Romance in Aisle 5 [Final Chapter]
Title: Romance in aisle 5
Pairing: Donghae/Hyukjae
Chapter: 6/6
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, fluff, Supermaket!au
Summary: Romance always appears in the strangest of places. And Hyukjae certainly doesn’t expect it when the cashier rings up his basket of suggestive purchases.
Written with tees2mai
Betaed by poisonpickles
Donghae sighed for the tenth time that day only to receive a prod in the back from his very ‘helpful’ assistant. Glaring at Kyuhyun, who only shrugged, he ran a tired hand through his hair before smiling.
Certainly, he was more busy these days, having attended more meetings and functions that he ever had before. But then again, he supposed he shouldn’t be complaining. After all, the reason for his hectic schedule was also the reason why he could keep going.
The elevator finally reached its long ascent to the top floor, and Donghae stepped out into a room that was much more lively than he had ever seen before.
Hyukjae stepped into the conference room with the glass walls, looking through his files. Putting them onto the table, he shot a quick look around the room and quickly got down to business, not wasting a second. He passed out his file and began talking over the goals of the week they had to accomplish with the men he was now boss off. Rolling up his sleeves, all other thoughts were gone from his mind when it came to his work.
He worked hard and made sure he earned respect from everyone around him. Stepping out of the room for a moment when he was called, Hyukjae stood at the door of the conference room, chatting with an assistant of one of the other heads of department, discussing something in a file she had in her hands.
A month into his job and Hyukjae had settled in like he had belonged there all along.
Watching with a soft smile, Donghae walked up to Hyukjae and pulled him into a deep kiss, ignoring the fact that Hyukjae was still talking to one of their employees.
Donghae surprised Hyukjae with the action and he let out a startled noise as he was kissed. He gave in, kissing Donghae back for a moment before remembering where they were and pushing Donghae away. "Donghae." He chided in a whisper, trying to give him a glare.
“Yes?” Donghae grinned innocently, dismissing the stunned assistant behind him with a wave.
Hyukjae wanted to swat Donghae with the folder in his hands but they were at the office and he didn’t want to make a scene. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" He asked, "You know I memorize your schedule..."
“The guy cancelled. So now I’m free for the moment.” Donghae nuzzled his nose into Hyukjae’s hair. “And when I saw you just now so business-like, my heart went ‘ba-dump ba-dump’ and I went ‘kyaah’ and I just needed to glomp you.”
Hyukjae bit back his laughter but couldn't stop the smile on his face from forming. "Well you might be free... but do I look free to you?" He tried frowning, trying to tell him off. He looked away. "Kyuhyun?"
Pouting, Donghae tried to keep a hold onto Hyukjae, only to have his hands forcibly pried off by Kyuhyun’s surprisingly strong hands. Holding Donghae back like he was some recalcitrant puppy, Kyuhyun asked Hyukjae. “Where would you like me to throw him, sir?”
“Yah! Kyuhyun! What do you mean throw me? I’m still the second highest ranking person in this office, you know?” Donghae protested, swinging around in Kyuhyun’s grip, looking nothing like his rank.
"Child." Hyukjae said in a low voice, lips curving into an annoyed frown, but eyes showing nothing but love for Donghae just the way he was.
“I'm not sure, Kyuhyun.... should we make him help the accounts in his now free time or should we be nice and let him sit in on my meeting instead?" He looked at Kyuhyun seriously.
“The accounts need balancing.” Was Kyuhyun’s short answer, which was followed by a dramatic gasp on Donghae’s part.
Managing to escape from Kyuhyun’s grasp, he wrapped his arms around Hyukjae’s waist, whining. “No! Not the accounts!” He pleaded, shedding tears which were obviously coming from a bottle of eyedrops held in his hand. “Anything but accounts!”
Hyukjae rolled his eyes, knowing a handful of tricks that were up Donghae's sleeve. "Okay. But on one condition..." He looked at Donghae, patting his head. "Give Kyuhyun a raise for putting up with you." He said in a teasing voice, pulling him into the conference room and pointed to a chair. "And sit quietly."
Donghae gave a long suffering sigh, sitting down in the chair like he’d just been sent to detention. “Why should I give Kyuhyun a raise for abusing me?” He half-whined. But there wasn’t heat in it. He’d been wanting to give Kyuhyun a raise for a long time, but hadn’t had the means to justify it to the accounts section.
