Just kiss the boy for caterplina
For: caterplina
Title:Just Kiss The Boy
Pairing(s): Chanyeol/Kai
Rating: PG-13
Warning excessive amounts of fluff and cheese, mild pining, chankai (well chanyeol, anyway) are oblivious, foul-tempered waiter Yurio, ninja otayuri and not-so-ninja viktuuri, the occasional f-bomb, (seriously) lame attempts at humor, boys making out
Length: 8.3k
Summary: Chanyeol hates exercise of any kind. In fact, he hates moving, period. His crush somehow manages to convince him that hiking up a mountain at the ass crack of dawn is a good idea. Roommates!AU
Author's note: hi caterplina! i had a lot of fun writing this and i hope you will have fun reading it, too. you seem to like the anime Yuuri!!! On Ice, so i thought i’d have some of the characters do cameos in this story. I hope you enjoy <3
Chanyeol wheezes as he reaches the top of the stairs. Just his luck the Audio Mastering Techniques lecture is on the fourth floor, and not just one, but both of the lifts are out of order.
“Too early in the morning for this shit,” he groans as he bends over, hands on thighs, panting.
His best friend Sehun eyes him critically. “You have the cardiac capacity of a seventy year-old.” Sehun, of course, looks disgustingly fresh for someone who's just climbed eight flights of stairs. Chanyeol feels a bit like strangling him.
“Shut up. Who lets both lifts flake out in a building with lectures on the fourth floor? It’s cruel and unusual punishment.”
“It’s four floors, Yeol. It’s not like you had to climb a damned mountain.” As expected, his other best friend, Zhang Yixing is being equally unsympathetic. He hates his friends. Why is he even friends with them?
“Shut. Up.”
“Imagine if Yeol had to climb an actual mountain,” Sehun contemplates and he and Yixing start to snigger openly.
He gives his friends a withering glare as he straightens. “FUCK. OFF.”
Sehun and Yixing don’t give him a snarky comeback but the stairwell is echoing with their laughter.
Who needs enemies when you’ve got friends like Zhang Yixing and Oh Sehun, Chanyeol thinks as he opens the exit door.
◊
Chanyeol’s thighs and butt muscles are no longer screaming with agony from the Great Staircase Trauma, but they still cringe periodically at the memory. His thighs and calves and shins and ass have been pain free for four days. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will convince him to engage in any kind of physical exertion for the next two months. Minimum.
Chanyeol is just not cut out for intense physical activity. He likes sitting down. Lying down. Eating. Writing songs. Playing the guitar. Watching anime. Updating his Instagram. None of these activities involve walking or climbing or running and that’s just fine by him. He burrows further into his pillow and blanket. He’s exhausted just thinking about walking and climbing and running.
His roommate Jongin is the total opposite of Chanyeol on the fitness spectrum. Where Chanyeol studiously avoids physical activity, Jongin happily flings himself at it with terrifying enthusiasm. As long as Chanyeol has known him, Jongin has had the habit of running four to five miles a day, three to four times a week. It’s been raining and raining for the past three days though, and Jongin hasn’t had the chance to work out. He’s not used to such extended periods of inactivity and he’s been vibrating with restlessness. Maybe that’s why Toben is getting his bath two days earlier than he normally would.
“Hyung!” Jongin yells from the laundry room. “Help! There’s water everywhere!”
Chanyeol groans in frustration as he drags his ass out of bed. He doesn’t want to leave his warm, comfortable nest of blankets and pillows but he’s not a complete douche. After all, it could be worse. He could be the one in the laundry with a wet puppy in his arms. So he trudges to the laundry, dread in every step as he tries not to think about the mess lurking around the corner.
“Jesus, Toben,” Chanyeol yelled in shock. There’s water on the floor, the walls, the window. Hell, there’s water fucking everywhere. His black-haired pup is cradled in his roommate’s arms, dripping small puddles all over the floor.
“Jesus, indeed,” his roommate grumbled. Toben isn’t the only one dripping puddles all over the laundry because the naughty puppy has managed to drench Jongin from head to toe. Chanyeol swallows as his attention shifts from the almighty mess to the dripping, wet male standing in front of him. Jongin had brushed his hair off of his forehead at some point and it’s standing up in slick, wet spikes. Drops of water are beaded on his skin-his face, bare arms, and bare legs.
He’s wearing his favorite white tank, the one that’s been washed so many times it’s practically threadbare. Now that it’s soaked through, it’s pretty much transparent. Lethally transparent, Chanyeol thinks as he swallows again. His throat constrictsq as he tries not to think about the fact that he can see Jongin’s dark nipples through the sheer white.
“I should start mopping,” he mumbles distractedly as he grabs the mop and bucket from the far corner of the small laundry while Jongin deals with the wriggling bundle of wet pup. As Chanyeol starts mopping, Jongin brings Toben back to the deep, laundry sink which serves as the puppy’s bathtub. Heaven only knows how he’d managed to jump out of Jongin’s arms and cause so much chaos.
Chanyeol directs all his energy to mopping away all the soapy water he can find while Jongin dries Toben off with a towel. His mind is being hammered by images of his gorgeous roommate and Chanyeol’s body is anything but calm
He’s putting the mop and bucket away when Jongin starts calling hyung, hyung. Chanyeol turns around to be confronted by Jongin’s narrow back and broad shoulders, his elegant shoulder blades. He’d taken off his shirt, fuck his life.
It’s not like Chanyeol’s never seen Jongin without his shirt on. In fact Jongin often wanders around shirtless in summer. They’ve been sharing an apartment for almost a year, after all. But today, the circumstances are different. Jongin’s half naked and wet and the laundry is so small and cramped. All of a sudden, it’s six thousand times harder for Chanyeol to breathe.
He takes a few steps closer to the sink. Jongin’s still wiping down the puppy’s fur. Technically speaking, Toben belongs to Chanyeol. But even though he’s the owner, Chanyeol never gets to bathe Toben or groom him because he’s allergic to dogs (and cats but that’s not an issue because Chanyeol has never been much of a cat person).
About two months ago, he’d caught sight of a tiny, black puppy, staring out at the world with sad, soulful eyes. He’d been inside the display window of a pet shop near their apartment, lying on his tummy, looking all forlorn. Chanyeol had taken one look at him and his heart had melted.
Grabbing Jongin’s arm, he’d made him peer inside the window too. There were three other puppies lounging nearby, all completely unconcerned that people were watching them through the glass. “That little black one. The one in the corner. See how sad he looks? I wish I could bring him home. I bet I could make him less sad. If only I weren’t allergic to dogs.”
Shaking his head and looking all kinds of amused, Jongin had said, “Fine. You can get the pup. I’ll take care of grooming and bathing it and you do the rest.”
“But that’s a lot of work, Jonginnie. I couldn’t-”
Jongin shrugs. “You know I love dogs. My family’s got like three and I used to bathe and groom them all the time when I lived at home. It’s not a big deal.”
“Why didn’t you get a dog when we moved out of the dorm?”
“Because you’re allergic, hyung. DUH.”
“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol had apologized, frowning sheepishly.
“It’s really not a big deal. Now let’s go rescue that pup from its misery.” Jongin had linked his arm in Chanyeol’s and steered him to the entrance. Half an hour later, they’d left the store with Toben and the pup had lived in this apartment ever since.
“I’m here. What do you need?” Chanyeol asks.
His attention still focused on the dog, Jongin points vaguely at the dryer. “My towel. . .it’s up there. Can you help dry me off? I’m starting to get a little cold but I’m not done with Toben yet.”
“Sure,” Chanyeol answers even though his head is screaming NO. Fuck. His crush is asking him to indirectly touch his bare body and damnit, Chanyeol doesn’t have enough chill for this. He really, really doesn’t have enough chill for this. He just hopes he doesn’t end up embarrassing himself beyond redemption.
“You okay?” Jongin’s eyeing him with undisguised curiosity as he continues to rub Toben’s fur with a navy blue towel. They’ve worked out a system where all Toben’s towels are navy blue and all the other colors are theirs. The puppy is sitting quietly on the counter, eyes shut in bliss, as he happily submits to Jongin’s ministrations. Chanyeol has never felt more envious of his own puppy. Damnit.
“I-ah, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll just-” He lets his voice trail off as he reaches for the neatly folded sky blue towel.
“My chest and back first, please? I’m cold.”
“‘Kay,” Chanyeol says in a slightly strangled voice as he opens up the folds of the towel. He presses the fluffy fabric against Jongin’s damp skin and drags it gently across his skin, soaking up stray beads of water. It’s a struggle but he tries really hard not to let his stare linger on the distractingly long and lean lines of Jongin’s body, and the flat, hard planes of his stomach.
“Now, my hair. The water keeps getting into my eyes,” Jongin explains as he wipes Toben’s tummy. Inhaling nervously, Chanyeol blots the moisture out of Jongin’s hair. He’s standing so close to Jongin now, his chest almost touching Jongin’s back and he can feel the heat creeping up his neck.
“You don’t have to be so careful, you know. I won’t break.” There’s a smile in Jongin’s voice.
“What?”
“I’m not that fragile; you can rub my scalp harder.”
His heart beating at a frenetic pace, Chanyeol massages Jongin’s scalp vigorously with the towel. The sooner he gets this over with, the sooner he can leave (preferably before Jongin realizes he’s given his roommate a boner).
Jongin makes a contented little noise and Chanyeol’s hands go still in shock before they start moving again. Why had Jongin made that sound, he groans inside. His roommate is going to be the death of him. His Jongin-induced demise is inevitable. It's just a matter of when he'll take his last breath.
◊
After dinner, they gather in front of the TV. Chanyeol sits down right away while Jongin checks what’s available on Netflix. Finally, he settles on the image of a cherry-haired woman in a pale blue tank top. She’s running and she looks hella stressed.
“Let’s try this. Run, Lola, Run.”
Chanyeol’s never heard of it and to be honest, it looks pretty grim. But he’s never really cared what movie or show they end up watching. Sometimes he’s the one who picks and sometimes Jongin is the one who decides. It really doesn’t matter to Chanyeol what they watch, though, because it’s Jongin’s company that keeps him here.
They usually sit together on the couch, shoulders touching, legs stretched out and feet planted on the edge of the table. Every now and then, Jongin surprises him by resting his head on his shoulder. Some days, when he’s tired and doesn't give a fuck about consequences, Chanyeol drapes his arm around Jongin’s shoulder. Jongin doesn't seem to mind when Chanyeol does this. Well, he's never tried to pull away, at least. He probably considers it a harmless, platonic bro thing so there's nothing weird about it. Chanyeol wants it to be a harmless, platonic bro thing, too. He wants it more than anything. Unfortunately, his stupid, stubborn heart has never paid much attention to what he wants.
On days like these, they just lean into each other as they watch the movie. When Jongin snuggles up to him, Chanyeol is too distracted by the weight of Jongin’s head on his shoulder and the soft sounds of his breathing to pay anything but scant attention to what's unfolding on the screen. From time to time, Jongin will say things, and when he does, his deep voice vibrates against Chanyeol’s skin, making his heart thrum and his chest ache. Chanyeol both loves and dreads days like these because Jongin is kind of, sort of in his arms and yet isn't-not in the ways that Chanyeol needs him to be.
