k-pop; off the runway (part 2)
Jongin forgot that Chanyeol was apparently a pretty popular model before Jongin ever met him. When they get to their photo shoot that day, he’s reminded though, because Minseok, the photographer for the day whom Jongin has worked with a few times, and Junmyeon, his assistant, both greet Chanyeol like they’re seeing an old friend for the first time in ages.
“It’s good to see you back,” Minseok says, smiling and patting Chanyeol’s back.
“It’s good to be back,” Chanyeol replies sincerely, and Jongin wonders again what it is that made him ever stop in the first place.
He wants to ask, but Jongdae’s rushing in to get them dressed and to make-up, complaining about them being late.
“By only five minutes!” Chanyeol exclaims, as Jongdae thrusts a deep red trench coat into his hands. “Chill out, Jongdae. At least Minseok was nice enough to welcome me back.”
“Minseok’s nice to everyone,” Jongdae says. “I, for one, definitely didn’t miss your obnoxiously loud voice and tendency to pull pranks when bored. Don’t think I haven’t forgotten that time you switched up the order for that runway show we did for Baekhyun, and we almost had a fucking heart attack.”
Chanyeol laughs. “I forgot about that,” he says, and looks delighted as he undoubtedly remembers. “That was a good time.”
“I’m sorry you have to work with him,” Jongdae says, turning to Jongin and handing him a navy blazer. “He hasn’t done anything like that to you, yet, has he?”
Jongin looks at Chanyeol, who smiles back at him kindly, and no, he definitely hasn’t done anything like that, but Jongin’s not sure if what they have done is any better. “No,” he says, “but I’m sure he’s just biding his time.”
Chanyeol smirks at him, and Jongin wonders if he just unnecessarily set himself up for something terrible.
"Don't worry," Chanyeol says, like he can read Jongin's mind. "I only pull tricks on people I don't like." He slides his gaze from Jongin to stare pointedly at Jongdae.
"Very funny," Jongdae says, rolling his eyes. "Now shut up and get dressed. We've got work to do, deadlines to meet."
Chanyeol salutes him mockingly, earning him a halfhearted punch in the arm as Jongdae rushes about and hands them each pairs of designer jeans and finely pressed shirts. Jongin is used to all of this, easily stripping and redressing, but his mind reels a bit from Chanyeol’s earlier words.
He tries not to dwell on it though, because he's here to work, and once dressed he heads over to where Zitao is waiting to do his hair, squeezing out gel into his hands and smiling at Jongin through the mirror. "I think it'll look good up, today."
Jongin smiles back. "Whatever you say," he replies and shudders a bit when Zitao presses cool, gel-slicked fingers through his hair.
Minseok calls them up onto the set after they're ready, glances through the viewfinder before checking the computers. "Stand a little closer,” he says, and Jongin steps to his right, shoulder brushing against Chanyeol’s arm. “Relax, we want a calm shoot. Talk a bit or something, don’t be so stiff.”
Chanyeol laughs, looks down at Jongin with a small smile, and Minseok says, “Jongin, put your arm up on his shoulder,” and Jongin does, slowly, resting his elbow against Chanyeol and glancing back at him. He can hear the whirl and clicks of the camera shutter as Chanyeol starts talking about something like Minseok requested. Jongin lets himself zone out because Chanyeol talks too much and Jongin isn’t really the type of person to listen that intently. He stares at Chanyeol though, nodding occasionally to make it seem like he’s listening, and instead takes in the lines of Chanyeol’s face as he speaks. His expressions are hilarious, eyes going wide and squinty within seconds, and his laugh is so loud and so big. He’ll look at Jongin though every once in awhile, really look at him, and it’s the same kind of intensity in his eyes that Jongin saw that very first night they met, which almost feels like years ago, in this moment. And Jongin can see a bit what everyone raves about. He really is good looking. Tall and lean and with a face that this industry just loves. Pretty eyes and a nice mouth, and Jongin always appreciated his mouth, especially when it’s wrapped tight around his dick, but even now, he can see the appeal.
“Why’re you staring at me?” Chanyeol asks, suddenly, looking at Jongin curiously, and Jongin blinks, quickly pulling himself back to reality, back to the fact that they’re in the middle of a shoot and he’s getting lost in stupid thoughts about stupid Chanyeol.
He laughs, playing it off, and says, “Nothing,” and the whirl and clicks of the cameras snapping pictures fills his ears.
“That was great,” Minseok calls, peering at them from behind his camera. “Jongin just keep looking at him like that.”
Jongin swallows thickly and says, “Like what?” and he starts to wonder whether he’ll have to sabotage the pictures Minseok’s been taking, not sure if he wants to see or know what kind of expression was on his face when he was looking at Chanyeol, and thinking about him. Not sure if he wants anyone to see that.
“Like you want to fuck him,” Jongdae shouts unhelpfully from where he’s watching in the corner with Zitao, who snickers behind his hand, and Jongin suddenly feels like someone’s turned up the heat in the studio, sweat clinging to the back of his neck.
Chanyeol just laughs loudly, like he’s heard the funniest joke, and Jongin wants to punch him, but settles for just hiding his face in his hands, and hating his life.
Minseok smirks bemusedly, lowering the camera to look at Jongin and Chanyeol, and says, “Well, that wasn’t exactly what I was gonna say but it works, so go with it.”
Jongin groans, opening his mouth to retort, but he feels Chanyeol’s hand rest warm against the small of his back and his words die on the tip of his tongue. “Calm down, Jongin,” he whispers into his ear, and flashes a bright smile when Jongin looks at him, and Jongin, despite himself, despite everything, actually does, relaxing against Chanyeol and grinning toward the camera.
Chanyeol’s gasp is loud in the quiet changing room as Jongin pushes his up against the closest wall and peels his already open shirt down his shoulders. “I guess Jongdae was right,” he laughs into Jongin’s lips, and Jongin scowls, making quick work of Chanyeol’s belt.
“Do you have to bring that up?” Jongin questions, and he gasps, too, when Chanyeol presses his palm hard against the growing bulge in Jongin’s jeans.
Jongin can feel Chanyeol’s smirk against his mouth, his breath hot as he replies, “So, what were you thinking about?”
“What?” Jongin says, confused and distracted as Chanyeol pops the buttons on his pants, drags the zipper down slowly.
“You had to be thinking about something, when you were looking at me like that. Jongdae really wasn’t far off, you know.” He meets Jongin’s eyes, and his are dark and intense and Jongin feels hot all over, but that’s probably from Chanyeol’s hand sliding down his jeans to stroke his dick softly. “Tell me,” Chanyeol says, licks his lips, and it’s like he knows, Jongin thinks as he watches the slow movement of his tongue against red, red lips.
“Fuck,” Jongin growls, annoyed and horribly turned on, and presses his hands flat against Chanyeol’s stomach, skin burning hot against his palm, and Chanyeol stares at him expectantly, as Jongin tries to think of a way to escape this. He can’t though, and gives in, hating the way Chanyeol looks at him, grumbles, “Fine, okay, I was thinking about how fucking good your mouth looks when you're sucking me off," and he flushes deeper when Chanyeol lets out soft chuckle in response.
"Do you want that, now?" he asks then, and Jongin groans, thinking about it, and because Chanyeol chooses that moment to brush the pad of his thumb against the tip of his cock smoothly, and yes, fuck yes, Jongin would love to push his dick into Chanyeol's mouth again, but--
"No," he says, and he tugs down Chanyeol's dark slacks and underwear, "no. Right now I want to fuck you."
Chanyeol grins widely, that stupid grin of his that makes his face all weird, and Jongin thinks something must be wrong because he finds that kind of endearing, now. But he pushes that thought away quickly, pulls Chanyeol close with fingers clenched in his hair and kisses him roughly. Chanyeol reciprocates enthusiastically, tugs Jongin close with the open front of his jeans, slipping his hand out so their bodies press up together like connecting puzzle pieces. Jongin groans as Chanyeol grinds against him, and it’s good, really good, and Jongin wants much, much more.
Thankfully Chanyeol seems to be thinking the same, muttering, “If you’re gonna do this, you’re gonna have to be quick about it.” He gasps when Jongin presses a thigh between his legs and rubs against him just right, fingers gripping tight into his hipbone. “We still have another set to do.”
“Shut up, I know,” Jongin says, “just give me a sec--”
“Lotion,” Chanyeol says quickly, low voice coming out in a rush, and he nods toward the small make-up dresser along the adjacent wall. Jongin glances at him for a second, sees the heat and want and eagerness in his eyes, and he backs away long enough to fiddle around with the small tubes and containers on the counter before finding a tiny tube of lotion.
When he turns back, Chanyeol has a hand in his own pants, eyes closed as his head rests back against the wall and his mouth is open, lips quivering in soft shudders of breath and Jongin’s own feels like it’s stuck in his throat. He walks over in two quick strides, and turns Chanyeol around roughly, Chanyeol gasps in surprise, catching himself against the wall with his hands. Jongin pulls his pants and underwear down his hips, and he’s rushing to coat his fingers with lotion before pressing two between Chanyeol’s legs.
Chanyeol’s low groan feels like the walls shake around them and Jongin slides a hand up Chanyeol’s chest, pushes two fingers into his open mouth to stifle the noise. “Shhh,” he whispers into his ear, and he feels Chanyeol’s whole body tremble, and his muscles clench tight around the fingers Jongin’s pushing harder and deeper inside of him.
Chanyeol's tongue slides hot and wet around his fingers and it's highly erotic, making Jongin even more aware of his own arousal. He slips his fingers out from his mouth, gripping onto Chanyeol’s waist instead, and Chanyeol’s tiny moans fill the room again.
"Fuck me already," Chanyeol says, and his voice is laced with desperation, and Jongin might normally tease him a bit longer, except he's hard, too, straining against his jeans, and they only have so much time.
He pulls his fingers out and replaces them quickly with his cock, pushing his jeans down his legs enough to suffice, and he stifles his groan into the back of Chanyeol’s neck. Chanyeol gasps, fingernails dragging for purchase against the wall as Jongin starts to move, and it’s quick and fast and fucking perfect, Chanyeol’s body clenching delightfully tight around him.
"Touch me," Chanyeol begs, almost a sob, and Jongin does, sliding saliva-wet fingers to stroke his cock, and then he's coming in thick streaks over Jongin’s fingers.
Jongin doesn't last long after that, and he pulls back quick enough to push Chanyeol’s shirt up his chest and come onto his lower back. Chanyeol shudders with his whole body, leaning against the wall in an attempt to not fall to his knees, and Jongin quickly fastens his jeans up with one hand, and grabs a small hand-towel from the counter to clean Chanyeol and himself off. Chanyeol grabs him before he turns away, and kisses him hard on the mouth, and Jongin is surprised enough that Chanyeol pushes him into the wall like he’d done before.
Before Jongin can relax into it, Chanyeol is retreating, and his lips are shiny with spit as he grins, wide, and says, “Come on, Jongin,” and Jongin really hates how much he’s started to like how his name sounds in Chanyeol’s deep, deep voice, “let’s wrap this shoot up.”
And Jongin wonders, as he watches Chanyeol stretch arms over his head and head to the rack of clothes in the middle of the room and feels the pit of his stomach bubbling strangely, if something is going horribly wrong.
The back seat is far too cramped and Jongin's already smacked his head against the window three times just trying to get comfortable - or as comfortable as one can be in the back of a car - but then there's Chanyeol sliding warm, wet lips against his own and fitting above him just enough and they shouldn’t, really, because it’s still too small and Chanyeol’s so long and they are most definitely going to be late to Baekhyun’s party and--
"Will you stop thinking?" Chanyeol murmurs against Jongin’s lips. "I can almost hear it. We won't be late."
Jongin really hates how he does that, how he seems to know exactly what he's thinking at any moment. They haven’t known each other that long for him to be able to do that yet. He scowls and replies, "You were the one who pushed me back here."
"Hmm, yes, because it's been a week and you look really nice in that jacket," Chanyeol says, smiling, and Jongin also hates how he can't ever tell if Chanyeol’s being truthful or just teasing.
Either way he flushes, and Chanyeol grins before kissing him again and Jongin pushes away all irrelevant thoughts because who cares if they are late, this, this is definitely a much better use of his time than attending Baekhyun's silly get-together.
