Going in blind for mrwu
For: mrwu
Title: Going in Blind
Pairing(s): Chanyeol/Kai
Rating: NC-17
Warning/s: Voyeurism, blindfolds, abuse of breakfast foods, sexuality confusion and some slightly kinky behaviour ͼ(^_^)ͽ.
Length: 10k
Summary: Chanyeol gets more than he bargained for one summer.
Author's note: I couldn’t deliver on a Hunger Games AU so I hope you don’t mind what I did here…
“Look, thanks for inviting me out here with you for the summer,” Chanyeol says. He rides shotgun in Jongdae's well travelled but perfectly serviceable Toyota. The sun has just passed its zenith and it shines brightly.
“I told you it's no biggy!” Jongdae replies. He pushes his ray bans back up his nose and waves his best friend off. “You are actually helping me out here. I hate having to think up things to do on my own. My brother would nap the entire summer away if I didn’t coerce him into doing something. With you there it will be easier and we are going to have a great time.”
Both Jongdae and Chanyeol have jobs that start up halfway through the summer but until then they can please themselves. It’s a great feeling to be able to put the punishing cold of Boston’s winter behind them and head south for the summer.
“Well, anyway. I just wanted to say thanks. It would have been awful at home alone. I hope I can pull my weight and keep us entertained.” Chanyeol grins and his hair blows around his face as they head down the highway. They are still a few hours from Jongdae's family holiday house.
“Daww,” Jongdae says and makes a face.
“So how loaded is your family anyway?” Chanyeol asks.
“Moderately loaded, I’d say,” Jongdae replies and sucks on his teeth.
Chanyeol shakes his head and shoves his friend gently on the shoulder. Jongdae shoots him a grin before turning back to focus on driving. Chanyeol lets his hand surf the air rushing past the car and watches the coastal scenery as they head south.
This past year the pair had become fast friends as room mates at the college. Neither of them knew many people and had clung to each other after hitting it off immediately. Their first year hadn't been all smooth sailing but it had definitely been more bearable because they had been together.
Jongdae had been the first, the only one so far, Chanyeol had told that he thought he might like guys just as much as he liked girls. Chanyeol sometimes wishes that he was actually attracted to Jongdae because even though it would have been painfully awkward in the beginning, Jongdae is the sort of easy going, effortlessly charming personality who would have indulged Chanyeol before sending him on his way into another pair of loving arms and still managed to remain his best friend.
It had been a throwaway comment whole they were getting tipsy one night at a party and Jongdae had just said 'alright' and left it at that. It had been later on that Jongdae had asked questions.
So boys and girls? (Yes, boys and girls)
Am I attractive? (Yes, you are very pretty Jongdae but you aren't my type).
Who is your type? (I'm trying to figure that out... maybe I don't have one).
What about him? (Nah).
Her? (Sure).
Yeah, I like boobs too. (I know you do…)
After that, Jongdae had kept his secret as if he didn't even know it. Chanyeol wasn't even sure he wanted it to be a secret. How was he supposed to attract guys if they didn’t know he was into them? Anyway, they had both made it through together as freshmen and this little holiday was their reward. They weren’t frittering away their money getting wasted and sunburned. They were actually resting, just tooling around for a bit before earning some coin. All in all it would be time well spent.
They have managed to stop for both lunch (burgers) and dinner (fish and chips) before Jongdae pulls into the long dirt drive he says leads to the lake house. Chanyeol peers through the windshield at the stately looking holiday house illuminated by strategically placed garden lights. It’s entirely possible that this lake house is more than three times bigger than the apartment that Chanyeol grew up in.
“There’s two stories,” Jongdae informs him. Strike that. It’s probably five times bigger. “The bedrooms are upstairs and everything else is down.”
“Dude,” is all Chanyeol manages.
They climb out of the car to unpack. Chanyeol has never been more glad to be a light traveller. The thought of having to lug anything heavier than his one bag up a flight of stairs sets the fatigue even deeper into his travel weary bones.
“Your room should be the second on the right at the top of the stairs,” Jongdae says as he hauls Chanyeol's bag out of the boot. “I'm gonna park the car and then bring in my shit.” Chanyeol grunts in response. He's fantasising about a hot shower and face planting into soft sheets.
He turns on a few lights where he can find them. The place is tastefully furnished and there is even a large wall of glass on his left that he assumes leads out onto the deck and the lake Jongdae told him about. Right now it's inky blackness out there except for the multitude of stars in the sky away from the city and a few lights dotted around the lake.
He passes an open plan kitchen that appears to have every appliance invented before seeing the stairs and hallway that Jongdae must be talking about. There are two doors on the left and three on the right. The first one looks a little different but he doesn't think anything of it.
“Second room on the right,” he repeats to himself. He reaches for the handle of the door, twists it, and pushes it open.
Chanyeol blinks slowly as his eyes adjust, his duffle bag slipping off his shoulder to the ground with a soft thud. The room is semi-dark, only illuminated by the soft light of ten or so candles. They must be scented because he can smell flowers and spices in the close air of the bedroom. That's all very nice but what draws his eyes like a magnet is the young man spread out on the bed. He is completely naked except for a black blindfold and a pair of large headphones that cover his ears. His skin is slick with either oil or sweat and it reminds Chanyeol of the time he took a course in pottery. The man's skin is the colour of the red-brown clay he worked wet with slip on the potting wheel.
Chanyeol is rooted to the spot as he follows a dexterous hand trailed down a toned torso. Hot blood pumps around his body and he's very aware of every part of his own skin. He gulps when the fingers of that hand wrap slowly around the man's thick shaft.
There's a devious turn to the man’s lips and Chanyeol feels weak at the seductive expression. A soft broken moan escapes the man's throat as his hands work up and down with a slow steady pace. Chanyeol is mesmerised by the way the pink tip of his perfect cock peeks out each time his foreskin is pulled back by his fist with every buck of his hips.
Chanyeol is jolted back to reality when he hears some shuffling at the front of the house. He pulls the door closed with haste and manages to heft his duffle bag onto his shoulder as Jongdae rounds the corner into the hall.
“Not that one, Dude,” Jongdae sighs. “The second door.” He points to the next door down the hall. “This first one is just a cupboard and that one is Jongin's.” Jongdae explains slowly as if he were talking to a halfwit. “If my brother is asleep and you wake him up then, God help you!”
Chanyeol continues to blink which honestly does nothing to prove he isn't lacking wits.
“Oh, sure,” he manages and Jongdae shakes his head.
“C'mon buddy, you'll feel better on the other side of a solid eight hours,” the shorter man chuckles. He steers Chanyeol towards his own room and flicks on the light. “Awesome right?” He smiles and Chanyeol has to agree. Jongdae's family must be a little more than just moderately loaded but he really isn't pondering the Kim family nett worth. He's thinking about how the man in the room next door is, right this second, having the most romantic looking session of self love Chanyeol had seen.
“I think I'm gonna have a shower before I sleep,” Chanyeol says.
“Suit yourself,” Jongdae points to the sliding door on one wall. “You have a bathroom in there, so go for your life. I'll see you in the morning. This summer is going to be the best ever!”
He pumps a fist and Chanyeol finds it difficult to catch the wave of enthusiasm with the lethargy clinging to him but he gives his own fist a small pump in response. Jongdae heads to his room right across from Chanyeol's. He waves before disappearing behind his closed door.
Chanyeol tries to put everything behind him as he strips off in the bathroom. He was sure to lock his own door and check it twice before daring to undress. Chanyeol is sure that the Jongin didn't notice the intrusion. He had a blindfold in and headphones on. Surely he had no idea.
While it's easy for Chanyeol to convince himself that he wasn't busted, it's not quite so easy to forget how hot the scene made him. In the shower, he tries touching himself sensually just as he had seen Jongin doing. His sudsy hands slip down his chest and over his nipples. It sends an electric thrill through his body and a quiet moan gurgling in his throat.
Chanyeol moves his hands further down and around to cup his own ass, giving it a squeeze. He imagines that it's Jongin touching him, that it's his strong hands spreading his buttocks to expose his hole. It makes his heart stutter into a faster rhythm as he pictures the scene.
The next thing he imagines is Jongin's fingertips teasing over the sensitive pucker. He lifts an arm to steady himself as the fingers of his other hand stroke and prod with sweet friction. A small amount of soap eases the way and soon Chanyeol is resting his forehead on the cool wall tiles as he delves deeper.
“Ohhhh,” he moans as he exerts a bit of pressure on his perineum with his pointer while the next two fingers thrust in and out. Chanyeol imagines that confident smirk and a thick cock lining up to stretch him to his limit.
“Please!” he gasps. He's too horny to care how loud he might be as his free hand grips his cock to pull him the rest of the way into his orgasm.
The warm water soothes his tired body and the fluffy towels he finds dry him nicely so he falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.
()()()
Chanyeol wakes the next morning to the sun streaming in through his window. He cracks an eyelid and gropes wildly for his phone to check the time.
It's almost half past eight in the morning, which by Chanyeol's reckoning is a decent first try at sleeping in. He's accustomed to 6am basketball training so having a lie-in is an unusual luxury.
He stretches under the covers and ruffles his hair. Maybe Jongdae is up... He can tell me where to get some coffee in this place. Chanyeol rolls himself out of bed and rummages through his bag for a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
Chanyeol makes his way down the hall back to the kitchen scratching at his belly. He spares only a momentary glance at Jongin's door as he passes be for he is greeted by an unexpected sight.
“Hi,” the man in the kitchen greets him with an easy smile. His fluffy hair falls in his eyes and he flicks his head to one side to shift it. He is wearing a thin shirt hanging off one toned shoulder and a pair of criminally short shorts.
Chanyeol freezes and blinks before making a kind of strangled noise. So that's what his eyes look like... They flash brightly with the promise of a quick and creative mind.
“You must be Chanyeol?” he checks. Chanyeol thinks he must have nodded because he keeps talking. “I’m Jongin. Dae is still sleeping but I was about to make pancakes if you want some?”
Chanyeol thinks he must have agreed again because Jongin is telling him to take a seat at the breakfast bar while he gets sorted.
“I like your hair, by the way,” Jongin says. “It really says ‘I'm on holidays and I don't care who sees me.’” Jongin is smiling a lopsided smile and it does dangerous things to Chanyeol's empty stomach.
“I er, took a shower last night before I went to sleep and I went to sleep with it damp so it's probably pretty weird,” Chanyeol ever so slightly over-explains. He tries to pat it down as he curses himself for not checking himself in the mirror before coming out.
“You’re forgiven,” Jongin says with a smirk and Chanyeol experiences that same weak feeling.
The weak feeling intensifies because now Jongin is reaching up to the top shelves. It makes his thin t-shirt ride up, both slipping further off his shoulder and exposing his tanned waist. Chanyeol sighs and can't tear his eyes away. Too soon, Jongin has retrieved what looks like pancake premix.
“This is what we keep here just in case,” Jongin frowns. “It's not bad really.”
“Honestly, if it's not instant ramen then you're already on top,” Chanyeol says. He's trying his hardest not to be the most awkward turtle in the pond but he fails when he sees the look in Jongin's eyes.
“Am I now?” he says. “On top, hey?” Again, his words are heavy with meaning and his smile radiates suppressed mirth.
Chanyeol opts to stay quiet for a while. He can’t keep up with whatever is going on with Jongin. The younger man fills the bottle with water to the level marked on the side before replacing the cap.
He starts shaking the bottle to mix the batter and Chanyeol has to look away. The way the younger man's biceps and triceps stand out make the morning feel just that much hotter for Chanyeol.
He is reminded of how those same muscles strained as Jongin's hands worked over his own body. Suddenly Chanyeol is desperate for something, anything to do to take his mind of that image.
“A-are you sure I can't help?” he manages in a shaky voice. “Maybe I could make coffee?”
Jongin looks up from where he's furiously jerking the bottle around and points over at the coffee maker.
“Can you work that?” he asks. “Grounds are in the freezer and filters are in the cupboard above.” He doesn’t stop shaking the bottle as he flicks the fingers of his free hand in the direction of the items.