"I hardly call it abuse." Hyukjae stated before easily going back into the meeting mode, ignoring the amused/awkward looks the others in the room were giving him. He loved the attention Donghae gave him, but it was sometimes hard to make others take him seriously when Donghae waltzed in and made him seem like nothing but Donghae's boyfriend who got a promotion while dating Donghae. He kept his face straight and continued talking despite the looks he was getting from one of the people present, who had disliked Hyukjae for getting the position he had been trying for as well.
But Donghae was anything but ignorant. He sat quietly, listening to Hyukjae’s presentation intently and keeping quiet even as his boyfriend was shot down with a multitude of questions against his decision to cut the launch of a new product. But halfway through the meeting, he asked entirely in a mild, non-threatening fashion. “I’m sorry, Hyukjae-sshi. May I ask a question? What is the rationale behind your decision?”
Hyukjae turned to Donghae. "If you turn to page 7..." He said, pushing a folder towards him. "You'll see the original launch campaign is costing the company millions we can't afford right now. With the current budget cuts and the employee's we've had to let go of, the media would use this against us completely. There would be no way to recover unless it's sold out at twice the projected numbers the day its released. With seems very unlikely right now as even in testing stages we're not getting the results we'd like. This is going to damage the company... That information you'll find page ten onwards." He pointed at the folder again. He was thankful Donghae was being serious now.
“I see...” Donghae read through the numbers and saw the sense in them. The product honestly wasn’t that good in his opinion anyway. And then looking up, he gestured at the man who seemed to be trying to get under Hyukjae’s skin. “And Shinghyun-sshi. What exactly is your rationale for opposite Hyukjae-sshi’s decision.”
The man stared blankly at Donghae before floundering. “Uh... well. Honestly, the product would have been good for our company image-”
“A product doomed for failure would have been good for our company image?” Donghae interjected, looking bemused.
“Well... it’s not doomed to fail-”
“Just do very badly, yes.” Donghae said calmly, watching Shinghyun become more and more uncomfortable.
“Well, yes. Perhaps, however...” Shinghyun trailed off before realizing that once he acknowledged those two points, anything else he had to say was irrelevant. “... Nothing else, sir.”
“I thought so.” Donghae nodded, making a few notes in his laptop before gesturing at Hyukjae to proceed.
"Well, to the point of this meeting. If we kill this project now before we throw money at it, it's going to save us in the long run, and we're at a lucky point where the media hasn't been informed anything beyond rumours of this new product. Rumours are a lot easier to handle then a failed project." He looked around the room.
"Any more questions? If we can all agree today we can shut it down now and move on to something that’s actually worth it."
Donghae hid a smile when the whole room nodded its assent as if there hadn’t been any problem in the first place. And the meeting continued on without problem.
There was a flicker of happiness in Hyukjae's eyes as they finally finished up the meeting and picked up his files to take back to his office. Everyone else began leaving and turned to see if Donghae was going as well. "Do you remember what we're doing tonight?"
“I thought you were the one who had memorized my schedule?” Donghae teased, before he sighed. “Of course I do. And I’m still nervous as hell about it.”
"I was testing you silly." Hyukjae shot him a smile. "Don't worry. She'll adore you." He looked around before he walked over, leaning in to kiss him softly. "She already does." He assured Donghae, standing up. "C'mon I'll let you walk me back to my office."
“What an honour that is.” Donghae chuckled, linking his arm with Hyukjae’s and gently leading him out.
Hyukjae laughed and held onto his files as Donghae lead him, hiding his smile as they got out in front of everyone on the floor and didn't show his smile again until they reached his office. "Alright, I'll see you at home." He looked at Donghae.
Donghae didn’t bother his slightly pained smile. “Where you’ll help me pick out an outfit to meet your mom right? I still don’t know what to wear, all my stuff is all so... showy. I don’t want her to think I’m belittling her, you know.”
Hyukjae pushed Donghae's hair out of his eyes and nodded. "Donghae my mother won't care about what you wear or who you are." He told him honestly before adding teasing, "She only cares about how you treat me." He kissed Donghae's cheek.
“Still...” Donghae sighed, before shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I’m just so nervous.” He reached out, squeezing Hyukjae lightly. “Well, I better get going, Mr. person who has memorized my schedule. I’m about to be late for my next meeting.”