So he kisses back, lets Chanyeol work open the buttons on the deep blue shirt he's wearing, and his fingers graze along skin like velvet. Chanyeol sucks a point into Jongin’s clavicle once he's pulled open the collar, pushing aside his sleeveless leather jacket to get access, and Jongin is starting to feel far too warm.
He slips his hands under Chanyeol’s shirt, up the slope of his back and Chanyeol sighs into his skin, tongue sliding over his sternum, and then down across a nipple. Jongin gasps, tightens his fingers into Chanyeol’s shirt and twists tight, and he's already hard beneath Chanyeol because, yes it has been awhile, and maybe Jongin had found the way Chanyeol looked in deliciously tight black jeans and casual white shirt to be just a bit too attractive.
It probably didn't help that Chanyeol had chosen to rest his hand on Jongin’s knee from the moment he picked him up and drove all the way to Baekhyun’s apartment complex, rubbing tiny circles with his thumb into the side.
Yeah, that hadn’t helped at all.
And now, Chanyeol is doing the same, pushing aside Jongin’s legs to fit between him, one hand on his knee and brushing up along the inseam of his jeans, and Jongin can’t stop his full-body shiver. It makes Chanyeol chuckle, and Jongin contemplates kneeing him in the head, but then Chanyeol’s got his hands on the fastens of his jeans, tugging them down his hips so he can get a firm hand around Jongin’s cock.
“Shit,” Jongin mutters, his head tilting back and colliding once again with the window. It hurts but not enough to make Chanyeol stop, not when Chanyeol is leaning down far enough to swipe his tongue straight across the head. His hips jerk up for more instantaneously, and Chanyeol’s small smirk makes Jongin even hotter. He reaches out to swipe Chanyeol’s bangs from his face, they’re getting kind of long and he should probably cut it, but Jongin also likes being able to grip onto it when he fucks him from behind. Or, like this, when Chanyeol sucks him down to the base and all Jongin can do to keep himself grounded is to pull on the soft strands.
He groans loudly when Chanyeol retreats, gasping and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and Jongin just glares because stopping is the last thing Jongin wants Chanyeol to do right now. Chanyeol leans back and his head bumps against the light in the middle of the ceiling, and Jongin snickers at the surprised look that fills his face. He watches with amusement as Chanyeol sort of pouts at him, then stretches over the console to pop open the front compartment. He pulls back with a small tube and unmistakable foil packet and Jongin's amusement dies as he he stares curiously.
"Why do you have that in your car?"
"Do you really want to know?" Chanyeol replies, dropping the items onto Jongin’s tummy and popping open the button on his own jeans, and Jongin stares up at him, taking in his mused up hair and slick red lips and the long limbs that make him look even taller than usual in the tiny backseat and he hates how the thought of chanyeol doing this with someone else creeps into his mind and latches itself there like that's something he wants to think about.
He definitely doesn't, because it doesn't matter, and not because it makes him scowl and clench his hands into fists in inexplicable anger. He shakes his head and yanks Chanyeol down by the collar of his v-neck and their teeth clash together in their kiss, making Jongin's head spin.
Jongin kisses him roughly, and it's all tongue and teeth and harsh, hot breaths against lips, and Jongin likes it most like this, when he doesn't have to think and just does. Chanyeol gives back twice as much, eagerly swiping his tongue along Jongin's, nipping at his lower lip and groaning that rumbling deep groan of his that makes Jongin's skin burn. And he's so caught up in this that it isn't until cool, slick fingers push between his legs that he realizes what's happening, panting as he pushes Chanyeol back with a hand on his shoulder to stare up at him.
"What're you doing," he asks flatly and Chanyeol grins alarmingly wide, crooking two fingers into Jongin at once and Jongin's thighs tremble from the intrusion, sucks his lower lip into his mouth.
"You like it," Chanyeol says, which isn't an answer at all, and Jongin opens his mouth to snap back but Chanyeol's fingers press in deeper and his other hand palms his dick and all that comes out is an embarrassingly appreciative moan. Chanyeol's laughter rings throughout the car and Jongin's face burns with heat, and he would fucking love to kick Chanyeol in the head but he doesn't think that would get him off, and right now he wants that more.
And it must show on his face because Chanyeol smiles, eyes soft as he fingers Jongin harder, deeper, until Jongin is pushing back as much as he can in the small backseat to get more. They don't do it like this very often, and Jongin hates how much he likes it.
"You look really hot right now," Chanyeol breathes, voice full of wonder, and he's staring down at Jongin like he's never seen him before, and that only makes Jongin harder, his heart beat faster, and he feels the flush in his cheeks spread down his neck.
"Just shut up," Jongin bites back, and Chanyeol presses his lips together, and pulls his fingers out. Jongin fights down a whine, watches with narrowed eyes as Chanyeol fumbles with the condom and then he's got slick fingers on Jongin's hip as he guides himself in.
Jongin's not sure which one of them groans at that point, or if it was the two of them together, all he can focus on is the fullness inside him and the pressure of Chanyeol's fingernails digging into his skin, hard enough to leave marks. He grips onto the back pocket of the passenger's side seat as Chanyeol starts to move, slow at first and quickly building up a rhythm as Jongin grows to accept him.
"Faster," Jongin hisses, rocking into Chanyeol’s thrusts, and he tries to rock back into the pressure but the cramped space makes it uncomfortable, the door handle pressing into his back, so he stops and lets Chanyeol work, instead pushing a hand between them to stroke himself.
"Jongin," Chanyeol rasps, Jongin tightening around him, and Jongin is definitely going to have bruises on his hips, later, from the way Chanyeol holds him like it’s the only way for him to stay in control.
But Jongin doesn't care about control, and he licks his lips, taking pleasure in how Chanyeol watches as he does and swallows thickly, and he rubs his thumb adores the wet head of his dick, says, "Hurry up, make me come."
Chanyeol’s eyes widen in surprise and that only makes Jongin blush, the ridiculousness of his words catching up to him. Before he can take them back, Chanyeol is pushing his legs up, pounding in deeper, and leaning in to catch Jongin’s mouth in a kiss that steals Jongin’s breath.
And he's coming like that, Chanyeol swallowing down his moan, and it’s only a few thrusts later that Chanyeol follows, too.
Jongin slowly catches his breath, uncurls his fingers from where he’s still gripping onto the backseat, surprised he didn’t pull the pocket straight off. He pokes at Chanyeol’s shoulder until Chanyeol moves, grunting when he hits his head against the lightswitch.
“That was a terrible idea,” Chanyeol says, rubbing his head. He pulls out of Jongin slowly, illiciting a gasp from Jongin, and removes the condom, knotting it at the end. He reaches over the console and grabs some napkins from the glove compartment, hands a few to Jongin who cleans himself up quickly and struggles to redress in the cramped space, frowning at the wrinkles in his shirt and hoping it’s not too obvious.
Chanyeol pulls himself back together as well, smoothing out his shirt where Jongin had pulled at the collar, lips pursed thoughtfully, and Jongin finds himself saying, “It wasn’t all that terrible.”
Chanyeol pauses and looks at him, confused for a moment before his face breaks into one of his usual weird expressions, mouth stretching into a big grin. He laughs, reaches out and fixes Jongin’s hair, pushing back damp bangs and flattening the top, and replies, “You’re turning soft, Jongin.”
Jongin blinks at him, not sure what he means by that, and he’s too bewildered to even ask, when Chanyeol just smiles and pushes open the car door. “Come on,” he says, sliding out and holding a hand out for Jongin to take, “or we’re really going to be late,” and Jongin takes his hand and lets himself get pulled out of the car.
“I hear you and Chanyeol are dating,” Luhan says, grinning at Jongin through the mirror as he fixes his hair before a show.
Jongin chokes on the bottle of water he’s drinking, almost spilling water down the front of his shirt. Luhan quickly grabs a small towel and presses it to his chin while snickering, and Jongin glares at him as he wipes off, examining the shirt and heaving a sigh of relief that it’s not stained. Baekhyun would have murdered him.
“I’m gonna take your reaction as a yes, by the way,” Luhan says, returning to combing out Jongin’s hair.
“We’re not,” Jongin hisses. “I bet Sehun told you, and you should know better than to listen to anything he says.”
“He says you guys are annoyingly loud,” Luhan says pleasantly and Jongin thinks he’s going to have to find a new roommate after he kills Sehun. “Which is too much information if you ask me.”
Jongin rolls his eyes. “Please, you love knowing this shit.”
Luhan smiles widely, the kind of smile most people think make him look like a precious angel, but Jongin’s known Luhan for years and it’s really the dangerous smile that tells him he knows more than lets on. “I’m just curious is all,” he says defensively, like it’s not his fault he’s a big gossipmonger. “He doesn’t seem like your type.”
“What makes you say that?”
“He’s friendly.”
Jongin scowls, grabbing the hairspray on the counter and spraying it backward at Luhan’s face. He moves out of the way quickly, laughing, and pats Jongin’s head. “You’re kind of proving my point there,” he says and Jongin’s frown deepens. Luhan shakes his head bemusedly and adds, “You’re going to end up with that look permanently etched on your face if you keep doing it.”
“Leave me alone,” Jongin whines.
Luhan chuckles, flitting Jongin’s bangs across his forehead before stepping back to assess. He nods approvingly and waves Jongin out of the chair. "I think he might be good for you," he says before Jongin can leave, and he stops to stare at Luhan in confusion for a moment.
When his words finally click in his brain, his eyes widen and he pulls a face. "Ew, don't say that," he says. "It's not like I'm in love with him or anything."
“I’m serious,” Luhan insists, merely looking amused by the uninterest in Jongin’s face, “he’s pulled you out of your shell. You’re nice around all of us, but you’ve known us all for years, now. It’s the first time you’ve taken to a stranger the way you have with Chanyeol, and I like seeing that.”
Jongin purses his lips thoughtfully, because Luhan has a point, but he’s wrong, he definitely is, because it’s not like Jongin asked for Chanyeol to drastically turn his life around in a matter of weeks. “He just has this way of getting to me, I don’t know,” Jongin mutters, because most things about Chanyeol confuse him.
"Maybe so, but you still like him, don't you? No matter how much you may have convinced yourself otherwise," Luhan replies, and he pats Jongin’s shoulder as he shuffles by and leaves him to his conflicted thoughts.
He doesn’t get much time to think about it though because it is right before a show and Kyungsoo is there, pulling him into position at the front of the line by the stage entrance. Baekhyun is running around looking exceptionally frazzled and smacks Jongin upside the head when he tells him to calm down. Jongin just laughs, though, used to Baekhyun being insane right before shows, and he just takes slow breaths and smooths down the lapels on the black and white checkered patterned blazer he’s wearing.
“Hey,” says a familiar voice, appearing behind Jongin and making his heart jump. Chanyeol grins down at him with bright eyes, and he’s dressed in a red long-sleeved shirt that clings to his body and trousers that stop above his ankles that are such a deep green they’re almost black. He has suspenders reaching up from the waist over his shoulders and he keeps playing with them with his thumbs.
Jongin blinks up at him and says, “You cut your hair.”
Chanyeol laughs, reaching up to touch his newly trimmed bangs. It’s much shorter than when Jongin last saw him the previous weekend, sliding hands through long locks in the back seat of his car, and he swallows thickly, pushing that thought away. “Baekhyun said I was starting to look like a homeless puppy.”
Jongin snorts. “He was kind of right,” he says, and Jongin’s stomach twists as Chanyeol pouts cutely at him.
“So, what do you think?” he asks after a moment, and Jongin steps back to pretend to assess him fully, eyes wandering up and down his body, until Chanyeol laughs and shoves at his shoulder.
“It’s not bad,” Jongin says finally, even though what Jongin really thinks is that he looks very good, but Chanyeol smiles at him knowingly, leans down to whisper into Jongin’s ear, “Not as easy to hold onto, though, I’m sure, and I know how much you like that.”
Jongin steps on the toe of Chanyeol’s shoe in response and feigns innocence as Chanyeol yelps loudly in pain and Baekhyun turns sharply to glare at them both.
When Jongin wakes up Sunday morning, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he shuffles out to the kitchen, he doesn’t expect to find Chanyeol sitting at the kitchen table with a big smile on his face.
“What’re you doing here?” he asks, wondering if he’s still asleep and this is some weird dream. Not that he dreams about Chanyeol, ever, of course not.
