Making an Exception 32/41
Title: Making an Exception 32/?
Pairing: Jongkey, side!2min
Rating: PG15-R/NC-17
Genre: high school!au, angst, romance
Summary: Filthy. Disgusting. Unnatural. Wrong. Jonghyun had always been taught that homosexuality was nothing less than revolting. He never questioned the fact, though he never saw what exactly was so bad about it... But after he meets the subtly-rebellious and always-honest boy who prefers to be called "Key", he finds himself wondering... If it was wrong, then why did it always make him so happy? And if it was so unnatural, then why can't he make it stop?
"Jjong. Jjong. Jonghyun. Jjong. Jonghyun. Jjong. Jjong. Jjo-"
Jonghyun grimaced as his eyes squinted open, curious as to why the hell he felt something poking at his cheek and why his name kept getting repeated…
He raised his head off the pillow and looked down to see Key laying with his arms folded on the older's chest, one finger poised to poke him again.
He sighed and fell back. "What, Key?"
The younger didn't answer immediately, instead scooting up to lightly kiss him on the lips before lying back on his chest, the pink blanket draped over the small of his back. "Good morning, Jjong," He smiled.
He blinked tiredly. "What time is it?"
"Seven-thirty," The younger replied happily, as if pretty much the middle of the night was a normal time for a human to wake up on a weekend.
Jonghyun glared, knowing that he wasn't going to get any more sleep. "I'm sleeping, Key," He groaned, trying to wriggle out from under the younger boy.
Key didn't budge, giving a look of determination.
The older sighed heavily, fatigue stiff through his bones. He cracked his eyes open once again, peering down at Key just in time for the younger to lean up and kiss him again, just a chaste peck.
"Fine, Key… Good morning," Jonghyun was easily won over by the innocent smile on the younger's lips, his arms coming to snake around his waist and hold him in place.
"How are you today?" Key asked amusedly.
The older muffled a yawn into the back of his hand. "Tired," He mumbled, "But you're the first thing I saw today other than the backs of my eyelids, so that's always a good thing," He smiled lazily.
"You're so sappy this early in the morning?" Key asked, rolling his eyes, resting his chin on his folded arms.
"Today is Sunday, isn't it?" Jonghyun blinked slowly, still trying to catch up.
Key hummed affirmatively.
He smiled more fully, beckoning Key closer.
The younger obliged, an amused smile playing at his lips.
As soon as he was close enough, Jonghyun pulled him down for a gentle kiss, stroking the side of his face and adoring the way that he looked knelt over top of him, elbows braced on either side of his head, blanket slipping off his back to bunch up around the back of his knees.
"Happy anniversary," He whispered.
Key flushed.
"Thank you for making this the best month of my life," His eyes trailed from Key's strong brows to his lips, the shy smile on his own never wavering.
Key responded with a smile as well, dipping down to press swift kisses on Jonghyun's forehead and the tip of his nose.
Jonghyun grinned. "You're so cute."
Key smiled slyly. "Make up your mind. Am I gorgeous or cute?"
Jonghyun was amused by the way that the younger was unashamedly referring to the day before. Still, he didn't skip a beat before deciding, "Neither."
The younger sported a purely-affronted expression, mouth opened in an offended "O".
The older smiled widely, tapping the end of Key's nose, "You're perfect." He said simply.
Key blushed brighter than before, hastily pushing Jonghyun's hand away and moving to lay stomach-down on the space on the bed beside him, folding his arms on the pillow and hiding his face.
Jonghyun grinned and rolled over as well, looping an arm around him, holding the other pillow beneath his own head. "Key," He sang lowly, "I love you,"
"Shut up," Key grumbled into the fabric, adding, "I love you too," as an afterthought.
"Oh yeah?" Jonghyun asked, crackling with enthusiastic energy, "Since when?"
"Since when?" Key repeated, shifting onto his side so that Jonghyun could see him again.
"Yeah," Now, Jonghyun was genuinely curious.
Key looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Okay. Do you remember when we first met?"
Jonghyun, now turned sideways as well, their faces only inches apart on the single pillow, nodded, waiting patiently for him to continue.
When Key simply shrugged, Jonghyun connected the dots.
His eyes went wide. "Seriously?"
The younger smiled a little guiltily. "Yeah… I thought you were pretty cute." He shrugged again, though this time he didn't meet Jonghyun's eyes, shy.
The older wrinkled his nose. "Cute?"
"Cute, handsome, good-looking, attractive… perfect." Key was looking everywhere but Jonghyun now, cheeks tinted with color.
This sent a boost to Jonghyun's ego, and he smirked. "Really?"
Key rolled his eyes, refusing to acknowledge his attempt at a cool expression. "Also, I really appreciated what you did for me without even knowing me," He added quietly.
"I didn't want you to get hurt," Jonghyun said honestly, remembering the way he helped the younger when they'd just met a few seconds before.
Key smiled lightly, finger gliding sensually over the side of his neck, eyes following the motion. "Most people wouldn't have cared."
"I guess not," Jonghyun said, considering his words and shivering at his touch.
"And then you told me that you still wanted to be my friend even if I was gay," He continued equally softly, "And you were the only person who went through with it for years…"
Jonghyun smiled with a bit of pride. His hand reached out to trace the side of Key's face. "Key… Did I ever apologize for avoiding you for those three weeks?" He asked gently.
The younger nodded, eyes darkening just a bit in memory.
Jonghyun's heart took a hit. "I'm sorry," He said sincerely. "I'm sorry for not apologizing earlier. I'm sorry for doing it in the first place."
Key sighed and looked away from Jonghyun's eyes. "You never told me why, you know…" He said with a shred of bitterness.
The older reached down for the edge of the comforter and pulled it back up so it fell over their shoulders. He felt a wave of guilt as he tried to think of the best way to explain himself… "I was… I was scared, Key." He whispered, throat thickening, "I was scared of what was happening. I-" He swallowed and rubbed the warm skin of Key's waist as he said, "I didn't want to like another guy,"
Key's eyes still didn't meet his, lips curving down.
"It killed me, you know. To be away from you," He admitted. "I missed you, and I knew exactly why… But I didn't want to do anything, because I didn't want to have to think about what it would do to my family if they found out that I… that I liked a guy," The memories were hard to recount; there was no way he could ever properly express the way he felt back when he was avoiding Key, like there was a chunk of his heart that was physically ripped out, and there wasn't anything he could do about it until he accepted what he felt…
He shuddered when he thought about what it would be like if he'd never accepted it…
"What's different now?" Key asked quietly, eyes flicking up to meet his, full of vulnerability.
"I decided that I would rather be happy with you than miserable with anyone else," He leaned forward to kiss Key tenderly on the forehead, hoping to reassure him before he got the wrong idea about what he was saying…
Key's small smile was enough for Jonghyun.
"It's doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl… In the end, it's you I love no matter what," He said with conviction.
"What about your parents? They still don't know, do they?"
The reminder that he was still keeping Key a secret weighed heavily on Jonghyun's heart. He didn't want to hide Key… He wanted to show him off and scream it to the world how amazing he was and parade around arm-and-arm with him just to let everyone know that Kim Kibum was his…
"No, they don't know." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Key, I didn't want-"
"Don't worry, Jonghyun, I understand." Key fitted his arm around Jonghyun's middle, squeezing lightly.
He still felt the need to explain himself. "It's not that I don't want to tell them… I want to tell everyone. I want to yell it from mountains and everything. But I don't… I don't want anything to happen to us," He said lowly, "And I don't know what'll happen if I tell them,"
"Jonghyun," Key said seriously, grabbing his attention, "It's fine. This is a big deal for you. I get it. Don't try to hurry for my sake. I don't want you to get in trouble."
"I don't want to hide you, Key… I don't want this to be a secret from anyone," He said sadly.
"It's okay, Jjong." Key looked at him kindly, "As long as we still have this, then who else matters?"
Affection rose into his chest, inflating it more effectively than helium.