Chanyeol sinks back into the couch and sighs. Sitting down and not moving is one of his favorite things. He wonders if Jongin will lay his head on his shoulder today or whether they'll just sit side-by-side like they do on most nights. It's probably best if they just sit side-by-side because Chanyeol hasn't quite recovered from the incident in the laundry. It’s been five hours and he’s still haunted by images of Jongin's bare shoulders and nape and hair-all hovering within touching distance.
The seat cushions dip as Jongin finally sits down. Chanyeol holds his breath as he waits to see what Jongin will do. Will he just lean back into the sofa or will he lay his head on his shoulder? Jongin seems to have decided that today is a day for shaking Chanyeol up, though, as he lays his head on Chanyeol’s lap for the very first time.
Jongin’s looking up at him, and Chanyeol feels a bit lightheaded as he gazes into Jongin’s sleepy eyes.
“Hyung, I was thinking-”.
“Yeah?”
“Let’s hike up to Mount Buller this Sunday.”
“You know me and exercise. We’re not exactly friends-barely even acquaintances to be very fucking honest.”
“I was thinking we could leave early and catch the sunrise.”
“Did you say sunrise? Sunrise on a Sunday? Sunday being one of my precious sleep-in days?”
“Yep. It’s going to be sunny all day. We’ve had so much rain lately. I thought it’d be nice to just. . .y’know, spend a day outdoors or something.”
Chanyeol groans. “But we’d have to wake up at 4am or something! That’s just. Oh God, Jongin, I think I’ll pass. I mean, I like my bed and I hate moving. So a mountain hike at dawn on a Sunday sounds about as appealing as a journey into the seventh circle of hell.”
Jongin doesn't even bother to hide his eye roll at the dramatics and Chanyeol can't help but laugh.
“But hyung, the sunrise on Mount Buller? Spectacular. The view of the city? Stunning. The backdrop of Japanese red maple trees? Beautiful. Imagine all the photos you could post on your Instagram. You'd get like hundreds of likes. You know you want to.” Jongin gives Chanyeol's sleeve a persuasive tug.
“I’m sure you and your friends will enjoy the view. You can share some photos with me so I can spazz over them when I wake up.”
“None of my friends are going. So if you don’t come with me, I’ll either have to go on my own or just ditch the whole idea. There’s no point going up there alone.” Jongin’s expression is almost as forlorn as the one Toben had worn in the window of that pet shop months ago and Chanyeol’s heart melts just as messily.
“That’s not fair, Jonginnie.” Chanyeol can feel his Sunday sleep-in slipping through his fingers like loose grains of sand.
“I’ll just go jog around the park then. On my own. In the dark. On my own.” Jongin isn’t whining, not exactly, but there’s the slightest hint of a pout on his lips and Chanyeol’s resolve to say no crumbles completely.
“This is emotional blackmail, Jonginnie. What the hell,” Chanyeol mutters as he lets out a long suffering sigh.
“Does that mean you’ll go?” Jongin breaks into a smile. His head is still resting on Chanyeol’s lap and there’s so much joy and warmth in his smile that Chanyeol’s crush deepens by a few more degrees. He feels a bit like passing out from how overtaxed his heart is right now, but he manages to gather what few threads remain of his composure and forces himself to act nonchalant.
“This is the one and only time, I mean it!”
“You won’t regret it, hyung.” Impulsively, Jongin reaches up and pulls Chanyeol into a quick hug. Chanyeol’s too shocked to do anything but gape. He doesn’t even have time to hug him back as Jongin lets his arms fall and lays his head back down on Chanyeol’s lap. His generous mouth is curved into a soft kind of smile and Chanyeol wants to kiss him so bad.
The only light in their small sitting room is provided by two fat, mint scented candles. It’s dim and Chanyeol can’t be super sure, but Jongin’s cheeks look a little pink. He half expects things to get suddenly awkward between them but Jongin doesn’t get up to sit beside Chanyeol. He just continues to recline on the sofa with his head cradled in Chanyeol’s lap.
“I guess we should start the movie,” Jongin says after a while.
“Yeah. I guess we should.”
◊
They’re about an hour into the movie when Chanyeol looks down at Jongin and realizes he’s asleep. Dark eyelashes fan delicately across the tops of his cheeks and his lips are parted ever so slightly.
This isn’t the first time Chanyeol has watched Jongin sleep but it’s never been like this-with his head on his lap. It’s not that he spies on his roommate. It’s just that they’d shared a dorm room for a year and they’ve been sharing a room since they moved off campus. It’s a small, two bedroom apartment and they could each have had their own room. But Jongin had been the one to suggest that they share the master bedroom and turn the second one into a study. Chanyeol had been only too happy to say yes. He’d grown accustomed to falling asleep to the sound of Jongin’s gentle snores.
It’s been both the best and the worst decision of his life. He really should wake Jongin up so they can crawl to their respective beds but being with Jongin here, like this, is making Chanyeol feel things. All the difficult things. And he kind of doesn’t want to stop feeling them. He’ll probably get pins and needles at some point and then he might move Jongin off of him. But for now-
Jongin suddenly moans in his sleep and turns so he ends up sleeping on his side-his face pressed to Chanyeol’s belly and his hands tucked under his own cheek. Chanyeol has never had Jongin curled up so intimately against him and waves of warmth are lapping and spreading through his insides. Unable to stop themselves, Chanyeol’s fingers reach out to gently caress Jongin’s fine, dark hair. It’s just as soft, just as silky as he’d always imagined it would be.
Chanyeol wants to touch his face too, to go over the lines of his cheekbones and his jaw but he doesn't let himself. He doesn’t want to accidentally wake Jongin but mostly, he doesn’t let himself touch Jongin because he’s afraid it will make him feel too much. So he distracts himself by thinking of how he’s going to make it through the Sunday hike and come out of it still breathing.
What had he been thinking, agreeing to hike up a mountain on Sunday when he'd barely even survived climbing eight flights of stairs a week ago? What had he been thinking? This is all Zhang Yixing’s fault for making that joke about four storeys being hardly a mountain, and Oh Sehun’s fault because he’d laughed with Yixing and together, they had somehow willed this into happening. Curse them both to hell and back for jinxing him.
Climb a mountain?! A whole fucking mountain? Me?
Chanyeol groans. He is totally going to die. But as his fingers stroke silky strands of dark hair, Chanyeol knows he's not even going to regret the near death, if not fatal experience, because he’ll get to spend time with Jongin along the way. It’s the most pathetic thing he's ever heard and he's disgusted with himself.
The sooner he gets over this dead end crush, the better. But for now, he decides not to wake Jongin and he falls asleep sitting up, his arm curled protectively around Jongin's back.
◊
In between wheezing and panting, Chanyeol asks in very aggrieved tones, “Tell me again why we’re doing this?”
“Because the exercise is great for your body and the sun is about to rise and trust me, hyung, the sunrise up here is totally worth all the pain.”
“Did I mention that I like my bed,” he grumbles as he rests his weight shamelessly on Jongin. His roommate has been propping him up for the past twenty minutes, his arm draped around Chanyeol’s waist. Chanyeol’s arm is wrapped around Jongin’s shoulders as he
“You might have mentioned it about fifteen times in the past ten minutes.”
“Did I mention that I HATE MOVING?”
“You might have,” Jongin snorts, “on about twenty-two different occasions.”
“That’s an exaggeration.”
“I wish it were!” Jongin gives him a critical look and Chanyeol shoves him in the shoulder.
“It’s cold,” he complains bitterly as a gust of wind hits him right in the face.
“It’s a mountain, hyung. Were you expecting coconut trees and warm breezes?”
“It could be less cold! And I can’t believe you dragged me out of bed at 4 am for this. I’ve never walked this much in my life and my nuts are falling off from how cold it is and I’m gonna hurt like fuck for days and where’s the spectacular sunrise you promised me? It feels like it’s never showing up-”
All of a sudden, strong arms are wrapping around him from behind. “Shush. Just wait. It’s coming.”
“What are you doing?” Not exactly an inspired response but Chanyeol is too stunned to come up with anything more clever.
“I don’t want your nuts to fall off so I’m trying to warm you up.”
“I can’t believe we’re talking about my nuts at six in the morning.”
“You started it,” Jongin points out. “Now stop whining. Here it comes.”
For the next few seconds, Chanyeol’s senses are full of nothing but the magnificent sunrise and the feel of Jongin’s arms around him, and his body pressing into his back. Chanyeol never imagined he could be happy about being dragged out of bed at the ass crack of dawn, but here he is-staring in awe as bands of gold and orange spread across the sky. And well, his emotions are everywhere because his crush is kind of, sort of hugging him.
“Aren’t you going to take some photos of the sunrise for your followers,” Jongin teases as he rests his chin on Chanyeol’s left shoulder. “Before it’s all over?”
“Oh, shit! Yeah.” Chanyeol scrambles for his phone, fishing it out of his track pants pocket. He takes a few burst shots before scrolling through his camera roll. He hates to admit it but Jongin had been right. The sunrise up here really is something else.
“Let’s take a selca together, hyung. This might be the last time I con you into coming up here, so we should, I dunno, commemorate it with a selca or something.” His mouth is so close to Chanyeol’s ear he can feel the warm puffs of air that accompany Jongin’s words. Jongin’s arms are still looped around Chanyeol’s waist and he’s not showing any signs of letting go anytime soon. Chanyeol is beyond happy but he tells himself not to get his hopes up. This is probably just a platonic, bro thing for Jongin so he really shouldn’t get his hopes up. He needs to take better care of his own heart.
Chanyeol turns to look at Jongin. “Um, do you wanna. . .stand next to me? For the selca, I mean?”
“Nah. This is fine,” Jongin says as he snuggles even closer to Chanyeol, arms linked tightly over his waist and his chin on Chanyeol’s shoulder. Forcing himself to be calm, Chanyeol angles his phone so he can fit the sunrise and the two of them into the shot. They pose cheek-to-cheek with matching grins and Chanyeol can’t help thinking that they look so. . .boyfriend. But of course they’re not boyfriends. They’re just roommates.
“Let me see,” Jongin says and he finally lets go of him as he reaches for the phone. Chanyeol misses the weight of his arms almost immediately. “We look kinda perfect, hyung. Share it with me, ok?”
“Sure.” Chanyeol sends him the selca and since he’s in his camera roll, he decides to KKT a few shots of the sunrise to his older sister, Yura. He doesn’t expect her to reply for hours so he almost drops his phone when it squawks that a new message has come in.
nice sunrise but the more important question here is Y R U AWAKE?
I’m on mt Buller
Yeol, it’s 6 am. Why are you even /anywhere/?
Trust me, i /know/ it’s 6 am TT.TT
who are you and what have you done with my baby brother?
Ha ha. Very funny. Not
explain
I was told the sunrise up here was was extra special so…
i want photos. who sweet talked your ass out of bed at this ungodly hour?