Chanyeol gratefully applies himself to the task and soon has a pot of coffee percolating. He's grateful also that by the time he's done, Jongin seems to be concentrating on not burning the pancakes. He hasn't got any attention to spare to tease Chanyeol. If that's even what he had been doing.
That doesn't mean that Chanyeol isn't hypnotised by the way Jongin moves or by the look of concentration on his face. In a weak moment he lets his eyes rake down the smooth lines of Jongin's thighs. It shouldn't be surprising that Jongin catches him staring. It makes his heart flop around when Jongin cocks an eyebrow and sucks some of the dripping batter from his finger.
Just when Chanyeol thinks it can't get any worse, Jongin fixes him with a heavy look and taps the bottom if the bottle over the hot pan. It's just to get the last little bit of batter out and totally innocent as a gesture on its own but the way Jongin does it, Chanyeol feels the taps as if they were against his own flesh.
“Ready?” Jongin asks. He flips the last pancake out of the pan and onto a plate. There is a mountain of them and Chanyeol wonders where all those pancakes came from. Probably while you were ogling the kid...
“Aw, you cooked me breakfast!” comes Jongdae's voice as he saunters into the kitchen.
“Trust you to show up when the food is ready,” scoffs Jongin.
Chanyeol is grateful yet again for the interruption until Jongin starts eye fucking him across the table. He's shameless. He gets syrup on his chin and fingers and has to lick it off, which he does far too sensually for Chanyeol to handle. He could have even sworn that Jongin winked at him.
It’s almost a relief when Jongin lets Chanyeol and Jongdae convince him to let them clean up until he announces his next activity.
“I’m going for a swim,” Jongin calls as he bounds up the stairs two at a time.
Chanyeol groans.
“Did you eat too much?” Jongdae asks.
“Probably,” Chanyeol replies.
“Gutsache,” Jongdae chides. “Pace yourself, okay? We have weeks for you to gorge yourself.”
Chanyeol throws the tea towel at him.
It turns out that Jongin really didn’t leave that much mess so the two older boys make quick work of the clean-up. It gives Chanyeol a small breather from Jongin’s incessant provocation but it’s short lived. As soon as the boy appears again it’s in tiny swim trunks and he insists that they all take a dip in the lake. Jongdae agrees readily and Chanyeol’s stammering is taken as ascent so in no time at all, all three of them are walking down onto the pontoon, towels slung over their shoulders.
Chanyeol does his best not to groan out loud at the sight of Jongin’s muscles shifting under his skin with each step of his flowing gait. Luckily his line of sight is hidden behind dark glasses because Jongdae doesn’t need to find out that Chanyeol thinks his little brother is all kinds of delicious just yet.
Jongin wastes no time at all. He doesn’t even dip a toe in to check the temperature. He just drops his towel to the ground and launches himself into a perfect dive. His body hardly causes a splash as it goes under and Chanyeol stares it the spot where his toes disappeared. Jongdae manages to enter the water with just as much flair albeit with less finesse. He barrels past Chanyeol with a whoop before clutching his knees to his chest in a textbook cannonball.
Both brothers break the surface a flick their dark hair back as the tread water.
“C’mon Chanyeol!” Jongdae says, his laughter echoing out across the water.
“It’s really nice in here!” agrees Jongin.
Chanyeol reluctantly drops his towel and walks over to the edge. He looks into the lake with trepidation and bites his lip.
“Are you coming in today?” Jongin calls. He starts splashing his brother and Jongdae retaliates with a shout.
Chanyeol watches the pair play fight. He isn’t the most confident swimmer and it looks deep. He wonders if maybe they will be satisfied with him just wetting his feet. He drops his towel and tries to look as comfortable as possible with hanging his feet off the edge of the pontoon down into the water. Chanyeol leans back on his hands and arranges himself into a posture of relaxed sun worship.
“I’m gonna soak up some rays for a bit,” he explains and concentrates on calming his heart.
The other two seem to accept this and focus on outdoing each other with one sort of daring after another.
“Are you done cooking yet?” Jongin asks after a while. “You can’t get as tanned as me all in one go, you know,” he says, indicating to his torso with a graceful flourish.
Chanyeol’s hard work spent calming himself counts for naught because suddenly his heart is hammering again.
“I, er,” he stammers. “Okay.”
The brothers are standing on the edge, dripping and watching him. They are waiting for him to go first.
Chanyeol stands and removes his sunglasses, dropping them to the towel before taking a deep breath and diving in. This, at least had been the plan. What actually happened was, he slipped and fell splashing into the water just short of cracking his head on the edge of the pontoon. He feels his face heat all the way to his hair line even before he surfaces and treads water.
“Alright, so we’ll work on that,” says Jongin as Jongdae cackles in the background.
“It’s okay,” says Jongdae. “Chanyeol isn’t a great swimmer,” he explains before adding, “Mountain boy.”
Jongin nods and smiles warmly. Chanyeol tries to grin back but something long and slimy wraps around his ankle. Chanyeol opens his mouth to shout and flails at the same time but it just results in him taking on water via his mouth. This is a problem, because that is where air is meant to go in and he ends up choking and spluttering.
Seconds later, strong arms are dragging him over to the edge and he is being roughly shoved out of the water and back onto the pontoon. A few hard thumps on the back have him hacking up the water he swallowed and gulping down sweet relieving air.
“Are you okay?” Jongin asks. His face is close and he’s holding Chanyeol’s hair out of his eyes.
“Yeah,” Chanyeol croaks and the relief relaxes Jongin’s face before he smiles.
Jongdae is holding him up from behind and he pats his friend on the back a few times.
“Look,” he starts. “I know the lake looks great but can you not drink it all?”
Normally Chanyeol would laugh but all he can manage right now is a feeble wheeze.
“Let’s just go back to sunbathing for a bit hey?” Jongin suggests. Jongdae helps Chanyeol to his feet and makes sure he’s steady before letting go. Jongin watches and lays out his towel on one of the recliners. “Chanyeol was doing that very well before he decided to scare us.”
Chanyeol thinks it might have been the near death experience but he’s certain Jongin’s look was appraising before he turned away.
And so Chanyeol spends a good portion of the rest of the morning recalling how strong Jongin’s arms felt hauling him through the water and pushing him up onto the pontoon. Jongdae had been the one to thump him on the back but it had been Jongin who held his chin and searched his eyes. It’s a look that makes Chanyeol shiver despite the hot summer sun.
“Chanyeol might not be that great a swimmer but he could survive a few nights lost in the woods during winter,” Jongdae starts. He lifts his head and indicates in the direction of his little brother. “Go on, tell him Channie.”
Chanyeol shrugs and coughs nervously. He’s still not used to Jongdae volunteering him for things.
“Lost in the woods, hey?” Jongin asks. He raises himself up onto his elbows and looks over his sunglasses. “Hunting food and sharing body heat? That sort of thing?” Jongin has his eyebrows raised in some sort of good natured challenge.
“Something like that,” Chanyeol mumbles before ducking his head.
“You’ll have to tell me about it some time,” Jongin says and flashes his teeth again. He’s still looking at Chanyeol when he chances a look up.
“He can make a fire too! Like proper outdoorsy shit,” Jongdae supplies. He’s completely oblivious to the fact that Chanyeol’s cheeks could be used to start a fire right now with how hot hey feel. His blush must not be showing otherwise his friend would stop saying embarrassing things.
“I don’t doubt he can,” Jongin says. There it is again, the heavy double meaning in his words and his loaded gaze. Chanyeol can actually feel it as if it were a caress.
“Oh,” Jongdae starts when he remembers. “You also made those bowls that didn’t suck!”
Chanyeol had hoped that Jongdae had forgotten his brief foray into pottery.
“Good with your hands, are you?” Jongin asks over his glasses.
“I s’pose,” Chanyeol mutters before hoping with all his might that the subject dies. He had never been good at being the centre of attention. He preferred a more background role. It seems that he won’t get that this summer because everywhere he goes, Jongin is noticing him. Not just looking at him but noticing him.
After that the three of them fall quiet and Jongin manages to doze off. Chanyeol and Jongdae talk about nothing and anything for a while before heading inside for a cool drink. They move the umbrella so that it shades Jongin from the sun before they leave.
“Your brother really can nap,” Chanyeol observes from the kitchen as he takes a piece of fruit from the cutting board and pops it into his mouth.
“I told you,” Jongdae replies. “He could be knocked out there all afternoon until the sun goes down and it gets too cold.”
“He’s like a cat,” Chanyeol says.
“True,” Jongdae agrees before grinning. “Let’s wake him up.”
The two friends take the cut up fruit out onto the deck to find Jongin snoring soundly and sprawled out half off his recliner. Chanyeol takes the opportunity to admire his half naked body. His stomach rises with each breath and the dip of each of his hip bones shows above his waist band. Chanyeol lets his eyes slide up over the boy’s belly to his neat pectorals, his collarbones and the curve of his throat.
He doesn’t really consciously register that he is staring until he hears Jongin clearing his throat. Amusement shines in his eyes and Chanyeol tries to cough away the embarrassment of being caught.
“How long was I knocked out?” Jongin asks. His voice catches on sleep and also on something in Chanyeol. Is that what he’d sound like first thing in the morning? The thought is dismissed as quickly as it comes but after that Chanyeol continues to be hyper aware of Jongin’s every move.
“A couple of hours,” says Jongdae. “You barely missed lunch.”
Jongin makes a happy noise and accepts some of the fruit gratefully. Chanyeol chews quietly and listens to the brothers catch up.
I turns out that Jongin has been accepted to the same university as his brother. It’s great news because Jongin had been more artistically inclined than his older brother but still wanted to please his parents. An architecture course at MIT, the same university where Jongdae was studying Mechanical Engineering, is the perfect compromise. Chanyeol sympathises. His choice of major had been heavily influenced by his parents and it had been pure luck that he turned out to not only have an aptitude for higher mathematics but also enjoyed applying it. It was hardly an exaggeration to say that Civil Engineering had basically saved Chanyeol’s relationship with his family.
“So do you wanna get a triple next year?” Jongin asks with a lopsided grin. He’s asking Jongdae but looking at Chanyeol.
“Room with you?” Jongdae scoffs playfully. “Ew! Freshman!” he teases. Chanyeol is quiet.
“You didn’t ask Chanyeol,” Jongin presses. “He gets a vote too.” He’s still looking right at Chanyeol, holding his eyes and he can’t look away.
“Sure, why not?” Chanyeol mumbles. How could he refuse when it feels like Jongin is promising something, everything that Chanyeol is hungry for? It hasn’t even been 24 hours and Chanyeol knows he’s sunk. He was in too deep the moment he saw Jongin’s eyes this morning.
“See!” Jongin crows. He only breaks eye contact to throw his head back and laugh.
“That’s not fair,” Jongdae says. “He’s just grateful you dragged him out of the lake this morning. He’s probably still addled.” He holds his hands out to signal a compromise. “Let Chanyeol get to know you and he can decide if he still wants you when we go. I’m sure he’ll change his mind,” he adds good naturedly.
Jongdae turns to his friend and adds, in a loud voice so that Jongin hears, “Don’t let him bully you. He’s sneaky, so watch him.”
Jongin continues to laugh and even Chanyeol manages to join in with the laughter of the two brothers.
()()()
The three of them pass their days in a similar fashion for the next week. Swimming, eating and playing with occasional trips into town. Jongin cooks sometimes and wonders loudly and without a scrap of subtlety about how great it would be to have a room mate who could cook. Jongdae groans and Chanyeol hides a smile in the back of his hand.
The days bleed into one another until the meaning of ‘week day’ and ‘weekend’ is lost. Chanyeol finds some calm despite Jongin’s equilibrium disturbing presence. For now he’s only mildly alarmed when Jongin looks at him, eyes heavy or sparkling light depending on his mood.
Tonight it’s drinking and cards. Poker isn’t Chanyeol’s talent either it seems and the other two exploit his lack of skill and overabundance of tells mercilessly, ganging up on him at times to take him down in hand after hand.
“Well, I have to say Channie, I’m glad we are playing for chips and not clothes right now.” Chanyeol splutters some garbled protests after a gulp of his beer goes down the wrong way. “I have definitely seen everything you have to offer and frankly I rather the money.”