“I invited him over after the show last night,” Sehun says, and Jongin only then notices him, sitting at the other end of the table, waving a fork with bits of scrambled eggs in the air.
Jongin blinks, takes in Sehun’s devious grin, and then glances back over at Chanyeol who’s smile is far too cheery for ten in the morning. “I need coffee,” Jongin mutters, and ignores Sehun’s light chuckle as he pulls out a mug from the cupboard.
“Not a morning person, I take it,” Chanyeol says, and Jongin can hear the smirk in Sehun’s voice when he replies, “What gave that away?”
“Shut up, Sehun,” Jongin grumbles, taking a sip of coffee and nearly burning his tongue. He looks at Chanyeol over the rim as he can feel his gaze on him, but quickly turns away when their eyes meet.
“It’s cute,” Chanyeol says, and it’s definitely too early in the morning to be blushing.
“Chanyeol made pancakes,” Sehun says delightfully. “You should have some.”
“You invite him over and he cooks?” Jongin questions, raising a brow at his roommate, and Sehun just shrugs, shoving pancake into his mouth to prevent from having to answer.
“I don’t mind,” Chanyeol says, “especially since he almost set a fire trying to make eggs.”
Jongin laughs as Sehun drops his head in embarrassment, and he pokes his friend in the back of the head as he passes him to sit down at the table. Chanyeol pushes a plate of pancakes covered in syrup over to him and Jongin eyes it warily.
“You didn’t poison it, did you?” he asks and both Sehun and Chanyeol laugh.
“Would we?” they ask innocently, and Jongin thinks that they most definitely would, but decides to take the risk.
Jongin’s surprised because it's really good, and he says around his mouthful, "Okay this, this is great."
"Ew, Jongin stop spitting your food everywhere," Sehun says, pulling his plate away, and Jongin just flushes and swallows, and takes another bite.
"I'm glad you like it," Chanyeol says happily, beaming at Jongin so brightly that Jongin can’t look at him for longer than a few seconds.
"I think he's in love," Sehun says, snickering, "a way to a man's heart really is through his stomach."
Jongin aims a kick at him, but ends up hitting the side of his chair and Sehun almost topples over with a scream, only barely managing to catch himself on the edge of the table. He shoots Jongin a glare, but Jongin just laughs, even though his face is burning in embarrassment from Sehun’s earlier words. He looks over at Chanyeol who has a considering look on his face as he stares at Jongin. “Don’t believe anything he says,” he says quickly, and Chanyeol blinks, jolting out of his thoughts, and then gives Jongin a soft smile that makes his heart stutter in his chest.
“If you say so,” he replies simply, and his eyes never leave Jongin’s, and Jongin bumps his knee against the table as he stands quickly to go get himself more coffee.
Jongin isn't sure how long Chanyeol plans on staying that day, but when he doesn't leave after breakfast, he figures he isn't going to any time soon. Jongin quietly goes to clean up, and Chanyeol rushes after to help, drying the dishes as Jongin finishes washing, and Sehun sits atop the counter and makes comments about them looking like such a cute couple that Jongin flicks soapy water at him.
Chanyeol just laughs and says, "It’s not like that," and Jongin who at times is terrible at catching most obvious human behaviors, doesn't miss the hint of disappointment in Chanyeol’s voice. He glances at him from the corner of his eye and when Chanyeol notices, the smile he gives Jongin isn't as bright as the ones Jongin’s become used to. But it’s gone in the next second and Chanyeol is swiping a bit of soap onto Jongin’s nose and guffawing, stomping his feet in mirth as Jongin glares, tries to wipe it away but only succeeds in swiping his soapy hands across his face and making even more of a mess.
Jongin retaliates by throwing water at him from the side of the sink and Chanyeol screeches as it gets all over the floor instead and he slips, crashing ungracefully into Jongin who instinctively catches him. He tenses and his heart is thumping loudly in his ears, and Chanyeol looks down at him in surprise as he slowly steadies himself, hands coming to rest on Jongin’s waist. He reaches out to wipe the soap suds from Jongin’s face and there’s a moment there where Jongin wants to kiss him.
"Ugh, if you guys are going to start making out then I'm leaving," Sehun says, breaking the moment, and Jongin jumps back like Chanyeol’s touch is fire.
"Well, this is one place we haven't done it before,” Chanyeol says thoughtfully, smirking at Jongin whose face feels tomato-red.
“Keep it that way!” Sehun hollers as he heads back to his room, and Chanyeol laughs after him.
"You shouldn't say things like that, it only encourages him," Jongin says, sighing, as he crouches down to wipe up the spilled water with a dish towel. "He's probably calling Luhan right now, and oh god, he's going to be terrible the next time I see him."
"What do you mean?" Chanyeol says, gripping Jongin’s arm with a big hand when Jongin stumbles a bit standing back up.
"He asked me yesterday if we were dating," Jongin says, scrunching up his face like the thought makes him ill, and it does, but not because he's completely opposed to it or anything, but the fact that he's not. "I said no of course, but he seems convinced."
"Is that such a bad thing, if we were?” Chanyeol asks and his voice is small, uncertain, and it makes Jongin uneasy because Chanyeol is a constant bubble of irrepressible energy, with that obnoxiously loud voice and unbreakable confidence. It’s the first time he's seen him like this, looking at Jongin with soft, lost eyes, and it feels a bit like he's a puppy Jongin had just kicked.
"I-well, no,” Jongin starts, uneasiness slinking around in his stomach, “but I just thought this was, you know, nothing more than--"
"Casual fucking?" Chanyeol says and when put like that in that tiny voice, it makes Jongin wince, because for the first time he's wondering if that's really what Chanyeol wanted, when they got into to this, or if it had changed somewhere along the way and Jongin hadn't realized because Jongin is usually unreceptive to most things when it comes to relationships.
He doesn't know what to say, though, and just mutters, "Yes," because that is what it's been for Jongin, at least whenever he ignores how much he really thinks about Chanyeol when he’s not around; his deep voice and warm hands and alarming smile and the way he makes Jongin so uncomfortable sometimes when they go out to eat, but later Jongin realizes how fun it may have actually been watching him talk with his cheeks puffed up and laughing over a joke Jongin said that no one else would ever laugh at and how he always seems to just twist and push and scratch and crawl his way under Jongin’s skin like he's a part of him, like he belongs there.
When Jongin ignores all of that then, yes, this has all just been casual sex.
"I see," Chanyeol says then, and his eyes drop to the floor. He steps back, sets the dish towel he'd been using to dry up onto the counter and adds, "I'm going to go. I'll see you...I’ll see you later."
And before Jongin even registers what's happened, Chanyeol is out of the kitchen, and he hears the front door open and close quickly after.
"Did he leave?" Sehun asks, suddenly walking in behind Jongin, and Jongin guesses he must've heard the door shut. He looks at Jongin who is rooted to the spot, his fingers twisting the towel tight in his hands, and Sehun waves hand before his face in concern. "Are you okay? What happened?"
Jongin doesn’t answer, because he’s not at all sure himself and the only thing he can think about is what Luhan had told him the night before, about how Chanyeol is actually good for him, and Jongin wonders if maybe he was right, and that perhaps he had just done terrible damage to maybe the best thing that's happened to him in a long time.
Jongin doesn't hear from Chanyeol for almost a week, which is a lot considering how Jongin had gotten used to him texting him stupid thing with too many emoticons at every hour of the day ever since he'd gotten a hold of Jongin’s phone number (by swiping his phone from his hand and calling himself while Jongin unsuccessfully tried to stop him).
He knows that maybe he messed up, but he doesn't really know why he cares because Chanyeol is still...Chanyeol, and he's still a bundle of things Jongin isn't used to and doesn't like. And yet he calls him a few times everyday, feeling like someone is twisting his heart in his chest whenever the call goes to voicemail, Chanyeol’s cheery message like a kick to the gut.
"What did you do to Chanyeol?" Kris asks him when he and Jongin meet up for a photoshoot Friday afternoon. He looks at Jongin with intense eyes and a frown on his face and Jongin feels like a little kid getting in trouble for bullying.
"Nothing!" he says but it comes out like a squeak and Jongin flushes under Kris's unwavering stare.
"Then care to explain why he's been moping about for a week like he was just dumped?"
"Does everyone think we’re dating?!" Jongin exclaims because this was supposed to be a secret goddammit.
"Yes," Kris replies easily, and his lips twitch in amusement before retreating back into stern lines. "Which is why I'm asking you what you did. Now tell me."
He sounds like an overprotective police officer interrogating a criminal suspect and Jongin tries not to cower under Kris's heated gaze and looming height. "Nothing, really," he says again, and it’s more like he's trying to convince himself. He turns away, examines himself in the mirror and frowns at the tiny bump of a zit working its way onto his chin. "We just had a misunderstanding."
"Then fix it," Kris says, his voice demanding no protests. "He's driving me insane with all his sighing and sulking and those creepy smiles he makes when he tries to pretend like nothing is wrong." Now he just sounds aggravated, if slightly worried, and Jongin remembers that he and Chanyeol are good friends, and wonders if what Jongin said to Chanyeol to make him act this way was bad enough that it’s making Kris concerned.
Jongin sucks his lower lip into his mouth, and he remembers clearly the look Chanyeol had given him in his kitchen, and his stomach knots painfully like it has been ever since that morning. "I'm not really sure how," Jongin admits after a moment, and only because he knows Kris won't make fun of him for it, like his other friends might, using the opportunity to poke fun of Jongin’s terrible people skills.
Kris just laughs a bit, coming up beside Jongin and peering into the mirror as well, brushing a finger across his eyebrows with a look of pure concentration in his face. "Usually an apology is a good place to start," Kris replies and his eyes are teasing as he meets Jongin’s gaze through their reflections. He straightens up and adds, pulling down on the hem of the pinstripe blazer he's wearing that with the matching trousers and his hair slicked up makes him look a bit like a mafia boss. “Do you know why Chanyeol stopped modeling?” Kris asks, and it’s so sudden that Jongin stares at him in the mirror for a long moment before shaking his head.
“No, he never told me.” Jongin had wanted to ask, on many occasions, but ever since the first time that he did, he felt that it wasn’t something Chanyeol wanted to talk about.
Kris sighs. “He was pushed out, by a lot of models who worked with him, a few years ago.” His expression grows dark like he’s recalling a bad memory. “They didn't like him much, how he was so good at what he did. How he would get show opens and all the ads and shoots and they'd have to watch from the side.”
Jongin remembers back when he met Chanyeol, how he'd looked so concerned that Jongin thought he was taking his spot. How he'd come to talk to him just to make sure Jongin didn't dislike him.
Kris looks at Jongin in the mirror and continues, “He didn't want to be driven out but Chanyeol...Chanyeol’s the kind of person who just wants people to like him. He’s kind of obnoxious that way, over-friendly.”
“Tell me about it,” Jongin mutters, which makes Kris smile.
“Maybe it sounds stupid, and I even told him it was stupid, but he decided to stop. He kept saying he needed a break.” Kris shrugs and sighs again. “He came to work for Baekhyun again because he asked, but really he just missed modeling.”
Jongin licks his lips and asks, “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I want you to understand?” Kris stares thoughtfully up at the ceiling, and then back at Jongin with a small smile. “He’s overly friendly but that also means he gets hurt easily, especially when he’s not sure where he stands with someone,” he says, and Jongin’s heart grinds to a halt, because he hadn’t ever considered that. "You might've been okay with whatever it is you two were doing, but I'm sure its different for him, now, and you should figure out a way to make it work, or give it up."
Jongin thinks about Chanyeol and his deep, rumbling voice, and his big steady hands, and his sort of lopsided facial expressions, and how his hair feels under his fingertips and the smoothness of his tongue,the soft heat of his skin. He thinks about the nonsensical messages he gets, and the way he rests his hand on Jongin’s knee whenever they drive somewhere, and how he smiles at him and says his name and Jongin doesn’t think that this is something he wants to give up.
He turns around and looks at Kris fully and says, with more bravado than anything else, "I’ll see what I can do."