His eyes slowly traced over the younger boy's face, from his deep brown eyes to his cute button nose, over his high, perfect cheekbones and back down to his small, plump red lips, and then he didn't even have the presence of mind to hesitate before he cradled the younger's cheek and leaned in to touch those lips with his own.
Key's hand gingerly moved up to run through the back of his hair, tilting his head to deepen the kiss even further.
Jonghyun pulled back before he had a chance to get too into it (the fact that both of them were only wearing underwear and it was quite warm underneath the blanket wasn't helping his self-control). "Key, we should go back to sleep," He said, feeling a ripple of heat and using every shred of restraint in his body to back away from the younger's touch.
The younger replied by instead fixing his lips to Jonghyun's neck and working the skin with the same fervor he used on his mouth, reducing Jonghyun to a mess of incoherent irrationality and sensation ringing through his bones.
At the back of his mind, as Key shifted to get better leverage, Jonghyun knew that he should say something to the younger, that he should slow this down because he didn't want to push him any further than he already had…
"K-Key-"
The younger hummed against his moistened neck, sending a shiver through his body.
"H-hang on," He stammered, holding back a gasp as Key bit down lightly.
Key backed away, eyes dark and uncertain. "What's wrong?"
Jonghyun struggled to right his breathing for just a second before he was able to respond. "We should wait… We already-I don't want to rush you…" He forced out.
Key smirked-god, that didn't help his resolve a bit-and moved back in, his hand trailing down teasingly slowly. "Then let me rush you, okay?"
Jonghyun's eyes widened, unsure of what the hell the younger was trying to say with that…
His intentions became very clear as he attached his lips to Jonghyun's jaw line and his hand kneaded against the bulge in his underwear.
"K-Key!" He gasped, tensing as a wave of pleasure rolled through him.
The younger smiled onto his skin, once again trailing down to mark his craned neck. His fingers slipped below his waistband and circled around Jonghyun's already half-hard member.
He flicked his wrist just once.
Jonghyun bit his lip to hold in a moan, eyes shutting, brows furrowing. Mindlessly, his own hand ran down Key's chest and into his underwear, closing his fingers over him firmly.
Key whimpered against his skin, the air of his warm breath hitting Jonghyun and tumbling through his system.
It proved to be more difficult than anticipated to do anything at all when Key was steadily running his silky-smooth hand over Jonghyun's member, every pump crackling a shock of sensation through his body. Still, he worked as hard as he could to breathe steadily in between little gasps and almost-embarrassing noises, twisting his hand over the younger who was becoming harder with every movement.
"Ah-Jonghyun-" Key's teeth closed over a tender spot on Jonghyun's neck and Jonghyun's head fell back with pleasure, his hands going static before speeding up even more, causing the younger to react accordingly, breathy moans spilling against his sensitive skin.
Jonghyun choked on his own spit and lost his breath when Key's thumb lightly caressed over the head, smearing the fluid that was starting to drip out; his hips bucked into to rhythmic motion in dire need of the friction of his hand as spots of light started to appear behind his lids and his breathing became more labored by the second.
Key's lips had gone completely static on Jonghyun's neck, no longer kissing and sucking and biting in favor of panting onto the skin and throatily groaning out Jonghyun's name.
He loved when Key said his name like that.
"Key-" He breathed out, feeling the younger thrusting into his hand relentlessly, hand shaking slightly as it held onto Jonghyun with wonderfully varying degrees of pressure.
"J-Jjong-Jongh-Jonghyun-ah-" He panted, tensing up.
Jonghyun bent his neck so he could kiss the top of Key's head affectionately, feeling the release building in his abdomen like a time-bomb ready to explode-His hand quickened once again, making the younger cry out as he carefully stroked over the sensitive slit.
That was it for Key, his hips jerking forward and then going completely still as he climaxed-Jonghyun regretfully didn't get to see it, because the younger was burrowed into his neck-, breathing shakily, movements going still for just a second.
Jonghyun whined as he stilled, his hips continuing to thrust forward, craving the imminent release…
The tension was tugging at his nerves persistently, teasing at his very sanity, the backdrop of his eyelids now displaying little splotches of colors that he didn't know existed.
"K-Key-" He choked as he felt the tension snap and the colors turned into pure light and bliss and oh fuck, how was it possible for something so simple to feel so goddamn amazing?!
He felt his muscles all quivering underneath Key's touch as he continued to stroke him even through his orgasm, pleasure shooting through every single one of his nerve-endings and lighting them to life until they exploded like fucking fireworks inside his body.
"Ah-Key-" His chest heaved as he came down, feeling everything calm inside him until he was completely sated and equally exhausted all at once.
"Jonghyun," Key pulled back from his neck and looked at him with a lazy, satisfied expression that was somehow so innocent but so fucking sexy all at once that Jonghyun was almost unable to take it, even through his still-blurry vision in the near pitch-black of the room.
The younger pulled his hand from Jonghyun's boxers and laid it on his hip, smearing his release onto the bare skin, but Jonghyun couldn't bring himself to care as he did the same with his own hand on Key's hip.
"I love you," He reiterated once again, feeling like he could nothing but those three words for the rest of his life and it still wouldn't be enough.
"Mmm, I love you too," Key hummed lowly, eyes blinking slowly.
"-bummie! Kibum!"
Jonghyun scowled tried to figure out where that new noise was coming from.
Kibum was still half-asleep (his poor stamina forever endearing to Jonghyun), and seemingly unaware of whatever was happening.
"Kibum, are you in there?"
"Key…" Jonghyun shook the younger's shoulder to jolt him back awake. "There's someone calling for you," He mumbled.
"Who is it?" Key asked sleepily, eyes not opening.
"I don't know. Some lady." Jonghyun shrugged.
Key groaned, snuggling closer into Jonghyun's side.
"Kibum!"
The younger darted up so fast it made Jonghyun dizzy.
"Oh shit, it's my mom-" He jumped off the bed and hastily pulled on the closest clothes to him. "Get dressed, Jonghyun, hurry!"
The older, a new sense of urgency setting in immediately, did the same as Key, throwing on anything that he could and trying to ignore the discomfort of wearing clothes on top of soiled boxers…
But he guessed that it would be better than meeting Key's mom for the first time wearing nothing but those soiled boxers…
They laid back down on top of the sheets so that it was clear that they were both dressed, on opposite sides of the bed, facing different directions as they feigned sleep.
(The lie was quite transparent, as they were both fidgety with nerves.)
"Kibum! Are you awake?" The woman knocked on his door.
"Yeah?" He called, pretending to be sleepy once again, raising up on his elbows and looking towards his door.
"The hospital sent me home a day early because I told them that my son was going to be home alone all weekend and he would miss me and-hello?" Her eyes landed on Jonghyun's 'sleeping' form.
There was instant awkwardness in the air. Jonghyun cringed internally.
Key nudged him on the shoulder and he pretended to slowly wake, sitting up straight once he caught sight of the woman.
It was more or less like looking at an older, female version of Key. She was beautiful, with long black hair tied back and facial features that almost identically resembled her son's.
Still, he didn't have time to look when he was caught in the middle of an incredibly awkward situation.
"But I guess you weren't home alone?" She asked pointedly, looking between them.
Jonghyun didn't know what to say, so his mouth simply opened and closed, heat rising to his face.
"Uh, Mom, this is my boyfriend, Jonghyun. Jonghyun, this is my mom." Key introduced them unsurely.
Jonghyun bowed the best he could while sitting. "Hello, ma'am,"
"Hello, Jonghyun." She smiled shakily, looking between the boys with a knowing look that only a mother could pull off. "Well," She said, breaking the thick, thick tension in the air, "I'll go prepare breakfast for our guest, then." With that, she shut the door once again.
Key instantly groaned, face turning bright red. He turned his head to bury his face in Jonghyun's shoulder. "That was not how I envisioned you meeting my mother,"
"That's not how I imagined meeting your mom either," Jonghyun replied truthfully, feeling embarrassment tumbling in his stomach. "But… at least we had time to get dressed, right?" He asked optimistically.