Chanyeol hesitates, thinks, hesitates again and after a while, he sends her the selca.
ahhh. It’s jongin. Ofc it’s him. Only he could convince you to wake up at the ass crack of dawn.
no one else could come with him. I had to, noona
well, i’m looking at this selca and idt the kid asked anyone else to come
you’re wrong
His phone rings and he swipes the screen in a hurry. Jongin’s watching him with interest. It’s not every day someone’s phone rings at 6 am-especially when it’s Chanyeol’s phone that’s doing the ringing.
“Noona? Why are you calling me, ohmygod-”
Yura’s tone is bordering on impatient. “What are you waiting for? Bang the boy.”
“NOONA, PLEASE!”
“Since when were you such a prude? Fine, don’t bang him. Yet. Kiss him first. Anything! Just stop pining, Yeol. Jesus. I know you don't like moving more than you have to but some things are worth getting off your ass for-something you're clearly aware of seeing as you're up on a mountain on a sleep-in Sunday.”
“I can’t,” he says miserably.
“Yes, you can. Remember that time you lost your ferret? Ddori? You stuck flyers all around the neighborhood and you spent days walking around looking for him? And you finally found him all on your own, because you wanted Ddori so much you made it happen. I’m just saying, if you want this boy enough, you’ll find a way to show him. And Mount Buller sounds like a good place to do it.”
“I can’t believe you just compared him to a ferret.”
“Stop being a dumbass and just kiss the boy!”
Chanyeol mumbles something along the lines of he’ll think about it and then they hang up.
Is it really that easy? Just kiss him?
“Everything okay with Yura noona?” Jongin asks.
“Everything’s fine,” Chanyeol grimaces. “Noona was just being a bully.”
Jongin’s fingers wrap around his upper arm and give it a comforting squeeze. “If you wanna talk about it, I’m not a bad listener, you know?” Tell Jongin that his noona asked him to kiss him? Oh, hell no!
“No! No! I’m good!”
“Huh.” Jongin frowns slightly before saying, “Sounds like you need breakfast. You ready to eat or you wanna to take more pictures of the view?”
“Nah, I've got more than enough to work with. I could eat the whole side of a cow now, no joke. I’m that fucking hungry.”
“Okay. Breakfast it is. There’s this place I know-”
And then Jongin is pulling him back towards the road while Chanyeol groans and moans about having to move again and why didn’t we just drive up here it’s not like they haven’t got the roads for it. And God fucking damnit, Jongin, why are you torturing meeee by making me walk?
“Shut up, hyung! A little less energy on whining and a little more on walking. Twenty more minutes till we get there.”
“Twenty minutes of walking? What the fuck, Jongin, whyyy?”
“Oh my God, stop whining and just walk, hyung.”
◊
Chanyeol isn't sure what he'd been expecting, but a hole-in-the-wall, katsudon restaurant is definitely not it. The proprietor of Yu-topia is a tall, jaw-droppingly handsome man with silver hair who greets them at the door. When they step into the restaurant, Chanyeol notices that there are, inexplicably, three tables occupied by customers. Like, there are actually people who breakfast on mountains at 7.30 in the morning. On a fricking Sunday. Inconceivable.
“Ah, Jongin! We haven’t seen you here in a while,” the silver-haired man declares excitedly as he gives Jongin an affectionate hug. How did Jongin even know these people?
“Hello Viktor. I’ve been so busy,” Jongin explains with an apologetic smile.
“You brought a friend!” His English is lightly accented. Probably Russian.
Jongin grins at the man before pushing Chanyeol to the front. “This is Chanyeol. Chanyeol, this is Viktor.”
As Viktor takes Chanyeol’s hand in a firm handshake, his eyes light up with sudden comprehension. “Chanyeol? Oh, is this your-”
“My roommate! He’s my roommate,” Jongin interjects quickly and Chanyeol gets the feeling he’s not getting the full gist of the conversation.
“Jongin!” A bespectacled, Japanese man emerges from the kitchen. He’s got a cheerful red apron on and the most beatific smile. “It’s been months since you came by. How are you?”
“Hey Yuuri,” Jongin envelops the smaller man in a hug. “I’ve been so busy so not much time for hiking, I guess. I dream about your pork cutlet bowls all the time, though. I’ve missed them so much.”
“Well, you should visit us more often, Jongin!” Viktor calls out from the counter. “And bring your. . .roommate Chanyeol with you.” He gives Jongin a knowing wink and Jongin actually blushes. There’s clearly a private joke he’s not getting.
“It’s a bit too early in the day for pork cutlets, you know? We usually serve morning ramen and egg rice for breakfast,” Yuuri says and Jongin’s face falls. Then Yuuri pulls him in and whispers, “But we’ll make an exception for you and your boyfr-”
“Roommate! He’s my roommate!” Jongin had cut Yuuri off but it was too late. Chanyeol had heard what the Japanese man had been trying to say. Boyfriend. He wonders what that’s all about.
“Ahhh, roommate,” Yuuri says with a vague smile and a nod.
“I haven’t introduced you. This is Chanyeol. Chanyeol, this is Yuuri. He makes the best pork cutlets in the city.”
“Such blatant flattery, tsk! But I’ll give you an extra cutlet to entice you to come and visit us more often.”
“You’re going to bankrupt us with your soft heart,” Viktor says teasingly as he steals a hug and a peck on the cheek from Yuuri on his way back to the counter. Yuuri instantly goes all red and flustered. It’s cute. Yuuri and Viktor are so cute together. If only he and Jongin could be cute together too, Chanyeol thinks with a pang.
“Right, so two pork cutlet bowls?” Yuuri whispers, his cheeks like pink flags of heat.
“You’re the best, Yuuri!” Jongin grins and Yuuri gives him a thumbs up before vanishing beyond the narrow, blue curtains that separate the kitchen from the dining area. Jongin leads Jongin to a table in the back corner of the small restaurant.
The simple, pine wood tables and chairs give the place a clean, fresh vibe. They sit down opposite each other, slotting their legs in so their knees don’t bump. They’ve been doing this dance for two years and it’s something they don’t even have to remember to do. Instinct. Except that sometimes, Chanyeol wishes their knees would bump for real.
“Are they. . .together?” Chanyeol asks in a tentative voice.
“Yup. They’ve been married for three years now. Does that bother you, hyung? That they're together?” Jongin's gaze is intent and Chanyeol can’t remember him ever looking at him this way. Unnerved, Chanyeol loosens the zipper on his jacket.
“No. No, it doesn't. I think it's sweet.” And Chanyeol means every word.
“You mean that?”
Genuinely puzzled, Chanyeol asks, “Why wouldn’t I?”
“They’re both men, for one.” Jongin points out carefully.
“Ah, that. You know, the thing is. . .if I ever got married it would be to a man, too.”
“What?”
And that’s all Jongin has time to say before the early morning peace of the restaurant is shattered by an eruption of noise. When the metaphorical dust settles, Chanyeol sees three girls standing beside their table, bombarding Jongin with questions. They look like they’re about ten years old (not that Chanyeol is a good judge of such things) and their faces are identical. They must be triplets because he can’t tell them apart at all. They’re wearing white tops that are identical, the only exception being that each one has a different word on it: Axel, Lutz, Loop. Those are either the kids’ somewhat bizarre names or they must be figure skating buffs. The most overwhelming thing now, though, is how fricking loud they are.
“Jongin-san! Why haven’t you visited in so long?”
“Did you bring anything for us?”
“Is this your boyfriend? He sure is handsome!”
Jongin’s laughing just a little sheepishly. “Slow down, girls! Give me a chance to answer.”
“Well, hurry up,” Axel demands and Jongin side eyes her.
“I’ve been busy with school so I just haven’t had time to come up here. And yes, of course I brought something! Don't I always?” Jongin digs around his backpack before producing a big bag of Haribo Gold-Bears. The girls squeal with approval before taking the bag amid a flood of effusive thank yous.
“And this guy? Is he your boyfriend?” Lutz nods in Chanyeol’s direction.
“He’s my roommate,” Jongin corrects her. “His name is Chanyeol.”
“Well, you should hurry up and make Chanyeol-san your boyfriend then,” Loop says with all the confident authority of a ten year-old.
Jongin protests, “That’s not how things work, Loop!” Chanyeol isn’t positive but the tips of Jongin’s ears look a little pink.
“Huh. I don’t see why not,” Axel grumbles.
Then Lutz is yelling. “Oi, Pirozhki! Jongin-san and his boyfriend don’t have any drinks! You’re not doing your job!”
A blond-haired boy appears from out of nowhere. He’s really small-built with hair cut in a stylish bob and a blue apron tied around his narrow waist. He can’t be more than 5’ 4”, but he walks, no, stalks over with all the fearless aggression of someone who is at least a foot taller. The boy’s expression is nothing short of murderous.
“My name is Yurio, not Piroshki!” He fixes a murderous glare at Lutz. “I’m a man, not a dumpling, you brat!”
“A man? You’re only nineteen,” Axel scoffs.
“Axel, Lutz. That will be quite enough.” Viktor’s demeanor is congenial but his voice holds a definite note of steel in it. The girls seem to recognize that as they proceed to leave the diminutive waiter alone and shuffle off somewhere.
“What do you want?” Yurio growls at Jongin and Chanyeol. He’s never met a waiter quite this brusque-a waiter more determined to lose his job. His mouth hangs open in shock but Jongin seems to take it all in his stride as he orders two cups of green tea for them. It’s like none of this craziness is new to him and none of it unsettles him.
“Two green teas. Fine,” Yurio bites out before stalking to the kitchen. From his station behind the cash register, Viktor shakes his head in clear disapproval. Yurio reappears with two cups of steaming ocha, which he deposits on their table without a word. He’s walking past the cash register when Viktor calls him.
“Remember that talk we had about interpersonal skills, Yurio? You’re not supposed to terrify and intimidate the customers. Remember?”
“I keep telling you, Viktor. I don’t have interpersonal skills. They’re a total waste of time.”
Viktor looks like he’s got a kickass rebuttal to that ridiculous remark, but he seems to think better of it. In the end, all he does is shake his head and give a resigned sigh.
“Hyung.” Jongin’s kicking his foot and Chanyeol turns to look at him. He’d been so swept away by the drama going on around them that he’d quite forgotten their interrupted conversation.
“Yeah?” Chanyeol’s legs are burning pretty much all over and his butt muscles are extremely disgruntled. To be honest, his entire body is a testament to pain but it’s all worth it because Jongin is sitting across from him and smiling at him. He doesn’t even fucking care that it’s barely eight in the morning and he could be nestled in his blankets at home, sleeping his Sunday morning away.
“You said you’d marry a man? If you ever married, I mean.”
“Well, yeah. I’ve never really been into women so it wouldn’t make sense to marry one, y’know?”
“Yeah,” Jongin says quietly.
“Does that bother you? That I don’t like girls?” Chanyeol’s heart is beating too fast because what if he doesn’t like Jongin’s answer?
“No. No it doesn’t because I kinda d-”
The rest of Jongin’s sentence is drowned out by the roar of a motorcycle. This restaurant sure seems to get a lot of traffic even though it’s three-quarter ways up a mountain.
The door swings open and a dark-haired young man walks in, a motorcycle helmet gripped in his right arm. He looks like he’s in his early twenties and is attractive in a Slavic kind of way.