Three days of waffling and being completely ignored by Chanyeol during a small runway show leaves Jongin feeling even worse than before, an unease settling into the pit of his stomach. He hates the prospect of talking to him, even though he hated being ignored so much more, didn’t realize he'd care that much. Wouldn’t it be easier to just leave thing like this? Just go back to how things were and pretend that Chanyeol hadn't swept in out of nowhere and made his life a right mess.
But somehow he finds himself standing outside of the door to Chanyeol’s apartment late Tuesday night, having spent the whole day debating whether or not to come over, and he stares at the deep burgundy carpet of the hallway and mutters under his breath the very vague speech he’d come up with in his head on the way over here. He realizes quickly that he’s being ridiculous and finally musters up the courage to knock.
Waiting for Chanyeol to answer is the longest few moments of Jongin’s life, and Chanyeol looks incredibly surprised to find him standing on the other side of the door, his cheerful smile slowly fading into confusion.
“H-Hi,” Jongin says carefully. He wets his lips, keeps his gaze steady, and asks, “C-Can we talk?”
Chanyeol eyes him in a way that makes Jongin’s skin crawl, or maybe it’s just because Chanyeol avoided him so clearly the other day, and it’s been awhile since they’ve been this close to one another in nearly two weeks. He almost thinks Chanyeol is going to say no, maybe slam the door in his face, but he nods and steps back, holding the door open for Jongin to enter. His shoulder brushes against Chanyeol’s chest, as he shuffles past, and the contact makes his skin burn through the thin fabric of their shirts, and Jongin slips out of his shoes and follows Chanyeol into the kitchen.
“Do you want some tea or something?” Chanyeol asks and his voice is guarded. He doesn’t look at Jongin.
“Sure,” Jongin says, even though he doesn’t think he can keep anything down, nervousness bubbling inside of him. He wrings his hands together and licks his lips again. “Chanyeol, I--” he starts, and everything he’d thought to say earlier has vanished from his brain. He sighs, scratches the back of his neck.
“Why are you here, Jongin?” Chanyeol asks and he doesn’t sound angry just curious, but he still won’t look at Jongin, focusing on a spot above Jongin’s left shoulder.
Jongin replies, “Why won’t you look at me?” and it comes out sounding much more like a four year old whining than he intended, and he flushes a little. When Chanyeol slides his gaze over, it deepens, and he wishes he hadn’t said anything, but the words just keep coming out from his mouth. “You...the, the other day, you did the same thing. You didn’t say a word to me.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Chanyeol asks, and the look in his eyes is sad, and Jongin doesn’t like it. It doesn’t suit him, he thinks, this person who is so usually bright and full of life.
Jongin opens his mouth to refute instinctively that it’s not, but it is and he knows it. He knows what he said that made Chanyeol back away, put all this space between them that Jongin thought, at first, he wanted, but no longer recalls why. “It is,” he mutters, and he looks away finally, because the sadness in Chanyeol’s eyes is too much. He rubs his face and groans, and says from behind his fingers, “I’m sorry, I’m just...I’m just not good at this, I--”
His words are cut off by Chanyeol’s sudden laughter, and it easily breaks the tension in the air, even if Jongin isn’t sure what’s so funny. He pouts, watching as Chanyeol’s shoulders shake in mirth, and he looks the happiest Jongin has seen in awhile, which makes his heart beat faster.
When his laughter subsides, he looks back up at Jongin, and his eyes are dancing happily. “Oh, Jongin,” he says, shaking his head, “I already knew that.” His smile is fond, and Jongin’s cheek fill with heat again.
“Then--” Jongin starts but words fail him again and he huffs, frustrated, because he doesn’t know what he wants, what he should say, what he can do to make this better.
Chanyeol’s smile fades and he rubs at the side of his face with his fingers. He sighs and says, “It’s okay, you know, if you don’t really like me,” and Jongin feels his heart slowly sink down into his stomach because wait, no, that’s not it, that’s not it at all. “I think maybe this...this between us, it’d just be easier if we didn’t really do that, anymore.”
Jongin’s fingers clench into fists, nails digging into his palms, and it’s all he can do to keep from exclaiming No, because that isn’t what he wants at all, and from the miserable look on Chanyeol’s face, it’s clear that Chanyeol doesn’t, either. Jongin takes a deep breath and steps closer to Chanyeol, who instinctively steps away, and it’s so much like that first night they meet, where Jongin was still so unsure and pulling away, because Chanyeol was so loud and irrepressible and all these things Jongin didn’t get. Even now he doesn’t understand him, not really, and even now Jongin is so unsure, but he thinks maybe, maybe he could take a risk.
“I-I know what I said last time...I know I probably shouldn’t have said that,” Jongin says and he stares at the tiled floor and Chanyeol’s bare feet instead of at Chanyeol’s face, and his fingers and pressing in so deep that he’s sure he might start bleeding.
“You were just being truthful,” Chanyeol says softly. “And it’s not that, it wasn’t even about that.”
“Then what?” Jongin asks, his confusion pushing at his anger and his whole body feels tense because nothing makes sense. “Then why were you avoiding me, this past week? Why didn’t you answer any of my calls, or send your stupid messages, or come over and drag me out for lunch just because you--”
Once again Jongin’s words are cut off, but this time by Chanyeol’s warm lips pressing up against his own and making it impossible to speak. He groans, instead, and his stiffens further, tight like a bowstring. And Chanyeol kisses him slowly, coaxing, and his hands slide down Jongin’s arms and curl around his clenched fingers and Jongin relaxes, gives in, lips parting to kiss Chanyeol back, and oh god, did he miss this. It hasn’t really been that long, and yet, he really missed this.
Chanyeol shudders a laugh into his mouth when he pulls away, like everything about this situation is funny to him, and his eyes bore into Jongin’s as he says, “I like you, that’s why. I like you a little too much, probably.”
“So ignoring me was your grand solution to that?” Jongin says, only he sounds slightly giddy and his face feels red with embarrassment, and Chanyeol’s smile is so blinding. “Stupid.”
“I just didn’t think I could do this anymore,” Chanyeol admits, “I didn’t think you would care if I stopped.”
“So stupid,” Jongin says, and Chanyeol’s lips ghost against his, his breath hot on his chin. “I wouldn’t be here, if I didn’t care. I wouldn’t have called you, if I didn’t care.” He swallows the thickness in his throat, and he weaves his fingers together with Chanyeol’s, their palms pressed tight. “I do like you, idiot. I don’t fuck around with someone I don’t like.”
“Good,” Chanyeol says and then they’re kissing again, and it’s much fiercer than before, it’s nearly two weeks worth of frustrations and longing and confusion put together, and it tingles deep down in Jongin’s bones. He slips his hands from Chanyeol’s to clutch instead at the front of his shirt, and Chanyeol steps forward at bit, getting closer, much closer, and Jongin gasps when his back hits the counter.
Chanyeol steadies him with hands on his waist, and Jongin’s missed the feel of his hands, larger than his and always so sure, holding him close as he grinds against him, and they both groan into each other’s mouths. Jongin slides a hand up into Chanyeol’s hair, and Chanyeol really was right, before, because it’s definitely not as easy to hold onto so short, and he rests his hand against the back of his neck, thumb turning circles into the soft skin there. It draws a shuddering breath from Chanyeol who rocks against him again, with intent, and Jongin feels like the past week never even happened. He breaks away long enough to catch his breath, to look into Chanyeols face and see the intensity there like he hasn't in a long time, and he tugs open Chanyeol’s belt quickly, head tilting back as Chanyeol works slick lips and hot tongue down his throat.
Chanyeol’s groan sounds almost explosive in the silent kitchen when Jongin gets a hand around him, and Jongin will never admit how much he missed that low voice, how it coils around his body and makes him burn, slow like the flickering of a candle, and Jongin just always wants to hear it more, and more. Maybe Chanyeol knows it because he doesn't keep quiet, or maybe that's just because he's been longing for this too, maybe even more than Jongin, because Chanyeol almost gave it up, gave it up because he didn't think Jongin cared enough and he was willing to deal with that. And Jongin can't believe that yet, can't believe they were both so stupid, and just maybe, maybe if he'd realized sooner this would all have been easier.
"Stop thinking," Chanyeol murmurs into Jongin’s ear, "just stop thinking."
"If it bothers you, then do something about it," Jongin hisses back, and he doesn't really expect Chanyeol to do anything, except then he's being pulled by the wrist right out of the kitchen. Chanyeol only seems to manage to drag him as far as the couch, pushing him down onto the soft cushions and following after, his long limbs too much for the small furniture, but he straddles Jongin’s hips and grins at him from above and it doesn't matter, Jongin likes the closeness anyway.
His hands find Chanyeol’s waist, tracing a finger along the smooth along of his stomach between his open waistband and the hem of his shirt and he can feel Chanyeol’s sigh throughout his body. Then Chanyeol is pulling Jongin’s shirt up over his head and leaning in to kiss him again and their erections rub together between them, and god Jongin wants to be much closer than this.
"Just, quick, I--" Jongin tries, his words tumbling over each other as his mind goes dizzy from the pleasant weight of Chanyeol’s body against his, the heat of his breath, the sound of his voice. Thankfully Chanyeol seems to understand and soon they're fitting back together, skin against skin, clothes discarded to the floor, and Jongin is pressing two slick fingers into Chanyeol, who precariously holds himself up over him.
"Fuck me," he whispers, soon after, and its a sound Jongin will never forget, sinking its way deep into his heart, and he does, watching as Chanyeol grips his shoulder and lowers himself down onto Jongin’s cock. It's deliciously tight and Jongin’s moan might shame him on another day, but right now he is too far gone to care, and he digs his fingers into Chanyeol’s hip as he waits for him to move.
Once he does, Jongin knows he won't last long, not like this when he can drink up the sight of Chanyeol fucking himself on his cock, a red flush spreading down his neck to his collarbones, eyelashes fluttering against his pale cheeks. His mouth is parted with endless soft gasps, his lips wet, and Jongin reaches up to pull him down with a hand behind his neck. Their kiss is languid and deep and it makes Jongin’s heartbeat thrum in his ears, and he's so very close now. He wraps a hand around Chanyeol’s dick and pulls him off with quick strokes until he's coming over his belly, and crying out into the apartment, and Jongin makes it until Chanyeol breathes his name over and over into the shell of his ear before he comes, too.
They lie there for awhile afterward, in a way they didn’t do much before, exchanging slow kisses as they come down, Jongin’s arms winding around Chanyeol’s back as he trembles slightly. He catches sight of a clock on the wall, and it’s not yet late enough that he couldn’t catch the train back home, if he wanted, just like he would have before. Chanyeol notices his gaze, and he grows suddenly stiff, but Jongin licks his lips and asks, a little anxiously as his face reddens, “Can I stay the night?”
And the look Chanyeol gives him, full of surprise, then sheer happiness, is one Jongin wants to remember forever. “Yes,” he says, and kisses him.
Chanyeol’s laughter makes Jongin smile into his mouth, pull him close and kiss him deeper, and he slips his hands into the back pockets of Chanyeol’s skin-tight leather pants.
“Hey, lovebirds!” Baekhyun’s voice cuts through the air, and Chanyeol quickly pulls apart as he’s undoubtedly smacked across the back of the head. He whines pitifully and pouts at Baekhyun, who looks murderous, but Jongin notices the way his lips twitch upward in amusement as he glances between them. “Leave that for home, okay, not right before a goddamn show.”
“Just wishing each other good luck,” Jongin says, and flushes when they both turn to look at him. Chanyeol smiles, though, and reaches for his hand.
“Good luck. Right,” Baekhyun says slowly, like Jongin is an idiot, but Jongin knows that Baekhyun’s secretly pleased by his and Chanyeol’s...development. “Now come on, we have a show to do.” He gives them both a stern look before rushing off to prepare, and Jongin waits until he disappears to turn back to Chanyeol with a sheepish look.
“Guess we better be more careful,” Chanyeol says, amused, and his hand is so warm in Jongin’s as he leads them back up to the stage entrance.
“Who cares,” Jongin replies, and he smooths out the spots where Chanyeol’s shirt has bunched up from earlier. “Everyone knows anyway.” He sighs.
“Does that bother you?” Chanyeol asks hesitantly, and Jongin looks straight at him, and shakes his head.
