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"Isn't the water pressure ridiculous here?" Jaehyun dismissively pointed at the bathroom door, his brows furrowed, and walked towards his bed. Unfamiliar hotels are always a gamble— a nice cityscape view isn't a fair compensation for a shower that's seen better days.
"Yeah. The temperature is off, too." Sanghyuk added, shifting his position in bed. He had wrapped himself from head to toe in the duvet long before Jaehyun got up to shower, the bedding clearly proving to be the hotel's best quality. "I'm freezing."
"When aren't you?" Jaehyun scoffed playfully. He put all his toiletries listlessly back in his suitcase, not caring to arrange them better. Their next flight is tomorrow— he won't have much time to unpack anything either way.
Sanghyuk smiled in response. No wonder Jaehyun's caught onto it by now. Sanghyuk's hands, always firmly held by the fingers intertwined around them, still ran cold. Layers of clothes only weighed him down. Jaehyun provided the warmth instead, unsolicited.
Touch was easy; his hands felt like torches, lips burned marks onto Sanghyuk's skin. He was grateful their height difference wasn't too major, though significant enough for them to cuddle like two spoons in the cutlery cabinet.
Words weren't as direct. Jaehyun would circle around them, pick synonyms and phrases that would work as the sulfur to the match. He'd light a fire small enough to melt a bit, yet made sure to avoid causing temperature shock.
It's painfully cliche of Jaehyun to carry both physical and affectionate warmth, Sanghyuk thought.
Jaehyun plugged in his phone and stretched. Sanghyuk wasn't sure why he kept his eyes on him— he just stared. No talking, Jaehyun only smiled at him from time to time.
They've always been simple like this.
"Move over, Sanghyuk-ah.' Jaehyun gestured as he approached Sanghyuk's bed and placed a water bottle next to it.
"Move over?" A singular chuckle escaped his mouth. On instinct, he corrected his position, assenting enough for Jaehyun to lift the duvet himself. "What, are we sharing a bed now?"
"Is that a new thing?" Jaehyun tilted his head before laying down beside Sanghyuk. "Nothing we haven't done before, Jagiya."
Fair, Sanghyuk thought. They've shared a tiny twin bed before, which wasn't a one-time thing either. He didn't mind, he seemed to fit into Jaehyun's arms like a puzzle piece. "You said you're cold." Jaehyun added.
"I am. Your feet are cold too, though, Jaehyun-ah. That's not helping, is it?" Sanghyuk wrapped his leg around Jaehyun's and buried a laugh in his chest.
"Yah, they'll warm up." If Sanghyuk wasn't getting warmer by now, Jaehyun was burning up. A heating pad must've cracked somewhere around his chest, he thought— he'd keep Sanghyuk close to it. Jaehyun rested his hand on Sanghyuk's rib cage, gently moving his finger up and down.
Sometimes when they laid like this, Jaehyun would get urges to kiss the top of Sanghyuk's head, like when he does that to his knee while sitting with one of his legs up, or Woonhak when he acts stupid. When he did that, he'd always feel Sanghyuk shift closer.
It was comfortable enough now. Sanghyuk was snuggled up to him, clearly seeking warmth and receiving it well. Jaehyun wondered why they never roomed together before. They synced up pretty good, he thought, so sharing a space would come naturally. They just haven't needed it to develop a bond. He figured it might've been because he often ended up in Sanghyuk's bed anyway.
Jaehyun turned to switch the night lamp off. He swinged his arm around, not daring to disturb Sanghyuk— only then did he notice how dry his lips were. Not chapped yet, just annoyingly deprived of moisture enough to become noticeable.
"Hey, Sanghyuk, um… do you have a lip balm I could borrow?" Jaehyun asked. He always seemed to have everything on hand, whether that be gum he often offered to the members, or a wasabi packet for Donghyun.
"In my bag, yeah." He hummed softly, raising his head up just enough to face Jaehyun. "Are you gonna get up?"
Well, great, because the way Sanghyuk tightened the grip he had on his back was definitely not holding him up. He started calculating if he'd be able to survive the next few hours dealing with the sensory nightmare he was desperately trying to ignore.
He didn't get far in his analysis.
Sanghyuk put his head back down, a weight being reintroduced to Jaehyun's arm. They laid quietly for a few moments, Jaehyun's thumb not yet returning to caressing Sanghyuk's skin. He really wanted to get up and get that chapstick.