Jongin doesn’t bother to hide his smile behind his hand of cards. He laughs at his brother and Chanyeol in equal parts until soon Chanyeol has had enough of drinking and losing and is covering his jaw cracking yawns in the back of his hand.
“So what’s Chanyeol’s deal?” Jongin asks after Chanyeol has retired for the night.
“His ‘deal’?” Jongdae raises an eyebrow before lifting the bottle to his lips and taking a gulp.
“Yeah,” Jongin says. He shifts in his chair and takes a drink from his own bottle. “Why isn’t he off with a girlfriend for the summer or something?”
Jongdae lets out a soft little wheeze of a laugh and sets the empty bottle down on the ground.
“Well, little bro that’s a good question. It’s not really my place to say but Channie has something he’s looking for and he hasn’t been able to find it yet.” Jongdae shrugs and his fond smile makes Jongin narrow his eyes a little.
“Would you say he was confused?” Jongin asks a leading question after he drains the last of his drink. He rises, collects his brother’s bottle and waves it to ask if he wants another. Jongdae nods and Jongin is able to hide his expression as he ducks into the fridge.
“I guess you could say that,” Jongdae answers after pause. He shakes his head thinking of Chanyeol’s predicament over the last year and doesn’t notice his brother smiling. By the time Jongdae looks up to take the bottle Jongin has his face nicely smoothed out.
“So what about you, huh?” Jongin sighs as he takes his seat again. It doesn’t take much to have his brother talking about himself. He nods and hums but what he’s really thinking about is the boy snoring away upstairs.
()()()
Friday night they decide to have a bonfire. Jongdae is in charge of preparing the food while Chanyeol scouts in the woods behind the house for kindling. He strides through the dry underbrush and lets his eyes wander over the ground. There’s only the low chirping of the crickets and some birds calling to accompany him as he searches. When he has gathered as much as he can carry in a roped bundle, he totes it back to the circle of stones he made earlier. He starts arranging the smaller sticks and torn up newspaper to get the fire started. It’s quiet work so Chanyeol hears when someone approaches from behind.
“Can I help?”
It’s Jongin, back from his run into town to buy drinks, cautiously moving closer. His hands are stuffed into the pockets of his shorts and he sways a little from foot to foot.
“I’m actually just about to light the fire so there isn’t much for you to do,” Chanyeol explains. He only glances up briefly but it’s enough to see that Jongin still looks as enticing as ever.
“Ah,” Jongin sighs. “I thought I might be useful. Hyung threw me out of the kitchen. He says he’s almost done too.” The boy pouts and kicks the dirt before crouching down next to where Chanyeol is.
“If you watch carefully you might learn something?” Chanyeol suggests. He knows as soon as the words leave his mouth that Jongin is wearing his lopsided grin and preparing suitably sly response. It makes him want to take the wind from his sails, show that he can play too.
“I’ll show you how to make a fire and maybe you can teach me something in return,” he says quickly.
Jongin makes a small sound of approval. Whether it’s at Chanyeol’s words or just at the fact that he is finally taking an active part in the banter is unclear. Either way, Chanyeol feels satisfied. It’s especially gratifying to have Jongin so quiet. He only asks questions when he has to and he picks things up quickly. He’s also suitably impressed when Chanyeol gets the match to catch light on the first try and the kindling begins to burn with no trouble.
“Can you do that without matches?” Jongin asks as they watch the newspaper flare and burn.
“If I have to,” Chanyeol says. “You should always have waterproof matches on hand though or you’re asking for trouble.”
“You made that look really easy,” observes the younger boy. He moves closer to the catching fire and holds out his hands just for something to do. Chanyeol gives the fire an unnecessary poke and shrugs.
“It’s mostly because it’s so dry,” Chanyeol clarifies. He drags over some larger sticks to bulk up the fire before the thick wood is added.
“I think you’re down playing your skill there,” Jongin says.
Chanyeol looks up and Jongin is close. His smile is warm and his face, lit by the small fire, shines. Chanyeol blinks but doesn’t back away. He just stares.
Jongin moves ever so slightly closer. His eyes drop down to Chanyeol’s lips before returning to lock back on to his eyes. At this distance Chanyeol can see Jongin swapping from focussing on his right eye, then his left and back to his right.
“Jongin?” Chanyeol can’t stop himself from saying.
“Yeah,” Jongin replies. A small smile curls the corners of his mouth.
“I er,” Chanyeol begins.
“I see you looking at me,” Jongin interrupts. His eyes are smiling now and it’s just more confusing for Chanyeol because there are little reflections of the fire in his eyes.
“You looked at me first,” Chanyeol counters, horribly off balance.
“That’s not really true is it?” Jongin challenges. He’s clearly enjoying this.
“You’re pretty!” Chanyeol blurts in attempt to defend himself. The images burned into his memory from his first night taunt him and his lie. Jongin doesn’t know about this but he sees the embarrassment on Chanyeol’s face and it just amuses him more.
“Yeah? Where?” Jongin asks. He leans in a little closer and finally Chanyeol gives ground. He sits back on the grass with a thud as Jongin crawls closer.
“Your face… and… other places,” Chanyeol answers. You’re pretty everywhere I’ve seen and I’ve seen a lot. He trails off and has to break eye contact because it’s all just too much. He can feel his face heating up.
“Just pretty?” Jongin presses for more. He’s so close now, holding himself over Chanyeol so that their mouths are just centimetres apart.
“Hot,” Chanyeol says before repeating, “You’re hot, okay!” You’re so hot it’s burned into the backs of my eyelids.
He’s breathing hard and his eyes close when Jongin closes the gap between them. He feels Jongin’s lips warm against his. At first it’s just a dry soft press but then it’s more. It’s another kiss and another until Chanyeol feels Jongin’s tongue lapping at his lips. There’s a sigh and a more insistent push. Jongin is angling his head so he can get closer. Chanyeol is mortified at the needy whine in the back of his throat until he feels Jongin haul him up by the collar.
“Oh God, you’re cute,” Jongin says. He kisses Chanyeol full on the mouth once more and makes a satisfied sort of noise when Chanyeol kisses him back with just as much enthusiasm. Beside them the heat from the fire is increasing. The heavier logs that Chanyeol had placed on the fire earlier have caught light.
Jongin pulls back to catch his breath and glances at the now sizable fire. “Woah, you are good at that.”
He turns back to Chanyeol who avoids his eyes and bites his lower lip at the praise. A crippling and immobilising embarrassment is taking hold and it’s all Chanyeol can do not to give in to his instinct to flee directly.
“Hey,” Jongin says, shifting his head into Chanyeol’s line of sight. He takes the boy by the chin gently and repeats, “Hey?”
“Mmm,” Chanyeol continues to avoid Jongin’s gaze.
“Aren't you attracted to me?” Jongin asks gently. His eyes are soft and his hand smooths down Chanyeol’s neck.
“Yeah,” Chanyeol relents. He looks up at Jongin and gives him a ghost of a smile in return.
“But, you’re nervous?” Jongin already suspects but he needs to have Chanyeol confirm it.
“Yeah,” Chanyeol says quietly, nodding. Jongin almost groans at how sweet he is.
“I have an idea,” Jongin says. “Do you trust me?” he asks.
If Chanyeol had any thought that he might be able to say ‘No’ to Jongin then he would have learned the truth in that moment. But when he looks up into Jongin’s eyes he wants to believe so badly that Jongin genuinely likes him that he agrees.
“Yeah,” he says for a third time. It’s just a breath but Jongin hears loud and clear. He leans in to leave a bruising kiss on Chanyeol’s lips before rushing off back into the house. Chanyeol is left to sit next to the fire and take stock of his life.
It’s not a long period of contemplation because Jongdae comes outside carrying the food. He whistles low and long when he lays eyes on the fire.
“Ah yeah! Nice fire!” he praises his friend with genuine enthusiasm and Chanyeol feels his chest puff up with pride. He really had been failing a fair bit this summer but now the wins are rolling in.
“Thanks, Dude,” he says, a little grateful for the interruption. “You need me to bring anything out?”
“Nah,” says Jongin. “It’s all out.” He suddenly appears from behind his brother to pass around the drinks. They all take a seat on some larger logs that Chanyeol had arranged earlier and sip quietly and just admire the fire.
The evening passes without incident. Chanyeol’s fire tending is praised widely and often by the two brothers and a full belly and a pleasant buzz allow Chanyeol to weather the attention without too much stress. Whenever he catches Jongin’s eye, the younger boy smiles and for once it puts him at rest. It’s not like before when it made him jumpy and unbalanced, now Jongin’s looks seem to be a comfort.
The night is over and the three of them are heading to bed earlier than usual. It’s probably because they ate at sundown and left all the lights off. The only light had been from the glow of Chanyeol’s fire.
“Chanyeol,” Jongin says just as Chanyeol is opening the door to his room. “Do you wanna come into my room?”
“Okay,” Chanyeol says and lets Jongin usher him in and close the door. He hasn’t been near Jongin’s room since the first night when he walked in on whatever the younger boy was doing.
“Take a seat.” Chanyeol sits down on Jongin’s bed. He tries not to think about it.
“I don’t want to freak you out,” Jongin starts. “But, I know.” He knows.
Chanyeol’s heart starts hammering in his chest and there’s a loud rushing noise in his ears and his body goes cold from head to foot. He stammers and splutters and manages to get out a sum total of absolutely nothing of meaning. He means to confess that he saw Jongin that night. He wants to tell Jongin that his skin was like slick wet clay and that he wants to touch it. He wants to spill his guts but his tongue is tied.
“I know you’re confused,” Jongin continues. He really hadn’t paused or noticed that Chanyeol was in more distress than usual because he is pacing. He turns to Chanyeol before speaking again.
“I want you to know that it’s okay. You like me, right?”
Chanyeol nods. He’d already admitted this and so it’s easy to just nod.
“Dae didn’t tell but I kinda guessed and he kinda said that you might have been having a difficult time figuring out if you like guys?” Jongin ends on a questioning tone and Chanyeol just blinks. He might have tried to leave by now but he doesn’t think his legs would work.
“Ah shit. What I’m saying is if you want to, you can try with me?” Another question.
“You like me?” Chanyeol asks. His mind is rejecting this scenario but his hand reaches out to take Jongin’s and when Jongin gives a little squeeze and nods, he lets out a breath.
“A li’l bit,” Jongin teases. He holds his fingers about a centimetre apart and squints one eye. It breaks the tension and Chanyeol smiles.
Jongin kisses him and puts Chanyeol’s hand up to his face. He’s much smoother than clay is the stray thought that passes through Chanyeol’s mind as Jongin pushes him back onto the bed.
“I just want to kiss you tonight,” Jongin says between kisses. “Is that okay?”
“Uh huh,” Chanyeol consents and crawls backwards up to the pillows as Jongin pursues him.
“I’m gonna kiss you really good,” Jongin promises. He then dives in kissing Chanyeol not just with his mouth but with his whole body. His hands slide through the taller boy’s hair, pulling him closer until they are pressed up against each other.
Chanyeol takes a deep breath in before letting it out again. Jongin smells like wood smoke. The wood smoke from the fire Chanyeol made. It's like he's claimed Jongin a little and he likes the way that feels.
Chanyeol lets Jongin cover him with his body. He's heavy, but not too much that it's uncomfortable. He lets his hands move over Jongin’s shoulders through his shirt. Jongin is warm and solid and leans into his touch. When he slides his hands down the younger boy’s chest, he feels his nipples hard under the fabric and hears Jongin moan.
"Chanyeol!"
Jongin encourages Chanyeol to take the lead with teasing little pecks at his lips. Chanyeol opens his eyes and chases Jongin’s mouth until he's the one on top.
“I think we found something else you’re good at,” Jongin jokes and Chanyeol ducks his head.
“You are too much sometimes, you know that?” Chanyeol says, laughing into Jongin’s shoulder.
“Will you stay here tonight?” the younger boy asks suddenly.
“Okay,” Chanyeol replies. He thinks about it a little more and nods. “Alright.”
“C'mere,” Jongin says and pulls Chanyeol down on top of him.