“Not anymore,” he says, and smiles.
note: a;sldkga;sld omg idk what else to say about this just i hope it wasn’t too terrible and you enjoyed it. ;_; thank you very much for reading. ♥♥♥ (also sorry for any and all spelling errors, i wrote half this fic on my phone and autocorrect is unhelpful. i will fix them later because i don't want to look at this fic for at least a week. XD
“It’s good to see you back,” Minseok says, smiling and patting Chanyeol’s back.
“It’s good to be back,” Chanyeol replies sincerely, and Jongin wonders again what it is that made him ever stop in the first place.
He wants to ask, but Jongdae’s rushing in to get them dressed and to make-up, complaining about them being late.
“By only five minutes!” Chanyeol exclaims, as Jongdae thrusts a deep red trench coat into his hands. “Chill out, Jongdae. At least Minseok was nice enough to welcome me back.”
“Minseok’s nice to everyone,” Jongdae says. “I, for one, definitely didn’t miss your obnoxiously loud voice and tendency to pull pranks when bored. Don’t think I haven’t forgotten that time you switched up the order for that runway show we did for Baekhyun, and we almost had a fucking heart attack.”
Chanyeol laughs. “I forgot about that,” he says, and looks delighted as he undoubtedly remembers. “That was a good time.”
“I’m sorry you have to work with him,” Jongdae says, turning to Jongin and handing him a navy blazer. “He hasn’t done anything like that to you, yet, has he?”
Jongin looks at Chanyeol, who smiles back at him kindly, and no, he definitely hasn’t done anything like that, but Jongin’s not sure if what they have done is any better. “No,” he says, “but I’m sure he’s just biding his time.”
Chanyeol smirks at him, and Jongin wonders if he just unnecessarily set himself up for something terrible.
"Don't worry," Chanyeol says, like he can read Jongin's mind. "I only pull tricks on people I don't like." He slides his gaze from Jongin to stare pointedly at Jongdae.
"Very funny," Jongdae says, rolling his eyes. "Now shut up and get dressed. We've got work to do, deadlines to meet."
Chanyeol salutes him mockingly, earning him a halfhearted punch in the arm as Jongdae rushes about and hands them each pairs of designer jeans and finely pressed shirts. Jongin is used to all of this, easily stripping and redressing, but his mind reels a bit from Chanyeol’s earlier words.
He tries not to dwell on it though, because he's here to work, and once dressed he heads over to where Zitao is waiting to do his hair, squeezing out gel into his hands and smiling at Jongin through the mirror. "I think it'll look good up, today."
Jongin smiles back. "Whatever you say," he replies and shudders a bit when Zitao presses cool, gel-slicked fingers through his hair.
Minseok calls them up onto the set after they're ready, glances through the viewfinder before checking the computers. "Stand a little closer,” he says, and Jongin steps to his right, shoulder brushing against Chanyeol’s arm. “Relax, we want a calm shoot. Talk a bit or something, don’t be so stiff.”
Chanyeol laughs, looks down at Jongin with a small smile, and Minseok says, “Jongin, put your arm up on his shoulder,” and Jongin does, slowly, resting his elbow against Chanyeol and glancing back at him. He can hear the whirl and clicks of the camera shutter as Chanyeol starts talking about something like Minseok requested. Jongin lets himself zone out because Chanyeol talks too much and Jongin isn’t really the type of person to listen that intently. He stares at Chanyeol though, nodding occasionally to make it seem like he’s listening, and instead takes in the lines of Chanyeol’s face as he speaks. His expressions are hilarious, eyes going wide and squinty within seconds, and his laugh is so loud and so big. He’ll look at Jongin though every once in awhile, really look at him, and it’s the same kind of intensity in his eyes that Jongin saw that very first night they met, which almost feels like years ago, in this moment. And Jongin can see a bit what everyone raves about. He really is good looking. Tall and lean and with a face that this industry just loves. Pretty eyes and a nice mouth, and Jongin always appreciated his mouth, especially when it’s wrapped tight around his dick, but even now, he can see the appeal.
“Why’re you staring at me?” Chanyeol asks, suddenly, looking at Jongin curiously, and Jongin blinks, quickly pulling himself back to reality, back to the fact that they’re in the middle of a shoot and he’s getting lost in stupid thoughts about stupid Chanyeol.
He laughs, playing it off, and says, “Nothing,” and the whirl and clicks of the cameras snapping pictures fills his ears.
“That was great,” Minseok calls, peering at them from behind his camera. “Jongin just keep looking at him like that.”
Jongin swallows thickly and says, “Like what?” and he starts to wonder whether he’ll have to sabotage the pictures Minseok’s been taking, not sure if he wants to see or know what kind of expression was on his face when he was looking at Chanyeol, and thinking about him. Not sure if he wants anyone to see that.
“Like you want to fuck him,” Jongdae shouts unhelpfully from where he’s watching in the corner with Zitao, who snickers behind his hand, and Jongin suddenly feels like someone’s turned up the heat in the studio, sweat clinging to the back of his neck.
Chanyeol just laughs loudly, like he’s heard the funniest joke, and Jongin wants to punch him, but settles for just hiding his face in his hands, and hating his life.
Minseok smirks bemusedly, lowering the camera to look at Jongin and Chanyeol, and says, “Well, that wasn’t exactly what I was gonna say but it works, so go with it.”
Jongin groans, opening his mouth to retort, but he feels Chanyeol’s hand rest warm against the small of his back and his words die on the tip of his tongue. “Calm down, Jongin,” he whispers into his ear, and flashes a bright smile when Jongin looks at him, and Jongin, despite himself, despite everything, actually does, relaxing against Chanyeol and grinning toward the camera.
Chanyeol’s gasp is loud in the quiet changing room as Jongin pushes his up against the closest wall and peels his already open shirt down his shoulders. “I guess Jongdae was right,” he laughs into Jongin’s lips, and Jongin scowls, making quick work of Chanyeol’s belt.
“Do you have to bring that up?” Jongin questions, and he gasps, too, when Chanyeol presses his palm hard against the growing bulge in Jongin’s jeans.
Jongin can feel Chanyeol’s smirk against his mouth, his breath hot as he replies, “So, what were you thinking about?”
“What?” Jongin says, confused and distracted as Chanyeol pops the buttons on his pants, drags the zipper down slowly.
“You had to be thinking about something, when you were looking at me like that. Jongdae really wasn’t far off, you know.” He meets Jongin’s eyes, and his are dark and intense and Jongin feels hot all over, but that’s probably from Chanyeol’s hand sliding down his jeans to stroke his dick softly. “Tell me,” Chanyeol says, licks his lips, and it’s like he knows, Jongin thinks as he watches the slow movement of his tongue against red, red lips.
“Fuck,” Jongin growls, annoyed and horribly turned on, and presses his hands flat against Chanyeol’s stomach, skin burning hot against his palm, and Chanyeol stares at him expectantly, as Jongin tries to think of a way to escape this. He can’t though, and gives in, hating the way Chanyeol looks at him, grumbles, “Fine, okay, I was thinking about how fucking good your mouth looks when you're sucking me off," and he flushes deeper when Chanyeol lets out soft chuckle in response.
"Do you want that, now?" he asks then, and Jongin groans, thinking about it, and because Chanyeol chooses that moment to brush the pad of his thumb against the tip of his cock smoothly, and yes, fuck yes, Jongin would love to push his dick into Chanyeol's mouth again, but--
"No," he says, and he tugs down Chanyeol's dark slacks and underwear, "no. Right now I want to fuck you."
Chanyeol grins widely, that stupid grin of his that makes his face all weird, and Jongin thinks something must be wrong because he finds that kind of endearing, now. But he pushes that thought away quickly, pulls Chanyeol close with fingers clenched in his hair and kisses him roughly. Chanyeol reciprocates enthusiastically, tugs Jongin close with the open front of his jeans, slipping his hand out so their bodies press up together like connecting puzzle pieces. Jongin groans as Chanyeol grinds against him, and it’s good, really good, and Jongin wants much, much more.
Thankfully Chanyeol seems to be thinking the same, muttering, “If you’re gonna do this, you’re gonna have to be quick about it.” He gasps when Jongin presses a thigh between his legs and rubs against him just right, fingers gripping tight into his hipbone. “We still have another set to do.”
“Shut up, I know,” Jongin says, “just give me a sec--”
“Lotion,” Chanyeol says quickly, low voice coming out in a rush, and he nods toward the small make-up dresser along the adjacent wall. Jongin glances at him for a second, sees the heat and want and eagerness in his eyes, and he backs away long enough to fiddle around with the small tubes and containers on the counter before finding a tiny tube of lotion.
When he turns back, Chanyeol has a hand in his own pants, eyes closed as his head rests back against the wall and his mouth is open, lips quivering in soft shudders of breath and Jongin’s own feels like it’s stuck in his throat. He walks over in two quick strides, and turns Chanyeol around roughly, Chanyeol gasps in surprise, catching himself against the wall with his hands. Jongin pulls his pants and underwear down his hips, and he’s rushing to coat his fingers with lotion before pressing two between Chanyeol’s legs.
Chanyeol’s low groan feels like the walls shake around them and Jongin slides a hand up Chanyeol’s chest, pushes two fingers into his open mouth to stifle the noise. “Shhh,” he whispers into his ear, and he feels Chanyeol’s whole body tremble, and his muscles clench tight around the fingers Jongin’s pushing harder and deeper inside of him.
Chanyeol's tongue slides hot and wet around his fingers and it's highly erotic, making Jongin even more aware of his own arousal. He slips his fingers out from his mouth, gripping onto Chanyeol’s waist instead, and Chanyeol’s tiny moans fill the room again.
"Fuck me already," Chanyeol says, and his voice is laced with desperation, and Jongin might normally tease him a bit longer, except he's hard, too, straining against his jeans, and they only have so much time.
He pulls his fingers out and replaces them quickly with his cock, pushing his jeans down his legs enough to suffice, and he stifles his groan into the back of Chanyeol’s neck. Chanyeol gasps, fingernails dragging for purchase against the wall as Jongin starts to move, and it’s quick and fast and fucking perfect, Chanyeol’s body clenching delightfully tight around him.
"Touch me," Chanyeol begs, almost a sob, and Jongin does, sliding saliva-wet fingers to stroke his cock, and then he's coming in thick streaks over Jongin’s fingers.
Jongin doesn't last long after that, and he pulls back quick enough to push Chanyeol’s shirt up his chest and come onto his lower back. Chanyeol shudders with his whole body, leaning against the wall in an attempt to not fall to his knees, and Jongin quickly fastens his jeans up with one hand, and grabs a small hand-towel from the counter to clean Chanyeol and himself off. Chanyeol grabs him before he turns away, and kisses him hard on the mouth, and Jongin is surprised enough that Chanyeol pushes him into the wall like he’d done before.
Before Jongin can relax into it, Chanyeol is retreating, and his lips are shiny with spit as he grins, wide, and says, “Come on, Jongin,” and Jongin really hates how much he’s started to like how his name sounds in Chanyeol’s deep, deep voice, “let’s wrap this shoot up.”
And Jongin wonders, as he watches Chanyeol stretch arms over his head and head to the rack of clothes in the middle of the room and feels the pit of his stomach bubbling strangely, if something is going horribly wrong.
The back seat is far too cramped and Jongin's already smacked his head against the window three times just trying to get comfortable - or as comfortable as one can be in the back of a car - but then there's Chanyeol sliding warm, wet lips against his own and fitting above him just enough and they shouldn’t, really, because it’s still too small and Chanyeol’s so long and they are most definitely going to be late to Baekhyun’s party and--
"Will you stop thinking?" Chanyeol murmurs against Jongin’s lips. "I can almost hear it. We won't be late."
Jongin really hates how he does that, how he seems to know exactly what he's thinking at any moment. They haven’t known each other that long for him to be able to do that yet. He scowls and replies, "You were the one who pushed me back here."
"Hmm, yes, because it's been a week and you look really nice in that jacket," Chanyeol says, smiling, and Jongin also hates how he can't ever tell if Chanyeol’s being truthful or just teasing.
Either way he flushes, and Chanyeol grins before kissing him again and Jongin pushes away all irrelevant thoughts because who cares if they are late, this, this is definitely a much better use of his time than attending Baekhyun's silly get-together.
So he kisses back, lets Chanyeol work open the buttons on the deep blue shirt he's wearing, and his fingers graze along skin like velvet. Chanyeol sucks a point into Jongin’s clavicle once he's pulled open the collar, pushing aside his sleeveless leather jacket to get access, and Jongin is starting to feel far too warm.
