Archive of Our Own ^beta

“You sure you’ve got that?” Hyunjin flinched as Changbin hoisted a heavy cardboard box into his arms, hands tensing like he was afraid Changbin would drop it. Which was hilarious, because (A) heavy was a subjective term, and yesterday Changbin had benched 140 kilograms, so it was cute that Hyunjin was worried, and (B) Changbin knew that these last few boxes contained only Hyunjin’s most fragile and precious possessions that he hadn’t trusted the staff to handle, so there was no universe where he was letting anything bad happen to them. 

“Piece of cake,” Changbin said, winking as he started up the stairs to their new building. Hyunjin grabbed their bags and a large potted plant out of the back seat, thanked the driver, and hurried after Changbin.

Staff and the moving company had done all of the heavy lifting earlier that day, transporting clothes and shoes and furniture and whatnot from their old dorm to this one. As far as moves went, this one had been relatively painless. Sure, they had some dishes to unwrap, and a few pieces of new furniture to assemble, but Changbin knew they would have fun with it. Besides, assembling furniture together in their new apartment that was theirs and only theirs—that was a couples activity, right? What could be more fun than pretending to be a couple for a few hours?

The elevator dinged and the two of them stepped out onto their floor. The building was nice, like most of the company’s residences—brightly lit, handsomely carpeted. Spotless. When they found their unit, Hyunjin craned his neck around, looking for somewhere to set down his plant where it wouldn’t leave a conspicuous ring of dirt.

“Hold on,” Changbin said, shifting his box onto one arm so he could dig his new key out of his pocket and get the door. He ended up awkwardly wedging it open with his elbow. “Please, darling. Allow me.” 

He was going for funny, not cool, so he was delighted when Hyunjin giggled as he slipped past him and inside the apartment. Changbin flipped the lights on and shut the door, and just like that, they were home. 

The apartment was perfect. Modern kitchen, with enough counter and dining space to host all the members for a family dinner. Spacious living room, good closets. Only one bathroom, but sharing between two was a step up from sharing between four (which had been a monumental step up from sharing between eight). The bedrooms had huge windows that offered stunning views of the city, and they were big enough that both Changbin and Hyunjin could finally upgrade to queen-sized beds. Changbin almost couldn’t believe that they used to sleep in bunk beds, three or four to a room. They were just kids back then, though—they could soldier through anything.

Not-so-heavy box in tow, Changbin followed Hyunjin into his room. He had given Hyunjin first choice, of course. Hyunjin was always very particular about his space, and Changbin knew he would have preferences and opinions where Changbin did not. (“Are you sure, hyung?” Hyunjin had asked, when Changbin had ceded the room with the cute little corner nook that would be perfect for Hyunjin’s desk and easel. Changbin had insisted, repaid in full by the way Hyunjin’s eyes lit up as he mapped out his mini studio in his imagination.)

“So I’ll just chuck this anywhere?” Changbin said, feigning hoisting the box into the air. Hyunjin gasped, and his arms flew out instinctively to catch it. When Changbin only lowered it gently onto his desk, Hyunjin sighed, relieved, then narrowed his eyes. “Have I ever mentioned you’re the worst?”

“Oh, sure. All the time.”

“Well… good.”

Changbin pulled out Hyunjin’s desk chair and plopped into it. “I’m happy to be the worst if it leaves my Hyunjinnie room to be the best.”

Hyunjin gave an exasperated laugh. “I’m insulting you, why are you complimenting me?”

“I love complimenting you,” Changbin said, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms, grinning. “It’s so easy. And hey, why are you insulting me again? I just carried your crap around all evening like some sort of pack mule!”

“Mmm.” Hyunjin glanced at him, then turned away, his long fingers prising open a different box and starting to sift through its contents. “You don’t have to help.”

“But I want to help!” Changbin insisted. “I love helping! I just also like complaining. Where should we start? Hang up some of your paintings? Oh, I can install your new curtains for you!”

Hyunjin giggled. “Do you even know how to install curtains?” he said, casting Changbin a knowing look.

Changbin scoffed. “I’m a strong, capable young man, I’m fairly certain I can figure out how to install curtains.”

All but burying his face in the box he was unpacking, Hyunjin said, quietly: “But can you reach the curtains?”