Chanyeol sleeps over that night and learns a few things. First is that he could kiss Jongin for hours. He does. The second is that Jongin does sound croaky first thing in the morning. It is as hot as he imagined. And last is that Jongin is an infuriating tease. It's days before he allows them to progress beyond heated make outs and sneaking kisses while Jongdae isn't looking.
It leaves Chanyeol panting into Jongin's neck one afternoon and pleading for more. He’s still nervous but his nerves are overcome by pure need. It was meant to be just an afternoon walk out to see the other side of the lake. But the walking became hand holding, which became playful shoving and the shoving devolved into gentle wrestling until it all just became too much.
“Jongin I can't take it,” he begs. “Please touch me. Anything, I just-”
Jongin presses Chanyeol harder up against the tree and kisses him.
“Alright, alright I got you,” he shushes the taller boy and smooths back his hair.
Chanyeol barely has time to sigh in relief before Jongin is on his knees and tugging on the front of his shorts.
“Stay quiet,” he orders and pulls down Chanyeol’s briefs.
Chanyeol squeezes his eyes shut when he feels Jongin's tongue working him over. It's only a short while until Jongin has him fully hard and struggling not give in to the urge to use the boy's mouth to just get off.
“Don't fight it,” Jongin says. “I can take it.”
Chanyeol experiments with gently rocking his hips and Jongin picks up on the rhythm. Between the younger boy's mouth on his cock and his hands on his ass, Chanyeol experiences a knee weakening orgasm in record time.
The sheepish pair return to the house with Chanyeol still a little weak kneed and Jongin smug.
()()()
“Hey,” Jongin calls from his door as Chanyeol passes on his way to bed. He opens the door wider to invite him is while checking to see that the coast is clear.
“Do you want to do something tonight?” Jongin asks and leans back on his door quietly.
“Like what?” Chanyeol wonders.
“Like naked something,” Jongin says. “We don’t have to, but I think you’ll like it.”
“Okay,” Chanyeol says. He tries to look relaxed but he is so nervous that his teeth start chattering.
“Are you really okay?”
“Yeah,” Chanyeol says. “I really want to but I’m-”
“Nervous,” Jongin supplies for him. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll make you feel really good. I promise.”
Chanyeol doesn’t doubt that he will feel incredible but he’s so worried that he’ll be bad.
“What if I’m not good?” he blurts.
“You can be awkward as anything and it won’t matter for what I have planned.” Jongin takes Chanyeol by the shoulders and shakes him a little. He takes his face in his hands and smiles. “I promise. You still trust me, right?”
“Uh huh,” Chanyeol nods.
“Good.”
Chanyeol lets Jongin kiss away his anxiety about what will happen next because kissing is okay, it’s something he knows how to do. And with each article of clothing removed, it’s just more intense.
They had talked about this before; what Chanyeol felt he’d like to try first when it came down to it. He had been determined to let Jongin take the lead. Jongin had smiled and said that Chanyeol should be more confident but Chanyeol had insisted. The first time (and probably any time after that Chanyeol was comfortable thinking about) Jongin would be the one fucking him. Jongin had balked at the responsibility but Chanyeol had confessed something that made the younger one’s eyes go dark with lust and agree immediately. I do it to myself all the time.
“Are you ready?” Jongin asks. Chanyeol nods and Jongin’s smile melts him all the way through. He's still self-conscious about being naked but it's melting away with every touch from Jongin's gentle hands.
Jongin lets Chanyeol get comfortable as he gets out the lube. Chanyeol covers his eyes with his fore arm. Jongin is slow and patient. He's careful and he presses his lips against Chanyeol's stomach over and over. With each kiss Chanyeol recalls the scene of Jongin spread out on this same bed more vividly. He had dreamed of peppering Jongin's skin with kisses and letting his tongue search out all of his sweet spots. The feeling builds until he can't stand it.
“Wait,” Chanyeol gasps. “Wait, wait.” He pushes on Jongin's shoulder until he moves back.
“You okay?”
The sweet blissed-out look on Jongin's face when he looks up almost crumbles Chanyeol's resolve.
“Yeah,” he sighs. “I gotta tell you something, okay?”
“Alright.” Jongin quirks an eyebrow and Chanyeol runs his hands through his hair. He leans back to give Chanyeol some space.
“I gotta tell you something,” Chanyeol says. He’s tripping on the edge of something. A wave of emotion he’s not equipped to deal with.
“Yeah, you said that already.” Jongin reaches out in concern. “Hey? Are you okay?”
“I saw you!” he blurts. He trips over the words while Jongin wonders what he's talking about. “That first night, that night we got here. I saw you in here. Naked and candles and touching,” he starts to hyperventilate as his explanation devolves into word salad. “Oh god, your skin? And the blindfold?” Everything tumbles out in a mess but the meaning is clear.
“Wait,” Jongin laughs. “Slow down. Are you saying you saw me in here the first night you arrived?”
Chanyeol nods. He takes deep breaths in and out to calm himself. He makes himself look into Jongin's eyes and he trembles.
“So this whole time...?”
Chanyeol nods again. His tongue wets his lips and he waits. As he watches, Jongin's whole posture turns predatory.
“You want to see it again?” he asks, leaning to take Chanyeol's lips in a slow kiss.
Chanyeol feels it right down to his toes. Even his scalp tingles with the intensity of the kiss. Jongin goes even slower than before. He gets into between Chanyeol's legs and rolls his hips until the both break down and beg for more at almost the same time. The tip of Jongin's cock rubs over Chanyeol's rim and they both groan.
Jongin pulls back, panting on Chanyeol's chest.
“I've got an idea.”
Chanyeol is too needy to say much more than, “Okay.”
Jongin vaults off the bed to retrieve something and Chanyeol lies there.
“Now be a good boy and close your eyes,” Jongin whispers. He holds up the black scarf that Chanyeol remembers. “Trust me still?” he asks.
Again Chanyeol nods and obeys. It's easier to focus on Jongin's skin and on his voice like this. He gets lost in it. Jongin pushes in and Chanyeol feels everything. It’s not just the ‘getting off’ that Chanyeol thought he needed, but the way that Jongin is making love to him that fills him up.
Jongin clearly has an exhibitionist streak because just the thought of being observed in such a compromising position has him keyed up. Chanyeol has to answer, ‘yes!’ any time Jongin asks if it was hot, or if Chanyeol touched himself thinking about it after. The only, ‘no!’ came when Jongin asked if Chanyeol wanted him to stop.
Chanyeol is glad for the blindfold when he feels tears prick at the insides of his eyelids. He buries his face in Jongin’s shoulder and locks his ankles at the small of the younger man’s back until Jongin stills and Chanyeol himself is a shivering mess.
Later that night when the blindfold is gone and the pair of them lie with their foreheads touching, Jongin smooths Chanyeol’s hair back and it comforts the taller boy as usual.
“Jongin,” Chanyeol sighs.
Jongin answers with a sleepy hum only to find that Chanyeol had just that minute fallen asleep. He drifts off with a whispered, “Chanyeol,” of his own.
()()()
Chanyeol puts all his stuff back in the same duffel bag he carried up the stairs a few weeks ago and every item he places in the bag feels like it puts him further away from Jongin. Even though he’s just next door right now, he won’t be tomorrow or the day after. Chanyeol thinks about how he has become comfortable with Jongin is such a short amount of time and how he’s not really ready to give that up. Then again, he doesn’t know if he could transfer the way he is with Jongin here, on summer holiday, to how he is at school. It’s like wearing plaid and stripes together or jeans and thongs; maybe some people could do it, but Chanyeol isn’t one of them. He normally plays it safe with a white ‘t’ and sneakers.
“Hey,” Jongin says quietly from the door way.
Chanyeol laughs because he was just comparing Jongin to stripes and his college life to plaid.
“What are you so happy about?” Jongin asks. He walks in and sits on the bed.
“Not happy,” Chanyeol says. “Bit sad.” He zips up the bag and lets his hands fall to his sides.
Jongin reaches out and pulls him in to a hug. Chanyeol allows it and frowns.
“I can feel your frowning,” Jongin says.
“Sorry.”
“We’ll see each other when term starts, you know,” Jongin says.
“I know,” Chanyeol pouts.
“But?”
“It’ll be different.”
“It will be great,” Jongin counters. He pulls back from the hug and he has that bright smile that Chanyeol likes. “First there will be you introducing me to everyone as your ‘hot boyfriend’. Then there’s the coffee dates, study dates, me getting to put my hands in your pockets when it gets cold, wearing each other’s beanies-”
“Woah,” Chanyeol interrupts. “You really thought this through…”
“You don’t want to be my boyfriend?” Jongin asks. It looks like he really hadn’t considered an alternative. There are a hundred reasons why things might not work out and Chanyeol could list every one of them right now. He looks into Jongin’s eyes and decides to just be really honest.
“I’m nervous,” he says. “More than nervous, I’m scared.”
“I know,” Jongin smiles. “I’m glad you said it rather than blowing me off.”
“You are really brave,” Chanyeol says. “I’m making you the oldest from now on.”
“That’s me, ‘Hyung’.” He makes a ‘thumbs up’ sight and grins.
There’s no way for them to keep it together after that. They hug until Jongdae shouts that everything is ready. Then they are one soft kiss away from being parted for the rest of the summer.
“I’ll text you,” Chanyeol says.
“If you’re busy I understand,” Jongin replies. He gets this cheeky quirk to his mouth and he raises his chin. “And it’s ‘I’ll text you, Hyung.’”
“You are the worst,” Chanyeol laughs. He slings his duffel bag over his shoulder and heads down the stairs.
There is hugging and shaking hands and much clapping each other on the back while the farewells are being said before the pair of friends is on the road.
Chanyeol stares out the window and Jongdae drives. The stereo plays one of the girl group songs from Jongdae’s mp3 player and the shorter boy hums along. If Chanyeol wasn’t so preoccupied with his own thoughts he could turn his head and see Jongdae’s satisfied smile.
“So how’s your summer so far?” Jongdae asks.
“It’s alright,” Chanyeol sighs.
“Alright?” Jongdae scoffs. “Just alright? I thought the Kim’s were way better in bed than just alright.”
“Oh my god, you know?” Chanyeol shouts and Jongdae almost has to pull over with how hard he’s laughing.
“You are a terrible poker player, Chanyeol,” Jongdae explains. “D’you think your ogling and puppy eyes were something I wasn’t gonna notice?”
“I thought…” Chanyeol begins to protest but he quiets down and just blinks.
“Don’t worry, I’m happy for you.” Jongdae reaches out to give his friend’s shoulder a nudge with his fist. Chanyeol sighs and groans. He brings his hands up to tug on his hair and lets out his frustration by dragging out the groan.
“You alright, buddy?” Jongdae asks.
“Your brother is just so hot!” Chanyeol moans.
“I said I was happy for you. I don’t need details,” Jongdae says. Chanyeol’s shoulders slump and he makes a little noise of resignation.
Jongdae glances over before dragging a hand across his forehead and making a frustrated noise of his own.
“Fine,” he huffs. He’s not being fair and he knows it. It’s his duty as a best friend to listen “You have a half an hour to gush.” He holds up a finger to indicate that he’s not done. “But, you are not to mention any details about your ‘naked times’, alright? I’m going to need more time to get used to you defiling my younger brother before I can be listening to you rave about Jongin’s whatever.”
Jongdae raises his eyebrows in a very clear ‘do you feel me?’ expression and Chanyeol nods seriously.
“Really?”
“Yeah, go ahead. How bad could it be?”
Chanyeol then relates in diabetes inducing detail the particulars of his blossoming relationship with Jongin. He takes care to avoid anything that Jongdae might not appreciate hearing, but he does get carried away and mentions a few things that might be considered as coming close. Jongdae had borne this with good humour and let Chanyeol continue mostly uninterrupted.
“He called us ‘Boyfriends’!” Chanyeol gushes finally.
Jongdae reaches out to ruffle his friend’s hair. They drive on for a while, windows down and both of them just enjoying clearing the air. Suddenly, Jongdae is struck by a terrible thought.
“Hang on, does this mean I need to find a new room mate?”