He slips his hands under Chanyeol’s shirt, up the slope of his back and Chanyeol sighs into his skin, tongue sliding over his sternum, and then down across a nipple. Jongin gasps, tightens his fingers into Chanyeol’s shirt and twists tight, and he's already hard beneath Chanyeol because, yes it has been awhile, and maybe Jongin had found the way Chanyeol looked in deliciously tight black jeans and casual white shirt to be just a bit too attractive.
It probably didn't help that Chanyeol had chosen to rest his hand on Jongin’s knee from the moment he picked him up and drove all the way to Baekhyun’s apartment complex, rubbing tiny circles with his thumb into the side.
Yeah, that hadn’t helped at all.
And now, Chanyeol is doing the same, pushing aside Jongin’s legs to fit between him, one hand on his knee and brushing up along the inseam of his jeans, and Jongin can’t stop his full-body shiver. It makes Chanyeol chuckle, and Jongin contemplates kneeing him in the head, but then Chanyeol’s got his hands on the fastens of his jeans, tugging them down his hips so he can get a firm hand around Jongin’s cock.
“Shit,” Jongin mutters, his head tilting back and colliding once again with the window. It hurts but not enough to make Chanyeol stop, not when Chanyeol is leaning down far enough to swipe his tongue straight across the head. His hips jerk up for more instantaneously, and Chanyeol’s small smirk makes Jongin even hotter. He reaches out to swipe Chanyeol’s bangs from his face, they’re getting kind of long and he should probably cut it, but Jongin also likes being able to grip onto it when he fucks him from behind. Or, like this, when Chanyeol sucks him down to the base and all Jongin can do to keep himself grounded is to pull on the soft strands.
He groans loudly when Chanyeol retreats, gasping and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and Jongin just glares because stopping is the last thing Jongin wants Chanyeol to do right now. Chanyeol leans back and his head bumps against the light in the middle of the ceiling, and Jongin snickers at the surprised look that fills his face. He watches with amusement as Chanyeol sort of pouts at him, then stretches over the console to pop open the front compartment. He pulls back with a small tube and unmistakable foil packet and Jongin's amusement dies as he he stares curiously.
"Why do you have that in your car?"
"Do you really want to know?" Chanyeol replies, dropping the items onto Jongin’s tummy and popping open the button on his own jeans, and Jongin stares up at him, taking in his mused up hair and slick red lips and the long limbs that make him look even taller than usual in the tiny backseat and he hates how the thought of chanyeol doing this with someone else creeps into his mind and latches itself there like that's something he wants to think about.
He definitely doesn't, because it doesn't matter, and not because it makes him scowl and clench his hands into fists in inexplicable anger. He shakes his head and yanks Chanyeol down by the collar of his v-neck and their teeth clash together in their kiss, making Jongin's head spin.
Jongin kisses him roughly, and it's all tongue and teeth and harsh, hot breaths against lips, and Jongin likes it most like this, when he doesn't have to think and just does. Chanyeol gives back twice as much, eagerly swiping his tongue along Jongin's, nipping at his lower lip and groaning that rumbling deep groan of his that makes Jongin's skin burn. And he's so caught up in this that it isn't until cool, slick fingers push between his legs that he realizes what's happening, panting as he pushes Chanyeol back with a hand on his shoulder to stare up at him.
"What're you doing," he asks flatly and Chanyeol grins alarmingly wide, crooking two fingers into Jongin at once and Jongin's thighs tremble from the intrusion, sucks his lower lip into his mouth.
"You like it," Chanyeol says, which isn't an answer at all, and Jongin opens his mouth to snap back but Chanyeol's fingers press in deeper and his other hand palms his dick and all that comes out is an embarrassingly appreciative moan. Chanyeol's laughter rings throughout the car and Jongin's face burns with heat, and he would fucking love to kick Chanyeol in the head but he doesn't think that would get him off, and right now he wants that more.
And it must show on his face because Chanyeol smiles, eyes soft as he fingers Jongin harder, deeper, until Jongin is pushing back as much as he can in the small backseat to get more. They don't do it like this very often, and Jongin hates how much he likes it.
"You look really hot right now," Chanyeol breathes, voice full of wonder, and he's staring down at Jongin like he's never seen him before, and that only makes Jongin harder, his heart beat faster, and he feels the flush in his cheeks spread down his neck.
"Just shut up," Jongin bites back, and Chanyeol presses his lips together, and pulls his fingers out. Jongin fights down a whine, watches with narrowed eyes as Chanyeol fumbles with the condom and then he's got slick fingers on Jongin's hip as he guides himself in.
Jongin's not sure which one of them groans at that point, or if it was the two of them together, all he can focus on is the fullness inside him and the pressure of Chanyeol's fingernails digging into his skin, hard enough to leave marks. He grips onto the back pocket of the passenger's side seat as Chanyeol starts to move, slow at first and quickly building up a rhythm as Jongin grows to accept him.
"Faster," Jongin hisses, rocking into Chanyeol’s thrusts, and he tries to rock back into the pressure but the cramped space makes it uncomfortable, the door handle pressing into his back, so he stops and lets Chanyeol work, instead pushing a hand between them to stroke himself.
"Jongin," Chanyeol rasps, Jongin tightening around him, and Jongin is definitely going to have bruises on his hips, later, from the way Chanyeol holds him like it’s the only way for him to stay in control.
But Jongin doesn't care about control, and he licks his lips, taking pleasure in how Chanyeol watches as he does and swallows thickly, and he rubs his thumb adores the wet head of his dick, says, "Hurry up, make me come."
Chanyeol’s eyes widen in surprise and that only makes Jongin blush, the ridiculousness of his words catching up to him. Before he can take them back, Chanyeol is pushing his legs up, pounding in deeper, and leaning in to catch Jongin’s mouth in a kiss that steals Jongin’s breath.
And he's coming like that, Chanyeol swallowing down his moan, and it’s only a few thrusts later that Chanyeol follows, too.
Jongin slowly catches his breath, uncurls his fingers from where he’s still gripping onto the backseat, surprised he didn’t pull the pocket straight off. He pokes at Chanyeol’s shoulder until Chanyeol moves, grunting when he hits his head against the lightswitch.
“That was a terrible idea,” Chanyeol says, rubbing his head. He pulls out of Jongin slowly, illiciting a gasp from Jongin, and removes the condom, knotting it at the end. He reaches over the console and grabs some napkins from the glove compartment, hands a few to Jongin who cleans himself up quickly and struggles to redress in the cramped space, frowning at the wrinkles in his shirt and hoping it’s not too obvious.
Chanyeol pulls himself back together as well, smoothing out his shirt where Jongin had pulled at the collar, lips pursed thoughtfully, and Jongin finds himself saying, “It wasn’t all that terrible.”
Chanyeol pauses and looks at him, confused for a moment before his face breaks into one of his usual weird expressions, mouth stretching into a big grin. He laughs, reaches out and fixes Jongin’s hair, pushing back damp bangs and flattening the top, and replies, “You’re turning soft, Jongin.”
Jongin blinks at him, not sure what he means by that, and he’s too bewildered to even ask, when Chanyeol just smiles and pushes open the car door. “Come on,” he says, sliding out and holding a hand out for Jongin to take, “or we’re really going to be late,” and Jongin takes his hand and lets himself get pulled out of the car.
“I hear you and Chanyeol are dating,” Luhan says, grinning at Jongin through the mirror as he fixes his hair before a show.
Jongin chokes on the bottle of water he’s drinking, almost spilling water down the front of his shirt. Luhan quickly grabs a small towel and presses it to his chin while snickering, and Jongin glares at him as he wipes off, examining the shirt and heaving a sigh of relief that it’s not stained. Baekhyun would have murdered him.
“I’m gonna take your reaction as a yes, by the way,” Luhan says, returning to combing out Jongin’s hair.
“We’re not,” Jongin hisses. “I bet Sehun told you, and you should know better than to listen to anything he says.”
“He says you guys are annoyingly loud,” Luhan says pleasantly and Jongin thinks he’s going to have to find a new roommate after he kills Sehun. “Which is too much information if you ask me.”
Jongin rolls his eyes. “Please, you love knowing this shit.”
Luhan smiles widely, the kind of smile most people think make him look like a precious angel, but Jongin’s known Luhan for years and it’s really the dangerous smile that tells him he knows more than lets on. “I’m just curious is all,” he says defensively, like it’s not his fault he’s a big gossipmonger. “He doesn’t seem like your type.”
“What makes you say that?”
“He’s friendly.”
Jongin scowls, grabbing the hairspray on the counter and spraying it backward at Luhan’s face. He moves out of the way quickly, laughing, and pats Jongin’s head. “You’re kind of proving my point there,” he says and Jongin’s frown deepens. Luhan shakes his head bemusedly and adds, “You’re going to end up with that look permanently etched on your face if you keep doing it.”
“Leave me alone,” Jongin whines.
Luhan chuckles, flitting Jongin’s bangs across his forehead before stepping back to assess. He nods approvingly and waves Jongin out of the chair. "I think he might be good for you," he says before Jongin can leave, and he stops to stare at Luhan in confusion for a moment.
When his words finally click in his brain, his eyes widen and he pulls a face. "Ew, don't say that," he says. "It's not like I'm in love with him or anything."
“I’m serious,” Luhan insists, merely looking amused by the uninterest in Jongin’s face, “he’s pulled you out of your shell. You’re nice around all of us, but you’ve known us all for years, now. It’s the first time you’ve taken to a stranger the way you have with Chanyeol, and I like seeing that.”
Jongin purses his lips thoughtfully, because Luhan has a point, but he’s wrong, he definitely is, because it’s not like Jongin asked for Chanyeol to drastically turn his life around in a matter of weeks. “He just has this way of getting to me, I don’t know,” Jongin mutters, because most things about Chanyeol confuse him.
"Maybe so, but you still like him, don't you? No matter how much you may have convinced yourself otherwise," Luhan replies, and he pats Jongin’s shoulder as he shuffles by and leaves him to his conflicted thoughts.
He doesn’t get much time to think about it though because it is right before a show and Kyungsoo is there, pulling him into position at the front of the line by the stage entrance. Baekhyun is running around looking exceptionally frazzled and smacks Jongin upside the head when he tells him to calm down. Jongin just laughs, though, used to Baekhyun being insane right before shows, and he just takes slow breaths and smooths down the lapels on the black and white checkered patterned blazer he’s wearing.
“Hey,” says a familiar voice, appearing behind Jongin and making his heart jump. Chanyeol grins down at him with bright eyes, and he’s dressed in a red long-sleeved shirt that clings to his body and trousers that stop above his ankles that are such a deep green they’re almost black. He has suspenders reaching up from the waist over his shoulders and he keeps playing with them with his thumbs.
Jongin blinks up at him and says, “You cut your hair.”
Chanyeol laughs, reaching up to touch his newly trimmed bangs. It’s much shorter than when Jongin last saw him the previous weekend, sliding hands through long locks in the back seat of his car, and he swallows thickly, pushing that thought away. “Baekhyun said I was starting to look like a homeless puppy.”
Jongin snorts. “He was kind of right,” he says, and Jongin’s stomach twists as Chanyeol pouts cutely at him.
“So, what do you think?” he asks after a moment, and Jongin steps back to pretend to assess him fully, eyes wandering up and down his body, until Chanyeol laughs and shoves at his shoulder.
“It’s not bad,” Jongin says finally, even though what Jongin really thinks is that he looks very good, but Chanyeol smiles at him knowingly, leans down to whisper into Jongin’s ear, “Not as easy to hold onto, though, I’m sure, and I know how much you like that.”
Jongin steps on the toe of Chanyeol’s shoe in response and feigns innocence as Chanyeol yelps loudly in pain and Baekhyun turns sharply to glare at them both.
When Jongin wakes up Sunday morning, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he shuffles out to the kitchen, he doesn’t expect to find Chanyeol sitting at the kitchen table with a big smile on his face.
“What’re you doing here?” he asks, wondering if he’s still asleep and this is some weird dream. Not that he dreams about Chanyeol, ever, of course not.
“I invited him over after the show last night,” Sehun says, and Jongin only then notices him, sitting at the other end of the table, waving a fork with bits of scrambled eggs in the air.