Key only groaned louder.
Jonghyun laughed quietly and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"She was supposed to be gone the whole weekend," Key complained, still not raising his head.
"We still had two entire days together, didn't we?" Jonghyun asked with a smile, "But… now that she's home, you want to spend time with her, huh?" He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice, because it would just be selfish to deprive Key of quality time with his mother when the woman was barely ever home for him to see.
Key looked up at him guiltily.
"Don't worry about it, Key. I know you hardly get to see her." He brushed the hair out of Key's eyes. "I'll start packing my stuff up, okay?"
"I love you," Key reminded him with a relieved sigh.
Jonghyun grinned and dipped down to kiss his forehead. "I love you too,"
By the time they made it into the kitchen, Jonghyun's things were all packed up into his duffel bag, ready to go.
(They'd washed their hands and wiped off their hips of all fluids before they went, both sporting crimson cheeks as they avoided each other's eyes like the plague.)
"So, you're the Jonghyun I keep hearing about," His mom chirped as soon as they walked into the room, a certain motherly edge to her voice that made Jonghyun antsy.
Jonghyun scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I guess I am," He pulled out Key's chair for him before he sat down, earning a half-appreciative half-annoyed gaze.
She hummed contemplatively, glancing over at him.
Jonghyun felt like he was being judged hard by her expression.
"Mom, don't terrify him," Key sighed, reaching for Jonghyun's hand under the table and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
The woman laughed. "I'm sorry, is that what I'm doing?"
"A little," Jonghyun admitted, trying to be both charming and honest and hoping to everything holy that he was succeeding.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to." Yet, still her gaze was critical.
"It's fine," Jonghyun smiled at her.
"You know, you're the first boy I've ever seen here other than Minho and Kibum's dance friend… what's his name? Tae-something?"
"Taemin," Key clarified for her.
"Right. Taemin. No one that I know of," She looked pointedly at Key, "has been over here other than those two."
"They're the only ones, Mom, I promise," Key said with a smile.
She nodded, trusting him.
Jonghyun was slightly taken aback by the instant trust she had with her son. If it'd been a question with his parents, he would have gotten at least a fifty-question interrogation about every single friend he'd had since he was ten years old with expectations of detailed explanations of how close they'd come to his house, complete with exact metric measurements.
"So, I can assume that either Kibummie has drastically changed his outlook on who he allows in the house, or you're not a temporary thing, huh Jonghyun?" She looked over again from her pot on the stove.
(Neither of them had the heart to tell her that they'd had kimchi stew the day before…)
Jonghyun glanced over at Key with a soft expression. "No, ma'am. I'd like to think that I'm not a temporary thing,"
"He's not." Key said with strength, though his cheeks tinted pink as he met Jonghyun's eyes.
Jonghyun's stomach did a flip at the promise in his words.
The woman nodded. "Well. I must say, my son does know handsome when he sees it."
The older of the boys blushed, flattered. "Thank you, ma'am,"
"Mom, quit flirting. Jonghyun is my boyfriend." Key said with faux-anger.
"Fine, Kibum. You're no fun." She laughed, bringing the pot to the table along with bowls and utensils.
"And even though I can safely assume what you two have been doing all weekend, and I must say I do have concerns," She looked at Key with sharp eyes, but the younger didn't look fazed (even when Jonghyun choked on his own saliva), "Thank you for keeping him company when I was gone. I don't like for him to be here alone." She sent him a smile that he wasn't sure was genuine or menacing, but he figured was somewhere in between.
He nodded, unable to speak for a second.
Key then took the liberty to initiate a conversation with his mom about her job at the hospital, leaving Jonghyun to be able to eat the (absolutely delicious… Key's mom gave Key a run for his money when it came to cooking) food, hopelessly trying to follow the conversation though he didn't understand a word of the hospital-lingo or the amount of English phrases thrown in, both switching from one language to the other as if it was nothing while it was successfully giving Jonghyun a headache.
He perked up when he heard his name mentioned, but it was sandwiched in between a whole bunch of English, so he couldn't understand a word (I really need to get Key to tutor me so I can understand him…); he simply looked from mother to son, hoping to get a hint of what they were saying from their expressions.
Apparently, whatever they were saying was embarrassing Key…
Which meant it couldn't be good for Jonghyun.
"No, Mom." Jonghyun could understand that much after his years of English class.
"Why not?" The woman pleaded.
He shot her a look and then calmly explained something too complex for Jonghyun to comprehend, though the look in his eyes told Jonghyun that it was serious.
"You're going home, Jonghyun?" Key's mom suddenly turned toward him.
The older boy jumped at being addressed directly after zoning out just a bit. "Yes, ma'am. I know that you and Key don't spend much time together, and I get to see him all the time, so…" He trailed off with a small smile.
She returned the smile warmly, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "That's sweet of you,"
He looked down modestly, pleased with the positive response she was giving him, as if she hadn't met him after his night with Key (which she may or may not have known about by then, because Jonghyun didn't exactly know those words in English…).
"So, Kibum, have you met his parents yet?"
"I haven't met your mom, have I?" Key asked Jonghyun, eyes narrowing in thought.
Jonghyun thought back, shaking his head as he couldn't recall a time when Key had encountered his mother.
"Not his mom, but I met his dad and his sister," He shrugged.
"Oh yeah? And what do they think of my darling son?" His mom asked with a playful grin.
Jonghyun shared the expression. "My sister loves him to pieces," He said fondly. "She's always asking about him and begging to talk to him when we're on the phone,"
The woman laughed. "Yeah?"
Jonghyun and Key shared an amused glance at the different memories playing in their minds.
"What about your dad, Jonghyun?"
The older boy looked down, tapping his finger against his spoon as he thought of how to properly phrase his thoughts.
"His dad doesn't know that we're together." Key answered for him, much to Jonghyun's relief.
"Oh?" She looked at him with surprise, brows knitting together just enough to be noticeable.
"I've told you that before, Mom…" Key mumbled.
"That was a while ago, Kibum. I thought by now, for sure…"
Jonghyun felt guiltier than ever. "No ma'am… My dad-He isn't exactly… supportive of the idea of two guys in a relationship…"
She nodded, though she still looked a bit disapproving. "And your mother?"
"She doesn't know either." He felt like he was an idiot, a complete coward, since he was here discussing his relationship with Key's mother, yet he hadn't even told his parents yet…
But it was a different circumstance, right?
His parents… they were different than Key's mom.
So… it was okay that he hadn't told them…
Right?
(It didn't stop him from feeling awful about it.)
"Mom, don't think anything of it, okay? I don't want him to get in any more trouble than necessary over this," Key said, facing his food solemnly.
The woman nodded, though Jonghyun could still feel some judgment from her part…
He wished he could tell her in a way that wouldn't be too awkward…
If he could safely tell his parents, he would.
There would be no question in the matter.
But he…
He couldn't.
Not without risking what he and Key had together…
He had no idea what would happen if either of his parents found out about his relationship with a boy…
And that was terrifying.
"Are you done?" Key asked from beside him, voice low but meaningful.
He nodded a bit numbly, standing up and walking over to put his dishes in the sink.
"I'll take care of it later," Key said, waving him off as Jonghyun started up the water so he could wash them properly.
Jonghyun just nodded again, heart feeling heavy.
"Hey," Key said softly, reaching out to grab his hand. "Are you okay?"
Jonghyun sighed. "You know that I would tell them if I could, right? You know that I want to tell them?"
The younger grabbed his other hand, voice still low. "Jonghyun, we just talked about this," Key rolled his eyes, but his voice was sincere. "I know what you're risking just being with me in general. Don't worry about telling them, okay? It doesn't make a difference to me right now. As long as you're still here, I'm fine."
Jonghyun felt better after Key's reassuring words, but that still wasn't saying much.
"Jonghyun." Key let go of one of his hands in favor of tipping his chin up to face him. "It's okay. I promise."
He nodded, feeling small and vulnerable. "I should go, huh?"
Key's lips turned downward, opening to speak once again.