1. I hope you like this.
2. I did some research but it may be wildly inaccurate. Therefore consider this some alternative universe. Haha.
Title: Going in Blind
Pairing(s): Chanyeol/Kai
Rating: NC-17
Warning/s: Voyeurism, blindfolds, abuse of breakfast foods, sexuality confusion and some slightly kinky behaviour ͼ(^_^)ͽ.
Length: 10k
Summary: Chanyeol gets more than he bargained for one summer.
Author's note: I couldn’t deliver on a Hunger Games AU so I hope you don’t mind what I did here…
“Look, thanks for inviting me out here with you for the summer,” Chanyeol says. He rides shotgun in Jongdae's well travelled but perfectly serviceable Toyota. The sun has just passed its zenith and it shines brightly.
“I told you it's no biggy!” Jongdae replies. He pushes his ray bans back up his nose and waves his best friend off. “You are actually helping me out here. I hate having to think up things to do on my own. My brother would nap the entire summer away if I didn’t coerce him into doing something. With you there it will be easier and we are going to have a great time.”
Both Jongdae and Chanyeol have jobs that start up halfway through the summer but until then they can please themselves. It’s a great feeling to be able to put the punishing cold of Boston’s winter behind them and head south for the summer.
“Well, anyway. I just wanted to say thanks. It would have been awful at home alone. I hope I can pull my weight and keep us entertained.” Chanyeol grins and his hair blows around his face as they head down the highway. They are still a few hours from Jongdae's family holiday house.
“Daww,” Jongdae says and makes a face.
“So how loaded is your family anyway?” Chanyeol asks.
“Moderately loaded, I’d say,” Jongdae replies and sucks on his teeth.
Chanyeol shakes his head and shoves his friend gently on the shoulder. Jongdae shoots him a grin before turning back to focus on driving. Chanyeol lets his hand surf the air rushing past the car and watches the coastal scenery as they head south.
This past year the pair had become fast friends as room mates at the college. Neither of them knew many people and had clung to each other after hitting it off immediately. Their first year hadn't been all smooth sailing but it had definitely been more bearable because they had been together.
Jongdae had been the first, the only one so far, Chanyeol had told that he thought he might like guys just as much as he liked girls. Chanyeol sometimes wishes that he was actually attracted to Jongdae because even though it would have been painfully awkward in the beginning, Jongdae is the sort of easy going, effortlessly charming personality who would have indulged Chanyeol before sending him on his way into another pair of loving arms and still managed to remain his best friend.
It had been a throwaway comment whole they were getting tipsy one night at a party and Jongdae had just said 'alright' and left it at that. It had been later on that Jongdae had asked questions.
So boys and girls? (Yes, boys and girls)
Am I attractive? (Yes, you are very pretty Jongdae but you aren't my type).
Who is your type? (I'm trying to figure that out... maybe I don't have one).
What about him? (Nah).
Her? (Sure).
Yeah, I like boobs too. (I know you do…)
After that, Jongdae had kept his secret as if he didn't even know it. Chanyeol wasn't even sure he wanted it to be a secret. How was he supposed to attract guys if they didn’t know he was into them? Anyway, they had both made it through together as freshmen and this little holiday was their reward. They weren’t frittering away their money getting wasted and sunburned. They were actually resting, just tooling around for a bit before earning some coin. All in all it would be time well spent.
They have managed to stop for both lunch (burgers) and dinner (fish and chips) before Jongdae pulls into the long dirt drive he says leads to the lake house. Chanyeol peers through the windshield at the stately looking holiday house illuminated by strategically placed garden lights. It’s entirely possible that this lake house is more than three times bigger than the apartment that Chanyeol grew up in.
“There’s two stories,” Jongdae informs him. Strike that. It’s probably five times bigger. “The bedrooms are upstairs and everything else is down.”
“Dude,” is all Chanyeol manages.
They climb out of the car to unpack. Chanyeol has never been more glad to be a light traveller. The thought of having to lug anything heavier than his one bag up a flight of stairs sets the fatigue even deeper into his travel weary bones.
“Your room should be the second on the right at the top of the stairs,” Jongdae says as he hauls Chanyeol's bag out of the boot. “I'm gonna park the car and then bring in my shit.” Chanyeol grunts in response. He's fantasising about a hot shower and face planting into soft sheets.
He turns on a few lights where he can find them. The place is tastefully furnished and there is even a large wall of glass on his left that he assumes leads out onto the deck and the lake Jongdae told him about. Right now it's inky blackness out there except for the multitude of stars in the sky away from the city and a few lights dotted around the lake.
He passes an open plan kitchen that appears to have every appliance invented before seeing the stairs and hallway that Jongdae must be talking about. There are two doors on the left and three on the right. The first one looks a little different but he doesn't think anything of it.
“Second room on the right,” he repeats to himself. He reaches for the handle of the door, twists it, and pushes it open.
Chanyeol blinks slowly as his eyes adjust, his duffle bag slipping off his shoulder to the ground with a soft thud. The room is semi-dark, only illuminated by the soft light of ten or so candles. They must be scented because he can smell flowers and spices in the close air of the bedroom. That's all very nice but what draws his eyes like a magnet is the young man spread out on the bed. He is completely naked except for a black blindfold and a pair of large headphones that cover his ears. His skin is slick with either oil or sweat and it reminds Chanyeol of the time he took a course in pottery. The man's skin is the colour of the red-brown clay he worked wet with slip on the potting wheel.
Chanyeol is rooted to the spot as he follows a dexterous hand trailed down a toned torso. Hot blood pumps around his body and he's very aware of every part of his own skin. He gulps when the fingers of that hand wrap slowly around the man's thick shaft.
There's a devious turn to the man’s lips and Chanyeol feels weak at the seductive expression. A soft broken moan escapes the man's throat as his hands work up and down with a slow steady pace. Chanyeol is mesmerised by the way the pink tip of his perfect cock peeks out each time his foreskin is pulled back by his fist with every buck of his hips.
Chanyeol is jolted back to reality when he hears some shuffling at the front of the house. He pulls the door closed with haste and manages to heft his duffle bag onto his shoulder as Jongdae rounds the corner into the hall.
“Not that one, Dude,” Jongdae sighs. “The second door.” He points to the next door down the hall. “This first one is just a cupboard and that one is Jongin's.” Jongdae explains slowly as if he were talking to a halfwit. “If my brother is asleep and you wake him up then, God help you!”
Chanyeol continues to blink which honestly does nothing to prove he isn't lacking wits.
“Oh, sure,” he manages and Jongdae shakes his head.
“C'mon buddy, you'll feel better on the other side of a solid eight hours,” the shorter man chuckles. He steers Chanyeol towards his own room and flicks on the light. “Awesome right?” He smiles and Chanyeol has to agree. Jongdae's family must be a little more than just moderately loaded but he really isn't pondering the Kim family nett worth. He's thinking about how the man in the room next door is, right this second, having the most romantic looking session of self love Chanyeol had seen.
“I think I'm gonna have a shower before I sleep,” Chanyeol says.
“Suit yourself,” Jongdae points to the sliding door on one wall. “You have a bathroom in there, so go for your life. I'll see you in the morning. This summer is going to be the best ever!”
He pumps a fist and Chanyeol finds it difficult to catch the wave of enthusiasm with the lethargy clinging to him but he gives his own fist a small pump in response. Jongdae heads to his room right across from Chanyeol's. He waves before disappearing behind his closed door.
Chanyeol tries to put everything behind him as he strips off in the bathroom. He was sure to lock his own door and check it twice before daring to undress. Chanyeol is sure that the Jongin didn't notice the intrusion. He had a blindfold in and headphones on. Surely he had no idea.
While it's easy for Chanyeol to convince himself that he wasn't busted, it's not quite so easy to forget how hot the scene made him. In the shower, he tries touching himself sensually just as he had seen Jongin doing. His sudsy hands slip down his chest and over his nipples. It sends an electric thrill through his body and a quiet moan gurgling in his throat.
Chanyeol moves his hands further down and around to cup his own ass, giving it a squeeze. He imagines that it's Jongin touching him, that it's his strong hands spreading his buttocks to expose his hole. It makes his heart stutter into a faster rhythm as he pictures the scene.
The next thing he imagines is Jongin's fingertips teasing over the sensitive pucker. He lifts an arm to steady himself as the fingers of his other hand stroke and prod with sweet friction. A small amount of soap eases the way and soon Chanyeol is resting his forehead on the cool wall tiles as he delves deeper.
“Ohhhh,” he moans as he exerts a bit of pressure on his perineum with his pointer while the next two fingers thrust in and out. Chanyeol imagines that confident smirk and a thick cock lining up to stretch him to his limit.
“Please!” he gasps. He's too horny to care how loud he might be as his free hand grips his cock to pull him the rest of the way into his orgasm.
The warm water soothes his tired body and the fluffy towels he finds dry him nicely so he falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.
()()()
Chanyeol wakes the next morning to the sun streaming in through his window. He cracks an eyelid and gropes wildly for his phone to check the time.
It's almost half past eight in the morning, which by Chanyeol's reckoning is a decent first try at sleeping in. He's accustomed to 6am basketball training so having a lie-in is an unusual luxury.
He stretches under the covers and ruffles his hair. Maybe Jongdae is up... He can tell me where to get some coffee in this place. Chanyeol rolls himself out of bed and rummages through his bag for a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
Chanyeol makes his way down the hall back to the kitchen scratching at his belly. He spares only a momentary glance at Jongin's door as he passes be for he is greeted by an unexpected sight.
“Hi,” the man in the kitchen greets him with an easy smile. His fluffy hair falls in his eyes and he flicks his head to one side to shift it. He is wearing a thin shirt hanging off one toned shoulder and a pair of criminally short shorts.
Chanyeol freezes and blinks before making a kind of strangled noise. So that's what his eyes look like... They flash brightly with the promise of a quick and creative mind.
“You must be Chanyeol?” he checks. Chanyeol thinks he must have nodded because he keeps talking. “I’m Jongin. Dae is still sleeping but I was about to make pancakes if you want some?”
Chanyeol thinks he must have agreed again because Jongin is telling him to take a seat at the breakfast bar while he gets sorted.
“I like your hair, by the way,” Jongin says. “It really says ‘I'm on holidays and I don't care who sees me.’” Jongin is smiling a lopsided smile and it does dangerous things to Chanyeol's empty stomach.
“I er, took a shower last night before I went to sleep and I went to sleep with it damp so it's probably pretty weird,” Chanyeol ever so slightly over-explains. He tries to pat it down as he curses himself for not checking himself in the mirror before coming out.
“You’re forgiven,” Jongin says with a smirk and Chanyeol experiences that same weak feeling.
The weak feeling intensifies because now Jongin is reaching up to the top shelves. It makes his thin t-shirt ride up, both slipping further off his shoulder and exposing his tanned waist. Chanyeol sighs and can't tear his eyes away. Too soon, Jongin has retrieved what looks like pancake premix.
“This is what we keep here just in case,” Jongin frowns. “It's not bad really.”
“Honestly, if it's not instant ramen then you're already on top,” Chanyeol says. He's trying his hardest not to be the most awkward turtle in the pond but he fails when he sees the look in Jongin's eyes.
“Am I now?” he says. “On top, hey?” Again, his words are heavy with meaning and his smile radiates suppressed mirth.
Chanyeol opts to stay quiet for a while. He can’t keep up with whatever is going on with Jongin. The younger man fills the bottle with water to the level marked on the side before replacing the cap.
He starts shaking the bottle to mix the batter and Chanyeol has to look away. The way the younger man's biceps and triceps stand out make the morning feel just that much hotter for Chanyeol.
He is reminded of how those same muscles strained as Jongin's hands worked over his own body. Suddenly Chanyeol is desperate for something, anything to do to take his mind of that image.
“A-are you sure I can't help?” he manages in a shaky voice. “Maybe I could make coffee?”
Jongin looks up from where he's furiously jerking the bottle around and points over at the coffee maker.
“Can you work that?” he asks. “Grounds are in the freezer and filters are in the cupboard above.” He doesn’t stop shaking the bottle as he flicks the fingers of his free hand in the direction of the items.
