Work Text:
“Ngh…Per…”
Jun pauses mid-chop, knife still hovering above a carrot. His ears perk like a startled golden retriever after hearing that soft, half-muffled sound.
He leans sideways, peeking out of the kitchen doorway. His eyes land on the hallway and…
WHAT. IN. THE. WORLD.
There stands Pepper.
There stands Dylan.
And Pepper is… Is he kissing Dylan?!
From Jun’s position, he can see Dylan is backed up against the wall, hands doing the weak-flailing “Wait wait wait What are you doing” pose, while Pepper has both hands on either side of Dylan’s face, leaning TOO close.
Jun blinks.
Once. Twice.
Then a third time because clearly his eyes are lying.
But nope. Still looks like a kiss.
“What the…”
He keeps staring…until Nano yells from the garden outside. “Jun! Can you help carry the BBQ stuff? The chicken is heavy!”
Jun flinches so hard he almost stabs his own finger. “OK! Coming!”
His legs move towards the tray of chicken on the kitchen table but his mind is spiraling. He thinks of Pepper, who just got dumped last week…
BUT Pepper is not gay!
Pepper has always flirted with girls.
So why?
WHY. IS. HE. KISSING. DYLAN?!
His brain offers three theories:
- Pepper has snapped from heartbreak and is now kissing the nearest breathing thing.
- Dylan secretly seduced Pepper.
- Or worst-case scenario: Dylan and Pepper have always been secretly together and Jun is the last to know.
Jun presses a hand to his mouth. A dialogue in his mind is, “I was not prepared for this plot twist in my own living room!”
What’s worse is…
He can’t see Dylan’s expression.
- HE. REALLY. WANTS. TO. KNOW. WHAT’S. UP.
== == ==
It’s late. All five members of MARS are knocked out in the living room after a full day of BBQ, games and way too many “truth or dare” rounds.
From left to right on the giant futon pile:
Nano (dead asleep, open mouth, blanket half on the floor)
Jun (peacefully asleep, for now)
Dylan (curled up like a cat)
Thame (sleeping with arms crossed)
Pepper (light snoring)
All is calm… until the sky cracks open.
Jun’s eyes snap open. He blinks at the ceiling. “Ahh… Thunder…”
He’s about to go back to sleep when he turns his head… and find the space beside him is empty.
Dylan’s blanket is still there. But Dylan isn’t.
And Jun remembers: Dylan hates thunder.
Jun sits up slowly, stretching with a quiet groan. Another thunder rumbles and he winces, imagining Dylan freezing somewhere like a scared puppy.
He stands, careful not to step on Nano and tiptoes out.
Thunder cracks again.
Jun finds Dylan in the kitchen. Dylan is standing by the kitchen counter, holding a glass with both hands. His silver hair is slightly messy, shoulders tense, body trembling just enough for Jun to notice.
He hasn’t even drunk the water. Just holding it. Waiting for the world to stop exploding.
“Hey”, Jun greets softly.
Dylan jumps. His head finally turns, eyes wide, but when he sees it’s just Jun, he relaxes a little.
“Can’t sleep?”, Dylan asks, trying to sound casual.
“Thirsty”, Jun lies smoothly.
Dylan nods, shuffling a bit to the side so Jun can get his glass too. “Same”.
Silence.
*BOOOOOM!!!*
The thunder is louder this time. And Dylan reacts before thinking.
He launches himself straight into Jun’s arms.
A full body cling. Hands gripping Jun’s shirt. Face buried into Jun’s shoulder. They collided chest to chest.
Jun almost drops his glass. He is screaming inside.
“Ohh… Ohh Wow! Is this really happening?”
Dylan trembles. “Sorry…”
Another thunder.
Dylan clings tighter.
Jun’s brain instantly switches into dramatic slow motion; lights dim and romantic BGM starts playing.
Physically, he stands there frozen, arms half raised, still processing the fact that Dylan is practically HUGGING him. Fully. Warmly. Trustingly. SILVER HAIR IN HIS NECK.