"Don't worry, I'm all right." He lied, "I should let you and your mom spend time together," He pulled away from Key's hold to walk to his room.
"Thank you for the food, Ms. Kim," He bowed respectfully as he passed Key's mother.
She nodded in return. "It was nice to meet you, Jonghyun."
"You too, ma'am," He smiled, trying to not make it look as forced as it actually was.
When he walked into Key's room, he heard the door close behind him when he'd hadn't touched it at all. He sighed, shoulders slumping, knowing that Key in there with him.
He strapped his guitar case over his shoulders, slinging his duffel bag over one of them as well, all without acknowledging the younger.
He knew that he shouldn't feel as torn up about this as he was…
But he couldn't help it. He felt like he was being incredibly unfair to Key, as if the younger boy was a shameful secret to be kept, and not the best thing that'd ever happened to Jonghyun like he actually was.
"Jonghyun," The younger addressed him carefully as he straightened back up.
The older turned toward him, trying to fake a normal expression.
Key walked to him until there wasn't any room between their bodies, securely locking his arms around his neck and tilting his head to kiss him on the lips with a slow, steadily-burning passion.
Jonghyun lost himself in the feel of Key's lips, one arm moving to link around his waist, the other holding up the bag that he suddenly regretted putting on so soon.
The younger pulled away first, moving back just enough so Jonghyun could see his face.
He smiled lightly, worries washed away for the time being.
Key returned the gesture. "Thank you, Jjong," He said.
"For what?" Jonghyun asked, smile not yet fading.
Key blushed, cheeks turning pink, but he tried not to recognize it as he continued to speak, voice quiet and calm, "Thank you for staying with me," He hesitated for a second, smiling so that his dimples showed (and Jonghyun's heart melted a little more), "Thank you for being my first,"
The older found himself blushing and smiling as well, a little guilty pleasure smile tilting his lips as they addressed their previous night.
Key leaned in for just one chaste kiss. "I'm glad it was you."
"Me too," Jonghyun said shamelessly, stealing another kiss. "It was absolutely amazing. It always is with you."
"Shut up," Key grumbled, pulling him in to hug him tightly.
Jonghyun didn't pause to hold him just as close with what grip he had with just one arm, resting his chin on the younger's shoulder.
"I should go," He whispered again with the feeling that Key's mom thought that they were in there doing inappropriate things… again.
Key pulled away, though he was slightly pouting.
Jonghyun took the liberty to kiss the pout away with a series of short, sweet pecks.
"I'll walk you to the door," Key said, lips now forming a smile.
Jonghyun said goodbye to Key's mom as they passed through the living room, and the woman said it back, adding once again how nice it was to meet him.
When they were at the front door, Key unashamedly leaned in to kiss him lightly just once more before telling him goodbye as well.
It physically hurt Jonghyun's heart to tell the younger the same in return.
As he walked down the hallways of Key's apartment complex and down the endless staircases, the stale guilt fell over him once again.
Sighing, he sat down on the bottom step of the final staircase and pulled out his phone.
He waited for just four rings before the other end answered.
"Hello?"
"Noona, are you busy?" Jonghyun asked tiredly.
"No, why?"
"Do you want to come get me?"
There was panic in her voice as she asked, "Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing… Key's mom just got home early, so I thought I'd leave them with each other. She's not home a lot, so…" He trailed off.
"You're still at his apartment?"
"Yeah, I'm sitting on the stairs," He leaned his head against the wall next to the railing.
"Is something bothering you, Hyun-ah?" She asked with concern.
"We'll talk when you get here, okay?" Jonghyun rubbed his temples, letting his bag fall to the ground beside him.
"Okay. I'll be there in five minutes, tops."
"All right. I'll see you." He flipped his phone shut.
Jonghyun fought to keep his mind blank as he waited, unwilling to let the guilt get to him before he had someone rational to talk to…
Thankfully, his sister was true to her word and only took a few minutes to drive up to the gate.
He picked up his bags and trudged over to her car, tossing his bags into the backseat and slipping into the front.
"Nice jammies," She comments, giving him a once-over.
"Thanks." He said dryly, not even noticing that he hadn't changed since he'd thrown on the clothes earlier that morning.
"What's wrong, Hyun-ah?" She asked, not waiting around any. "Did you and Key get into a fight or something? Are you done with the whole 'honeymoon' phase?"
Jonghyun snorted. "No, we didn't fight, it's just… I met his mom this morning."
"This morning? Oh god, were you dressed?" She asked with more amusement than worry.
"I got dressed," He couldn't resist making his own cheeky comment.
Songdam reached over to shove his shoulder.
He laughed before his mood went somber again. "Noona, is it wrong that I haven't told our parents yet?"
She thought for a split second. "No, I don't think so."
"But he already told his mom, and I feel like I'm keeping him a secret and I hate that I can't just tell them…" He groaned.
"How many other people know about you two?"
"Everyone," He shrugged.
"Then what difference do just Mom and Dad make? I think that it's best if you don't tell them until they show at least some sign of tolerance… Speaking of, Dad is pissed that you left with him, so just… beware." She added on cautiously.
He sighed heavily, knotting his hands in his hair. "Why does it have to be like this? I don't want to hide Key. I don't want to worry about Dad approving of my friends or my boyfriend or whatever. Why does he even care? What difference does it make that Minho is with a boy, Taemin, and yeah, Key likes guys and yeah, I'm dating him…? Why does that matter?"
"Different beliefs, Hyun-ah. You can't just expect everyone to think the same way you do," She reasoned.
Jonghyun took a deep breath. "I just want to be able to have him over without worrying that he's about to be thrown out… I want to be able to tell my parents that I have a boyfriend and I'm happy as hell with him… I want to be able to be with him without hiding anything, without lying about where I'm going or who I'm with…" He pulled his feet onto the dash, crossing his arms over his knees and looking out the window.
"Jonghyun," With a sad sort of smile, she reached over and rubbed his knee. "You just have to give it time…"
"How old am I, noona? I was raised to think the same as Dad does. How the hell am I supposed to expect him to just change his mind after at least eighteen years just that I know of?" He spat bitterly.
"So it'll take longer than you want it to," She didn't let his tone affect her. "But more than anything, you can't expect him to just accept it without any clue about you and Key's relationship. I'm not saying to tell him, I'm just saying that maybe mentioning him or dropping a few hints just so he gets used to hearing about him wouldn't hurt anything. You and Dad have never gotten along, Hyun-ah, but I think that this is an important part of your life that Mom and Dad deserve to know about."
Jonghyun sighed, hating to accept that she was right… In all honesty, he'd never thought of it that way. All he'd ever considered was that he and Key were still in the shadows, not that his parents would also be left stranded in the dark without knowing about Jonghyun's relationship.
"I'm always on your side either way. You know that, right?" She asked, glancing over at him.
He smiled appreciatively. "Yeah, I know. Thank you, noona."
She rubbed his knee once again, this time smiling more widely. "So… you and Key were alone all weekend?"
Jonghyun groaned. "Shut up, noona…"
A/N - soooo for a while, a lot of you guys have been expressing how much you wanted Jonghyun to meet Key's mom and a few of you even guessed it… OTL am I that predictable???… how was that for a meeting?? XDXDXD
Guess what guys!! I'm sick again :'c OTL I'm bad at this whole… immune system thing.. but I guess I can't really complain. I'm fine as long as I'm laying down with tumblr, my NaNo to edit, and peach ice cream to keep me happy c:
Anddd uhmmm… I honestly can't think of much for this A/N.. thank you again for all of the comments on last chapter (I think it was the most I've gotten so far :'D), and I'm really glad to see that you guys liked their first time :') I really did try hard to make it perfect for them and everything..