Chanyeol gratefully applies himself to the task and soon has a pot of coffee percolating. He's grateful also that by the time he's done, Jongin seems to be concentrating on not burning the pancakes. He hasn't got any attention to spare to tease Chanyeol. If that's even what he had been doing.
That doesn't mean that Chanyeol isn't hypnotised by the way Jongin moves or by the look of concentration on his face. In a weak moment he lets his eyes rake down the smooth lines of Jongin's thighs. It shouldn't be surprising that Jongin catches him staring. It makes his heart flop around when Jongin cocks an eyebrow and sucks some of the dripping batter from his finger.
Just when Chanyeol thinks it can't get any worse, Jongin fixes him with a heavy look and taps the bottom if the bottle over the hot pan. It's just to get the last little bit of batter out and totally innocent as a gesture on its own but the way Jongin does it, Chanyeol feels the taps as if they were against his own flesh.
“Ready?” Jongin asks. He flips the last pancake out of the pan and onto a plate. There is a mountain of them and Chanyeol wonders where all those pancakes came from. Probably while you were ogling the kid...
“Aw, you cooked me breakfast!” comes Jongdae's voice as he saunters into the kitchen.
“Trust you to show up when the food is ready,” scoffs Jongin.
Chanyeol is grateful yet again for the interruption until Jongin starts eye fucking him across the table. He's shameless. He gets syrup on his chin and fingers and has to lick it off, which he does far too sensually for Chanyeol to handle. He could have even sworn that Jongin winked at him.
It’s almost a relief when Jongin lets Chanyeol and Jongdae convince him to let them clean up until he announces his next activity.
“I’m going for a swim,” Jongin calls as he bounds up the stairs two at a time.
Chanyeol groans.
“Did you eat too much?” Jongdae asks.
“Probably,” Chanyeol replies.
“Gutsache,” Jongdae chides. “Pace yourself, okay? We have weeks for you to gorge yourself.”
Chanyeol throws the tea towel at him.
It turns out that Jongin really didn’t leave that much mess so the two older boys make quick work of the clean-up. It gives Chanyeol a small breather from Jongin’s incessant provocation but it’s short lived. As soon as the boy appears again it’s in tiny swim trunks and he insists that they all take a dip in the lake. Jongdae agrees readily and Chanyeol’s stammering is taken as ascent so in no time at all, all three of them are walking down onto the pontoon, towels slung over their shoulders.
Chanyeol does his best not to groan out loud at the sight of Jongin’s muscles shifting under his skin with each step of his flowing gait. Luckily his line of sight is hidden behind dark glasses because Jongdae doesn’t need to find out that Chanyeol thinks his little brother is all kinds of delicious just yet.
Jongin wastes no time at all. He doesn’t even dip a toe in to check the temperature. He just drops his towel to the ground and launches himself into a perfect dive. His body hardly causes a splash as it goes under and Chanyeol stares it the spot where his toes disappeared. Jongdae manages to enter the water with just as much flair albeit with less finesse. He barrels past Chanyeol with a whoop before clutching his knees to his chest in a textbook cannonball.
Both brothers break the surface a flick their dark hair back as the tread water.
“C’mon Chanyeol!” Jongdae says, his laughter echoing out across the water.
“It’s really nice in here!” agrees Jongin.
Chanyeol reluctantly drops his towel and walks over to the edge. He looks into the lake with trepidation and bites his lip.
“Are you coming in today?” Jongin calls. He starts splashing his brother and Jongdae retaliates with a shout.
Chanyeol watches the pair play fight. He isn’t the most confident swimmer and it looks deep. He wonders if maybe they will be satisfied with him just wetting his feet. He drops his towel and tries to look as comfortable as possible with hanging his feet off the edge of the pontoon down into the water. Chanyeol leans back on his hands and arranges himself into a posture of relaxed sun worship.
“I’m gonna soak up some rays for a bit,” he explains and concentrates on calming his heart.
The other two seem to accept this and focus on outdoing each other with one sort of daring after another.
“Are you done cooking yet?” Jongin asks after a while. “You can’t get as tanned as me all in one go, you know,” he says, indicating to his torso with a graceful flourish.
Chanyeol’s hard work spent calming himself counts for naught because suddenly his heart is hammering again.
“I, er,” he stammers. “Okay.”
The brothers are standing on the edge, dripping and watching him. They are waiting for him to go first.
Chanyeol stands and removes his sunglasses, dropping them to the towel before taking a deep breath and diving in. This, at least had been the plan. What actually happened was, he slipped and fell splashing into the water just short of cracking his head on the edge of the pontoon. He feels his face heat all the way to his hair line even before he surfaces and treads water.
“Alright, so we’ll work on that,” says Jongin as Jongdae cackles in the background.
“It’s okay,” says Jongdae. “Chanyeol isn’t a great swimmer,” he explains before adding, “Mountain boy.”
Jongin nods and smiles warmly. Chanyeol tries to grin back but something long and slimy wraps around his ankle. Chanyeol opens his mouth to shout and flails at the same time but it just results in him taking on water via his mouth. This is a problem, because that is where air is meant to go in and he ends up choking and spluttering.
Seconds later, strong arms are dragging him over to the edge and he is being roughly shoved out of the water and back onto the pontoon. A few hard thumps on the back have him hacking up the water he swallowed and gulping down sweet relieving air.
“Are you okay?” Jongin asks. His face is close and he’s holding Chanyeol’s hair out of his eyes.
“Yeah,” Chanyeol croaks and the relief relaxes Jongin’s face before he smiles.
Jongdae is holding him up from behind and he pats his friend on the back a few times.
“Look,” he starts. “I know the lake looks great but can you not drink it all?”
Normally Chanyeol would laugh but all he can manage right now is a feeble wheeze.
“Let’s just go back to sunbathing for a bit hey?” Jongin suggests. Jongdae helps Chanyeol to his feet and makes sure he’s steady before letting go. Jongin watches and lays out his towel on one of the recliners. “Chanyeol was doing that very well before he decided to scare us.”
Chanyeol thinks it might have been the near death experience but he’s certain Jongin’s look was appraising before he turned away.
And so Chanyeol spends a good portion of the rest of the morning recalling how strong Jongin’s arms felt hauling him through the water and pushing him up onto the pontoon. Jongdae had been the one to thump him on the back but it had been Jongin who held his chin and searched his eyes. It’s a look that makes Chanyeol shiver despite the hot summer sun.
“Chanyeol might not be that great a swimmer but he could survive a few nights lost in the woods during winter,” Jongdae starts. He lifts his head and indicates in the direction of his little brother. “Go on, tell him Channie.”
Chanyeol shrugs and coughs nervously. He’s still not used to Jongdae volunteering him for things.
“Lost in the woods, hey?” Jongin asks. He raises himself up onto his elbows and looks over his sunglasses. “Hunting food and sharing body heat? That sort of thing?” Jongin has his eyebrows raised in some sort of good natured challenge.
“Something like that,” Chanyeol mumbles before ducking his head.
“You’ll have to tell me about it some time,” Jongin says and flashes his teeth again. He’s still looking at Chanyeol when he chances a look up.
“He can make a fire too! Like proper outdoorsy shit,” Jongdae supplies. He’s completely oblivious to the fact that Chanyeol’s cheeks could be used to start a fire right now with how hot hey feel. His blush must not be showing otherwise his friend would stop saying embarrassing things.
“I don’t doubt he can,” Jongin says. There it is again, the heavy double meaning in his words and his loaded gaze. Chanyeol can actually feel it as if it were a caress.
“Oh,” Jongdae starts when he remembers. “You also made those bowls that didn’t suck!”
Chanyeol had hoped that Jongdae had forgotten his brief foray into pottery.
“Good with your hands, are you?” Jongin asks over his glasses.
“I s’pose,” Chanyeol mutters before hoping with all his might that the subject dies. He had never been good at being the centre of attention. He preferred a more background role. It seems that he won’t get that this summer because everywhere he goes, Jongin is noticing him. Not just looking at him but noticing him.
After that the three of them fall quiet and Jongin manages to doze off. Chanyeol and Jongdae talk about nothing and anything for a while before heading inside for a cool drink. They move the umbrella so that it shades Jongin from the sun before they leave.
“Your brother really can nap,” Chanyeol observes from the kitchen as he takes a piece of fruit from the cutting board and pops it into his mouth.
“I told you,” Jongdae replies. “He could be knocked out there all afternoon until the sun goes down and it gets too cold.”
“He’s like a cat,” Chanyeol says.
“True,” Jongdae agrees before grinning. “Let’s wake him up.”
The two friends take the cut up fruit out onto the deck to find Jongin snoring soundly and sprawled out half off his recliner. Chanyeol takes the opportunity to admire his half naked body. His stomach rises with each breath and the dip of each of his hip bones shows above his waist band. Chanyeol lets his eyes slide up over the boy’s belly to his neat pectorals, his collarbones and the curve of his throat.
He doesn’t really consciously register that he is staring until he hears Jongin clearing his throat. Amusement shines in his eyes and Chanyeol tries to cough away the embarrassment of being caught.
“How long was I knocked out?” Jongin asks. His voice catches on sleep and also on something in Chanyeol. Is that what he’d sound like first thing in the morning? The thought is dismissed as quickly as it comes but after that Chanyeol continues to be hyper aware of Jongin’s every move.
“A couple of hours,” says Jongdae. “You barely missed lunch.”
Jongin makes a happy noise and accepts some of the fruit gratefully. Chanyeol chews quietly and listens to the brothers catch up.
I turns out that Jongin has been accepted to the same university as his brother. It’s great news because Jongin had been more artistically inclined than his older brother but still wanted to please his parents. An architecture course at MIT, the same university where Jongdae was studying Mechanical Engineering, is the perfect compromise. Chanyeol sympathises. His choice of major had been heavily influenced by his parents and it had been pure luck that he turned out to not only have an aptitude for higher mathematics but also enjoyed applying it. It was hardly an exaggeration to say that Civil Engineering had basically saved Chanyeol’s relationship with his family.
“So do you wanna get a triple next year?” Jongin asks with a lopsided grin. He’s asking Jongdae but looking at Chanyeol.
“Room with you?” Jongdae scoffs playfully. “Ew! Freshman!” he teases. Chanyeol is quiet.
“You didn’t ask Chanyeol,” Jongin presses. “He gets a vote too.” He’s still looking right at Chanyeol, holding his eyes and he can’t look away.
“Sure, why not?” Chanyeol mumbles. How could he refuse when it feels like Jongin is promising something, everything that Chanyeol is hungry for? It hasn’t even been 24 hours and Chanyeol knows he’s sunk. He was in too deep the moment he saw Jongin’s eyes this morning.
“See!” Jongin crows. He only breaks eye contact to throw his head back and laugh.
“That’s not fair,” Jongdae says. “He’s just grateful you dragged him out of the lake this morning. He’s probably still addled.” He holds his hands out to signal a compromise. “Let Chanyeol get to know you and he can decide if he still wants you when we go. I’m sure he’ll change his mind,” he adds good naturedly.
Jongdae turns to his friend and adds, in a loud voice so that Jongin hears, “Don’t let him bully you. He’s sneaky, so watch him.”
Jongin continues to laugh and even Chanyeol manages to join in with the laughter of the two brothers.
()()()
The three of them pass their days in a similar fashion for the next week. Swimming, eating and playing with occasional trips into town. Jongin cooks sometimes and wonders loudly and without a scrap of subtlety about how great it would be to have a room mate who could cook. Jongdae groans and Chanyeol hides a smile in the back of his hand.
The days bleed into one another until the meaning of ‘week day’ and ‘weekend’ is lost. Chanyeol finds some calm despite Jongin’s equilibrium disturbing presence. For now he’s only mildly alarmed when Jongin looks at him, eyes heavy or sparkling light depending on his mood.
Tonight it’s drinking and cards. Poker isn’t Chanyeol’s talent either it seems and the other two exploit his lack of skill and overabundance of tells mercilessly, ganging up on him at times to take him down in hand after hand.
“Well, I have to say Channie, I’m glad we are playing for chips and not clothes right now.” Chanyeol splutters some garbled protests after a gulp of his beer goes down the wrong way. “I have definitely seen everything you have to offer and frankly I rather the money.”