"Don't be." Hyukjae smiled at him, nodding. "Yes, you will be." He laughed, "Now get going. I love you." He told Donghae.
“I’ll see you tonight.” Donghae kissed Hyukjae softly, then yelped when he felt a hand grab his collar again. “That is, if Kyuhyun doesn’t accidentally choke me by then.”
Hyukjae laughed and waved at Kyuhyun. "He won’t, he'll take very good care of you. Bye Donghae." He gently pushed him towards the direction of the elevator, watching him go.
Donghae waved as long as he could when the elevator door close. And when he did, he turned to face a rather amused looking Kyuhyun.
“Hey, you look just as sparkly-eyed when you meet that cute little thing from the Japan office, what was his name again? Sungmin?” Donghae chided, at which Kyuhyun could only sigh ruefully.
“I guess love makes fools of all of us.”
Smiling, Donghae could only agree. “Indeed, she does, Kyuhyun. Indeed she does.”
~*~
Hyukjae waited until they had stepped out of his mother's house and the door had been shut before he hugged Donghae tightly, kissing him just as deeply. "See! She loved you to bits. You were worried for nothing." He teased, happiness all over his face as he looked at Donghae.
The evening had gone amazingly and Hyukjae's mother could not stop praising Donghae. She loved him and loved the way they were together and it made Hyukjae really happy that his mother approved as well.
Donghae scratched his head bashfully. “Your mother was too kind. I think I’ve never blushed so many times in my life...”
"She was stating nothing but truths." Hyukjae nodded, pulling away. "You really are amazing. I never had a doubt about her liking you."
“Now you’re making me blush.” Donghae sighed, raising his hand for the chauffeur to come. “I’m nothing much. You and your mom, you’re the amazing ones. Your home is so warm. I really envy you.”
"No, you're not allowed to envy me." He stuck this tongue out at Donghae playfully. "I mean, I'd like to think we've made our home now lively too..." He added seriously. "And we did give away so much of the more expensive items much to your father’s dismay. I can't believe he still likes me."
“He realized your prudence is what is making the company thrive now.” Donghae chuckled. “He used to be so stuck on image. But now he realizes that those who are truly rich don’t care about how expensive their stuff is. They just get what they like”
“And I do think that you’ve made our home a lot more lively. I actually look forward to going back to it even if you’re not in it, just because I can feel you there.” Donghae kissed Hyukjae once more before opening the door to the car.
Hyukjae beamed at him before getting into the car. "Your dad has looked a lot happier these days as well." He noted, leaning on Donghae and cuddling into his side once they settled into the car. He yawned into his hand, feeling tired from the long day. He hadn't gotten home until half an hour before they had to leave.
"The help seem a lot happier with you as well." He teased. Hyukjae had gotten a lot more comfortable in Donghae's lavish apartment, especially now that he could hold his own financially so he could contribute and pay the bills with Donghae. He felt like it was his own home too, especially because of who he lived with.
“Because you’re a clean freak, so they don’t have to do anything but pick up the microscopic crumbs you missed.” Donghae teased back, shaking his head. “Notice that we’re all a lot happier after you came into my life.”
Hyukjae smiled brightly, leaning up to kiss Donghae's cheek before settling back into cuddling him. "Aren't I just amazing?" He laughed, blushing at the compliment. "I'm thinking of picking up night classes." He suddenly told Donghae.
“Night classes? Why?” Donghae’s eyebrow rose in question.
"Language classes." He looked at Donghae. "I got away with it in college and my Italian’s getting rusty. With all the expanding and the all the times I have to meet up with the Japan office I don't want to be constantly needing a translator." He said, thinking of the way Shinghyun fluently was able to communicate. He wanted to be nothing short of perfect in his job.
“Yah.” Donghae frowned, knowing exactly what Hyukjae was thinking of. “It’s good that you want to learn more, but I don’t want you to do it because you don’t think you’re good enough. You’re perfect the way you are, alright?”
Hyukjae shook his head slightly. "Not yet." He disagreed, smiling at Donghae.
“Hey.” Donghae took Hyukjae’s hands into his own. “When I say you’re perfect, I mean it. Or don’t you believe me?”
Hyukjae bit his lip. "That’s not true... say something else that I can be okay agreeing... like... like... Um, I don't know." He said, almost saying he could be perfect for Donghae but holding it back.