Oh, and for everyone on tumblr… thank you guys so much for making my update nights so much fun :D really, answering all of your questions and everything really makes this so interesting for me :)
Sooo… yeah. I'm gonna go beg my mom to let me stay home from school again and then watch the rest of Starship for the 23847289234th time
See everyone on Saturday :D
Kat
mikssi
[next]
Pairing: Jongkey, side!2min
Rating: PG15-R/NC-17
Genre: high school!au, angst, romance
Summary: Filthy. Disgusting. Unnatural. Wrong. Jonghyun had always been taught that homosexuality was nothing less than revolting. He never questioned the fact, though he never saw what exactly was so bad about it... But after he meets the subtly-rebellious and always-honest boy who prefers to be called "Key", he finds himself wondering... If it was wrong, then why did it always make him so happy? And if it was so unnatural, then why can't he make it stop?
"Jjong. Jjong. Jonghyun. Jjong. Jonghyun. Jjong. Jjong. Jjo-"
Jonghyun grimaced as his eyes squinted open, curious as to why the hell he felt something poking at his cheek and why his name kept getting repeated…
He raised his head off the pillow and looked down to see Key laying with his arms folded on the older's chest, one finger poised to poke him again.
He sighed and fell back. "What, Key?"
The younger didn't answer immediately, instead scooting up to lightly kiss him on the lips before lying back on his chest, the pink blanket draped over the small of his back. "Good morning, Jjong," He smiled.
He blinked tiredly. "What time is it?"
"Seven-thirty," The younger replied happily, as if pretty much the middle of the night was a normal time for a human to wake up on a weekend.
Jonghyun glared, knowing that he wasn't going to get any more sleep. "I'm sleeping, Key," He groaned, trying to wriggle out from under the younger boy.
Key didn't budge, giving a look of determination.
The older sighed heavily, fatigue stiff through his bones. He cracked his eyes open once again, peering down at Key just in time for the younger to lean up and kiss him again, just a chaste peck.
"Fine, Key… Good morning," Jonghyun was easily won over by the innocent smile on the younger's lips, his arms coming to snake around his waist and hold him in place.
"How are you today?" Key asked amusedly.
The older muffled a yawn into the back of his hand. "Tired," He mumbled, "But you're the first thing I saw today other than the backs of my eyelids, so that's always a good thing," He smiled lazily.
"You're so sappy this early in the morning?" Key asked, rolling his eyes, resting his chin on his folded arms.
"Today is Sunday, isn't it?" Jonghyun blinked slowly, still trying to catch up.
Key hummed affirmatively.
He smiled more fully, beckoning Key closer.
The younger obliged, an amused smile playing at his lips.
As soon as he was close enough, Jonghyun pulled him down for a gentle kiss, stroking the side of his face and adoring the way that he looked knelt over top of him, elbows braced on either side of his head, blanket slipping off his back to bunch up around the back of his knees.
"Happy anniversary," He whispered.
Key flushed.
"Thank you for making this the best month of my life," His eyes trailed from Key's strong brows to his lips, the shy smile on his own never wavering.
Key responded with a smile as well, dipping down to press swift kisses on Jonghyun's forehead and the tip of his nose.
Jonghyun grinned. "You're so cute."
Key smiled slyly. "Make up your mind. Am I gorgeous or cute?"
Jonghyun was amused by the way that the younger was unashamedly referring to the day before. Still, he didn't skip a beat before deciding, "Neither."
The younger sported a purely-affronted expression, mouth opened in an offended "O".
The older smiled widely, tapping the end of Key's nose, "You're perfect." He said simply.
Key blushed brighter than before, hastily pushing Jonghyun's hand away and moving to lay stomach-down on the space on the bed beside him, folding his arms on the pillow and hiding his face.
Jonghyun grinned and rolled over as well, looping an arm around him, holding the other pillow beneath his own head. "Key," He sang lowly, "I love you,"
"Shut up," Key grumbled into the fabric, adding, "I love you too," as an afterthought.
"Oh yeah?" Jonghyun asked, crackling with enthusiastic energy, "Since when?"
"Since when?" Key repeated, shifting onto his side so that Jonghyun could see him again.
"Yeah," Now, Jonghyun was genuinely curious.
Key looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Okay. Do you remember when we first met?"
Jonghyun, now turned sideways as well, their faces only inches apart on the single pillow, nodded, waiting patiently for him to continue.
When Key simply shrugged, Jonghyun connected the dots.
His eyes went wide. "Seriously?"
The younger smiled a little guiltily. "Yeah… I thought you were pretty cute." He shrugged again, though this time he didn't meet Jonghyun's eyes, shy.
The older wrinkled his nose. "Cute?"
"Cute, handsome, good-looking, attractive… perfect." Key was looking everywhere but Jonghyun now, cheeks tinted with color.
This sent a boost to Jonghyun's ego, and he smirked. "Really?"
Key rolled his eyes, refusing to acknowledge his attempt at a cool expression. "Also, I really appreciated what you did for me without even knowing me," He added quietly.
"I didn't want you to get hurt," Jonghyun said honestly, remembering the way he helped the younger when they'd just met a few seconds before.
Key smiled lightly, finger gliding sensually over the side of his neck, eyes following the motion. "Most people wouldn't have cared."
"I guess not," Jonghyun said, considering his words and shivering at his touch.
"And then you told me that you still wanted to be my friend even if I was gay," He continued equally softly, "And you were the only person who went through with it for years…"
Jonghyun smiled with a bit of pride. His hand reached out to trace the side of Key's face. "Key… Did I ever apologize for avoiding you for those three weeks?" He asked gently.
The younger nodded, eyes darkening just a bit in memory.
Jonghyun's heart took a hit. "I'm sorry," He said sincerely. "I'm sorry for not apologizing earlier. I'm sorry for doing it in the first place."
Key sighed and looked away from Jonghyun's eyes. "You never told me why, you know…" He said with a shred of bitterness.
The older reached down for the edge of the comforter and pulled it back up so it fell over their shoulders. He felt a wave of guilt as he tried to think of the best way to explain himself… "I was… I was scared, Key." He whispered, throat thickening, "I was scared of what was happening. I-" He swallowed and rubbed the warm skin of Key's waist as he said, "I didn't want to like another guy,"
Key's eyes still didn't meet his, lips curving down.
"It killed me, you know. To be away from you," He admitted. "I missed you, and I knew exactly why… But I didn't want to do anything, because I didn't want to have to think about what it would do to my family if they found out that I… that I liked a guy," The memories were hard to recount; there was no way he could ever properly express the way he felt back when he was avoiding Key, like there was a chunk of his heart that was physically ripped out, and there wasn't anything he could do about it until he accepted what he felt…
He shuddered when he thought about what it would be like if he'd never accepted it…
"What's different now?" Key asked quietly, eyes flicking up to meet his, full of vulnerability.
"I decided that I would rather be happy with you than miserable with anyone else," He leaned forward to kiss Key tenderly on the forehead, hoping to reassure him before he got the wrong idea about what he was saying…
Key's small smile was enough for Jonghyun.
"It's doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl… In the end, it's you I love no matter what," He said with conviction.
"What about your parents? They still don't know, do they?"
The reminder that he was still keeping Key a secret weighed heavily on Jonghyun's heart. He didn't want to hide Key… He wanted to show him off and scream it to the world how amazing he was and parade around arm-and-arm with him just to let everyone know that Kim Kibum was his…
"No, they don't know." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Key, I didn't want-"
"Don't worry, Jonghyun, I understand." Key fitted his arm around Jonghyun's middle, squeezing lightly.
He still felt the need to explain himself. "It's not that I don't want to tell them… I want to tell everyone. I want to yell it from mountains and everything. But I don't… I don't want anything to happen to us," He said lowly, "And I don't know what'll happen if I tell them,"
"Jonghyun," Key said seriously, grabbing his attention, "It's fine. This is a big deal for you. I get it. Don't try to hurry for my sake. I don't want you to get in trouble."
"I don't want to hide you, Key… I don't want this to be a secret from anyone," He said sadly.
"It's okay, Jjong." Key looked at him kindly, "As long as we still have this, then who else matters?"
Affection rose into his chest, inflating it more effectively than helium.
