minutes to notice and turn his head to face Jihoon, or maybe he had known all along and just played along because he enjoyed the attention, which, Jihoon knew, wouldn’t be entirely out of character for his boyfriend who had once confessed he loved to feel Jihoon’s gaze on him because it was always so full of warmth.
Seeing the loving look his boyfriend was giving him, Jihoon’s hand was itching to reach out and caress his lover’s face before running his hand through his hair. Alas, that would have to wait a little more; for now, a soft hidden smile would have to be enough.
—————————
Having passed security and now waiting at their gate, Soonyoung decided it was time for a photoshoot. Jihoon, who had immediately gone to rest against the structure pole while waiting, noticed his boyfriend dragging Wonwoo close to him for the three of them to take a picture together. He straightened up slightly for the picture, only to rest again when he saw that Soonyoung was happy with it.
Jihoon chuckled to himself seeing his boyfriend crouching down next to him and taking some selfies. He also secretly took some pictures of his boyfriend just because he was so cute, no one would have to know, maybe Soonyoung would see them one day.
After a few minutes, he noticed Soonyoung standing up again and resting next to him on the structure pole as well, clearly exaggeratedly imitating Jihoon’s position, he looked very happy doing it. Jihoon couldn’t stop the fond “ Idiot ” that left his lips, making Soonyoung laugh even harder. A manager or another member was probably taking pictures of them; knowing his boyfriend, he was definitely going to post those. It seems he liked to subtly show him off, and that alone made Jihoon feel incredibly warm and loved.
As Soonyoung straightened up, getting absorbed in another random conversation with the members, Jihoon blanked out again, staring at his lover. He was suddenly thankful to his past self for wearing a face mask because they might be in a more restricted zone now, with much less people but they were still in public, and he couldn’t help but unconsciously biting his lip staring at his boyfriend’s own, too out of it for it to make sense of the words the movements kept him entertained enough. All he could think about was how much he wanted to kiss those lips right this instant and not let go until they were both completely out of breath, maybe go even further, teasing Soonyoung to have him begging for him, but that’s thoughts he shouldn’t indulge in in public.
As much as he thought he was being subtle, he was apparently underestimating the Kwon Soonyoung and his instinct of always knowing when Jihoon’s attention was on him. He got caught staring, which was honestly pretty normal.
The problem was that Jihoon got caught staring at his boyfriend’s lips, again, not totally unusual, but it’s like Soonyoung could read his mind and knew exactly the fantasies he’d been having. Jihoon knew right then he wouldn’t hear the end of it, as he watched the other’s eyes staring back at his lips before going back to his eyes, his breath suddenly stopping when Soonyoung winked and smirked.
His boyfriend inched a little closer to whisper in his ear.
“As soon as we arrive at the hotel, you can do anything you want with me.” His voice low and raspy on purpose. Soonyoung definitely knew what he was doing. He truly had read his mind. Jihoon couldn’t help the heat rising on his face, his eyes growing wide, hitting Soonyoung’s chest lightly before answering.
“Shameless bastard. Just you wait.” Jihoon could tease him back just as shamelessly, but decided to keep his energy for later, it seems he would need it. Soonyoung’s smirk only grew by the second.
“Hmm. I can’t wait Hoonie. I love you.”
“Idiot. Love you too.” he added finally, a soft smile painting both their faces. Both were giddy from the quiet confessions and deep love for each other, but also excitement for the new promise of a good time when they landed.