“Otabek! How are you? What can I get you?”
“Hey, Viktor. One morning ramen for me, please.”
“Coming right up. Yurio, get a drink for Otabek!”
The surly waiter materializes by the newcomer’s table. “What do you want?” The words are the sames ones Yurio had used on them earlier, but there’s a softer edge to them.
“I’ll have the usual, Yurio.”
“Yeah, okay. Black coffee. Whatever.” Then, as Yurio is about to leave, the man reaches his arm out. It happens so quickly Chanyeol almost misses it, but he doesn’t. He gasps a little as Otabek’s fingers lightly brush Yurio’s forearm. It’s a tender gesture and Yurio doesn’t reject it but he frowns, mouthing the words not here. And Chanyeol’s heart clenches at how soft they are. So soft. He wishes he and Jongin could be soft like Yurio and Otabek.
“Hyung.” Jongin’s voice cuts through his reverie.
“I’m sorry, Jongin. I got distracted.”
“Should I be insulted that you’re so distracted we’ve had to restart this conversation three times already?” Jongin looks both amused as well as a little hurt.
“I’m sorry, Jonginnie. It’s too early in the morning and my brain isn’t fully awake. It’s not that I don’t want to listen. Stuff just keeps happening. I swear it’s like one of those family dramas my halmoni is so obsessed with. I wasn’t trying to ignore you, I promise!”
“I know you weren’t, hyung. The people here are a little extra, I guess.” Jongin chuckles and Chanyeol is so glad he doesn’t seem mad.
“Anyway, I’d better tell you again real quick before we get interrupted again.”
“Okay. What is it, Jongin?”
“I was trying to tell you that I don’t like girls either.”
“So you mean you’re. . .I mean we’re both. . .?”
“Yeah. Isn’t it funny how we’ve shared a room for two years and it never came up?”
“I don’t really go around telling people that I’m gay because you never know how they’ll take the news. Y’know? And the subject never came up and so I didn’t want to risk freaking you out.” Chanyeol watches Jongin, trying to figure out what’s going on inside his head.
“I guess that’s why I never brought it up. I didn’t want to ask Sehun and Yixing and you never brought anyone home so I couldn’t be sure.”
“You didn’t bring anyone home either,” Chanyeol points out. Well, Jongin’s best friends Jongdae and Baekhyun often came over but that was about it.
“Why would I bring anyone home when-”
“Two pork cutlet bowls.” Yu-topia’s blond waiter places their bowls on the table with an unceremonious thunk.
“Thanks,” Jongin says and Yurio more or less grunts before walking off.
“Why wouldn’t you bring someone home? I don’t understand.”
“I wouldn’t because-”
“Hey! How come you guys are having pork cutlet bowls? It’s not eleven yet.” Loop points an accusatory finger at Chanyeol’s bowl.
“SHHH,” Viktor hisses at her from his corner of the restaurant. “No one’s supposed to know that.”
“Can we have some?” Axel plants herself on the chair next to Jongin’s while Lutz sits next to Chanyeol.
“Me too!” Loop drags a chair over.
“Girls,” Viktor says with a warning in his voice.
“It’s fine, Viktor. We don’t mind sharing.” Jongin’s laughing as he shrugs at Chanyeol. Having a proper conversation in this place is clearly a case of Mission Impossible so Chanyeol just sighs in frustration.
“Try some, Chanyeol-san. They’re really good,” Axel says insistently, watching him like a hawk. Chanyeol takes a mouthful and almost tears up from how tender and crisp and delicious it is. He chews and swallows and takes another mouthful. It’s like. . .heaven in a bowl.
◊
“I thought we were never going to get out of there,” Jongin groans as the doors swing shut behind them. Chanyeol’s tummy was warm and very, very happy after all that katsudon and ocha.
“I gotta say. . .the company was a little chaotic.”
“No kidding,” Jongin laughs.
“The food was incredible, though,” Chanyeol admits as they move further and further away from the restaurant. All too soon, Chanyeol begins to moan as he is rudely reminded of how much it fucking hurts to walk.
“I told you Yuuri’s pork cutlets were the best in the city!”
Pain shoots up his shins and Chanyeol declares emphatically, “We’re driving up here next time, though. Fuck this hiking and communing with nature bs, Jonginnie.”
“Next time?” Jongin comes to an abrupt stop and Chanyeol slows to a halt in response.
“The next time we come back here for Yuuri’s pork cutlet bowls, of course.”
Jongin gives him a hard look. “Is that the only reason you’d want to come back here?”
“The sunrise, I guess? But maybe we can catch the sunset next time so I don’t have to crawl out of bed at dawn because that is just the most heinous kind of torture.”
“That’s all?” Jongin’s eyes are searching and hopeful but Chanyeol doesn’t know what answer Jongin wants him to give. He doesn’t know what he’s supposed to say.
“I-” Chanyeol wants to explain but he can’t seem to find the right words. He thinks about his conversation with his noona and decides that maybe she’s right. Maybe in the end, it really is that easy.
“Hyung?” Jongin’s hand is curled around his shoulder like a question.
“Jongin, can I-” Chanyeol struggles for, and finally gives up on words as his thumbs rest on Jongin’s cheeks and his fingers wrap around his nape.
His noona’s words are echoing in his mind. . .Just kiss the boy.
And Chanyeol does just that. He lowers his head and closes his eyes as he kisses Jongin. The other boy’s lips are soft and firm all at the same time and Chanyeol can’t get enough of them. The scent of his skin is so sweet as Chanyeol presses closer and sucks on Jongin’s bottom lip.
Warm hands cup his jaw as Jongin steps further into his embrace. Then his lips part, inviting Chanyeol in. Their tongues meet, warm and wet, as Jongin and Chanyeol explore each other’s mouths. When the kiss ends, Jongin pulls him into a hug-his right cheek resting against Chanyeol’s left shoulder, and his hands linked over Chanyeol’s back. Chanyeol gives a contented sigh as his right arm wraps around Jongin’s waist and he rests his cheek on Jongin’s right shoulder.
He closes his eyes as his palm rubs slow circles onto Jongin’s back. The taste of Jongin still lingers on his lips and tongue, and having Jongin in his arms like this. . .nothing has ever felt more sweet, more right. It's a perfect moment. Just perf-
“AXEL NISHIGORI! I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU UPLOAD THAT ON YOUR INSTAGRAM, I WILL WHOOP YOUR BUTT!”
Chanyeol is starting to feel like he’s in a scene from a drama as he turns to see a woman trying to snatch the phone from Axel, who looks like she’s about to break into a dead run. The woman’s hair is tied into a high ponytail and she has large eyes and a pretty, cherubic face. She would have looked prettier, though, if she hadn’t been wearing such a ferocious expression on her face.
“Mama, I would never,” Axel insists.
“You’re not allowed to video people without their permission! How many times have I told you and your sisters that, huh?”
“I wasn’t going to upload it. Honest!”
“You delete that video right now or I will whoop your-”
“Yuuko-chan, please. Not in front of the customers,” Yuuri says in placating tones even as he gives Jongin and Chanyeol apologetic bows. “Come again,” he beams at them as he steers the lady and the girl towards the back of the shop.
“I thought mountains were supposed to be tranquil and serene and all that,” Chanyeol comments.
“They usually are,” Jongin says with a sigh. “Yu-topia is a little more extra than most places we know, I guess.”
“We won’t see ourselves kissing on some little kid’s instagram, will we?”
Jongin chuckles, “I think the kid’s mom has things covered.”
“So we’re safe?” Chanyeol pulls Jongin closer.
“For now, anyway.”
“We should probably-”
“Yeah,” Jongin smiles and then they’re kissing again.
◊
Chanyeol’s muscles are in so much pain right now, it’s like his entire body is on fire. He’s lying on his side, limbs spread across the length of his bed. A few inches away, Jongin, too, is lying on his side. By some unspoken agreement they’d shoved their beds together because touching each other was new and wonderful and neither one of them wanted to sleep apart. They’d been sleeping on separate beds for two years and they didn’t want to do it for a moment longer.
“No more hikes. My body is not built for hiking or climbing or walking of any kind. I’m so serious about this, Jonginnie.”
“Your body just needs to get used to exercise.” Jongin’s deep voice has always had an intimate quality to it and it feels six thousand times more intimate now that they’re facing each other, arms draped over each other’s waists.
“No, thank you. I’ll leave all that fitness business to you.”
“But-” Jongin starts to say and Chanyeol silences his protest with a slow, lingering kiss that leaves them both breathless.
“I’m so glad I made you go up Mount Buller with me today or we’d still be talking to each other from across the room.”
“Why did you do it, anyway? Make me go, I mean.”
“Because Plan A wasn’t getting anywhere. I thought if I got your out of the apartment and out of your comfort zone, you might finally pick up on all the signs I’ve been giving you.”
“Signs?”
“Signs that I liked you. Signs that I wanted you to kiss me or something.”
“You were giving me signs?”
“Hyung, you’re hopeless! I’ve never seen anyone as oblivious as you. Plan A was a complete failure.” Jongin poked Chanyeol in the chest.
He’s wracking his brain trying to figure out what Jongin’s initial plan could have been but he keeps coming up empty. “What was Plan A?”
Jongin grins, and the dimple in his left cheek appears. His dark hair is falling into his eyes and he looks so handsome. Chanyeol can’t believe they’re here together like this. He still can’t believe that Jongin is finally his.
“Plan A was me trying to seduce you,” Jongin says at last.
“What?!”
“What did you think that whole laundry fiasco was about?”
“But Toben was the one who made the mess!”
“Well, yeah, he made the mess. But I could just have finished bathing and drying him off before mopping the mess up myself. I could have but I wanted you in there with me. Like maybe if we were in such a cramped space together, you might grab me in a fit of lust and kiss me. But nothing. You didn’t do anything.” Jongin gives him an exasperated look.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to, but. . .I didn’t know if you would be okay with me liking you that way, didn’t know if you’d be okay with me touching you in a way that wasn’t platonic.”
“I’ve been wanting you to touch me for almost a year now, hyung.”
“I um. . .”
“Yeah?”
“I had a boner that day. In the laundry.” Chanyeol is glad it’s dimly lit in the room because he doesn’t want Jongin to see how much he’s blushing right now.
“You did?!” Jongin looks first shocked, then happy, and finally, smug.
Chanyeol grumbles, “Don’t be an asshole about it.”
“What about when we were watching the movie that night? When I had my head in your lap, did you have a boner, too?”
“No. It wasn’t like that. I just felt protective of you that time. I kind of wanted to kiss you, too? But mostly I just wanted to keep you safe.”
“Hyung,” Jongin says, his eyes soft with emotion. Chanyeol thinks they’ve talked enough for one night, and he edges closer to Jongin.
“I love you Jongin,” he whispers, his lips sliding over Jongin’s in a gentle, persuasive kiss. Jongin moans, I love you too, hyung. Then Jongin is dragging him closer and kissing him hard, and all Chanyeol can think of is how he wants Jongin to never let him go. . .
Final author's note thanks to the YeolDay mod for everything and to yt for being such a wonderful friend. ily!