Jongin blinks, takes in Sehun’s devious grin, and then glances back over at Chanyeol who’s smile is far too cheery for ten in the morning. “I need coffee,” Jongin mutters, and ignores Sehun’s light chuckle as he pulls out a mug from the cupboard.
“Not a morning person, I take it,” Chanyeol says, and Jongin can hear the smirk in Sehun’s voice when he replies, “What gave that away?”
“Shut up, Sehun,” Jongin grumbles, taking a sip of coffee and nearly burning his tongue. He looks at Chanyeol over the rim as he can feel his gaze on him, but quickly turns away when their eyes meet.
“It’s cute,” Chanyeol says, and it’s definitely too early in the morning to be blushing.
“Chanyeol made pancakes,” Sehun says delightfully. “You should have some.”
“You invite him over and he cooks?” Jongin questions, raising a brow at his roommate, and Sehun just shrugs, shoving pancake into his mouth to prevent from having to answer.
“I don’t mind,” Chanyeol says, “especially since he almost set a fire trying to make eggs.”
Jongin laughs as Sehun drops his head in embarrassment, and he pokes his friend in the back of the head as he passes him to sit down at the table. Chanyeol pushes a plate of pancakes covered in syrup over to him and Jongin eyes it warily.
“You didn’t poison it, did you?” he asks and both Sehun and Chanyeol laugh.
“Would we?” they ask innocently, and Jongin thinks that they most definitely would, but decides to take the risk.
Jongin’s surprised because it's really good, and he says around his mouthful, "Okay this, this is great."
"Ew, Jongin stop spitting your food everywhere," Sehun says, pulling his plate away, and Jongin just flushes and swallows, and takes another bite.
"I'm glad you like it," Chanyeol says happily, beaming at Jongin so brightly that Jongin can’t look at him for longer than a few seconds.
"I think he's in love," Sehun says, snickering, "a way to a man's heart really is through his stomach."
Jongin aims a kick at him, but ends up hitting the side of his chair and Sehun almost topples over with a scream, only barely managing to catch himself on the edge of the table. He shoots Jongin a glare, but Jongin just laughs, even though his face is burning in embarrassment from Sehun’s earlier words. He looks over at Chanyeol who has a considering look on his face as he stares at Jongin. “Don’t believe anything he says,” he says quickly, and Chanyeol blinks, jolting out of his thoughts, and then gives Jongin a soft smile that makes his heart stutter in his chest.
“If you say so,” he replies simply, and his eyes never leave Jongin’s, and Jongin bumps his knee against the table as he stands quickly to go get himself more coffee.
Jongin isn't sure how long Chanyeol plans on staying that day, but when he doesn't leave after breakfast, he figures he isn't going to any time soon. Jongin quietly goes to clean up, and Chanyeol rushes after to help, drying the dishes as Jongin finishes washing, and Sehun sits atop the counter and makes comments about them looking like such a cute couple that Jongin flicks soapy water at him.
Chanyeol just laughs and says, "It’s not like that," and Jongin who at times is terrible at catching most obvious human behaviors, doesn't miss the hint of disappointment in Chanyeol’s voice. He glances at him from the corner of his eye and when Chanyeol notices, the smile he gives Jongin isn't as bright as the ones Jongin’s become used to. But it’s gone in the next second and Chanyeol is swiping a bit of soap onto Jongin’s nose and guffawing, stomping his feet in mirth as Jongin glares, tries to wipe it away but only succeeds in swiping his soapy hands across his face and making even more of a mess.
Jongin retaliates by throwing water at him from the side of the sink and Chanyeol screeches as it gets all over the floor instead and he slips, crashing ungracefully into Jongin who instinctively catches him. He tenses and his heart is thumping loudly in his ears, and Chanyeol looks down at him in surprise as he slowly steadies himself, hands coming to rest on Jongin’s waist. He reaches out to wipe the soap suds from Jongin’s face and there’s a moment there where Jongin wants to kiss him.
"Ugh, if you guys are going to start making out then I'm leaving," Sehun says, breaking the moment, and Jongin jumps back like Chanyeol’s touch is fire.
"Well, this is one place we haven't done it before,” Chanyeol says thoughtfully, smirking at Jongin whose face feels tomato-red.
“Keep it that way!” Sehun hollers as he heads back to his room, and Chanyeol laughs after him.
"You shouldn't say things like that, it only encourages him," Jongin says, sighing, as he crouches down to wipe up the spilled water with a dish towel. "He's probably calling Luhan right now, and oh god, he's going to be terrible the next time I see him."
"What do you mean?" Chanyeol says, gripping Jongin’s arm with a big hand when Jongin stumbles a bit standing back up.
"He asked me yesterday if we were dating," Jongin says, scrunching up his face like the thought makes him ill, and it does, but not because he's completely opposed to it or anything, but the fact that he's not. "I said no of course, but he seems convinced."
"Is that such a bad thing, if we were?” Chanyeol asks and his voice is small, uncertain, and it makes Jongin uneasy because Chanyeol is a constant bubble of irrepressible energy, with that obnoxiously loud voice and unbreakable confidence. It’s the first time he's seen him like this, looking at Jongin with soft, lost eyes, and it feels a bit like he's a puppy Jongin had just kicked.
"I-well, no,” Jongin starts, uneasiness slinking around in his stomach, “but I just thought this was, you know, nothing more than--"
"Casual fucking?" Chanyeol says and when put like that in that tiny voice, it makes Jongin wince, because for the first time he's wondering if that's really what Chanyeol wanted, when they got into to this, or if it had changed somewhere along the way and Jongin hadn't realized because Jongin is usually unreceptive to most things when it comes to relationships.
He doesn't know what to say, though, and just mutters, "Yes," because that is what it's been for Jongin, at least whenever he ignores how much he really thinks about Chanyeol when he’s not around; his deep voice and warm hands and alarming smile and the way he makes Jongin so uncomfortable sometimes when they go out to eat, but later Jongin realizes how fun it may have actually been watching him talk with his cheeks puffed up and laughing over a joke Jongin said that no one else would ever laugh at and how he always seems to just twist and push and scratch and crawl his way under Jongin’s skin like he's a part of him, like he belongs there.
When Jongin ignores all of that then, yes, this has all just been casual sex.
"I see," Chanyeol says then, and his eyes drop to the floor. He steps back, sets the dish towel he'd been using to dry up onto the counter and adds, "I'm going to go. I'll see you...I’ll see you later."
And before Jongin even registers what's happened, Chanyeol is out of the kitchen, and he hears the front door open and close quickly after.
"Did he leave?" Sehun asks, suddenly walking in behind Jongin, and Jongin guesses he must've heard the door shut. He looks at Jongin who is rooted to the spot, his fingers twisting the towel tight in his hands, and Sehun waves hand before his face in concern. "Are you okay? What happened?"
Jongin doesn’t answer, because he’s not at all sure himself and the only thing he can think about is what Luhan had told him the night before, about how Chanyeol is actually good for him, and Jongin wonders if maybe he was right, and that perhaps he had just done terrible damage to maybe the best thing that's happened to him in a long time.
Jongin doesn't hear from Chanyeol for almost a week, which is a lot considering how Jongin had gotten used to him texting him stupid thing with too many emoticons at every hour of the day ever since he'd gotten a hold of Jongin’s phone number (by swiping his phone from his hand and calling himself while Jongin unsuccessfully tried to stop him).
He knows that maybe he messed up, but he doesn't really know why he cares because Chanyeol is still...Chanyeol, and he's still a bundle of things Jongin isn't used to and doesn't like. And yet he calls him a few times everyday, feeling like someone is twisting his heart in his chest whenever the call goes to voicemail, Chanyeol’s cheery message like a kick to the gut.
"What did you do to Chanyeol?" Kris asks him when he and Jongin meet up for a photoshoot Friday afternoon. He looks at Jongin with intense eyes and a frown on his face and Jongin feels like a little kid getting in trouble for bullying.
"Nothing!" he says but it comes out like a squeak and Jongin flushes under Kris's unwavering stare.
"Then care to explain why he's been moping about for a week like he was just dumped?"
"Does everyone think we’re dating?!" Jongin exclaims because this was supposed to be a secret goddammit.
"Yes," Kris replies easily, and his lips twitch in amusement before retreating back into stern lines. "Which is why I'm asking you what you did. Now tell me."
He sounds like an overprotective police officer interrogating a criminal suspect and Jongin tries not to cower under Kris's heated gaze and looming height. "Nothing, really," he says again, and it’s more like he's trying to convince himself. He turns away, examines himself in the mirror and frowns at the tiny bump of a zit working its way onto his chin. "We just had a misunderstanding."
"Then fix it," Kris says, his voice demanding no protests. "He's driving me insane with all his sighing and sulking and those creepy smiles he makes when he tries to pretend like nothing is wrong." Now he just sounds aggravated, if slightly worried, and Jongin remembers that he and Chanyeol are good friends, and wonders if what Jongin said to Chanyeol to make him act this way was bad enough that it’s making Kris concerned.
Jongin sucks his lower lip into his mouth, and he remembers clearly the look Chanyeol had given him in his kitchen, and his stomach knots painfully like it has been ever since that morning. "I'm not really sure how," Jongin admits after a moment, and only because he knows Kris won't make fun of him for it, like his other friends might, using the opportunity to poke fun of Jongin’s terrible people skills.
Kris just laughs a bit, coming up beside Jongin and peering into the mirror as well, brushing a finger across his eyebrows with a look of pure concentration in his face. "Usually an apology is a good place to start," Kris replies and his eyes are teasing as he meets Jongin’s gaze through their reflections. He straightens up and adds, pulling down on the hem of the pinstripe blazer he's wearing that with the matching trousers and his hair slicked up makes him look a bit like a mafia boss. “Do you know why Chanyeol stopped modeling?” Kris asks, and it’s so sudden that Jongin stares at him in the mirror for a long moment before shaking his head.
“No, he never told me.” Jongin had wanted to ask, on many occasions, but ever since the first time that he did, he felt that it wasn’t something Chanyeol wanted to talk about.
Kris sighs. “He was pushed out, by a lot of models who worked with him, a few years ago.” His expression grows dark like he’s recalling a bad memory. “They didn't like him much, how he was so good at what he did. How he would get show opens and all the ads and shoots and they'd have to watch from the side.”
Jongin remembers back when he met Chanyeol, how he'd looked so concerned that Jongin thought he was taking his spot. How he'd come to talk to him just to make sure Jongin didn't dislike him.
Kris looks at Jongin in the mirror and continues, “He didn't want to be driven out but Chanyeol...Chanyeol’s the kind of person who just wants people to like him. He’s kind of obnoxious that way, over-friendly.”
“Tell me about it,” Jongin mutters, which makes Kris smile.
“Maybe it sounds stupid, and I even told him it was stupid, but he decided to stop. He kept saying he needed a break.” Kris shrugs and sighs again. “He came to work for Baekhyun again because he asked, but really he just missed modeling.”
Jongin licks his lips and asks, “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I want you to understand?” Kris stares thoughtfully up at the ceiling, and then back at Jongin with a small smile. “He’s overly friendly but that also means he gets hurt easily, especially when he’s not sure where he stands with someone,” he says, and Jongin’s heart grinds to a halt, because he hadn’t ever considered that. "You might've been okay with whatever it is you two were doing, but I'm sure its different for him, now, and you should figure out a way to make it work, or give it up."
Jongin thinks about Chanyeol and his deep, rumbling voice, and his big steady hands, and his sort of lopsided facial expressions, and how his hair feels under his fingertips and the smoothness of his tongue,the soft heat of his skin. He thinks about the nonsensical messages he gets, and the way he rests his hand on Jongin’s knee whenever they drive somewhere, and how he smiles at him and says his name and Jongin doesn’t think that this is something he wants to give up.
He turns around and looks at Kris fully and says, with more bravado than anything else, "I’ll see what I can do."
Three days of waffling and being completely ignored by Chanyeol during a small runway show leaves Jongin feeling even worse than before, an unease settling into the pit of his stomach. He hates the prospect of talking to him, even though he hated being ignored so much more, didn’t realize he'd care that much. Wouldn’t it be easier to just leave thing like this? Just go back to how things were and pretend that Chanyeol hadn't swept in out of nowhere and made his life a right mess.