His eyes slowly traced over the younger boy's face, from his deep brown eyes to his cute button nose, over his high, perfect cheekbones and back down to his small, plump red lips, and then he didn't even have the presence of mind to hesitate before he cradled the younger's cheek and leaned in to touch those lips with his own.
Key's hand gingerly moved up to run through the back of his hair, tilting his head to deepen the kiss even further.
Jonghyun pulled back before he had a chance to get too into it (the fact that both of them were only wearing underwear and it was quite warm underneath the blanket wasn't helping his self-control). "Key, we should go back to sleep," He said, feeling a ripple of heat and using every shred of restraint in his body to back away from the younger's touch.
The younger replied by instead fixing his lips to Jonghyun's neck and working the skin with the same fervor he used on his mouth, reducing Jonghyun to a mess of incoherent irrationality and sensation ringing through his bones.
At the back of his mind, as Key shifted to get better leverage, Jonghyun knew that he should say something to the younger, that he should slow this down because he didn't want to push him any further than he already had…
"K-Key-"
The younger hummed against his moistened neck, sending a shiver through his body.
"H-hang on," He stammered, holding back a gasp as Key bit down lightly.
Key backed away, eyes dark and uncertain. "What's wrong?"
Jonghyun struggled to right his breathing for just a second before he was able to respond. "We should wait… We already-I don't want to rush you…" He forced out.
Key smirked-god, that didn't help his resolve a bit-and moved back in, his hand trailing down teasingly slowly. "Then let me rush you, okay?"
Jonghyun's eyes widened, unsure of what the hell the younger was trying to say with that…
His intentions became very clear as he attached his lips to Jonghyun's jaw line and his hand kneaded against the bulge in his underwear.
"K-Key!" He gasped, tensing as a wave of pleasure rolled through him.
The younger smiled onto his skin, once again trailing down to mark his craned neck. His fingers slipped below his waistband and circled around Jonghyun's already half-hard member.
He flicked his wrist just once.
Jonghyun bit his lip to hold in a moan, eyes shutting, brows furrowing. Mindlessly, his own hand ran down Key's chest and into his underwear, closing his fingers over him firmly.
Key whimpered against his skin, the air of his warm breath hitting Jonghyun and tumbling through his system.
It proved to be more difficult than anticipated to do anything at all when Key was steadily running his silky-smooth hand over Jonghyun's member, every pump crackling a shock of sensation through his body. Still, he worked as hard as he could to breathe steadily in between little gasps and almost-embarrassing noises, twisting his hand over the younger who was becoming harder with every movement.
"Ah-Jonghyun-" Key's teeth closed over a tender spot on Jonghyun's neck and Jonghyun's head fell back with pleasure, his hands going static before speeding up even more, causing the younger to react accordingly, breathy moans spilling against his sensitive skin.
Jonghyun choked on his own spit and lost his breath when Key's thumb lightly caressed over the head, smearing the fluid that was starting to drip out; his hips bucked into to rhythmic motion in dire need of the friction of his hand as spots of light started to appear behind his lids and his breathing became more labored by the second.
Key's lips had gone completely static on Jonghyun's neck, no longer kissing and sucking and biting in favor of panting onto the skin and throatily groaning out Jonghyun's name.
He loved when Key said his name like that.
"Key-" He breathed out, feeling the younger thrusting into his hand relentlessly, hand shaking slightly as it held onto Jonghyun with wonderfully varying degrees of pressure.
"J-Jjong-Jongh-Jonghyun-ah-" He panted, tensing up.
Jonghyun bent his neck so he could kiss the top of Key's head affectionately, feeling the release building in his abdomen like a time-bomb ready to explode-His hand quickened once again, making the younger cry out as he carefully stroked over the sensitive slit.
That was it for Key, his hips jerking forward and then going completely still as he climaxed-Jonghyun regretfully didn't get to see it, because the younger was burrowed into his neck-, breathing shakily, movements going still for just a second.
Jonghyun whined as he stilled, his hips continuing to thrust forward, craving the imminent release…
The tension was tugging at his nerves persistently, teasing at his very sanity, the backdrop of his eyelids now displaying little splotches of colors that he didn't know existed.
"K-Key-" He choked as he felt the tension snap and the colors turned into pure light and bliss and oh fuck, how was it possible for something so simple to feel so goddamn amazing?!
He felt his muscles all quivering underneath Key's touch as he continued to stroke him even through his orgasm, pleasure shooting through every single one of his nerve-endings and lighting them to life until they exploded like fucking fireworks inside his body.
"Ah-Key-" His chest heaved as he came down, feeling everything calm inside him until he was completely sated and equally exhausted all at once.
"Jonghyun," Key pulled back from his neck and looked at him with a lazy, satisfied expression that was somehow so innocent but so fucking sexy all at once that Jonghyun was almost unable to take it, even through his still-blurry vision in the near pitch-black of the room.
The younger pulled his hand from Jonghyun's boxers and laid it on his hip, smearing his release onto the bare skin, but Jonghyun couldn't bring himself to care as he did the same with his own hand on Key's hip.
"I love you," He reiterated once again, feeling like he could nothing but those three words for the rest of his life and it still wouldn't be enough.
"Mmm, I love you too," Key hummed lowly, eyes blinking slowly.
"-bummie! Kibum!"
Jonghyun scowled tried to figure out where that new noise was coming from.
Kibum was still half-asleep (his poor stamina forever endearing to Jonghyun), and seemingly unaware of whatever was happening.
"Kibum, are you in there?"
"Key…" Jonghyun shook the younger's shoulder to jolt him back awake. "There's someone calling for you," He mumbled.
"Who is it?" Key asked sleepily, eyes not opening.
"I don't know. Some lady." Jonghyun shrugged.
Key groaned, snuggling closer into Jonghyun's side.
"Kibum!"
The younger darted up so fast it made Jonghyun dizzy.
"Oh shit, it's my mom-" He jumped off the bed and hastily pulled on the closest clothes to him. "Get dressed, Jonghyun, hurry!"
The older, a new sense of urgency setting in immediately, did the same as Key, throwing on anything that he could and trying to ignore the discomfort of wearing clothes on top of soiled boxers…
But he guessed that it would be better than meeting Key's mom for the first time wearing nothing but those soiled boxers…
They laid back down on top of the sheets so that it was clear that they were both dressed, on opposite sides of the bed, facing different directions as they feigned sleep.
(The lie was quite transparent, as they were both fidgety with nerves.)
"Kibum! Are you awake?" The woman knocked on his door.
"Yeah?" He called, pretending to be sleepy once again, raising up on his elbows and looking towards his door.
"The hospital sent me home a day early because I told them that my son was going to be home alone all weekend and he would miss me and-hello?" Her eyes landed on Jonghyun's 'sleeping' form.
There was instant awkwardness in the air. Jonghyun cringed internally.
Key nudged him on the shoulder and he pretended to slowly wake, sitting up straight once he caught sight of the woman.
It was more or less like looking at an older, female version of Key. She was beautiful, with long black hair tied back and facial features that almost identically resembled her son's.
Still, he didn't have time to look when he was caught in the middle of an incredibly awkward situation.
"But I guess you weren't home alone?" She asked pointedly, looking between them.
Jonghyun didn't know what to say, so his mouth simply opened and closed, heat rising to his face.
"Uh, Mom, this is my boyfriend, Jonghyun. Jonghyun, this is my mom." Key introduced them unsurely.
Jonghyun bowed the best he could while sitting. "Hello, ma'am,"
"Hello, Jonghyun." She smiled shakily, looking between the boys with a knowing look that only a mother could pull off. "Well," She said, breaking the thick, thick tension in the air, "I'll go prepare breakfast for our guest, then." With that, she shut the door once again.
Key instantly groaned, face turning bright red. He turned his head to bury his face in Jonghyun's shoulder. "That was not how I envisioned you meeting my mother,"
"That's not how I imagined meeting your mom either," Jonghyun replied truthfully, feeling embarrassment tumbling in his stomach. "But… at least we had time to get dressed, right?" He asked optimistically.
Key only groaned louder.