“You—!!” Changbin pursed his lips together, trying and failing to restrain his indignant smile, while Hyunjin tossed his head back and laughed until he was breathless. “Sorry,” he gasped, between fits of laughter. “It was a reasonable question!”

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Changbin muttered. Hyunjin turned his attention back to his box, a faint flush warming his cheeks. 

Hyunjin’s room slowly began to take shape. Clothes were hung, books were shelved. They did manage to hang the curtains, as well as a handful of Hyunjin’s paintings. Hyunjin consulted Changbin on their placements, but his eye for aesthetic principles was naturally much better than Changbin’s, and Changbin was very easily impressed, so their consultations went a lot like: “Here?” “Perfect.” “What about here?” “Also perfect.” “Hyung, be serious!”

Changbin was mid making Hyunjin’s bed when Hyunjin said, “What about your room? You must have your own stuff to set up.”

“Not really,” Changbin said. “All my important stuff is at the studio, and you know I’m not a big decorator.”

Hyunjin wrinkled his nose. He straightened a sketch he was pinning up above his desk, then stepped back to check the angle. “I don’t understand that.”

“What can I say, I can’t resist the allure of a blank wall.”

“You’re so weird,” Hyunjin said. 

“Thanks, baby. Just the words every guy wants to hear.” Changbin fluffed up Hyunjin’s pillows, placing them primly at the head of his bed. Then he paused. “I can go make myself busy, though, if you want some alone time?”

Hyunjin smiled, and shook his head. “No, I’m okay. Just didn’t want you to feel obligated to get me settled in.”

“You’re a breath of fresh air, Hyunjinnie. The last time we moved, Jisung practically held me hostage until his room was perfect. Said he needed me there for emotional support!”

“And you loved it, I’m sure,” Hyunjin said, positioning his potted plant on the windowsill and rotating it a few times. “You like when they need you.”

Changbin flopped down on the bed, grinning. “Yeah, I did, you got me.”

“Are you going to miss living with them?” Hyunjin asked, casually. “Your boys?”

“Not a chance! I get to live with the one and only Hwang Hyunjin, the love of my life, the apple of my eye! I’m living the dream!”

Hyunjin snorted—the only person on the planet who could make a snort sound delicate and refined. “Please,” he said, but as he fiddled with his plant, his lips curled into a smug smile. 

“It’s true,” Changbin insisted. “You know there’s no other man for me.”

Hyunjin shot him a look. “You always say that.”

“Because I mean it!!” Changbin said, earnestly, sitting up to underscore his earnestness. Why was it that when he was being completely serious, everyone thought he was joking? “I’ll say it every day if you want me to. Roomie.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Hm.” Hyunjin sat down next to him, his long limbs folded gracefully as he surveyed the room. He nudged Changbin with his knee. “Roomie.”

“Look at us,” Changbin said. “Being roomies.”

“It’s fun,” Hyunjin agreed. “I like it.” A pause, then, “Want to keep me company while I organize my closet?”

“Hyunjin, nothing in this world would make me happier.”

*   *   *   *   *

Four hours later, Changbin was lying in his own new bed, contentedly tired after a long day’s work. He’d been right—unpacking his own stuff hadn’t taken long. He was flipping around on his phone when a notification popped up for an incoming video call. Seeing who was calling, Changbin quickly hit ‘accept.’ 

“Hi Hannieee!!”

“Hi hyung~!” Jisung waved at Changbin through his phone screen. He looked freshly showered, and was nestled in a mountain of pillows.

“Hannie, I miss you!” Changbin said, propping himself up against the headboard and running a hand through his disheveled hair. “This apartment is so quiet!”

“Let me see your room,” Jisung said. “Give me the tour.”

Changbin swept his phone around the room. “Nice, right?”

Jisung made appreciative noises every time something new came into frame. “Aw, yeah, look at that empty desk. Minimalist king. What’s in the closet? A bunch of black tank tops? The badass you are…”

“Shut up,” Changbin laughed. “Is this news? How long did we live together?”

“Are those… bare walls? You’re so cool, hyung.”

They were both cracking up now. “Hey!” Changbin shouted, once he’d caught his breath. “I showed you mine, now show me yours!”