Title:Just Kiss The Boy
Pairing(s): Chanyeol/Kai
Rating: PG-13
Warning excessive amounts of fluff and cheese, mild pining, chankai (well chanyeol, anyway) are oblivious, foul-tempered waiter Yurio, ninja otayuri and not-so-ninja viktuuri, the occasional f-bomb, (seriously) lame attempts at humor, boys making out
Length: 8.3k
Summary: Chanyeol hates exercise of any kind. In fact, he hates moving, period. His crush somehow manages to convince him that hiking up a mountain at the ass crack of dawn is a good idea. Roommates!AU
Author's note: hi caterplina! i had a lot of fun writing this and i hope you will have fun reading it, too. you seem to like the anime Yuuri!!! On Ice, so i thought i’d have some of the characters do cameos in this story. I hope you enjoy <3
Chanyeol wheezes as he reaches the top of the stairs. Just his luck the Audio Mastering Techniques lecture is on the fourth floor, and not just one, but both of the lifts are out of order.
“Too early in the morning for this shit,” he groans as he bends over, hands on thighs, panting.
His best friend Sehun eyes him critically. “You have the cardiac capacity of a seventy year-old.” Sehun, of course, looks disgustingly fresh for someone who's just climbed eight flights of stairs. Chanyeol feels a bit like strangling him.
“Shut up. Who lets both lifts flake out in a building with lectures on the fourth floor? It’s cruel and unusual punishment.”
“It’s four floors, Yeol. It’s not like you had to climb a damned mountain.” As expected, his other best friend, Zhang Yixing is being equally unsympathetic. He hates his friends. Why is he even friends with them?
“Shut. Up.”
“Imagine if Yeol had to climb an actual mountain,” Sehun contemplates and he and Yixing start to snigger openly.
He gives his friends a withering glare as he straightens. “FUCK. OFF.”
Sehun and Yixing don’t give him a snarky comeback but the stairwell is echoing with their laughter.
Who needs enemies when you’ve got friends like Zhang Yixing and Oh Sehun, Chanyeol thinks as he opens the exit door.
◊
Chanyeol’s thighs and butt muscles are no longer screaming with agony from the Great Staircase Trauma, but they still cringe periodically at the memory. His thighs and calves and shins and ass have been pain free for four days. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will convince him to engage in any kind of physical exertion for the next two months. Minimum.
Chanyeol is just not cut out for intense physical activity. He likes sitting down. Lying down. Eating. Writing songs. Playing the guitar. Watching anime. Updating his Instagram. None of these activities involve walking or climbing or running and that’s just fine by him. He burrows further into his pillow and blanket. He’s exhausted just thinking about walking and climbing and running.
His roommate Jongin is the total opposite of Chanyeol on the fitness spectrum. Where Chanyeol studiously avoids physical activity, Jongin happily flings himself at it with terrifying enthusiasm. As long as Chanyeol has known him, Jongin has had the habit of running four to five miles a day, three to four times a week. It’s been raining and raining for the past three days though, and Jongin hasn’t had the chance to work out. He’s not used to such extended periods of inactivity and he’s been vibrating with restlessness. Maybe that’s why Toben is getting his bath two days earlier than he normally would.
“Hyung!” Jongin yells from the laundry room. “Help! There’s water everywhere!”
Chanyeol groans in frustration as he drags his ass out of bed. He doesn’t want to leave his warm, comfortable nest of blankets and pillows but he’s not a complete douche. After all, it could be worse. He could be the one in the laundry with a wet puppy in his arms. So he trudges to the laundry, dread in every step as he tries not to think about the mess lurking around the corner.
“Jesus, Toben,” Chanyeol yelled in shock. There’s water on the floor, the walls, the window. Hell, there’s water fucking everywhere. His black-haired pup is cradled in his roommate’s arms, dripping small puddles all over the floor.
“Jesus, indeed,” his roommate grumbled. Toben isn’t the only one dripping puddles all over the laundry because the naughty puppy has managed to drench Jongin from head to toe. Chanyeol swallows as his attention shifts from the almighty mess to the dripping, wet male standing in front of him. Jongin had brushed his hair off of his forehead at some point and it’s standing up in slick, wet spikes. Drops of water are beaded on his skin-his face, bare arms, and bare legs.
He’s wearing his favorite white tank, the one that’s been washed so many times it’s practically threadbare. Now that it’s soaked through, it’s pretty much transparent. Lethally transparent, Chanyeol thinks as he swallows again. His throat constrictsq as he tries not to think about the fact that he can see Jongin’s dark nipples through the sheer white.
“I should start mopping,” he mumbles distractedly as he grabs the mop and bucket from the far corner of the small laundry while Jongin deals with the wriggling bundle of wet pup. As Chanyeol starts mopping, Jongin brings Toben back to the deep, laundry sink which serves as the puppy’s bathtub. Heaven only knows how he’d managed to jump out of Jongin’s arms and cause so much chaos.
Chanyeol directs all his energy to mopping away all the soapy water he can find while Jongin dries Toben off with a towel. His mind is being hammered by images of his gorgeous roommate and Chanyeol’s body is anything but calm
He’s putting the mop and bucket away when Jongin starts calling hyung, hyung. Chanyeol turns around to be confronted by Jongin’s narrow back and broad shoulders, his elegant shoulder blades. He’d taken off his shirt, fuck his life.
It’s not like Chanyeol’s never seen Jongin without his shirt on. In fact Jongin often wanders around shirtless in summer. They’ve been sharing an apartment for almost a year, after all. But today, the circumstances are different. Jongin’s half naked and wet and the laundry is so small and cramped. All of a sudden, it’s six thousand times harder for Chanyeol to breathe.
He takes a few steps closer to the sink. Jongin’s still wiping down the puppy’s fur. Technically speaking, Toben belongs to Chanyeol. But even though he’s the owner, Chanyeol never gets to bathe Toben or groom him because he’s allergic to dogs (and cats but that’s not an issue because Chanyeol has never been much of a cat person).
About two months ago, he’d caught sight of a tiny, black puppy, staring out at the world with sad, soulful eyes. He’d been inside the display window of a pet shop near their apartment, lying on his tummy, looking all forlorn. Chanyeol had taken one look at him and his heart had melted.
Grabbing Jongin’s arm, he’d made him peer inside the window too. There were three other puppies lounging nearby, all completely unconcerned that people were watching them through the glass. “That little black one. The one in the corner. See how sad he looks? I wish I could bring him home. I bet I could make him less sad. If only I weren’t allergic to dogs.”
Shaking his head and looking all kinds of amused, Jongin had said, “Fine. You can get the pup. I’ll take care of grooming and bathing it and you do the rest.”
“But that’s a lot of work, Jonginnie. I couldn’t-”
Jongin shrugs. “You know I love dogs. My family’s got like three and I used to bathe and groom them all the time when I lived at home. It’s not a big deal.”
“Why didn’t you get a dog when we moved out of the dorm?”
“Because you’re allergic, hyung. DUH.”
“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol had apologized, frowning sheepishly.
“It’s really not a big deal. Now let’s go rescue that pup from its misery.” Jongin had linked his arm in Chanyeol’s and steered him to the entrance. Half an hour later, they’d left the store with Toben and the pup had lived in this apartment ever since.
“I’m here. What do you need?” Chanyeol asks.
His attention still focused on the dog, Jongin points vaguely at the dryer. “My towel. . .it’s up there. Can you help dry me off? I’m starting to get a little cold but I’m not done with Toben yet.”
“Sure,” Chanyeol answers even though his head is screaming NO. Fuck. His crush is asking him to indirectly touch his bare body and damnit, Chanyeol doesn’t have enough chill for this. He really, really doesn’t have enough chill for this. He just hopes he doesn’t end up embarrassing himself beyond redemption.
“You okay?” Jongin’s eyeing him with undisguised curiosity as he continues to rub Toben’s fur with a navy blue towel. They’ve worked out a system where all Toben’s towels are navy blue and all the other colors are theirs. The puppy is sitting quietly on the counter, eyes shut in bliss, as he happily submits to Jongin’s ministrations. Chanyeol has never felt more envious of his own puppy. Damnit.
“I-ah, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll just-” He lets his voice trail off as he reaches for the neatly folded sky blue towel.
“My chest and back first, please? I’m cold.”
“‘Kay,” Chanyeol says in a slightly strangled voice as he opens up the folds of the towel. He presses the fluffy fabric against Jongin’s damp skin and drags it gently across his skin, soaking up stray beads of water. It’s a struggle but he tries really hard not to let his stare linger on the distractingly long and lean lines of Jongin’s body, and the flat, hard planes of his stomach.
“Now, my hair. The water keeps getting into my eyes,” Jongin explains as he wipes Toben’s tummy. Inhaling nervously, Chanyeol blots the moisture out of Jongin’s hair. He’s standing so close to Jongin now, his chest almost touching Jongin’s back and he can feel the heat creeping up his neck.
“You don’t have to be so careful, you know. I won’t break.” There’s a smile in Jongin’s voice.
“What?”
“I’m not that fragile; you can rub my scalp harder.”
His heart beating at a frenetic pace, Chanyeol massages Jongin’s scalp vigorously with the towel. The sooner he gets this over with, the sooner he can leave (preferably before Jongin realizes he’s given his roommate a boner).
Jongin makes a contented little noise and Chanyeol’s hands go still in shock before they start moving again. Why had Jongin made that sound, he groans inside. His roommate is going to be the death of him. His Jongin-induced demise is inevitable. It's just a matter of when he'll take his last breath.
◊
After dinner, they gather in front of the TV. Chanyeol sits down right away while Jongin checks what’s available on Netflix. Finally, he settles on the image of a cherry-haired woman in a pale blue tank top. She’s running and she looks hella stressed.
“Let’s try this. Run, Lola, Run.”
Chanyeol’s never heard of it and to be honest, it looks pretty grim. But he’s never really cared what movie or show they end up watching. Sometimes he’s the one who picks and sometimes Jongin is the one who decides. It really doesn’t matter to Chanyeol what they watch, though, because it’s Jongin’s company that keeps him here.
They usually sit together on the couch, shoulders touching, legs stretched out and feet planted on the edge of the table. Every now and then, Jongin surprises him by resting his head on his shoulder. Some days, when he’s tired and doesn't give a fuck about consequences, Chanyeol drapes his arm around Jongin’s shoulder. Jongin doesn't seem to mind when Chanyeol does this. Well, he's never tried to pull away, at least. He probably considers it a harmless, platonic bro thing so there's nothing weird about it. Chanyeol wants it to be a harmless, platonic bro thing, too. He wants it more than anything. Unfortunately, his stupid, stubborn heart has never paid much attention to what he wants.
On days like these, they just lean into each other as they watch the movie. When Jongin snuggles up to him, Chanyeol is too distracted by the weight of Jongin’s head on his shoulder and the soft sounds of his breathing to pay anything but scant attention to what's unfolding on the screen. From time to time, Jongin will say things, and when he does, his deep voice vibrates against Chanyeol’s skin, making his heart thrum and his chest ache. Chanyeol both loves and dreads days like these because Jongin is kind of, sort of in his arms and yet isn't-not in the ways that Chanyeol needs him to be.