“Kyuhyun is an evil bastard?” Donghae joked before shaking his head. Then hugging Hyukjae close, he whispered into his love’s ear. “And you are perfect. From the top of your head, down to your toes. You were perfect even the first time I saw you, putting animal crackers into your basket along with a big box of condoms.”
Hyukjae hugged him back tightly. "You forgot the tampons." He smiled, moving into Donghae's lap. "And you're evil to Kyuhyun, not the other way around." Hyukjae told him, refusing to see the evil Kyuhyun was. "And now I buy animal crackers and a tub of lube." He sucked on Donghae's ear.
“Yes, you now buy animal crackers and lube. I wonder what the new supermarket helper thinks of that. I kind of miss that job. All the people watching.” Donghae said wistfully before he raised a mock suspicious eyebrow. “I hope you’re not kissing the new cashier as well though.”
Hyukjae bit his bottom lip like he was guilty. "You know me and my thing for cashiers, I just can't help it... when I look at him... it's like my lips are pulled to him like a magnet." He said in a mock serious voice, shrugging like he was helpless.
Donghae pouted, pulling back. “So you only liked me when I was a cashier? Damn, I need to get my night job back.”
"Although..." Hyukjae looked at him, leaning in to kiss him. "I do love your new night job a lot more... the one were you get to use the lube I buy." He grinned.
“Tsk... you’re so dirty, Hyukjae.” Donghae grinned back, “But you’re perfect the way you are. Even if you no longer buy tampons.”
"No, I don't think we'd need them." He nodded, eskimo kissing Donghae. "I love you... you came into my life and brought a lot of good things. I don't know what would have happened to be otherwise."
“Same here. Same here.” Donghae smiled, remembering the first night he’d decided to take the chance. It had been something entirely random, and honestly, he hadn’t been sure that night, whether it had been a good idea to do it.
And he was glad that he did. After all, if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have Hyukjae in his arms like this and a warm home to go to.
“Maybe I should suggest to Kyuhyun he go work in a supermarket. Maybe he’ll make a score with the love of his life then.”
Hyukjae laughed, leaning in to kiss Donghae. Running a hand through his hair he pulled away slightly. "Maybe he will... maybe." He smiled, kissing Donghae again, ready to go home and spend another night with Donghae.
~*~
END
Pairing: Donghae/Hyukjae
Chapter: 6/6
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, fluff, Supermaket!au
Summary: Romance always appears in the strangest of places. And Hyukjae certainly doesn’t expect it when the cashier rings up his basket of suggestive purchases.
Written with tees2mai
Betaed by poisonpickles
Donghae sighed for the tenth time that day only to receive a prod in the back from his very ‘helpful’ assistant. Glaring at Kyuhyun, who only shrugged, he ran a tired hand through his hair before smiling.
Certainly, he was more busy these days, having attended more meetings and functions that he ever had before. But then again, he supposed he shouldn’t be complaining. After all, the reason for his hectic schedule was also the reason why he could keep going.
The elevator finally reached its long ascent to the top floor, and Donghae stepped out into a room that was much more lively than he had ever seen before.
Hyukjae stepped into the conference room with the glass walls, looking through his files. Putting them onto the table, he shot a quick look around the room and quickly got down to business, not wasting a second. He passed out his file and began talking over the goals of the week they had to accomplish with the men he was now boss off. Rolling up his sleeves, all other thoughts were gone from his mind when it came to his work.
He worked hard and made sure he earned respect from everyone around him. Stepping out of the room for a moment when he was called, Hyukjae stood at the door of the conference room, chatting with an assistant of one of the other heads of department, discussing something in a file she had in her hands.
A month into his job and Hyukjae had settled in like he had belonged there all along.
Watching with a soft smile, Donghae walked up to Hyukjae and pulled him into a deep kiss, ignoring the fact that Hyukjae was still talking to one of their employees.
Donghae surprised Hyukjae with the action and he let out a startled noise as he was kissed. He gave in, kissing Donghae back for a moment before remembering where they were and pushing Donghae away. "Donghae." He chided in a whisper, trying to give him a glare.
“Yes?” Donghae grinned innocently, dismissing the stunned assistant behind him with a wave.
Hyukjae wanted to swat Donghae with the folder in his hands but they were at the office and he didn’t want to make a scene. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" He asked, "You know I memorize your schedule..."