Jonghyun laughed quietly and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"She was supposed to be gone the whole weekend," Key complained, still not raising his head.
"We still had two entire days together, didn't we?" Jonghyun asked with a smile, "But… now that she's home, you want to spend time with her, huh?" He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice, because it would just be selfish to deprive Key of quality time with his mother when the woman was barely ever home for him to see.
Key looked up at him guiltily.
"Don't worry about it, Key. I know you hardly get to see her." He brushed the hair out of Key's eyes. "I'll start packing my stuff up, okay?"
"I love you," Key reminded him with a relieved sigh.
Jonghyun grinned and dipped down to kiss his forehead. "I love you too,"
By the time they made it into the kitchen, Jonghyun's things were all packed up into his duffel bag, ready to go.
(They'd washed their hands and wiped off their hips of all fluids before they went, both sporting crimson cheeks as they avoided each other's eyes like the plague.)
"So, you're the Jonghyun I keep hearing about," His mom chirped as soon as they walked into the room, a certain motherly edge to her voice that made Jonghyun antsy.
Jonghyun scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I guess I am," He pulled out Key's chair for him before he sat down, earning a half-appreciative half-annoyed gaze.
She hummed contemplatively, glancing over at him.
Jonghyun felt like he was being judged hard by her expression.
"Mom, don't terrify him," Key sighed, reaching for Jonghyun's hand under the table and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
The woman laughed. "I'm sorry, is that what I'm doing?"
"A little," Jonghyun admitted, trying to be both charming and honest and hoping to everything holy that he was succeeding.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to." Yet, still her gaze was critical.
"It's fine," Jonghyun smiled at her.
"You know, you're the first boy I've ever seen here other than Minho and Kibum's dance friend… what's his name? Tae-something?"
"Taemin," Key clarified for her.
"Right. Taemin. No one that I know of," She looked pointedly at Key, "has been over here other than those two."
"They're the only ones, Mom, I promise," Key said with a smile.
She nodded, trusting him.
Jonghyun was slightly taken aback by the instant trust she had with her son. If it'd been a question with his parents, he would have gotten at least a fifty-question interrogation about every single friend he'd had since he was ten years old with expectations of detailed explanations of how close they'd come to his house, complete with exact metric measurements.
"So, I can assume that either Kibummie has drastically changed his outlook on who he allows in the house, or you're not a temporary thing, huh Jonghyun?" She looked over again from her pot on the stove.
(Neither of them had the heart to tell her that they'd had kimchi stew the day before…)
Jonghyun glanced over at Key with a soft expression. "No, ma'am. I'd like to think that I'm not a temporary thing,"
"He's not." Key said with strength, though his cheeks tinted pink as he met Jonghyun's eyes.
Jonghyun's stomach did a flip at the promise in his words.
The woman nodded. "Well. I must say, my son does know handsome when he sees it."
The older of the boys blushed, flattered. "Thank you, ma'am,"
"Mom, quit flirting. Jonghyun is my boyfriend." Key said with faux-anger.
"Fine, Kibum. You're no fun." She laughed, bringing the pot to the table along with bowls and utensils.
"And even though I can safely assume what you two have been doing all weekend, and I must say I do have concerns," She looked at Key with sharp eyes, but the younger didn't look fazed (even when Jonghyun choked on his own saliva), "Thank you for keeping him company when I was gone. I don't like for him to be here alone." She sent him a smile that he wasn't sure was genuine or menacing, but he figured was somewhere in between.
He nodded, unable to speak for a second.
Key then took the liberty to initiate a conversation with his mom about her job at the hospital, leaving Jonghyun to be able to eat the (absolutely delicious… Key's mom gave Key a run for his money when it came to cooking) food, hopelessly trying to follow the conversation though he didn't understand a word of the hospital-lingo or the amount of English phrases thrown in, both switching from one language to the other as if it was nothing while it was successfully giving Jonghyun a headache.
He perked up when he heard his name mentioned, but it was sandwiched in between a whole bunch of English, so he couldn't understand a word (I really need to get Key to tutor me so I can understand him…); he simply looked from mother to son, hoping to get a hint of what they were saying from their expressions.
Apparently, whatever they were saying was embarrassing Key…
Which meant it couldn't be good for Jonghyun.
"No, Mom." Jonghyun could understand that much after his years of English class.
"Why not?" The woman pleaded.
He shot her a look and then calmly explained something too complex for Jonghyun to comprehend, though the look in his eyes told Jonghyun that it was serious.
"You're going home, Jonghyun?" Key's mom suddenly turned toward him.
The older boy jumped at being addressed directly after zoning out just a bit. "Yes, ma'am. I know that you and Key don't spend much time together, and I get to see him all the time, so…" He trailed off with a small smile.
She returned the smile warmly, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "That's sweet of you,"
He looked down modestly, pleased with the positive response she was giving him, as if she hadn't met him after his night with Key (which she may or may not have known about by then, because Jonghyun didn't exactly know those words in English…).
"So, Kibum, have you met his parents yet?"
"I haven't met your mom, have I?" Key asked Jonghyun, eyes narrowing in thought.
Jonghyun thought back, shaking his head as he couldn't recall a time when Key had encountered his mother.
"Not his mom, but I met his dad and his sister," He shrugged.
"Oh yeah? And what do they think of my darling son?" His mom asked with a playful grin.
Jonghyun shared the expression. "My sister loves him to pieces," He said fondly. "She's always asking about him and begging to talk to him when we're on the phone,"
The woman laughed. "Yeah?"
Jonghyun and Key shared an amused glance at the different memories playing in their minds.
"What about your dad, Jonghyun?"
The older boy looked down, tapping his finger against his spoon as he thought of how to properly phrase his thoughts.
"His dad doesn't know that we're together." Key answered for him, much to Jonghyun's relief.
"Oh?" She looked at him with surprise, brows knitting together just enough to be noticeable.
"I've told you that before, Mom…" Key mumbled.
"That was a while ago, Kibum. I thought by now, for sure…"
Jonghyun felt guiltier than ever. "No ma'am… My dad-He isn't exactly… supportive of the idea of two guys in a relationship…"
She nodded, though she still looked a bit disapproving. "And your mother?"
"She doesn't know either." He felt like he was an idiot, a complete coward, since he was here discussing his relationship with Key's mother, yet he hadn't even told his parents yet…
But it was a different circumstance, right?
His parents… they were different than Key's mom.
So… it was okay that he hadn't told them…
Right?
(It didn't stop him from feeling awful about it.)
"Mom, don't think anything of it, okay? I don't want him to get in any more trouble than necessary over this," Key said, facing his food solemnly.
The woman nodded, though Jonghyun could still feel some judgment from her part…
He wished he could tell her in a way that wouldn't be too awkward…
If he could safely tell his parents, he would.
There would be no question in the matter.
But he…
He couldn't.
Not without risking what he and Key had together…
He had no idea what would happen if either of his parents found out about his relationship with a boy…
And that was terrifying.
"Are you done?" Key asked from beside him, voice low but meaningful.
He nodded a bit numbly, standing up and walking over to put his dishes in the sink.
"I'll take care of it later," Key said, waving him off as Jonghyun started up the water so he could wash them properly.
Jonghyun just nodded again, heart feeling heavy.
"Hey," Key said softly, reaching out to grab his hand. "Are you okay?"
Jonghyun sighed. "You know that I would tell them if I could, right? You know that I want to tell them?"
The younger grabbed his other hand, voice still low. "Jonghyun, we just talked about this," Key rolled his eyes, but his voice was sincere. "I know what you're risking just being with me in general. Don't worry about telling them, okay? It doesn't make a difference to me right now. As long as you're still here, I'm fine."
Jonghyun felt better after Key's reassuring words, but that still wasn't saying much.
"Jonghyun." Key let go of one of his hands in favor of tipping his chin up to face him. "It's okay. I promise."
He nodded, feeling small and vulnerable. "I should go, huh?"
Key's lips turned downward, opening to speak once again.