Jongin doesn’t bother to hide his smile behind his hand of cards. He laughs at his brother and Chanyeol in equal parts until soon Chanyeol has had enough of drinking and losing and is covering his jaw cracking yawns in the back of his hand.
“So what’s Chanyeol’s deal?” Jongin asks after Chanyeol has retired for the night.
“His ‘deal’?” Jongdae raises an eyebrow before lifting the bottle to his lips and taking a gulp.
“Yeah,” Jongin says. He shifts in his chair and takes a drink from his own bottle. “Why isn’t he off with a girlfriend for the summer or something?”
Jongdae lets out a soft little wheeze of a laugh and sets the empty bottle down on the ground.
“Well, little bro that’s a good question. It’s not really my place to say but Channie has something he’s looking for and he hasn’t been able to find it yet.” Jongdae shrugs and his fond smile makes Jongin narrow his eyes a little.
“Would you say he was confused?” Jongin asks a leading question after he drains the last of his drink. He rises, collects his brother’s bottle and waves it to ask if he wants another. Jongdae nods and Jongin is able to hide his expression as he ducks into the fridge.
“I guess you could say that,” Jongdae answers after pause. He shakes his head thinking of Chanyeol’s predicament over the last year and doesn’t notice his brother smiling. By the time Jongdae looks up to take the bottle Jongin has his face nicely smoothed out.
“So what about you, huh?” Jongin sighs as he takes his seat again. It doesn’t take much to have his brother talking about himself. He nods and hums but what he’s really thinking about is the boy snoring away upstairs.
()()()
Friday night they decide to have a bonfire. Jongdae is in charge of preparing the food while Chanyeol scouts in the woods behind the house for kindling. He strides through the dry underbrush and lets his eyes wander over the ground. There’s only the low chirping of the crickets and some birds calling to accompany him as he searches. When he has gathered as much as he can carry in a roped bundle, he totes it back to the circle of stones he made earlier. He starts arranging the smaller sticks and torn up newspaper to get the fire started. It’s quiet work so Chanyeol hears when someone approaches from behind.
“Can I help?”
It’s Jongin, back from his run into town to buy drinks, cautiously moving closer. His hands are stuffed into the pockets of his shorts and he sways a little from foot to foot.
“I’m actually just about to light the fire so there isn’t much for you to do,” Chanyeol explains. He only glances up briefly but it’s enough to see that Jongin still looks as enticing as ever.
“Ah,” Jongin sighs. “I thought I might be useful. Hyung threw me out of the kitchen. He says he’s almost done too.” The boy pouts and kicks the dirt before crouching down next to where Chanyeol is.
“If you watch carefully you might learn something?” Chanyeol suggests. He knows as soon as the words leave his mouth that Jongin is wearing his lopsided grin and preparing suitably sly response. It makes him want to take the wind from his sails, show that he can play too.
“I’ll show you how to make a fire and maybe you can teach me something in return,” he says quickly.
Jongin makes a small sound of approval. Whether it’s at Chanyeol’s words or just at the fact that he is finally taking an active part in the banter is unclear. Either way, Chanyeol feels satisfied. It’s especially gratifying to have Jongin so quiet. He only asks questions when he has to and he picks things up quickly. He’s also suitably impressed when Chanyeol gets the match to catch light on the first try and the kindling begins to burn with no trouble.
“Can you do that without matches?” Jongin asks as they watch the newspaper flare and burn.
“If I have to,” Chanyeol says. “You should always have waterproof matches on hand though or you’re asking for trouble.”
“You made that look really easy,” observes the younger boy. He moves closer to the catching fire and holds out his hands just for something to do. Chanyeol gives the fire an unnecessary poke and shrugs.
“It’s mostly because it’s so dry,” Chanyeol clarifies. He drags over some larger sticks to bulk up the fire before the thick wood is added.
“I think you’re down playing your skill there,” Jongin says.
Chanyeol looks up and Jongin is close. His smile is warm and his face, lit by the small fire, shines. Chanyeol blinks but doesn’t back away. He just stares.
Jongin moves ever so slightly closer. His eyes drop down to Chanyeol’s lips before returning to lock back on to his eyes. At this distance Chanyeol can see Jongin swapping from focussing on his right eye, then his left and back to his right.
“Jongin?” Chanyeol can’t stop himself from saying.
“Yeah,” Jongin replies. A small smile curls the corners of his mouth.
“I er,” Chanyeol begins.
“I see you looking at me,” Jongin interrupts. His eyes are smiling now and it’s just more confusing for Chanyeol because there are little reflections of the fire in his eyes.
“You looked at me first,” Chanyeol counters, horribly off balance.
“That’s not really true is it?” Jongin challenges. He’s clearly enjoying this.
“You’re pretty!” Chanyeol blurts in attempt to defend himself. The images burned into his memory from his first night taunt him and his lie. Jongin doesn’t know about this but he sees the embarrassment on Chanyeol’s face and it just amuses him more.
“Yeah? Where?” Jongin asks. He leans in a little closer and finally Chanyeol gives ground. He sits back on the grass with a thud as Jongin crawls closer.
“Your face… and… other places,” Chanyeol answers. You’re pretty everywhere I’ve seen and I’ve seen a lot. He trails off and has to break eye contact because it’s all just too much. He can feel his face heating up.
“Just pretty?” Jongin presses for more. He’s so close now, holding himself over Chanyeol so that their mouths are just centimetres apart.
“Hot,” Chanyeol says before repeating, “You’re hot, okay!” You’re so hot it’s burned into the backs of my eyelids.
He’s breathing hard and his eyes close when Jongin closes the gap between them. He feels Jongin’s lips warm against his. At first it’s just a dry soft press but then it’s more. It’s another kiss and another until Chanyeol feels Jongin’s tongue lapping at his lips. There’s a sigh and a more insistent push. Jongin is angling his head so he can get closer. Chanyeol is mortified at the needy whine in the back of his throat until he feels Jongin haul him up by the collar.
“Oh God, you’re cute,” Jongin says. He kisses Chanyeol full on the mouth once more and makes a satisfied sort of noise when Chanyeol kisses him back with just as much enthusiasm. Beside them the heat from the fire is increasing. The heavier logs that Chanyeol had placed on the fire earlier have caught light.
Jongin pulls back to catch his breath and glances at the now sizable fire. “Woah, you are good at that.”
He turns back to Chanyeol who avoids his eyes and bites his lower lip at the praise. A crippling and immobilising embarrassment is taking hold and it’s all Chanyeol can do not to give in to his instinct to flee directly.
“Hey,” Jongin says, shifting his head into Chanyeol’s line of sight. He takes the boy by the chin gently and repeats, “Hey?”
“Mmm,” Chanyeol continues to avoid Jongin’s gaze.
“Aren't you attracted to me?” Jongin asks gently. His eyes are soft and his hand smooths down Chanyeol’s neck.
“Yeah,” Chanyeol relents. He looks up at Jongin and gives him a ghost of a smile in return.
“But, you’re nervous?” Jongin already suspects but he needs to have Chanyeol confirm it.
“Yeah,” Chanyeol says quietly, nodding. Jongin almost groans at how sweet he is.
“I have an idea,” Jongin says. “Do you trust me?” he asks.
If Chanyeol had any thought that he might be able to say ‘No’ to Jongin then he would have learned the truth in that moment. But when he looks up into Jongin’s eyes he wants to believe so badly that Jongin genuinely likes him that he agrees.
“Yeah,” he says for a third time. It’s just a breath but Jongin hears loud and clear. He leans in to leave a bruising kiss on Chanyeol’s lips before rushing off back into the house. Chanyeol is left to sit next to the fire and take stock of his life.
It’s not a long period of contemplation because Jongdae comes outside carrying the food. He whistles low and long when he lays eyes on the fire.
“Ah yeah! Nice fire!” he praises his friend with genuine enthusiasm and Chanyeol feels his chest puff up with pride. He really had been failing a fair bit this summer but now the wins are rolling in.
“Thanks, Dude,” he says, a little grateful for the interruption. “You need me to bring anything out?”
“Nah,” says Jongin. “It’s all out.” He suddenly appears from behind his brother to pass around the drinks. They all take a seat on some larger logs that Chanyeol had arranged earlier and sip quietly and just admire the fire.
The evening passes without incident. Chanyeol’s fire tending is praised widely and often by the two brothers and a full belly and a pleasant buzz allow Chanyeol to weather the attention without too much stress. Whenever he catches Jongin’s eye, the younger boy smiles and for once it puts him at rest. It’s not like before when it made him jumpy and unbalanced, now Jongin’s looks seem to be a comfort.
The night is over and the three of them are heading to bed earlier than usual. It’s probably because they ate at sundown and left all the lights off. The only light had been from the glow of Chanyeol’s fire.
“Chanyeol,” Jongin says just as Chanyeol is opening the door to his room. “Do you wanna come into my room?”
“Okay,” Chanyeol says and lets Jongin usher him in and close the door. He hasn’t been near Jongin’s room since the first night when he walked in on whatever the younger boy was doing.
“Take a seat.” Chanyeol sits down on Jongin’s bed. He tries not to think about it.
“I don’t want to freak you out,” Jongin starts. “But, I know.” He knows.
Chanyeol’s heart starts hammering in his chest and there’s a loud rushing noise in his ears and his body goes cold from head to foot. He stammers and splutters and manages to get out a sum total of absolutely nothing of meaning. He means to confess that he saw Jongin that night. He wants to tell Jongin that his skin was like slick wet clay and that he wants to touch it. He wants to spill his guts but his tongue is tied.
“I know you’re confused,” Jongin continues. He really hadn’t paused or noticed that Chanyeol was in more distress than usual because he is pacing. He turns to Chanyeol before speaking again.
“I want you to know that it’s okay. You like me, right?”
Chanyeol nods. He’d already admitted this and so it’s easy to just nod.
“Dae didn’t tell but I kinda guessed and he kinda said that you might have been having a difficult time figuring out if you like guys?” Jongin ends on a questioning tone and Chanyeol just blinks. He might have tried to leave by now but he doesn’t think his legs would work.
“Ah shit. What I’m saying is if you want to, you can try with me?” Another question.
“You like me?” Chanyeol asks. His mind is rejecting this scenario but his hand reaches out to take Jongin’s and when Jongin gives a little squeeze and nods, he lets out a breath.
“A li’l bit,” Jongin teases. He holds his fingers about a centimetre apart and squints one eye. It breaks the tension and Chanyeol smiles.
Jongin kisses him and puts Chanyeol’s hand up to his face. He’s much smoother than clay is the stray thought that passes through Chanyeol’s mind as Jongin pushes him back onto the bed.
“I just want to kiss you tonight,” Jongin says between kisses. “Is that okay?”
“Uh huh,” Chanyeol consents and crawls backwards up to the pillows as Jongin pursues him.
“I’m gonna kiss you really good,” Jongin promises. He then dives in kissing Chanyeol not just with his mouth but with his whole body. His hands slide through the taller boy’s hair, pulling him closer until they are pressed up against each other.
Chanyeol takes a deep breath in before letting it out again. Jongin smells like wood smoke. The wood smoke from the fire Chanyeol made. It's like he's claimed Jongin a little and he likes the way that feels.
Chanyeol lets Jongin cover him with his body. He's heavy, but not too much that it's uncomfortable. He lets his hands move over Jongin’s shoulders through his shirt. Jongin is warm and solid and leans into his touch. When he slides his hands down the younger boy’s chest, he feels his nipples hard under the fabric and hears Jongin moan.
"Chanyeol!"
Jongin encourages Chanyeol to take the lead with teasing little pecks at his lips. Chanyeol opens his eyes and chases Jongin’s mouth until he's the one on top.
“I think we found something else you’re good at,” Jongin jokes and Chanyeol ducks his head.
“You are too much sometimes, you know that?” Chanyeol says, laughing into Jongin’s shoulder.
“Will you stay here tonight?” the younger boy asks suddenly.
“Okay,” Chanyeol replies. He thinks about it a little more and nods. “Alright.”
“C'mere,” Jongin says and pulls Chanyeol down on top of him.