“The guy cancelled. So now I’m free for the moment.” Donghae nuzzled his nose into Hyukjae’s hair. “And when I saw you just now so business-like, my heart went ‘ba-dump ba-dump’ and I went ‘kyaah’ and I just needed to glomp you.”
Hyukjae bit back his laughter but couldn't stop the smile on his face from forming. "Well you might be free... but do I look free to you?" He tried frowning, trying to tell him off. He looked away. "Kyuhyun?"
Pouting, Donghae tried to keep a hold onto Hyukjae, only to have his hands forcibly pried off by Kyuhyun’s surprisingly strong hands. Holding Donghae back like he was some recalcitrant puppy, Kyuhyun asked Hyukjae. “Where would you like me to throw him, sir?”
“Yah! Kyuhyun! What do you mean throw me? I’m still the second highest ranking person in this office, you know?” Donghae protested, swinging around in Kyuhyun’s grip, looking nothing like his rank.
"Child." Hyukjae said in a low voice, lips curving into an annoyed frown, but eyes showing nothing but love for Donghae just the way he was.
“I'm not sure, Kyuhyun.... should we make him help the accounts in his now free time or should we be nice and let him sit in on my meeting instead?" He looked at Kyuhyun seriously.
“The accounts need balancing.” Was Kyuhyun’s short answer, which was followed by a dramatic gasp on Donghae’s part.
Managing to escape from Kyuhyun’s grasp, he wrapped his arms around Hyukjae’s waist, whining. “No! Not the accounts!” He pleaded, shedding tears which were obviously coming from a bottle of eyedrops held in his hand. “Anything but accounts!”
Hyukjae rolled his eyes, knowing a handful of tricks that were up Donghae's sleeve. "Okay. But on one condition..." He looked at Donghae, patting his head. "Give Kyuhyun a raise for putting up with you." He said in a teasing voice, pulling him into the conference room and pointed to a chair. "And sit quietly."
Donghae gave a long suffering sigh, sitting down in the chair like he’d just been sent to detention. “Why should I give Kyuhyun a raise for abusing me?” He half-whined. But there wasn’t heat in it. He’d been wanting to give Kyuhyun a raise for a long time, but hadn’t had the means to justify it to the accounts section.
"I hardly call it abuse." Hyukjae stated before easily going back into the meeting mode, ignoring the amused/awkward looks the others in the room were giving him. He loved the attention Donghae gave him, but it was sometimes hard to make others take him seriously when Donghae waltzed in and made him seem like nothing but Donghae's boyfriend who got a promotion while dating Donghae. He kept his face straight and continued talking despite the looks he was getting from one of the people present, who had disliked Hyukjae for getting the position he had been trying for as well.
But Donghae was anything but ignorant. He sat quietly, listening to Hyukjae’s presentation intently and keeping quiet even as his boyfriend was shot down with a multitude of questions against his decision to cut the launch of a new product. But halfway through the meeting, he asked entirely in a mild, non-threatening fashion. “I’m sorry, Hyukjae-sshi. May I ask a question? What is the rationale behind your decision?”
Hyukjae turned to Donghae. "If you turn to page 7..." He said, pushing a folder towards him. "You'll see the original launch campaign is costing the company millions we can't afford right now. With the current budget cuts and the employee's we've had to let go of, the media would use this against us completely. There would be no way to recover unless it's sold out at twice the projected numbers the day its released. With seems very unlikely right now as even in testing stages we're not getting the results we'd like. This is going to damage the company... That information you'll find page ten onwards." He pointed at the folder again. He was thankful Donghae was being serious now.
“I see...” Donghae read through the numbers and saw the sense in them. The product honestly wasn’t that good in his opinion anyway. And then looking up, he gestured at the man who seemed to be trying to get under Hyukjae’s skin. “And Shinghyun-sshi. What exactly is your rationale for opposite Hyukjae-sshi’s decision.”
The man stared blankly at Donghae before floundering. “Uh... well. Honestly, the product would have been good for our company image-”
“A product doomed for failure would have been good for our company image?” Donghae interjected, looking bemused.
“Well... it’s not doomed to fail-”
“Just do very badly, yes.” Donghae said calmly, watching Shinghyun become more and more uncomfortable.
“Well, yes. Perhaps, however...” Shinghyun trailed off before realizing that once he acknowledged those two points, anything else he had to say was irrelevant. “... Nothing else, sir.”