"Don't worry, I'm all right." He lied, "I should let you and your mom spend time together," He pulled away from Key's hold to walk to his room.
"Thank you for the food, Ms. Kim," He bowed respectfully as he passed Key's mother.
She nodded in return. "It was nice to meet you, Jonghyun."
"You too, ma'am," He smiled, trying to not make it look as forced as it actually was.
When he walked into Key's room, he heard the door close behind him when he'd hadn't touched it at all. He sighed, shoulders slumping, knowing that Key in there with him.
He strapped his guitar case over his shoulders, slinging his duffel bag over one of them as well, all without acknowledging the younger.
He knew that he shouldn't feel as torn up about this as he was…
But he couldn't help it. He felt like he was being incredibly unfair to Key, as if the younger boy was a shameful secret to be kept, and not the best thing that'd ever happened to Jonghyun like he actually was.
"Jonghyun," The younger addressed him carefully as he straightened back up.
The older turned toward him, trying to fake a normal expression.
Key walked to him until there wasn't any room between their bodies, securely locking his arms around his neck and tilting his head to kiss him on the lips with a slow, steadily-burning passion.
Jonghyun lost himself in the feel of Key's lips, one arm moving to link around his waist, the other holding up the bag that he suddenly regretted putting on so soon.
The younger pulled away first, moving back just enough so Jonghyun could see his face.
He smiled lightly, worries washed away for the time being.
Key returned the gesture. "Thank you, Jjong," He said.
"For what?" Jonghyun asked, smile not yet fading.
Key blushed, cheeks turning pink, but he tried not to recognize it as he continued to speak, voice quiet and calm, "Thank you for staying with me," He hesitated for a second, smiling so that his dimples showed (and Jonghyun's heart melted a little more), "Thank you for being my first,"
The older found himself blushing and smiling as well, a little guilty pleasure smile tilting his lips as they addressed their previous night.
Key leaned in for just one chaste kiss. "I'm glad it was you."
"Me too," Jonghyun said shamelessly, stealing another kiss. "It was absolutely amazing. It always is with you."
"Shut up," Key grumbled, pulling him in to hug him tightly.
Jonghyun didn't pause to hold him just as close with what grip he had with just one arm, resting his chin on the younger's shoulder.
"I should go," He whispered again with the feeling that Key's mom thought that they were in there doing inappropriate things… again.
Key pulled away, though he was slightly pouting.
Jonghyun took the liberty to kiss the pout away with a series of short, sweet pecks.
"I'll walk you to the door," Key said, lips now forming a smile.
Jonghyun said goodbye to Key's mom as they passed through the living room, and the woman said it back, adding once again how nice it was to meet him.
When they were at the front door, Key unashamedly leaned in to kiss him lightly just once more before telling him goodbye as well.
It physically hurt Jonghyun's heart to tell the younger the same in return.
As he walked down the hallways of Key's apartment complex and down the endless staircases, the stale guilt fell over him once again.
Sighing, he sat down on the bottom step of the final staircase and pulled out his phone.
He waited for just four rings before the other end answered.
"Hello?"
"Noona, are you busy?" Jonghyun asked tiredly.
"No, why?"
"Do you want to come get me?"
There was panic in her voice as she asked, "Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing… Key's mom just got home early, so I thought I'd leave them with each other. She's not home a lot, so…" He trailed off.
"You're still at his apartment?"
"Yeah, I'm sitting on the stairs," He leaned his head against the wall next to the railing.
"Is something bothering you, Hyun-ah?" She asked with concern.
"We'll talk when you get here, okay?" Jonghyun rubbed his temples, letting his bag fall to the ground beside him.
"Okay. I'll be there in five minutes, tops."
"All right. I'll see you." He flipped his phone shut.
Jonghyun fought to keep his mind blank as he waited, unwilling to let the guilt get to him before he had someone rational to talk to…
Thankfully, his sister was true to her word and only took a few minutes to drive up to the gate.
He picked up his bags and trudged over to her car, tossing his bags into the backseat and slipping into the front.
"Nice jammies," She comments, giving him a once-over.
"Thanks." He said dryly, not even noticing that he hadn't changed since he'd thrown on the clothes earlier that morning.
"What's wrong, Hyun-ah?" She asked, not waiting around any. "Did you and Key get into a fight or something? Are you done with the whole 'honeymoon' phase?"
Jonghyun snorted. "No, we didn't fight, it's just… I met his mom this morning."
"This morning? Oh god, were you dressed?" She asked with more amusement than worry.
"I got dressed," He couldn't resist making his own cheeky comment.
Songdam reached over to shove his shoulder.
He laughed before his mood went somber again. "Noona, is it wrong that I haven't told our parents yet?"
She thought for a split second. "No, I don't think so."
"But he already told his mom, and I feel like I'm keeping him a secret and I hate that I can't just tell them…" He groaned.
"How many other people know about you two?"
"Everyone," He shrugged.
"Then what difference do just Mom and Dad make? I think that it's best if you don't tell them until they show at least some sign of tolerance… Speaking of, Dad is pissed that you left with him, so just… beware." She added on cautiously.
He sighed heavily, knotting his hands in his hair. "Why does it have to be like this? I don't want to hide Key. I don't want to worry about Dad approving of my friends or my boyfriend or whatever. Why does he even care? What difference does it make that Minho is with a boy, Taemin, and yeah, Key likes guys and yeah, I'm dating him…? Why does that matter?"
"Different beliefs, Hyun-ah. You can't just expect everyone to think the same way you do," She reasoned.
Jonghyun took a deep breath. "I just want to be able to have him over without worrying that he's about to be thrown out… I want to be able to tell my parents that I have a boyfriend and I'm happy as hell with him… I want to be able to be with him without hiding anything, without lying about where I'm going or who I'm with…" He pulled his feet onto the dash, crossing his arms over his knees and looking out the window.
"Jonghyun," With a sad sort of smile, she reached over and rubbed his knee. "You just have to give it time…"
"How old am I, noona? I was raised to think the same as Dad does. How the hell am I supposed to expect him to just change his mind after at least eighteen years just that I know of?" He spat bitterly.
"So it'll take longer than you want it to," She didn't let his tone affect her. "But more than anything, you can't expect him to just accept it without any clue about you and Key's relationship. I'm not saying to tell him, I'm just saying that maybe mentioning him or dropping a few hints just so he gets used to hearing about him wouldn't hurt anything. You and Dad have never gotten along, Hyun-ah, but I think that this is an important part of your life that Mom and Dad deserve to know about."
Jonghyun sighed, hating to accept that she was right… In all honesty, he'd never thought of it that way. All he'd ever considered was that he and Key were still in the shadows, not that his parents would also be left stranded in the dark without knowing about Jonghyun's relationship.
"I'm always on your side either way. You know that, right?" She asked, glancing over at him.
He smiled appreciatively. "Yeah, I know. Thank you, noona."
She rubbed his knee once again, this time smiling more widely. "So… you and Key were alone all weekend?"
Jonghyun groaned. "Shut up, noona…"
A/N - soooo for a while, a lot of you guys have been expressing how much you wanted Jonghyun to meet Key's mom and a few of you even guessed it… OTL am I that predictable???… how was that for a meeting?? XDXDXD
Guess what guys!! I'm sick again :'c OTL I'm bad at this whole… immune system thing.. but I guess I can't really complain. I'm fine as long as I'm laying down with tumblr, my NaNo to edit, and peach ice cream to keep me happy c:
Anddd uhmmm… I honestly can't think of much for this A/N.. thank you again for all of the comments on last chapter (I think it was the most I've gotten so far :'D), and I'm really glad to see that you guys liked their first time :') I really did try hard to make it perfect for them and everything..
Oh, and for everyone on tumblr… thank you guys so much for making my update nights so much fun :D really, answering all of your questions and everything really makes this so interesting for me :)
Sooo… yeah. I'm gonna go beg my mom to let me stay home from school again and then watch the rest of Starship for the 23847289234th time
See everyone on Saturday :D
Kat
mikssi
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