Chanyeol sinks back into the couch and sighs. Sitting down and not moving is one of his favorite things. He wonders if Jongin will lay his head on his shoulder today or whether they'll just sit side-by-side like they do on most nights. It's probably best if they just sit side-by-side because Chanyeol hasn't quite recovered from the incident in the laundry. It’s been five hours and he’s still haunted by images of Jongin's bare shoulders and nape and hair-all hovering within touching distance.
The seat cushions dip as Jongin finally sits down. Chanyeol holds his breath as he waits to see what Jongin will do. Will he just lean back into the sofa or will he lay his head on his shoulder? Jongin seems to have decided that today is a day for shaking Chanyeol up, though, as he lays his head on Chanyeol’s lap for the very first time.
Jongin’s looking up at him, and Chanyeol feels a bit lightheaded as he gazes into Jongin’s sleepy eyes.
“Hyung, I was thinking-”.
“Yeah?”
“Let’s hike up to Mount Buller this Sunday.”
“You know me and exercise. We’re not exactly friends-barely even acquaintances to be very fucking honest.”
“I was thinking we could leave early and catch the sunrise.”
“Did you say sunrise? Sunrise on a Sunday? Sunday being one of my precious sleep-in days?”
“Yep. It’s going to be sunny all day. We’ve had so much rain lately. I thought it’d be nice to just. . .y’know, spend a day outdoors or something.”
Chanyeol groans. “But we’d have to wake up at 4am or something! That’s just. Oh God, Jongin, I think I’ll pass. I mean, I like my bed and I hate moving. So a mountain hike at dawn on a Sunday sounds about as appealing as a journey into the seventh circle of hell.”
Jongin doesn't even bother to hide his eye roll at the dramatics and Chanyeol can't help but laugh.
“But hyung, the sunrise on Mount Buller? Spectacular. The view of the city? Stunning. The backdrop of Japanese red maple trees? Beautiful. Imagine all the photos you could post on your Instagram. You'd get like hundreds of likes. You know you want to.” Jongin gives Chanyeol's sleeve a persuasive tug.
“I’m sure you and your friends will enjoy the view. You can share some photos with me so I can spazz over them when I wake up.”
“None of my friends are going. So if you don’t come with me, I’ll either have to go on my own or just ditch the whole idea. There’s no point going up there alone.” Jongin’s expression is almost as forlorn as the one Toben had worn in the window of that pet shop months ago and Chanyeol’s heart melts just as messily.
“That’s not fair, Jonginnie.” Chanyeol can feel his Sunday sleep-in slipping through his fingers like loose grains of sand.
“I’ll just go jog around the park then. On my own. In the dark. On my own.” Jongin isn’t whining, not exactly, but there’s the slightest hint of a pout on his lips and Chanyeol’s resolve to say no crumbles completely.
“This is emotional blackmail, Jonginnie. What the hell,” Chanyeol mutters as he lets out a long suffering sigh.
“Does that mean you’ll go?” Jongin breaks into a smile. His head is still resting on Chanyeol’s lap and there’s so much joy and warmth in his smile that Chanyeol’s crush deepens by a few more degrees. He feels a bit like passing out from how overtaxed his heart is right now, but he manages to gather what few threads remain of his composure and forces himself to act nonchalant.
“This is the one and only time, I mean it!”
“You won’t regret it, hyung.” Impulsively, Jongin reaches up and pulls Chanyeol into a quick hug. Chanyeol’s too shocked to do anything but gape. He doesn’t even have time to hug him back as Jongin lets his arms fall and lays his head back down on Chanyeol’s lap. His generous mouth is curved into a soft kind of smile and Chanyeol wants to kiss him so bad.
The only light in their small sitting room is provided by two fat, mint scented candles. It’s dim and Chanyeol can’t be super sure, but Jongin’s cheeks look a little pink. He half expects things to get suddenly awkward between them but Jongin doesn’t get up to sit beside Chanyeol. He just continues to recline on the sofa with his head cradled in Chanyeol’s lap.
“I guess we should start the movie,” Jongin says after a while.
“Yeah. I guess we should.”
◊
They’re about an hour into the movie when Chanyeol looks down at Jongin and realizes he’s asleep. Dark eyelashes fan delicately across the tops of his cheeks and his lips are parted ever so slightly.
This isn’t the first time Chanyeol has watched Jongin sleep but it’s never been like this-with his head on his lap. It’s not that he spies on his roommate. It’s just that they’d shared a dorm room for a year and they’ve been sharing a room since they moved off campus. It’s a small, two bedroom apartment and they could each have had their own room. But Jongin had been the one to suggest that they share the master bedroom and turn the second one into a study. Chanyeol had been only too happy to say yes. He’d grown accustomed to falling asleep to the sound of Jongin’s gentle snores.
It’s been both the best and the worst decision of his life. He really should wake Jongin up so they can crawl to their respective beds but being with Jongin here, like this, is making Chanyeol feel things. All the difficult things. And he kind of doesn’t want to stop feeling them. He’ll probably get pins and needles at some point and then he might move Jongin off of him. But for now-
Jongin suddenly moans in his sleep and turns so he ends up sleeping on his side-his face pressed to Chanyeol’s belly and his hands tucked under his own cheek. Chanyeol has never had Jongin curled up so intimately against him and waves of warmth are lapping and spreading through his insides. Unable to stop themselves, Chanyeol’s fingers reach out to gently caress Jongin’s fine, dark hair. It’s just as soft, just as silky as he’d always imagined it would be.
Chanyeol wants to touch his face too, to go over the lines of his cheekbones and his jaw but he doesn't let himself. He doesn’t want to accidentally wake Jongin but mostly, he doesn’t let himself touch Jongin because he’s afraid it will make him feel too much. So he distracts himself by thinking of how he’s going to make it through the Sunday hike and come out of it still breathing.
What had he been thinking, agreeing to hike up a mountain on Sunday when he'd barely even survived climbing eight flights of stairs a week ago? What had he been thinking? This is all Zhang Yixing’s fault for making that joke about four storeys being hardly a mountain, and Oh Sehun’s fault because he’d laughed with Yixing and together, they had somehow willed this into happening. Curse them both to hell and back for jinxing him.
Climb a mountain?! A whole fucking mountain? Me?
Chanyeol groans. He is totally going to die. But as his fingers stroke silky strands of dark hair, Chanyeol knows he's not even going to regret the near death, if not fatal experience, because he’ll get to spend time with Jongin along the way. It’s the most pathetic thing he's ever heard and he's disgusted with himself.
The sooner he gets over this dead end crush, the better. But for now, he decides not to wake Jongin and he falls asleep sitting up, his arm curled protectively around Jongin's back.
◊
In between wheezing and panting, Chanyeol asks in very aggrieved tones, “Tell me again why we’re doing this?”
“Because the exercise is great for your body and the sun is about to rise and trust me, hyung, the sunrise up here is totally worth all the pain.”
“Did I mention that I like my bed,” he grumbles as he rests his weight shamelessly on Jongin. His roommate has been propping him up for the past twenty minutes, his arm draped around Chanyeol’s waist. Chanyeol’s arm is wrapped around Jongin’s shoulders as he
“You might have mentioned it about fifteen times in the past ten minutes.”
“Did I mention that I HATE MOVING?”
“You might have,” Jongin snorts, “on about twenty-two different occasions.”
“That’s an exaggeration.”
“I wish it were!” Jongin gives him a critical look and Chanyeol shoves him in the shoulder.
“It’s cold,” he complains bitterly as a gust of wind hits him right in the face.
“It’s a mountain, hyung. Were you expecting coconut trees and warm breezes?”
“It could be less cold! And I can’t believe you dragged me out of bed at 4 am for this. I’ve never walked this much in my life and my nuts are falling off from how cold it is and I’m gonna hurt like fuck for days and where’s the spectacular sunrise you promised me? It feels like it’s never showing up-”
All of a sudden, strong arms are wrapping around him from behind. “Shush. Just wait. It’s coming.”
“What are you doing?” Not exactly an inspired response but Chanyeol is too stunned to come up with anything more clever.
“I don’t want your nuts to fall off so I’m trying to warm you up.”
“I can’t believe we’re talking about my nuts at six in the morning.”
“You started it,” Jongin points out. “Now stop whining. Here it comes.”
For the next few seconds, Chanyeol’s senses are full of nothing but the magnificent sunrise and the feel of Jongin’s arms around him, and his body pressing into his back. Chanyeol never imagined he could be happy about being dragged out of bed at the ass crack of dawn, but here he is-staring in awe as bands of gold and orange spread across the sky. And well, his emotions are everywhere because his crush is kind of, sort of hugging him.
“Aren’t you going to take some photos of the sunrise for your followers,” Jongin teases as he rests his chin on Chanyeol’s left shoulder. “Before it’s all over?”
“Oh, shit! Yeah.” Chanyeol scrambles for his phone, fishing it out of his track pants pocket. He takes a few burst shots before scrolling through his camera roll. He hates to admit it but Jongin had been right. The sunrise up here really is something else.
“Let’s take a selca together, hyung. This might be the last time I con you into coming up here, so we should, I dunno, commemorate it with a selca or something.” His mouth is so close to Chanyeol’s ear he can feel the warm puffs of air that accompany Jongin’s words. Jongin’s arms are still looped around Chanyeol’s waist and he’s not showing any signs of letting go anytime soon. Chanyeol is beyond happy but he tells himself not to get his hopes up. This is probably just a platonic, bro thing for Jongin so he really shouldn’t get his hopes up. He needs to take better care of his own heart.
Chanyeol turns to look at Jongin. “Um, do you wanna. . .stand next to me? For the selca, I mean?”
“Nah. This is fine,” Jongin says as he snuggles even closer to Chanyeol, arms linked tightly over his waist and his chin on Chanyeol’s shoulder. Forcing himself to be calm, Chanyeol angles his phone so he can fit the sunrise and the two of them into the shot. They pose cheek-to-cheek with matching grins and Chanyeol can’t help thinking that they look so. . .boyfriend. But of course they’re not boyfriends. They’re just roommates.
“Let me see,” Jongin says and he finally lets go of him as he reaches for the phone. Chanyeol misses the weight of his arms almost immediately. “We look kinda perfect, hyung. Share it with me, ok?”
“Sure.” Chanyeol sends him the selca and since he’s in his camera roll, he decides to KKT a few shots of the sunrise to his older sister, Yura. He doesn’t expect her to reply for hours so he almost drops his phone when it squawks that a new message has come in.
nice sunrise but the more important question here is Y R U AWAKE?
I’m on mt Buller
Yeol, it’s 6 am. Why are you even /anywhere/?
Trust me, i /know/ it’s 6 am TT.TT
who are you and what have you done with my baby brother?
Ha ha. Very funny. Not
explain
I was told the sunrise up here was was extra special so…
i want photos. who sweet talked your ass out of bed at this ungodly hour?