Chanyeol sleeps over that night and learns a few things. First is that he could kiss Jongin for hours. He does. The second is that Jongin does sound croaky first thing in the morning. It is as hot as he imagined. And last is that Jongin is an infuriating tease. It's days before he allows them to progress beyond heated make outs and sneaking kisses while Jongdae isn't looking.
It leaves Chanyeol panting into Jongin's neck one afternoon and pleading for more. He’s still nervous but his nerves are overcome by pure need. It was meant to be just an afternoon walk out to see the other side of the lake. But the walking became hand holding, which became playful shoving and the shoving devolved into gentle wrestling until it all just became too much.
“Jongin I can't take it,” he begs. “Please touch me. Anything, I just-”
Jongin presses Chanyeol harder up against the tree and kisses him.
“Alright, alright I got you,” he shushes the taller boy and smooths back his hair.
Chanyeol barely has time to sigh in relief before Jongin is on his knees and tugging on the front of his shorts.
“Stay quiet,” he orders and pulls down Chanyeol’s briefs.
Chanyeol squeezes his eyes shut when he feels Jongin's tongue working him over. It's only a short while until Jongin has him fully hard and struggling not give in to the urge to use the boy's mouth to just get off.
“Don't fight it,” Jongin says. “I can take it.”
Chanyeol experiments with gently rocking his hips and Jongin picks up on the rhythm. Between the younger boy's mouth on his cock and his hands on his ass, Chanyeol experiences a knee weakening orgasm in record time.
The sheepish pair return to the house with Chanyeol still a little weak kneed and Jongin smug.
()()()
“Hey,” Jongin calls from his door as Chanyeol passes on his way to bed. He opens the door wider to invite him is while checking to see that the coast is clear.
“Do you want to do something tonight?” Jongin asks and leans back on his door quietly.
“Like what?” Chanyeol wonders.
“Like naked something,” Jongin says. “We don’t have to, but I think you’ll like it.”
“Okay,” Chanyeol says. He tries to look relaxed but he is so nervous that his teeth start chattering.
“Are you really okay?”
“Yeah,” Chanyeol says. “I really want to but I’m-”
“Nervous,” Jongin supplies for him. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll make you feel really good. I promise.”
Chanyeol doesn’t doubt that he will feel incredible but he’s so worried that he’ll be bad.
“What if I’m not good?” he blurts.
“You can be awkward as anything and it won’t matter for what I have planned.” Jongin takes Chanyeol by the shoulders and shakes him a little. He takes his face in his hands and smiles. “I promise. You still trust me, right?”
“Uh huh,” Chanyeol nods.
“Good.”
Chanyeol lets Jongin kiss away his anxiety about what will happen next because kissing is okay, it’s something he knows how to do. And with each article of clothing removed, it’s just more intense.
They had talked about this before; what Chanyeol felt he’d like to try first when it came down to it. He had been determined to let Jongin take the lead. Jongin had smiled and said that Chanyeol should be more confident but Chanyeol had insisted. The first time (and probably any time after that Chanyeol was comfortable thinking about) Jongin would be the one fucking him. Jongin had balked at the responsibility but Chanyeol had confessed something that made the younger one’s eyes go dark with lust and agree immediately. I do it to myself all the time.
“Are you ready?” Jongin asks. Chanyeol nods and Jongin’s smile melts him all the way through. He's still self-conscious about being naked but it's melting away with every touch from Jongin's gentle hands.
Jongin lets Chanyeol get comfortable as he gets out the lube. Chanyeol covers his eyes with his fore arm. Jongin is slow and patient. He's careful and he presses his lips against Chanyeol's stomach over and over. With each kiss Chanyeol recalls the scene of Jongin spread out on this same bed more vividly. He had dreamed of peppering Jongin's skin with kisses and letting his tongue search out all of his sweet spots. The feeling builds until he can't stand it.
“Wait,” Chanyeol gasps. “Wait, wait.” He pushes on Jongin's shoulder until he moves back.
“You okay?”
The sweet blissed-out look on Jongin's face when he looks up almost crumbles Chanyeol's resolve.
“Yeah,” he sighs. “I gotta tell you something, okay?”
“Alright.” Jongin quirks an eyebrow and Chanyeol runs his hands through his hair. He leans back to give Chanyeol some space.
“I gotta tell you something,” Chanyeol says. He’s tripping on the edge of something. A wave of emotion he’s not equipped to deal with.
“Yeah, you said that already.” Jongin reaches out in concern. “Hey? Are you okay?”
“I saw you!” he blurts. He trips over the words while Jongin wonders what he's talking about. “That first night, that night we got here. I saw you in here. Naked and candles and touching,” he starts to hyperventilate as his explanation devolves into word salad. “Oh god, your skin? And the blindfold?” Everything tumbles out in a mess but the meaning is clear.
“Wait,” Jongin laughs. “Slow down. Are you saying you saw me in here the first night you arrived?”
Chanyeol nods. He takes deep breaths in and out to calm himself. He makes himself look into Jongin's eyes and he trembles.
“So this whole time...?”
Chanyeol nods again. His tongue wets his lips and he waits. As he watches, Jongin's whole posture turns predatory.
“You want to see it again?” he asks, leaning to take Chanyeol's lips in a slow kiss.
Chanyeol feels it right down to his toes. Even his scalp tingles with the intensity of the kiss. Jongin goes even slower than before. He gets into between Chanyeol's legs and rolls his hips until the both break down and beg for more at almost the same time. The tip of Jongin's cock rubs over Chanyeol's rim and they both groan.
Jongin pulls back, panting on Chanyeol's chest.
“I've got an idea.”
Chanyeol is too needy to say much more than, “Okay.”
Jongin vaults off the bed to retrieve something and Chanyeol lies there.
“Now be a good boy and close your eyes,” Jongin whispers. He holds up the black scarf that Chanyeol remembers. “Trust me still?” he asks.
Again Chanyeol nods and obeys. It's easier to focus on Jongin's skin and on his voice like this. He gets lost in it. Jongin pushes in and Chanyeol feels everything. It’s not just the ‘getting off’ that Chanyeol thought he needed, but the way that Jongin is making love to him that fills him up.
Jongin clearly has an exhibitionist streak because just the thought of being observed in such a compromising position has him keyed up. Chanyeol has to answer, ‘yes!’ any time Jongin asks if it was hot, or if Chanyeol touched himself thinking about it after. The only, ‘no!’ came when Jongin asked if Chanyeol wanted him to stop.
Chanyeol is glad for the blindfold when he feels tears prick at the insides of his eyelids. He buries his face in Jongin’s shoulder and locks his ankles at the small of the younger man’s back until Jongin stills and Chanyeol himself is a shivering mess.
Later that night when the blindfold is gone and the pair of them lie with their foreheads touching, Jongin smooths Chanyeol’s hair back and it comforts the taller boy as usual.
“Jongin,” Chanyeol sighs.
Jongin answers with a sleepy hum only to find that Chanyeol had just that minute fallen asleep. He drifts off with a whispered, “Chanyeol,” of his own.
()()()
Chanyeol puts all his stuff back in the same duffel bag he carried up the stairs a few weeks ago and every item he places in the bag feels like it puts him further away from Jongin. Even though he’s just next door right now, he won’t be tomorrow or the day after. Chanyeol thinks about how he has become comfortable with Jongin is such a short amount of time and how he’s not really ready to give that up. Then again, he doesn’t know if he could transfer the way he is with Jongin here, on summer holiday, to how he is at school. It’s like wearing plaid and stripes together or jeans and thongs; maybe some people could do it, but Chanyeol isn’t one of them. He normally plays it safe with a white ‘t’ and sneakers.
“Hey,” Jongin says quietly from the door way.
Chanyeol laughs because he was just comparing Jongin to stripes and his college life to plaid.
“What are you so happy about?” Jongin asks. He walks in and sits on the bed.
“Not happy,” Chanyeol says. “Bit sad.” He zips up the bag and lets his hands fall to his sides.
Jongin reaches out and pulls him in to a hug. Chanyeol allows it and frowns.
“I can feel your frowning,” Jongin says.
“Sorry.”
“We’ll see each other when term starts, you know,” Jongin says.
“I know,” Chanyeol pouts.
“But?”
“It’ll be different.”
“It will be great,” Jongin counters. He pulls back from the hug and he has that bright smile that Chanyeol likes. “First there will be you introducing me to everyone as your ‘hot boyfriend’. Then there’s the coffee dates, study dates, me getting to put my hands in your pockets when it gets cold, wearing each other’s beanies-”
“Woah,” Chanyeol interrupts. “You really thought this through…”
“You don’t want to be my boyfriend?” Jongin asks. It looks like he really hadn’t considered an alternative. There are a hundred reasons why things might not work out and Chanyeol could list every one of them right now. He looks into Jongin’s eyes and decides to just be really honest.
“I’m nervous,” he says. “More than nervous, I’m scared.”
“I know,” Jongin smiles. “I’m glad you said it rather than blowing me off.”
“You are really brave,” Chanyeol says. “I’m making you the oldest from now on.”
“That’s me, ‘Hyung’.” He makes a ‘thumbs up’ sight and grins.
There’s no way for them to keep it together after that. They hug until Jongdae shouts that everything is ready. Then they are one soft kiss away from being parted for the rest of the summer.
“I’ll text you,” Chanyeol says.
“If you’re busy I understand,” Jongin replies. He gets this cheeky quirk to his mouth and he raises his chin. “And it’s ‘I’ll text you, Hyung.’”
“You are the worst,” Chanyeol laughs. He slings his duffel bag over his shoulder and heads down the stairs.
There is hugging and shaking hands and much clapping each other on the back while the farewells are being said before the pair of friends is on the road.
Chanyeol stares out the window and Jongdae drives. The stereo plays one of the girl group songs from Jongdae’s mp3 player and the shorter boy hums along. If Chanyeol wasn’t so preoccupied with his own thoughts he could turn his head and see Jongdae’s satisfied smile.
“So how’s your summer so far?” Jongdae asks.
“It’s alright,” Chanyeol sighs.
“Alright?” Jongdae scoffs. “Just alright? I thought the Kim’s were way better in bed than just alright.”
“Oh my god, you know?” Chanyeol shouts and Jongdae almost has to pull over with how hard he’s laughing.
“You are a terrible poker player, Chanyeol,” Jongdae explains. “D’you think your ogling and puppy eyes were something I wasn’t gonna notice?”
“I thought…” Chanyeol begins to protest but he quiets down and just blinks.
“Don’t worry, I’m happy for you.” Jongdae reaches out to give his friend’s shoulder a nudge with his fist. Chanyeol sighs and groans. He brings his hands up to tug on his hair and lets out his frustration by dragging out the groan.
“You alright, buddy?” Jongdae asks.
“Your brother is just so hot!” Chanyeol moans.
“I said I was happy for you. I don’t need details,” Jongdae says. Chanyeol’s shoulders slump and he makes a little noise of resignation.
Jongdae glances over before dragging a hand across his forehead and making a frustrated noise of his own.
“Fine,” he huffs. He’s not being fair and he knows it. It’s his duty as a best friend to listen “You have a half an hour to gush.” He holds up a finger to indicate that he’s not done. “But, you are not to mention any details about your ‘naked times’, alright? I’m going to need more time to get used to you defiling my younger brother before I can be listening to you rave about Jongin’s whatever.”
Jongdae raises his eyebrows in a very clear ‘do you feel me?’ expression and Chanyeol nods seriously.
“Really?”
“Yeah, go ahead. How bad could it be?”
Chanyeol then relates in diabetes inducing detail the particulars of his blossoming relationship with Jongin. He takes care to avoid anything that Jongdae might not appreciate hearing, but he does get carried away and mentions a few things that might be considered as coming close. Jongdae had borne this with good humour and let Chanyeol continue mostly uninterrupted.
“He called us ‘Boyfriends’!” Chanyeol gushes finally.
Jongdae reaches out to ruffle his friend’s hair. They drive on for a while, windows down and both of them just enjoying clearing the air. Suddenly, Jongdae is struck by a terrible thought.
“Hang on, does this mean I need to find a new room mate?”
1. I hope you like this.
2. I did some research but it may be wildly inaccurate. Therefore consider this some alternative universe. Haha.