But somehow he finds himself standing outside of the door to Chanyeol’s apartment late Tuesday night, having spent the whole day debating whether or not to come over, and he stares at the deep burgundy carpet of the hallway and mutters under his breath the very vague speech he’d come up with in his head on the way over here. He realizes quickly that he’s being ridiculous and finally musters up the courage to knock.
Waiting for Chanyeol to answer is the longest few moments of Jongin’s life, and Chanyeol looks incredibly surprised to find him standing on the other side of the door, his cheerful smile slowly fading into confusion.
“H-Hi,” Jongin says carefully. He wets his lips, keeps his gaze steady, and asks, “C-Can we talk?”
Chanyeol eyes him in a way that makes Jongin’s skin crawl, or maybe it’s just because Chanyeol avoided him so clearly the other day, and it’s been awhile since they’ve been this close to one another in nearly two weeks. He almost thinks Chanyeol is going to say no, maybe slam the door in his face, but he nods and steps back, holding the door open for Jongin to enter. His shoulder brushes against Chanyeol’s chest, as he shuffles past, and the contact makes his skin burn through the thin fabric of their shirts, and Jongin slips out of his shoes and follows Chanyeol into the kitchen.
“Do you want some tea or something?” Chanyeol asks and his voice is guarded. He doesn’t look at Jongin.
“Sure,” Jongin says, even though he doesn’t think he can keep anything down, nervousness bubbling inside of him. He wrings his hands together and licks his lips again. “Chanyeol, I--” he starts, and everything he’d thought to say earlier has vanished from his brain. He sighs, scratches the back of his neck.
“Why are you here, Jongin?” Chanyeol asks and he doesn’t sound angry just curious, but he still won’t look at Jongin, focusing on a spot above Jongin’s left shoulder.
Jongin replies, “Why won’t you look at me?” and it comes out sounding much more like a four year old whining than he intended, and he flushes a little. When Chanyeol slides his gaze over, it deepens, and he wishes he hadn’t said anything, but the words just keep coming out from his mouth. “You...the, the other day, you did the same thing. You didn’t say a word to me.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Chanyeol asks, and the look in his eyes is sad, and Jongin doesn’t like it. It doesn’t suit him, he thinks, this person who is so usually bright and full of life.
Jongin opens his mouth to refute instinctively that it’s not, but it is and he knows it. He knows what he said that made Chanyeol back away, put all this space between them that Jongin thought, at first, he wanted, but no longer recalls why. “It is,” he mutters, and he looks away finally, because the sadness in Chanyeol’s eyes is too much. He rubs his face and groans, and says from behind his fingers, “I’m sorry, I’m just...I’m just not good at this, I--”
His words are cut off by Chanyeol’s sudden laughter, and it easily breaks the tension in the air, even if Jongin isn’t sure what’s so funny. He pouts, watching as Chanyeol’s shoulders shake in mirth, and he looks the happiest Jongin has seen in awhile, which makes his heart beat faster.
When his laughter subsides, he looks back up at Jongin, and his eyes are dancing happily. “Oh, Jongin,” he says, shaking his head, “I already knew that.” His smile is fond, and Jongin’s cheek fill with heat again.
“Then--” Jongin starts but words fail him again and he huffs, frustrated, because he doesn’t know what he wants, what he should say, what he can do to make this better.
Chanyeol’s smile fades and he rubs at the side of his face with his fingers. He sighs and says, “It’s okay, you know, if you don’t really like me,” and Jongin feels his heart slowly sink down into his stomach because wait, no, that’s not it, that’s not it at all. “I think maybe this...this between us, it’d just be easier if we didn’t really do that, anymore.”
Jongin’s fingers clench into fists, nails digging into his palms, and it’s all he can do to keep from exclaiming No, because that isn’t what he wants at all, and from the miserable look on Chanyeol’s face, it’s clear that Chanyeol doesn’t, either. Jongin takes a deep breath and steps closer to Chanyeol, who instinctively steps away, and it’s so much like that first night they meet, where Jongin was still so unsure and pulling away, because Chanyeol was so loud and irrepressible and all these things Jongin didn’t get. Even now he doesn’t understand him, not really, and even now Jongin is so unsure, but he thinks maybe, maybe he could take a risk.
“I-I know what I said last time...I know I probably shouldn’t have said that,” Jongin says and he stares at the tiled floor and Chanyeol’s bare feet instead of at Chanyeol’s face, and his fingers and pressing in so deep that he’s sure he might start bleeding.
“You were just being truthful,” Chanyeol says softly. “And it’s not that, it wasn’t even about that.”
“Then what?” Jongin asks, his confusion pushing at his anger and his whole body feels tense because nothing makes sense. “Then why were you avoiding me, this past week? Why didn’t you answer any of my calls, or send your stupid messages, or come over and drag me out for lunch just because you--”
Once again Jongin’s words are cut off, but this time by Chanyeol’s warm lips pressing up against his own and making it impossible to speak. He groans, instead, and his stiffens further, tight like a bowstring. And Chanyeol kisses him slowly, coaxing, and his hands slide down Jongin’s arms and curl around his clenched fingers and Jongin relaxes, gives in, lips parting to kiss Chanyeol back, and oh god, did he miss this. It hasn’t really been that long, and yet, he really missed this.
Chanyeol shudders a laugh into his mouth when he pulls away, like everything about this situation is funny to him, and his eyes bore into Jongin’s as he says, “I like you, that’s why. I like you a little too much, probably.”
“So ignoring me was your grand solution to that?” Jongin says, only he sounds slightly giddy and his face feels red with embarrassment, and Chanyeol’s smile is so blinding. “Stupid.”
“I just didn’t think I could do this anymore,” Chanyeol admits, “I didn’t think you would care if I stopped.”
“So stupid,” Jongin says, and Chanyeol’s lips ghost against his, his breath hot on his chin. “I wouldn’t be here, if I didn’t care. I wouldn’t have called you, if I didn’t care.” He swallows the thickness in his throat, and he weaves his fingers together with Chanyeol’s, their palms pressed tight. “I do like you, idiot. I don’t fuck around with someone I don’t like.”
“Good,” Chanyeol says and then they’re kissing again, and it’s much fiercer than before, it’s nearly two weeks worth of frustrations and longing and confusion put together, and it tingles deep down in Jongin’s bones. He slips his hands from Chanyeol’s to clutch instead at the front of his shirt, and Chanyeol steps forward at bit, getting closer, much closer, and Jongin gasps when his back hits the counter.
Chanyeol steadies him with hands on his waist, and Jongin’s missed the feel of his hands, larger than his and always so sure, holding him close as he grinds against him, and they both groan into each other’s mouths. Jongin slides a hand up into Chanyeol’s hair, and Chanyeol really was right, before, because it’s definitely not as easy to hold onto so short, and he rests his hand against the back of his neck, thumb turning circles into the soft skin there. It draws a shuddering breath from Chanyeol who rocks against him again, with intent, and Jongin feels like the past week never even happened. He breaks away long enough to catch his breath, to look into Chanyeols face and see the intensity there like he hasn't in a long time, and he tugs open Chanyeol’s belt quickly, head tilting back as Chanyeol works slick lips and hot tongue down his throat.
Chanyeol’s groan sounds almost explosive in the silent kitchen when Jongin gets a hand around him, and Jongin will never admit how much he missed that low voice, how it coils around his body and makes him burn, slow like the flickering of a candle, and Jongin just always wants to hear it more, and more. Maybe Chanyeol knows it because he doesn't keep quiet, or maybe that's just because he's been longing for this too, maybe even more than Jongin, because Chanyeol almost gave it up, gave it up because he didn't think Jongin cared enough and he was willing to deal with that. And Jongin can't believe that yet, can't believe they were both so stupid, and just maybe, maybe if he'd realized sooner this would all have been easier.
"Stop thinking," Chanyeol murmurs into Jongin’s ear, "just stop thinking."
"If it bothers you, then do something about it," Jongin hisses back, and he doesn't really expect Chanyeol to do anything, except then he's being pulled by the wrist right out of the kitchen. Chanyeol only seems to manage to drag him as far as the couch, pushing him down onto the soft cushions and following after, his long limbs too much for the small furniture, but he straddles Jongin’s hips and grins at him from above and it doesn't matter, Jongin likes the closeness anyway.
His hands find Chanyeol’s waist, tracing a finger along the smooth along of his stomach between his open waistband and the hem of his shirt and he can feel Chanyeol’s sigh throughout his body. Then Chanyeol is pulling Jongin’s shirt up over his head and leaning in to kiss him again and their erections rub together between them, and god Jongin wants to be much closer than this.
"Just, quick, I--" Jongin tries, his words tumbling over each other as his mind goes dizzy from the pleasant weight of Chanyeol’s body against his, the heat of his breath, the sound of his voice. Thankfully Chanyeol seems to understand and soon they're fitting back together, skin against skin, clothes discarded to the floor, and Jongin is pressing two slick fingers into Chanyeol, who precariously holds himself up over him.
"Fuck me," he whispers, soon after, and its a sound Jongin will never forget, sinking its way deep into his heart, and he does, watching as Chanyeol grips his shoulder and lowers himself down onto Jongin’s cock. It's deliciously tight and Jongin’s moan might shame him on another day, but right now he is too far gone to care, and he digs his fingers into Chanyeol’s hip as he waits for him to move.
Once he does, Jongin knows he won't last long, not like this when he can drink up the sight of Chanyeol fucking himself on his cock, a red flush spreading down his neck to his collarbones, eyelashes fluttering against his pale cheeks. His mouth is parted with endless soft gasps, his lips wet, and Jongin reaches up to pull him down with a hand behind his neck. Their kiss is languid and deep and it makes Jongin’s heartbeat thrum in his ears, and he's so very close now. He wraps a hand around Chanyeol’s dick and pulls him off with quick strokes until he's coming over his belly, and crying out into the apartment, and Jongin makes it until Chanyeol breathes his name over and over into the shell of his ear before he comes, too.
They lie there for awhile afterward, in a way they didn’t do much before, exchanging slow kisses as they come down, Jongin’s arms winding around Chanyeol’s back as he trembles slightly. He catches sight of a clock on the wall, and it’s not yet late enough that he couldn’t catch the train back home, if he wanted, just like he would have before. Chanyeol notices his gaze, and he grows suddenly stiff, but Jongin licks his lips and asks, a little anxiously as his face reddens, “Can I stay the night?”
And the look Chanyeol gives him, full of surprise, then sheer happiness, is one Jongin wants to remember forever. “Yes,” he says, and kisses him.
Chanyeol’s laughter makes Jongin smile into his mouth, pull him close and kiss him deeper, and he slips his hands into the back pockets of Chanyeol’s skin-tight leather pants.
“Hey, lovebirds!” Baekhyun’s voice cuts through the air, and Chanyeol quickly pulls apart as he’s undoubtedly smacked across the back of the head. He whines pitifully and pouts at Baekhyun, who looks murderous, but Jongin notices the way his lips twitch upward in amusement as he glances between them. “Leave that for home, okay, not right before a goddamn show.”
“Just wishing each other good luck,” Jongin says, and flushes when they both turn to look at him. Chanyeol smiles, though, and reaches for his hand.
“Good luck. Right,” Baekhyun says slowly, like Jongin is an idiot, but Jongin knows that Baekhyun’s secretly pleased by his and Chanyeol’s...development. “Now come on, we have a show to do.” He gives them both a stern look before rushing off to prepare, and Jongin waits until he disappears to turn back to Chanyeol with a sheepish look.
“Guess we better be more careful,” Chanyeol says, amused, and his hand is so warm in Jongin’s as he leads them back up to the stage entrance.
“Who cares,” Jongin replies, and he smooths out the spots where Chanyeol’s shirt has bunched up from earlier. “Everyone knows anyway.” He sighs.
“Does that bother you?” Chanyeol asks hesitantly, and Jongin looks straight at him, and shakes his head.
“Not anymore,” he says, and smiles.
note: a;sldkga;sld omg idk what else to say about this just i hope it wasn’t too terrible and you enjoyed it. ;_; thank you very much for reading. ♥♥♥ (also sorry for any and all spelling errors, i wrote half this fic on my phone and autocorrect is unhelpful. i will fix them later because i don't want to look at this fic for at least a week. XD