He spoke again suddenly, speech still slightly muffled by Jaehyun's shirt and invaded by several breathy chuckles. "You can use some of mine. I layered it on before you came out the shower, Jagiya." Sanghyuk looked up teasingly, his tone tainted by the smile on his face.
Jaehyun wasn't sure if he was entirely serious. It would be a joke if anyone else said this; not Sanghyuk. When either of them said things along those lines, it was meant both as a suggestion and banter.
Jaehyun laughed back. "What do you mean use yours?" He spoke with that vaguely, falsely baffled voice of his; it was more of a rhetoric question than anything. Sanghyuk's head remained positioned upwards.
"It's flavored, too. Donghyun got me it after a shoot recently. I put enough on to last us both."
Usually, Jaehyun was exactly like that; teased with enough sincerity, still managing to make it look like a complete joke, yet pushing forward as if to proceed. Sanghyuk was the opposite. He pushed moderately. He initiated, received, but didn't do much beyond that.
Seeing Sanghyuk take on that role messed with the heating packet Jaehyun stored in his chest. He kicked some of the duvet off to regulate the temperature.
Still, Jaehyun placed one of his fingers below the other's chin as if to lift it. Sanghyuk's gaze unapologetically dropped to his lips.
"Well?" Sanghyuk reintroduced the eye contact. Reaching for the AC remote would be rude, Jaehyun reminded himself— Sanghyuk was definitely still cold— but his body could double as a radiator right now.
Everything seemed funny to Sanghyuk. The way he was holding Jaehyun, staring him down and waiting. Jaehyun also tried to smile in return, ending up with a rather poor attempt at seeming cool with it. "Well… can I? My lips are getting really dry," Jaehyun asked, "It would help."
"Mhm. Guess the flavor then."
Guess the flavor? "Yah, seriously?" Sanghyuk responded to his question with a nod, and moved his waist close enough to touch the other. "Will I even be able to taste it?"
"One way to find out, right?"
Perhaps Jaehyun was too bewildered to make use of the moment; he missed his cue. His gaze shifted from Sanghyuk's eyes to his lips, his nose, mole, fangs when given the opportunity— "Jaehyun." Sanghyuk reminded.
"Right." His fingers raised Sanghyuk's chin again, then cupped his cheek. "You're sure?"
"You never ask for permission when cameras are rolling." Sanghyuk pointed out. "Do it, I'll lick all the lip balm off if you don't hurry."
Jaehyun shifted his position to support himself on his shoulder. Hesitation made the way he leaned in awkward and clumsy; tremendously unlike him. He feebly kissed Sanghyuk's bottom lip, barely even touching, before pulling away.
He wasn't sure what it was. Usually, at any chance he gets, it's like he kisses all of him, all at once; he wasn't shy now either. Jaehyun couldn't really understand himself. Maybe it was just the way Sanghyuk initiated and caught him off-guard. Maybe it was the heat causing a migraine and heart palpitations that the other must have felt through his shirt.
Or maybe, they were in bed, holding each other and kissing— that's not something that happens often.
Pressing his lips against Sanghyuk's head, giving the back of his neck a quick peck during a shoot, jokingly kissing his hands; those were casual. Affectionate and incredibly tender in Jaehyun's mind, but casual. Having the door locked without anyone peeking in made in a hundred times more intimate. Besides, Jaehyun had never kissed Sanghyuk's lips directly before.
He was overthinking it, he realized; Sanghyuk was definitely not giving it this much thought.
"Yah, was that not pathetic?" Sanghyuk laughed, leaning back slightly. "You didn't even get any of the lip balm on your lips."
The way the corners of Jaehyun's mouth curled up timidly was definitely not helping. "Yeah, I— um, should probably try that again." He chuckled, repositioning his palm.
Sanghyuk hummed back and narrowed his eyes. Again, Jaehyun lifted his head and softly leaned in; appropriately close this time, gently catching Sanghyuk's lower lip in between his— the latter returned it, letting his hands travel down Jaehyun's torso. That was not the point, Jaehyun reminded himself. His heartbeat outpacing his thoughts wasn't doing him any good.
If he could, he'd pull Sanghyuk in closer, kiss him over, over and over again, completely deprived of the softness he suddenly introduced. He'd warm him up with words, touch, and more, yet all that still wouldn't be satisfactory enough— but since he couldn't, he'd be content with just staying like this forever.