“I thought so.” Donghae nodded, making a few notes in his laptop before gesturing at Hyukjae to proceed.
"Well, to the point of this meeting. If we kill this project now before we throw money at it, it's going to save us in the long run, and we're at a lucky point where the media hasn't been informed anything beyond rumours of this new product. Rumours are a lot easier to handle then a failed project." He looked around the room.
"Any more questions? If we can all agree today we can shut it down now and move on to something that’s actually worth it."
Donghae hid a smile when the whole room nodded its assent as if there hadn’t been any problem in the first place. And the meeting continued on without problem.
There was a flicker of happiness in Hyukjae's eyes as they finally finished up the meeting and picked up his files to take back to his office. Everyone else began leaving and turned to see if Donghae was going as well. "Do you remember what we're doing tonight?"
“I thought you were the one who had memorized my schedule?” Donghae teased, before he sighed. “Of course I do. And I’m still nervous as hell about it.”
"I was testing you silly." Hyukjae shot him a smile. "Don't worry. She'll adore you." He looked around before he walked over, leaning in to kiss him softly. "She already does." He assured Donghae, standing up. "C'mon I'll let you walk me back to my office."
“What an honour that is.” Donghae chuckled, linking his arm with Hyukjae’s and gently leading him out.
Hyukjae laughed and held onto his files as Donghae lead him, hiding his smile as they got out in front of everyone on the floor and didn't show his smile again until they reached his office. "Alright, I'll see you at home." He looked at Donghae.
Donghae didn’t bother his slightly pained smile. “Where you’ll help me pick out an outfit to meet your mom right? I still don’t know what to wear, all my stuff is all so... showy. I don’t want her to think I’m belittling her, you know.”
Hyukjae pushed Donghae's hair out of his eyes and nodded. "Donghae my mother won't care about what you wear or who you are." He told him honestly before adding teasing, "She only cares about how you treat me." He kissed Donghae's cheek.
“Still...” Donghae sighed, before shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I’m just so nervous.” He reached out, squeezing Hyukjae lightly. “Well, I better get going, Mr. person who has memorized my schedule. I’m about to be late for my next meeting.”
"Don't be." Hyukjae smiled at him, nodding. "Yes, you will be." He laughed, "Now get going. I love you." He told Donghae.
“I’ll see you tonight.” Donghae kissed Hyukjae softly, then yelped when he felt a hand grab his collar again. “That is, if Kyuhyun doesn’t accidentally choke me by then.”
Hyukjae laughed and waved at Kyuhyun. "He won’t, he'll take very good care of you. Bye Donghae." He gently pushed him towards the direction of the elevator, watching him go.
Donghae waved as long as he could when the elevator door close. And when he did, he turned to face a rather amused looking Kyuhyun.
“Hey, you look just as sparkly-eyed when you meet that cute little thing from the Japan office, what was his name again? Sungmin?” Donghae chided, at which Kyuhyun could only sigh ruefully.
“I guess love makes fools of all of us.”
Smiling, Donghae could only agree. “Indeed, she does, Kyuhyun. Indeed she does.”
~*~
Hyukjae waited until they had stepped out of his mother's house and the door had been shut before he hugged Donghae tightly, kissing him just as deeply. "See! She loved you to bits. You were worried for nothing." He teased, happiness all over his face as he looked at Donghae.
The evening had gone amazingly and Hyukjae's mother could not stop praising Donghae. She loved him and loved the way they were together and it made Hyukjae really happy that his mother approved as well.
Donghae scratched his head bashfully. “Your mother was too kind. I think I’ve never blushed so many times in my life...”
"She was stating nothing but truths." Hyukjae nodded, pulling away. "You really are amazing. I never had a doubt about her liking you."
“Now you’re making me blush.” Donghae sighed, raising his hand for the chauffeur to come. “I’m nothing much. You and your mom, you’re the amazing ones. Your home is so warm. I really envy you.”
"No, you're not allowed to envy me." He stuck this tongue out at Donghae playfully. "I mean, I'd like to think we've made our home now lively too..." He added seriously. "And we did give away so much of the more expensive items much to your father’s dismay. I can't believe he still likes me."
“He realized your prudence is what is making the company thrive now.” Donghae chuckled. “He used to be so stuck on image. But now he realizes that those who are truly rich don’t care about how expensive their stuff is. They just get what they like”
“And I do think that you’ve made our home a lot more lively. I actually look forward to going back to it even if you’re not in it, just because I can feel you there.” Donghae kissed Hyukjae once more before opening the door to the car.