Chanyeol hesitates, thinks, hesitates again and after a while, he sends her the selca.
ahhh. It’s jongin. Ofc it’s him. Only he could convince you to wake up at the ass crack of dawn.
no one else could come with him. I had to, noona
well, i’m looking at this selca and idt the kid asked anyone else to come
you’re wrong
His phone rings and he swipes the screen in a hurry. Jongin’s watching him with interest. It’s not every day someone’s phone rings at 6 am-especially when it’s Chanyeol’s phone that’s doing the ringing.
“Noona? Why are you calling me, ohmygod-”
Yura’s tone is bordering on impatient. “What are you waiting for? Bang the boy.”
“NOONA, PLEASE!”
“Since when were you such a prude? Fine, don’t bang him. Yet. Kiss him first. Anything! Just stop pining, Yeol. Jesus. I know you don't like moving more than you have to but some things are worth getting off your ass for-something you're clearly aware of seeing as you're up on a mountain on a sleep-in Sunday.”
“I can’t,” he says miserably.
“Yes, you can. Remember that time you lost your ferret? Ddori? You stuck flyers all around the neighborhood and you spent days walking around looking for him? And you finally found him all on your own, because you wanted Ddori so much you made it happen. I’m just saying, if you want this boy enough, you’ll find a way to show him. And Mount Buller sounds like a good place to do it.”
“I can’t believe you just compared him to a ferret.”
“Stop being a dumbass and just kiss the boy!”
Chanyeol mumbles something along the lines of he’ll think about it and then they hang up.
Is it really that easy? Just kiss him?
“Everything okay with Yura noona?” Jongin asks.
“Everything’s fine,” Chanyeol grimaces. “Noona was just being a bully.”
Jongin’s fingers wrap around his upper arm and give it a comforting squeeze. “If you wanna talk about it, I’m not a bad listener, you know?” Tell Jongin that his noona asked him to kiss him? Oh, hell no!
“No! No! I’m good!”
“Huh.” Jongin frowns slightly before saying, “Sounds like you need breakfast. You ready to eat or you wanna to take more pictures of the view?”
“Nah, I've got more than enough to work with. I could eat the whole side of a cow now, no joke. I’m that fucking hungry.”
“Okay. Breakfast it is. There’s this place I know-”
And then Jongin is pulling him back towards the road while Chanyeol groans and moans about having to move again and why didn’t we just drive up here it’s not like they haven’t got the roads for it. And God fucking damnit, Jongin, why are you torturing meeee by making me walk?
“Shut up, hyung! A little less energy on whining and a little more on walking. Twenty more minutes till we get there.”
“Twenty minutes of walking? What the fuck, Jongin, whyyy?”
“Oh my God, stop whining and just walk, hyung.”
◊
Chanyeol isn't sure what he'd been expecting, but a hole-in-the-wall, katsudon restaurant is definitely not it. The proprietor of Yu-topia is a tall, jaw-droppingly handsome man with silver hair who greets them at the door. When they step into the restaurant, Chanyeol notices that there are, inexplicably, three tables occupied by customers. Like, there are actually people who breakfast on mountains at 7.30 in the morning. On a fricking Sunday. Inconceivable.
“Ah, Jongin! We haven’t seen you here in a while,” the silver-haired man declares excitedly as he gives Jongin an affectionate hug. How did Jongin even know these people?
“Hello Viktor. I’ve been so busy,” Jongin explains with an apologetic smile.
“You brought a friend!” His English is lightly accented. Probably Russian.
Jongin grins at the man before pushing Chanyeol to the front. “This is Chanyeol. Chanyeol, this is Viktor.”
As Viktor takes Chanyeol’s hand in a firm handshake, his eyes light up with sudden comprehension. “Chanyeol? Oh, is this your-”
“My roommate! He’s my roommate,” Jongin interjects quickly and Chanyeol gets the feeling he’s not getting the full gist of the conversation.
“Jongin!” A bespectacled, Japanese man emerges from the kitchen. He’s got a cheerful red apron on and the most beatific smile. “It’s been months since you came by. How are you?”
“Hey Yuuri,” Jongin envelops the smaller man in a hug. “I’ve been so busy so not much time for hiking, I guess. I dream about your pork cutlet bowls all the time, though. I’ve missed them so much.”
“Well, you should visit us more often, Jongin!” Viktor calls out from the counter. “And bring your. . .roommate Chanyeol with you.” He gives Jongin a knowing wink and Jongin actually blushes. There’s clearly a private joke he’s not getting.
“It’s a bit too early in the day for pork cutlets, you know? We usually serve morning ramen and egg rice for breakfast,” Yuuri says and Jongin’s face falls. Then Yuuri pulls him in and whispers, “But we’ll make an exception for you and your boyfr-”
“Roommate! He’s my roommate!” Jongin had cut Yuuri off but it was too late. Chanyeol had heard what the Japanese man had been trying to say. Boyfriend. He wonders what that’s all about.
“Ahhh, roommate,” Yuuri says with a vague smile and a nod.
“I haven’t introduced you. This is Chanyeol. Chanyeol, this is Yuuri. He makes the best pork cutlets in the city.”
“Such blatant flattery, tsk! But I’ll give you an extra cutlet to entice you to come and visit us more often.”
“You’re going to bankrupt us with your soft heart,” Viktor says teasingly as he steals a hug and a peck on the cheek from Yuuri on his way back to the counter. Yuuri instantly goes all red and flustered. It’s cute. Yuuri and Viktor are so cute together. If only he and Jongin could be cute together too, Chanyeol thinks with a pang.
“Right, so two pork cutlet bowls?” Yuuri whispers, his cheeks like pink flags of heat.
“You’re the best, Yuuri!” Jongin grins and Yuuri gives him a thumbs up before vanishing beyond the narrow, blue curtains that separate the kitchen from the dining area. Jongin leads Jongin to a table in the back corner of the small restaurant.
The simple, pine wood tables and chairs give the place a clean, fresh vibe. They sit down opposite each other, slotting their legs in so their knees don’t bump. They’ve been doing this dance for two years and it’s something they don’t even have to remember to do. Instinct. Except that sometimes, Chanyeol wishes their knees would bump for real.
“Are they. . .together?” Chanyeol asks in a tentative voice.
“Yup. They’ve been married for three years now. Does that bother you, hyung? That they're together?” Jongin's gaze is intent and Chanyeol can’t remember him ever looking at him this way. Unnerved, Chanyeol loosens the zipper on his jacket.
“No. No, it doesn't. I think it's sweet.” And Chanyeol means every word.
“You mean that?”
Genuinely puzzled, Chanyeol asks, “Why wouldn’t I?”
“They’re both men, for one.” Jongin points out carefully.
“Ah, that. You know, the thing is. . .if I ever got married it would be to a man, too.”
“What?”
And that’s all Jongin has time to say before the early morning peace of the restaurant is shattered by an eruption of noise. When the metaphorical dust settles, Chanyeol sees three girls standing beside their table, bombarding Jongin with questions. They look like they’re about ten years old (not that Chanyeol is a good judge of such things) and their faces are identical. They must be triplets because he can’t tell them apart at all. They’re wearing white tops that are identical, the only exception being that each one has a different word on it: Axel, Lutz, Loop. Those are either the kids’ somewhat bizarre names or they must be figure skating buffs. The most overwhelming thing now, though, is how fricking loud they are.
“Jongin-san! Why haven’t you visited in so long?”
“Did you bring anything for us?”
“Is this your boyfriend? He sure is handsome!”
Jongin’s laughing just a little sheepishly. “Slow down, girls! Give me a chance to answer.”
“Well, hurry up,” Axel demands and Jongin side eyes her.
“I’ve been busy with school so I just haven’t had time to come up here. And yes, of course I brought something! Don't I always?” Jongin digs around his backpack before producing a big bag of Haribo Gold-Bears. The girls squeal with approval before taking the bag amid a flood of effusive thank yous.
“And this guy? Is he your boyfriend?” Lutz nods in Chanyeol’s direction.
“He’s my roommate,” Jongin corrects her. “His name is Chanyeol.”
“Well, you should hurry up and make Chanyeol-san your boyfriend then,” Loop says with all the confident authority of a ten year-old.
Jongin protests, “That’s not how things work, Loop!” Chanyeol isn’t positive but the tips of Jongin’s ears look a little pink.
“Huh. I don’t see why not,” Axel grumbles.
Then Lutz is yelling. “Oi, Pirozhki! Jongin-san and his boyfriend don’t have any drinks! You’re not doing your job!”
A blond-haired boy appears from out of nowhere. He’s really small-built with hair cut in a stylish bob and a blue apron tied around his narrow waist. He can’t be more than 5’ 4”, but he walks, no, stalks over with all the fearless aggression of someone who is at least a foot taller. The boy’s expression is nothing short of murderous.
“My name is Yurio, not Piroshki!” He fixes a murderous glare at Lutz. “I’m a man, not a dumpling, you brat!”
“A man? You’re only nineteen,” Axel scoffs.
“Axel, Lutz. That will be quite enough.” Viktor’s demeanor is congenial but his voice holds a definite note of steel in it. The girls seem to recognize that as they proceed to leave the diminutive waiter alone and shuffle off somewhere.
“What do you want?” Yurio growls at Jongin and Chanyeol. He’s never met a waiter quite this brusque-a waiter more determined to lose his job. His mouth hangs open in shock but Jongin seems to take it all in his stride as he orders two cups of green tea for them. It’s like none of this craziness is new to him and none of it unsettles him.
“Two green teas. Fine,” Yurio bites out before stalking to the kitchen. From his station behind the cash register, Viktor shakes his head in clear disapproval. Yurio reappears with two cups of steaming ocha, which he deposits on their table without a word. He’s walking past the cash register when Viktor calls him.
“Remember that talk we had about interpersonal skills, Yurio? You’re not supposed to terrify and intimidate the customers. Remember?”
“I keep telling you, Viktor. I don’t have interpersonal skills. They’re a total waste of time.”
Viktor looks like he’s got a kickass rebuttal to that ridiculous remark, but he seems to think better of it. In the end, all he does is shake his head and give a resigned sigh.
“Hyung.” Jongin’s kicking his foot and Chanyeol turns to look at him. He’d been so swept away by the drama going on around them that he’d quite forgotten their interrupted conversation.
“Yeah?” Chanyeol’s legs are burning pretty much all over and his butt muscles are extremely disgruntled. To be honest, his entire body is a testament to pain but it’s all worth it because Jongin is sitting across from him and smiling at him. He doesn’t even fucking care that it’s barely eight in the morning and he could be nestled in his blankets at home, sleeping his Sunday morning away.
“You said you’d marry a man? If you ever married, I mean.”
“Well, yeah. I’ve never really been into women so it wouldn’t make sense to marry one, y’know?”
“Yeah,” Jongin says quietly.
“Does that bother you? That I don’t like girls?” Chanyeol’s heart is beating too fast because what if he doesn’t like Jongin’s answer?
“No. No it doesn’t because I kinda d-”
The rest of Jongin’s sentence is drowned out by the roar of a motorcycle. This restaurant sure seems to get a lot of traffic even though it’s three-quarter ways up a mountain.
The door swings open and a dark-haired young man walks in, a motorcycle helmet gripped in his right arm. He looks like he’s in his early twenties and is attractive in a Slavic kind of way.