Then, very slowly… Jun lowers his arms and wraps them around Dylan too.
“Ohh Wow! Ohh Wow! This is actually happening! HOLY-”
The thunder roars again.
Twice. Three times.
Dylan doesn’t move away. He’s still pressed to Jun, clinging tighter every time the sky screams.
And Jun?
He’s too busy staring at the side of Dylan’s face. The soft eyelashes. The slope of his nose. The way his silver hair brushes against Jun’s cheek.
“How is someone allowed to look this pretty while terrified?”
They stay like that for a long time. Until the storm finally quiets and the thunder fades into a soft rumble, only then Dylan slowly loosens his hold on Jun. His hands slide off Jun’s shirt, and he takes one step back, still shy, still breathless.
“Thank you…”, Dylan whispers.
Jun feels the warmth leave his body for half a second… and then without thinking, he reaches out and pulls Dylan right back in.
This time, Jun’s arms wrap fully around Dylan’s waist.
Dylan gasps. “J-Jun?”
Jun doesn’t explain. He just studies Dylan’s face. His wide eyes, his pink ears, his messy silver hair, his cute nose, his soft-looking kissable lips…
As calm as possible, Jun voices out his thoughts, “So this is what Pepper saw this morning”.
Dylan responds with a confused, “Huh?”
Jun chuckles. “Tell me… What’s going on between you and Pepper?”
Dylan blinks. “What’s going on? There’s nothing going on. He’s my beloved bro”.
Jun raises an eyebrow. “Really? I saw you two kissing this morning. Any explanation?”
Dylan’s eyes go HUGE. “KISS?! What kiss?! Are you crazy?! We NEVER kissed!”
Jun blinks back. Now he’s confused. “But I saw you two! Right there”. He points at the direction of the living room wall.
Dylan throws his hands up. “UFF! There were DUST! Or eyelashes, stuck in my eyes!”
Jun tilts his head a bit, not quite understanding.
Dylan sighs. “I was rubbing my eyes and Pepper saw it, so he tried to help me. He was BLOWING in my eyes. That’s it!”
Jun pauses. A slow realization hits him. “Ohh…”
And then, he bursts into a laugh. “So THAT’S what it was!”
“Yes!”, Dylan whines, cheeks puffed, “So, can you let me go now?”
Jun does not let him go.
In fact… he leans in. Face inching closer. Closer. And closer.
Dylan immediately leans back in equal speed, eyes wide, hands still hovering in awkward panic.
Then…
*A GASP*
At the entrance of the kitchen… stands Thame. Wide-eyed. Hands slapped over his mouth like he’s witnessing a forbidden scene.
Dylan panics. “No! Thame, this is not…”
Thame waves both his hands dramatically. “SORRY FOR DISTURBING! You guys continue! I SEE NOTHING!”
And he RUNS.
Dylan shouts. “THAME! WAIT!”
But he’s gone.
Jun? He simply smirks. Arms still locked around Dylan. “Let him be~ This is no problem at all~”
Dylan looks at him in disbelief. “NO PROBLEM?! This is a TOTAL MISUNDERSTANDING! LET ME GO!”
He pushes at Jun’s arms but they don’t budge. So he switches tactic…
He places his whole palm right on Jun’s face and shoves.
Jun’s grip instantly loosens.
Dylan escapes.
Sprints out of the kitchen to chase Thame.
Jun is left alone in the kitchen, facepalming and laughing at himself.
From the living room, Jun can hear Thame shouting, “NANO! PEPPER! WAKE UP! I SAW DYLAN AND JUN ALMOST KISSING IN THE KITCHEN!”
And Dylan yells back, “THAT’S NOT TRUE! IT WAS A MISUNDERSTANDING!”
Jun leans against the counter, grinning like a fool.
When he saw Dylan’s unguarded face earlier… it really did feel like Dylan could turn straight people gay.
Even if it was a misunderstanding…
It doesn’t change the fact that Jun’s heart was racing the entire time Dylan was in his arms.
He smiles to himself.
“Ohh Dylan~ How freaking adorable you are~”