Work Text:
early morning. bright sunlight streaming through the windows. the agony of waking up.
suren groaned as he moved over to turn off his alarm. beside him, zihao was still sleeping soundly, one arm still wrapped around suren's waist from when they'd fallen asleep. the sight of him there still startled suren the slightest bit every time; he still hadn't truly adjusted to living together.
but that didn't change the fact it was nice. so nice. suren leaned further into zihao's warmth, deciding there was nothing urgent enough to get him out of bed just yet. zihao shifted beneath him, tightening his grip; the feeling of his bare skin was warm, comforting, enough to almost lull suren back to sleep again.
suren shifted to look at him, just staring for a while. there was a tiny smile on his lips, even in sleep, and his faded hair was a vibrant pink in the morning light. the others were right – zihao really does look more handsome the more you look at him. suren couldn't take his eyes off him. why would he? it's not like he could be asked to stop.
zihao's eyes blinked open. "what?"
suren almost jumped. "since when were you up?"
"since now."
suren rolled his eyes, shifting to lay back down beside him. zihao pulled him in close, resting his head in the crook of suren's neck. neither of them spoke for a while, merely existing together, breathing each other in.
it was zihao who broke the silence, giving a soft kiss to suren's neck before mumbling, "i missed you."
suren scoffed, "you've been with me since last night." he ran a hand through zihao's hair as he proceeded to sulk.
"you were so tired when i got back home, we didn't even get to talk," zihao lamented.
"sorry, bao. you know how dance practice can be."
"mhm," zihao hummed. he lifted his head, pressing his lips to the corner of suren's. suren smiled, gently holding the back of his head to give him a proper kiss. zihao's gaze was soft when he pulled back, grabbing onto suren's hand out of habit. he spoke, "you know how i went to that support café yesterday?"
suren nodded, "heard it was packed."
"you should've seen it," zihao laughed, "i never thought that many people would come, it was intimidating. but anyways, one of them asked me about you."
suren quirked a brow. "did they now?"
zihao's smile grew. "mhm. they asked if we're a thing."
"oh, no," suren said, blankets rustling as he moved to sit up straighter. "and did you lie to them or what?"
"honestly, i just blanked and told them we're soulmates."
"so you didn't deny we're dating?"
"no, why would i?"
suren sighed lovingly. "i'm sure they all know already."
"how? i think we're pretty discreet," zihao said.
"if we were discreet, i wouldn't be seeing so many tweets debating which of us tops."
"tell them that we don't know, either."
suren narrowed his eyes. "keep telling yourself that, you just don't wanna accept–"
"i will hear no more of this slander."
—
as the two eventually made their way out of bed, suren started the coffee while zihao found something for breakfast. neither of them were all that great at cooking, so suren no longer had his hopes up at this point.
"what'll it be?" suren asked, turning to see zihao still standing puzzled in front of the fridge.
"we have nothing."
"sure we do. you can make toast, can't you?"
zihao frowned. "i guess."
something new suren had learned through living together is that zihao could not cook for shit. it wasn't as easy to tell at planet camp, since everything was pre-prepared anyway, but one look at zihao's daily meal plan was enough to raise some eyebrows (suren had to physically beg him to stop eating ramen every day).
case in point, suren watched as zihao fumbled with the bag of bread, successfully getting it into the toaster after 2 failed attempts; it's okay, because he was cute. "proud of you," suren teased, which earned a distressed whine from zihao.
"i'm doing my best!"
"i know you are," suren assured. he finished up the coffee, pouring it into two mismatched mugs for the two of them. zihao walked over, pulling a spoon out from the drawer and scooping sugar into his mug briskly. suren did the same, pouring a generous amount of hazelnut creamer to top it off.
(he questioned why either of them even drank coffee with how much sugar they'd inevitably mix in; maybe suren should invest in a milkshake machine.)
zihao took a step backwards, wrapping his arms around suren from behind. his head rested on his shoulder again, lazily watching him stir. "hi."
an imaginary question mark appeared over suren's head. "hi? don't you want your coffee?"
zihao hummed in disinterest. "not yet, i'll let it cool off."
"i could've gotten you some ice."
"who drinks iced coffee in the morning?"
"some people, probably?"
suren couldn't see him, but he could sense zihao's eye-roll from his aura alone. "whatever. i like it hot."
"just like you are?"
"huh?"
suren would've facepalmed if his hands weren't so busy. "zihao, honey..."
the gears in his head turned for a second longer, and zihao gave an exaggerated oh. "thanks, baobao!"
"took you long enough-" suren was cut off when zihao feebly kicked at his ankle in retaliation. "hey!"
zihao laughed, leaning forward just enough to kiss suren on the cheek. "deserved."
they heard the sound of the toaster popping up, and suren gently stepped out of zihao's grip, deciding to cook something more on a whim. "toast won't be that filling. you want some eggs?"
"yes please!" zihao stood out of the way, leaning against the counter as he watched suren take out his pan, rummage through the fridge for two eggs, and busily start to fry them. "i can help," he offers.
suren looked to him with a pout. "that's sweet, babe, but i don't want the place to burn down today. you know?"
zihao smiled. "fair enough." he continued watching, but his gaze drifted to suren's face after a while.
he noticed, of course. "what is it?"
there was no hesitation in sight when zihao said softly, "stay still for a sec?"
suren blinked, confused, but he listened. moments later, zihao's lips pressed to his; lingering, soft from how drowsy he was. his hand returned to suren's waist out of habit.
suren melted instantly, the spatula in his hand forgotten. the sizzling of the pan was the only sound in the house, save for the faint hitch of zihao's breath as zihao tilted his head to move further.
when zihao pulled back, his eyes were soft, smile even softer. he held onto suren, as if to anchor himself. his cheeks were a little pink as he spoke; "see? i can do something right in the kitchen."
suren almost rolled his eyes, but he was so lost in zihao's gaze, all he could manage were heart eyes. he reached to brush his thumb gently against zihao's cheek, "you dumbass, you'll make me burn the eggs."
"who cares about the stupid eggs?" zihao whined, still not releasing his grip.
suren looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged. "not me."
"good," zihao said. he returned to his spot against the counter. "bao, are you gonna be busy today?"
suren shook his head, "no dance class today. you?"
"nope, i just have to visit the company later," he grinned, "so we can hang out more today?"
"of course," suren promises, "we can sit around and do nothing all day if that's what you want."
"i don't know. i'd rather do you."
suren turned around fully with a feigned disgust on his face. "alright, buddy..."
zihao broke out into laughter, watching as suren looked at him half incredulous, half endeared.
"breakfast in 5," suren said to him calmly. then he added, just to tease him a little, "and put a damn shirt on."
"if you insist," zihao said. as he turned to return to their bedroom, suren took the chance to grab him by the wrist. zihao came right back, looking at him confused.
suren put his spatula down again, grabbing zihao's face to plant a soft kiss to his forehead. without saying another word, he went back to his cooking, ushering him off.
suren wasn't looking, but he could hear the soft giggling that followed zihao as he walked away.