“Otabek! How are you? What can I get you?”
“Hey, Viktor. One morning ramen for me, please.”
“Coming right up. Yurio, get a drink for Otabek!”
The surly waiter materializes by the newcomer’s table. “What do you want?” The words are the sames ones Yurio had used on them earlier, but there’s a softer edge to them.
“I’ll have the usual, Yurio.”
“Yeah, okay. Black coffee. Whatever.” Then, as Yurio is about to leave, the man reaches his arm out. It happens so quickly Chanyeol almost misses it, but he doesn’t. He gasps a little as Otabek’s fingers lightly brush Yurio’s forearm. It’s a tender gesture and Yurio doesn’t reject it but he frowns, mouthing the words not here. And Chanyeol’s heart clenches at how soft they are. So soft. He wishes he and Jongin could be soft like Yurio and Otabek.
“Hyung.” Jongin’s voice cuts through his reverie.
“I’m sorry, Jongin. I got distracted.”
“Should I be insulted that you’re so distracted we’ve had to restart this conversation three times already?” Jongin looks both amused as well as a little hurt.
“I’m sorry, Jonginnie. It’s too early in the morning and my brain isn’t fully awake. It’s not that I don’t want to listen. Stuff just keeps happening. I swear it’s like one of those family dramas my halmoni is so obsessed with. I wasn’t trying to ignore you, I promise!”
“I know you weren’t, hyung. The people here are a little extra, I guess.” Jongin chuckles and Chanyeol is so glad he doesn’t seem mad.
“Anyway, I’d better tell you again real quick before we get interrupted again.”
“Okay. What is it, Jongin?”
“I was trying to tell you that I don’t like girls either.”
“So you mean you’re. . .I mean we’re both. . .?”
“Yeah. Isn’t it funny how we’ve shared a room for two years and it never came up?”
“I don’t really go around telling people that I’m gay because you never know how they’ll take the news. Y’know? And the subject never came up and so I didn’t want to risk freaking you out.” Chanyeol watches Jongin, trying to figure out what’s going on inside his head.
“I guess that’s why I never brought it up. I didn’t want to ask Sehun and Yixing and you never brought anyone home so I couldn’t be sure.”
“You didn’t bring anyone home either,” Chanyeol points out. Well, Jongin’s best friends Jongdae and Baekhyun often came over but that was about it.
“Why would I bring anyone home when-”
“Two pork cutlet bowls.” Yu-topia’s blond waiter places their bowls on the table with an unceremonious thunk.
“Thanks,” Jongin says and Yurio more or less grunts before walking off.
“Why wouldn’t you bring someone home? I don’t understand.”
“I wouldn’t because-”
“Hey! How come you guys are having pork cutlet bowls? It’s not eleven yet.” Loop points an accusatory finger at Chanyeol’s bowl.
“SHHH,” Viktor hisses at her from his corner of the restaurant. “No one’s supposed to know that.”
“Can we have some?” Axel plants herself on the chair next to Jongin’s while Lutz sits next to Chanyeol.
“Me too!” Loop drags a chair over.
“Girls,” Viktor says with a warning in his voice.
“It’s fine, Viktor. We don’t mind sharing.” Jongin’s laughing as he shrugs at Chanyeol. Having a proper conversation in this place is clearly a case of Mission Impossible so Chanyeol just sighs in frustration.
“Try some, Chanyeol-san. They’re really good,” Axel says insistently, watching him like a hawk. Chanyeol takes a mouthful and almost tears up from how tender and crisp and delicious it is. He chews and swallows and takes another mouthful. It’s like. . .heaven in a bowl.
◊
“I thought we were never going to get out of there,” Jongin groans as the doors swing shut behind them. Chanyeol’s tummy was warm and very, very happy after all that katsudon and ocha.
“I gotta say. . .the company was a little chaotic.”
“No kidding,” Jongin laughs.
“The food was incredible, though,” Chanyeol admits as they move further and further away from the restaurant. All too soon, Chanyeol begins to moan as he is rudely reminded of how much it fucking hurts to walk.
“I told you Yuuri’s pork cutlets were the best in the city!”
Pain shoots up his shins and Chanyeol declares emphatically, “We’re driving up here next time, though. Fuck this hiking and communing with nature bs, Jonginnie.”
“Next time?” Jongin comes to an abrupt stop and Chanyeol slows to a halt in response.
“The next time we come back here for Yuuri’s pork cutlet bowls, of course.”
Jongin gives him a hard look. “Is that the only reason you’d want to come back here?”
“The sunrise, I guess? But maybe we can catch the sunset next time so I don’t have to crawl out of bed at dawn because that is just the most heinous kind of torture.”
“That’s all?” Jongin’s eyes are searching and hopeful but Chanyeol doesn’t know what answer Jongin wants him to give. He doesn’t know what he’s supposed to say.
“I-” Chanyeol wants to explain but he can’t seem to find the right words. He thinks about his conversation with his noona and decides that maybe she’s right. Maybe in the end, it really is that easy.
“Hyung?” Jongin’s hand is curled around his shoulder like a question.
“Jongin, can I-” Chanyeol struggles for, and finally gives up on words as his thumbs rest on Jongin’s cheeks and his fingers wrap around his nape.
His noona’s words are echoing in his mind. . .Just kiss the boy.
And Chanyeol does just that. He lowers his head and closes his eyes as he kisses Jongin. The other boy’s lips are soft and firm all at the same time and Chanyeol can’t get enough of them. The scent of his skin is so sweet as Chanyeol presses closer and sucks on Jongin’s bottom lip.
Warm hands cup his jaw as Jongin steps further into his embrace. Then his lips part, inviting Chanyeol in. Their tongues meet, warm and wet, as Jongin and Chanyeol explore each other’s mouths. When the kiss ends, Jongin pulls him into a hug-his right cheek resting against Chanyeol’s left shoulder, and his hands linked over Chanyeol’s back. Chanyeol gives a contented sigh as his right arm wraps around Jongin’s waist and he rests his cheek on Jongin’s right shoulder.
He closes his eyes as his palm rubs slow circles onto Jongin’s back. The taste of Jongin still lingers on his lips and tongue, and having Jongin in his arms like this. . .nothing has ever felt more sweet, more right. It's a perfect moment. Just perf-
“AXEL NISHIGORI! I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU UPLOAD THAT ON YOUR INSTAGRAM, I WILL WHOOP YOUR BUTT!”
Chanyeol is starting to feel like he’s in a scene from a drama as he turns to see a woman trying to snatch the phone from Axel, who looks like she’s about to break into a dead run. The woman’s hair is tied into a high ponytail and she has large eyes and a pretty, cherubic face. She would have looked prettier, though, if she hadn’t been wearing such a ferocious expression on her face.
“Mama, I would never,” Axel insists.
“You’re not allowed to video people without their permission! How many times have I told you and your sisters that, huh?”
“I wasn’t going to upload it. Honest!”
“You delete that video right now or I will whoop your-”
“Yuuko-chan, please. Not in front of the customers,” Yuuri says in placating tones even as he gives Jongin and Chanyeol apologetic bows. “Come again,” he beams at them as he steers the lady and the girl towards the back of the shop.
“I thought mountains were supposed to be tranquil and serene and all that,” Chanyeol comments.
“They usually are,” Jongin says with a sigh. “Yu-topia is a little more extra than most places we know, I guess.”
“We won’t see ourselves kissing on some little kid’s instagram, will we?”
Jongin chuckles, “I think the kid’s mom has things covered.”
“So we’re safe?” Chanyeol pulls Jongin closer.
“For now, anyway.”
“We should probably-”
“Yeah,” Jongin smiles and then they’re kissing again.
◊
Chanyeol’s muscles are in so much pain right now, it’s like his entire body is on fire. He’s lying on his side, limbs spread across the length of his bed. A few inches away, Jongin, too, is lying on his side. By some unspoken agreement they’d shoved their beds together because touching each other was new and wonderful and neither one of them wanted to sleep apart. They’d been sleeping on separate beds for two years and they didn’t want to do it for a moment longer.
“No more hikes. My body is not built for hiking or climbing or walking of any kind. I’m so serious about this, Jonginnie.”
“Your body just needs to get used to exercise.” Jongin’s deep voice has always had an intimate quality to it and it feels six thousand times more intimate now that they’re facing each other, arms draped over each other’s waists.
“No, thank you. I’ll leave all that fitness business to you.”
“But-” Jongin starts to say and Chanyeol silences his protest with a slow, lingering kiss that leaves them both breathless.
“I’m so glad I made you go up Mount Buller with me today or we’d still be talking to each other from across the room.”
“Why did you do it, anyway? Make me go, I mean.”
“Because Plan A wasn’t getting anywhere. I thought if I got your out of the apartment and out of your comfort zone, you might finally pick up on all the signs I’ve been giving you.”
“Signs?”
“Signs that I liked you. Signs that I wanted you to kiss me or something.”
“You were giving me signs?”
“Hyung, you’re hopeless! I’ve never seen anyone as oblivious as you. Plan A was a complete failure.” Jongin poked Chanyeol in the chest.
He’s wracking his brain trying to figure out what Jongin’s initial plan could have been but he keeps coming up empty. “What was Plan A?”
Jongin grins, and the dimple in his left cheek appears. His dark hair is falling into his eyes and he looks so handsome. Chanyeol can’t believe they’re here together like this. He still can’t believe that Jongin is finally his.
“Plan A was me trying to seduce you,” Jongin says at last.
“What?!”
“What did you think that whole laundry fiasco was about?”
“But Toben was the one who made the mess!”
“Well, yeah, he made the mess. But I could just have finished bathing and drying him off before mopping the mess up myself. I could have but I wanted you in there with me. Like maybe if we were in such a cramped space together, you might grab me in a fit of lust and kiss me. But nothing. You didn’t do anything.” Jongin gives him an exasperated look.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to, but. . .I didn’t know if you would be okay with me liking you that way, didn’t know if you’d be okay with me touching you in a way that wasn’t platonic.”
“I’ve been wanting you to touch me for almost a year now, hyung.”
“I um. . .”
“Yeah?”
“I had a boner that day. In the laundry.” Chanyeol is glad it’s dimly lit in the room because he doesn’t want Jongin to see how much he’s blushing right now.
“You did?!” Jongin looks first shocked, then happy, and finally, smug.
Chanyeol grumbles, “Don’t be an asshole about it.”
“What about when we were watching the movie that night? When I had my head in your lap, did you have a boner, too?”
“No. It wasn’t like that. I just felt protective of you that time. I kind of wanted to kiss you, too? But mostly I just wanted to keep you safe.”
“Hyung,” Jongin says, his eyes soft with emotion. Chanyeol thinks they’ve talked enough for one night, and he edges closer to Jongin.
“I love you Jongin,” he whispers, his lips sliding over Jongin’s in a gentle, persuasive kiss. Jongin moans, I love you too, hyung. Then Jongin is dragging him closer and kissing him hard, and all Chanyeol can think of is how he wants Jongin to never let him go. . .
Final author's note thanks to the YeolDay mod for everything and to yt for being such a wonderful friend. ily!