Hyukjae beamed at him before getting into the car. "Your dad has looked a lot happier these days as well." He noted, leaning on Donghae and cuddling into his side once they settled into the car. He yawned into his hand, feeling tired from the long day. He hadn't gotten home until half an hour before they had to leave.
"The help seem a lot happier with you as well." He teased. Hyukjae had gotten a lot more comfortable in Donghae's lavish apartment, especially now that he could hold his own financially so he could contribute and pay the bills with Donghae. He felt like it was his own home too, especially because of who he lived with.
“Because you’re a clean freak, so they don’t have to do anything but pick up the microscopic crumbs you missed.” Donghae teased back, shaking his head. “Notice that we’re all a lot happier after you came into my life.”
Hyukjae smiled brightly, leaning up to kiss Donghae's cheek before settling back into cuddling him. "Aren't I just amazing?" He laughed, blushing at the compliment. "I'm thinking of picking up night classes." He suddenly told Donghae.
“Night classes? Why?” Donghae’s eyebrow rose in question.
"Language classes." He looked at Donghae. "I got away with it in college and my Italian’s getting rusty. With all the expanding and the all the times I have to meet up with the Japan office I don't want to be constantly needing a translator." He said, thinking of the way Shinghyun fluently was able to communicate. He wanted to be nothing short of perfect in his job.
“Yah.” Donghae frowned, knowing exactly what Hyukjae was thinking of. “It’s good that you want to learn more, but I don’t want you to do it because you don’t think you’re good enough. You’re perfect the way you are, alright?”
Hyukjae shook his head slightly. "Not yet." He disagreed, smiling at Donghae.
“Hey.” Donghae took Hyukjae’s hands into his own. “When I say you’re perfect, I mean it. Or don’t you believe me?”
Hyukjae bit his lip. "That’s not true... say something else that I can be okay agreeing... like... like... Um, I don't know." He said, almost saying he could be perfect for Donghae but holding it back.
“Kyuhyun is an evil bastard?” Donghae joked before shaking his head. Then hugging Hyukjae close, he whispered into his love’s ear. “And you are perfect. From the top of your head, down to your toes. You were perfect even the first time I saw you, putting animal crackers into your basket along with a big box of condoms.”
Hyukjae hugged him back tightly. "You forgot the tampons." He smiled, moving into Donghae's lap. "And you're evil to Kyuhyun, not the other way around." Hyukjae told him, refusing to see the evil Kyuhyun was. "And now I buy animal crackers and a tub of lube." He sucked on Donghae's ear.
“Yes, you now buy animal crackers and lube. I wonder what the new supermarket helper thinks of that. I kind of miss that job. All the people watching.” Donghae said wistfully before he raised a mock suspicious eyebrow. “I hope you’re not kissing the new cashier as well though.”
Hyukjae bit his bottom lip like he was guilty. "You know me and my thing for cashiers, I just can't help it... when I look at him... it's like my lips are pulled to him like a magnet." He said in a mock serious voice, shrugging like he was helpless.
Donghae pouted, pulling back. “So you only liked me when I was a cashier? Damn, I need to get my night job back.”
"Although..." Hyukjae looked at him, leaning in to kiss him. "I do love your new night job a lot more... the one were you get to use the lube I buy." He grinned.
“Tsk... you’re so dirty, Hyukjae.” Donghae grinned back, “But you’re perfect the way you are. Even if you no longer buy tampons.”
"No, I don't think we'd need them." He nodded, eskimo kissing Donghae. "I love you... you came into my life and brought a lot of good things. I don't know what would have happened to be otherwise."
“Same here. Same here.” Donghae smiled, remembering the first night he’d decided to take the chance. It had been something entirely random, and honestly, he hadn’t been sure that night, whether it had been a good idea to do it.
And he was glad that he did. After all, if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have Hyukjae in his arms like this and a warm home to go to.
“Maybe I should suggest to Kyuhyun he go work in a supermarket. Maybe he’ll make a score with the love of his life then.”
Hyukjae laughed, leaning in to kiss Donghae. Running a hand through his hair he pulled away slightly. "Maybe he will... maybe." He smiled, kissing Donghae again, ready to go home and spend another night with Donghae.
~*~
END