periodically
suho/girl!chen, pg-13, 975
Joonmyun spends his one year anniversary with Jongdae in the feminine products aisle.
Joonmyun stares up and down the assortment of colourful packages, each new terminology confusing his already muddled mind. He sways back and forth mindlessly, completely mesmerized by the new world. “Infinity…Maxi Maximum…” Wait, no. These aren’t tampons. He thinks. He doesn’t really know.
There’s an uncomfortable moment of dispute with himself, and he’s contemplating the choice of going back home. Just then, he meets eyes with another male, holding a package of one of those brightly coloured womanly thingies. The look they share inputs a new vigour in Joonmyun-if that guy could do it, so could he.
One look at the rows and rows of tampons quickly erases any earlier confidence.
Light absorbency, plastic, medium flow-medium flow?! Did girls have to measure it or something? Was there a period blood register he was unaware of?
Some boxes have been stacked sideways and Joonmyun, feeling anxious upon seeing the crooked structure, attempts to fix it. His hand reaches for the first box, eyes quickly scanning it out of curiosity. He almost drops it when he sees a diagram that he did not need to see. The next box is (thankfully) turned to another side, and is read again.
“Toxic shock syndrome,” Joonmyun mutters to himself. “possible side effects include fever, headache, confusion, and possibly death.” Death?! Tampons were deadly and he was willingly letting Jongdae use them?! He makes a mental note to keep track of intervals between his girlfriend changing it.
The shelf was now pristinely organized, but Joonmyun still had no idea what to buy. He could swear Kotex’s flamboyant logo was mocking him.
Feeling extremely bewildered, Joonmyun opts to take out his phone instead. “I don’t know which one to get.” He whispers harshly into his receiver, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead. “There’s so many!”
“Babe. Chill. I’m the one bleeding out of my vagina here.” Jongdae’s voice is low and mellow, probably with a smile on her face because of her boyfriend’s incompetence.
“Jongdae, please.” Joonmyun’s voice is strained and he can feel the heat rushing to his cheeks. As if he wasn’t embarrassed enough.
“Oh just,” there’s a pause, and Joonmyun can hear muffled groaning from the other end. He assumes that his girlfriend is having another bout of extreme cramps. How did women deal with this every single month? How incredibly strong.
“Just get me the super ones.” She mumbles, voice considerably tense.
“The super ones?!” Joonmyun cries. “How am I supposed to know which ones are super? I don’t use them!”
Jongdae’s response is a moment of silence, followed by peals of laughter. “You’re so cute, I’m crying,” More giggles follow. “I’m going to die in this bedroom.” At least Joonmyun had taken her mind off her cramps. “They’re marked super. Oh my God, my stomach hurts.”
“Take another advil!” His voice is filled to the brim with concern, although he is still staring intently at all of the products in the feminine products aisle. “Do you need a hot water bottle? i can buy one-“
“Babe,” She stresses the nickname in a way that makes the corners of Joonmyun’s lips quirk up, “Don’t worry. I’m just laughing at how dumb you are. Nothing new.”
A sigh leaves Joonmyun’s lips, his bottom lip jutted out to express his dislike for the ridicule. “Alright then, I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay,” Jongdae’s voice softens, those two simple syllables making Joonmyun’s heart do a cartwheel. “I’m sorry we have to spend our anniversary like this.”
“As long as we get to spend time together,” A wide grin breaks out on Joonmyun’s face, and he quickly picks up the nearest box of tampons labelled super. That wasn’t so bad.
“Ah, you’re so cheesy,” The words spill out of her mouth like they have (and they definitely have) been said a million times before. “And before you go,”
“Yeah?” Joonmyun presses the phone closer to his ear, as if doing so would give her next words more clarity. “What is it?”
“Could you buy ice cream too?” Jongdae asks sheepishly. The exasperated sigh she receives makes her laugh. She loves messing with Joonmyun. “And I love you.”
“Of course. I love you too.”
“Jongdae?” The boy quietly toes off his shoes at the entrance, holding tampons in one hand and a pint of ice cream in the other. He scurries to her bedroom, knocking twice before entering with caution.
His girlfriend is sprawled out on top of her bed, snoring lightly. Despite his best efforts to remain silent, the short but sharp creak of the door causes Jongdae to stir.
“Aw, you actually bought me ice cream.” Her voice is sweetly laced with sleep, thin arms reaching out to bring his face closer to press a chaste kiss to Joonmyun’s cheek. “How was shopping?”
Joonmyun shrugs, handing the light green box to Jongdae. “Could have been worse. Lots of confusion, but I think I did alright.” He watches as she examines the package, affirming his statement with a curt nod.
“Good job, babe. Now give me the ice cream.” The smile Joonmyun is given is all the thanks he ever needs, he thinks. The day has gone unexpectedly well, and now the two of them could-
“Um, Joonmyun,” Jongdae stares at the box of vanilla ice cream disapprovingly. “Why didn’t you get me chocolate?”
“I-I didn’t know, you never sp-specified-“ Only sputtered words can fall out of his mouth now. Jongdae only used his real name when she was particularly cross with him.
“Kim Joonmyun, don’t you think I’ve received enough vanilla from you?!”
“And what is that supposed to mean?!”
“Just come and cuddle with me.”
a/n: LOOK IT'S NOT ANGST!!!!! also a mini sequel to the gloriousness that was womanly thingies by hachannie