Chapter Text
apo woke up slowly that morning, comfortably falling in and out of sleep until he couldn't anymore, the city noise outside stirring him.
the first thing he noticed was jay.
as soon as apo shifted beneath the blankets the slightest bit, jay's arms held tighter onto his waist; apo couldn't tell if jay was awake, too, or if it'd just been out of habit.
memories from the day before came flooding back to him, and apo smiled to himself. they'd only just arrived in korea; there was so much to do, so many places to go. the second jay had returned from his previous trip, he'd told apo about everything, and how they he had to bring him next time. it was one of those rare instances where jay got more excited than usual, more talkative, where apo felt so utterly in love he could die.
accordingly, he pitched the idea to go together on their new years' vacation, and there they were now. still a little jet-lagged, and still getting used to the cold weather – at least there's an excuse to wear all my cute sweaters now, apo had thought – but relaxed nonetheless.
jay stirred behind him with a deep hum. "g'morning," he rasped, voice still gruff with sleep.
apo felt something in him warm up; no matter how long they'd been together, moments like this still gave him butterflies. "jay," apo leaned his head further back onto jay's chest. "hi."
jay leaned in close, pressing lazy kisses to the side of apo's neck. apo melted into the feeling, the warmth and the faint sound of jay's heartbeat almost enough to lull him back to sleep.
"how're you feeling, babe?" jay asked with a soft whisper to apo's ear.
"little sore," apo answered frankly. "but i'm comfy."
he could hear jay sighing. "sorry 'bout that."
"stop," apo insisted, "i liked it." he shifted slightly, turning to face jay. his hair was a mess, and his eyes were still half closed, but that somehow helped to make him cuter.
jay started again, "i know, it's just–"
"shut up."
jay shut up. a smile ghosted over his lips. they lay like that for a minute or two without speaking; apo had grabbed jay's hand, playing with his fingers, and jay stayed nuzzled close to apo's neck.
apo spoke after a while, meeting jay's eyes. "anything planned for today?"
jay thought for a moment, taking a little longer from the sleep still clouding his brain. "no, nothing set in stone."
"good. let's stay here a little longer, then," apo offered, "and make a plan."
jay's brow quirked up at this. "you hate planning stuff."
and it was true, apo was more spontaneous like that. but he simply countered, "yeah, but you like it. makes you less stressed."
jay sighed, but there was no malice to it. "you know me well."
"i've known you for years. it'd be weird if i didn't."
"okay, okay. what do you wanna do today?"
"i don't know. what do you wanna do?"
"this isn't going to get us anywhere," jay complained.
"alright," apo laughed, "lemme think. we could go to that café you sent me, look around at the street food if the street's not too icy..."
as apo listed things off, jay looked to him, just nodded; to anyone else, it would've seen dismissive, but apo knew jay long enough to know that's just how he was. jay was packing away every detail into the back of his mind, and whatever apo suggested would happen some way or another (and that last part was something apo had definitely not taken advantage of in the past).
jay started to look a little more awake after a couple minutes, sitting up and stretching slightly. he became a little more observant, too; his eyes flicked to what apo was wearing, then to the messy pile of discarded clothes at the edge of the bed, which was only missing jay's shirt.
he looked back to apo, who had a coy smile on his face. "what? i was cold, that's all i could reach."
"you're lying, and you know it."
to that, apo just rolled his eyes. "and you're secretly honored, hm?"
"nope," jay said, "want my shirt back."
apo scoffed. "we have to shower soon, anyway. get another."
"okay, babe. keep it," jay decided. even through their play-argument, jay looked at him so sweetly that apo could melt.
apo's hand moved to graze jay's arm absentmindedly, his gaze drifting to the clock. "you wanna shower first?" he offered.
jay seemed surprised. "letting me have it that easily?"
apo shrugged, "i'm feeling kind and charitable today."
"how sweet," jay joked. he brought a hand to apo's cheek, giving him a soft kiss on the forehead before he moved to get up.
apo grabbed jay's wrist before he could. "you missed," he complained with a pout.
jay shook his head. "you're too much."
but he kissed him anyway. apo's arm snaked around jay's neck, while jay's moved to rest on apo's shoulder. the kiss was soft and warm and far too quick, but it was okay. apo knew he could get more later, anyway.
"i'l be back," jay said, and it was clear how he was trying to suppress a dopey smile from his face. "don't fall asleep out here."
"promise," apo replied. "might come in and do my skincare to wake me up a little."
jay tilted his head. "sure it's not–"
"hey," apo interjected before jay could finish. "no, it's not because i want to watch."
"okay," jay chuckled. "you don't mind setting out an outfit for me, do you?" he asked, already heading into the bathroom.
apo shook his head, "got you. i'm always glad to be the stylist."
"thank you," jay called out.
apo heard the sound of the shower running (he tried not think too much about how it brought back memories of last night. don't ask).
despite his attempts to get up, the warmth jay had left behind made it too hard. he still successfully fought the urge to sleep another 5 minutes, and started poking around their luggage for his makeup bag and jay's outfit.
above all else, he was excited for what the day would bring, how the rest of this trip would play out.
and honestly, it didn't matter too much; apo already knew the best part would be spending time with jay, anyway.