Jaehyun let him go shortly after. He pursed his lips as his gaze dropped to Sanghyuk's a few times, starting sentences in his mind he couldn't exactly finish. "So?" Sanghyuk stared with curious eyes.
Despite Jaehyun's heart skipping a few beats, he'd probably be fine, considering how fast it was going. "So, What? Is something wrong?" He asked, trying to mask the panic distorting his tone.
"No, Jaehyun— what's the flavor?"
Right.
"Didn't catch it," Jaehyun licked his lips, "Let me have another go."
Laughter, touch and the insanely gentle embrace Sanghyuk held him in seemed to calm him down almost entirely. Their movements became smoother, way less careful; Jaehyun kissed Sanghyuk properly. The hand that was previously caressing Sanghyuk's cheek made it's way to the back of head, tangled in his bleached hair. It went by too fast. They were both out of breath, Jaehyun pulled away and looked at the other.
"It's… sweet. That's as far as I got." He said, not only to kiss Sanghyuk again— he got to taste it, just not nearly enough to guess.
With that came the next few kisses, progressively closer, natural. Sanghyuk brushed his hands over the bottom of Jaehyun's shirt sometimes, pretending to lift it before returning to caressing his chin, face and neck. Each of those touches lit sparks. Jaehyun wasn't sure how Sanghyuk could feel cold at all, ever.
"Cherry. That's my best guess." Jaehyun blurted out, words foolishly muffled by his heavy breathing. Sanghyuk shook his head with a giggle. "Far from it."
Then, again, he tapped his fingers under Sanghyuk's chin, moved them up to his cheek, positioned himself slightly above— and Sanghyuk put a hand on his chest, holding him back. "There's literally nothing left on my lips anymore."
Well, fuck. He stuttered a few times, unsure what to say or do, too focused on the sinking feeling in his stomach. Jaehyun's palms felt sweaty. Sanghyuk's gaze stayed locked on his eyes in anticipation, condescending enough to make Jaehyun snap out of it.
"Give—" He cleared his throat, "Okay, give me one last try." A sweet taste he so desperately tried to figure out lingered on Jaehyun's tongue. He tried licking his own lips a few times, subtly enough as to not make it weird. Sanghyuk's movements followed, he tasted the remaining balm on his lips and chuckled; partly at the lack of it, and partly because of how Jaehyun's arm was still holding him up above Sanghyuk.
"How's that gonna help? You seriously kissed it all off— if anything, you'd probably have better luck licking your own lips." He brushed his fingers over Jaehyun's cheek and let them fall to his bicep, signaling for him to lay down. "I did! Just… let me have another go?" He answered, immediately biting his tongue at how silly that sounded.
Sanghyuk didn't seem to mind. He tugged on Jaehyun's shirt and pulled himself in, smooching his lips, and returned to his pillow nearly instantly— none of it actually happened in Jaehyun's mind. Too fast, too short, too unusual, still. "Yah, I barely even—"
"Guess."
"Cinnamon?" Jaehyun blurted out, hesitantly, his breathing not yet returning to normal. His heartbeat recited all of his mental monologue in morse code.
"Wrong again," Sanghyuk licked his own lips on instinct, "It's cola."
"I wouldn't have guessed that." Jaehyun laughed, relaxing the arm he hadn't realized was so tense. He checked his lips; still slightly dry, but comfortable enough. Sanghyuk-tasting.
"You can see it on the lip balm," Sanghyuk pointed to his bag with his eyes, "Which I'd be grateful if you brought here."
Jaehyun turned to see how far it was; he definitely couldn't reach it from the bed. With some resentment, he got up, letting out a petty, unserious sigh. He searched in the bag, quite lost in all the compartments, before finally picking it up and passing it to Sanghyuk. He put some on and returned it to Jaehyun, who placed in on the night table.
"Not gonna use it? So you really just stole everything I had on my lips?" Sanghyuk asked.
"No," Jaehyun said, positioning himself in bed again. His left hand traveled up the other's cheek, his right arm gave him a comfortable enough advantage above. "It rubbed off. It also just tastes better on you."
He pressed his lips against Sanghyuk's once more, as briefly as the other did before. The chapstick, applied freshly enough, seemed to transfer properly this time. He didn't dare to lean in after.
Sanghyuk chuckled, their eyes staying locked for a short while, quiet. A few words lingered in Jaehyun's mind, accompanied by the taste he got so used to by now; he wasn't sure how he'd feel about drinking cola after this.