Jisung flipped the camera around to reveal a dozen boxes, stacked precariously in every corner of the room. “You see… you see,” he said, with a sheepish laugh. “Nothing wrong with unpacking tomorrow, right?”

“You’re just gonna say that tomorrow. Does Jisungie need his hyung to come over and help him unpack?”

“I might. I might need that.”

As expected. Changbin rolled his eyes, playfully. “What’s that good for nothing alley cat been doing all day, he can’t give you a hand?”

Jisung scoffed, his hand materializing in the frame and pointing out a stack of boxes. “He’s even worse than me, these are all his!”

“What’s all mine?” A lilting voice came from Jisung’s end of the call. Changbin caught a glimpse of a pale blur stepping through the doorway as Jisung hastily angled the camera away, shouting, “Yahh, hyung! I’m on Facetime!” 

“Oh.” Minho’s voice sounded unbothered. “So?”

“So put some clothes on,” Jisung hissed, his voice low, as though Changbin wouldn’t be able to hear. The camera was flipped back around, and Jisung’s flushed face filled Changbin’s phone screen once more. “You see what I have to deal with?”

“Hi Lino-hyung,” Changbin sing-songed.

“Hi Seo Changbin~,” Minho sang right back. He squeezed into bed next to Jisung, waving at Changbin through the phone. His hair was damp from the shower, and he seemed to have foregone a towel in favor of air-drying.

Changbin clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Why haven’t you helped our baby unpack?” 

Minho smirked. “We got distracted.”

Jisung elbowed him in the side. “Hyung, how’s Hyunjin?” he said, quickly changing the subject. “He didn’t answer any of the memes I sent him.”

“He’s good! He finally fell asleep. We were setting up his room for a few hours—you know how he likes to get it all decorated first thing. Now he’s sleeping like an angel…” Changbin heaved a dramatic sigh, which Jisung imitated in unison.

“So why aren’t you sleeping with him?” Minho had pulled out his own phone, and he asked the question without looking up from it.

“Such a good question,” Changbin mused.

“He still hasn’t talked to him about it,” Jisung said to Minho, who made a noise of acknowledgement.

“I have!! I talk to him about it every day!!”

Jisung sighed. “No, but you haven’t talked talked to him,” he said.

“I literally tell the man I’m in love with him every single day,” Changbin said, with an exasperated laugh. “I’ve told him he’s the most beautiful man on the planet, the only one for me, the reason I get up in the morning… I told him I want to marry him! What else can I say!”

“He doesn’t know you’re serious,” Jisung said. “I didn’t know you were serious until you told me you were, like, last week!!”

“Well, you’re a dummy,” Changbin said.

“Yeah, well, he’s also a dummy!” Jisung laughed.

“Hey,” Changbin warned. “Don’t talk about my queen that way.”

Minho snorted. 

“And you— !!” Changbin shouted, playfully indignant. “You put some clothes on!!”

“No thanks,” Minho said. “Hannie, I’m bored.”

Jisung turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, you’re bored again?”

“Mhm.”

After a long moment, Jisung turned back to Changbin. “I should probably go start unpacking for reals.”

“Liar!!” Changbin laughed, pointing an accusatory finger at his phone. “I can read his dirty mind. You’re not going to touch a single box!”

“Hyung…” Jisung whined, laughing too. “Don’t tease me, I swear I really am just going to unpack!”

“He’s lying,” Minho confirmed, reaching for the phone. “Bye-bye Binnie, sleep tight—” The call ended. 

Changbin dropped his phone onto his chest, shaking his head in disbelief, smiling into the darkness of his new room. The nerve of those two… But he was happy for them. Getting to live together as a secret industry couple was nothing more than a pipe dream a few years ago. Now, to have it actually come true? Changbin could see it on their faces, in their moods, every day since the new dorm arrangements were finalized. He’d honestly never seen his Hannie this happy.

Changbin rolled onto his stomach, squishing his pillow between his arms. He should be stewing in self-pity, right?! Why does Jisung get to have a hot live-in boyfriend sliding into his bed naked and doing god knows what—(nope, too much, bad thoughts)—while Changbin’s love remains unrequited! He tried to feel sorry for himself, he really did, but bright, warm happiness was too busy suffusing his entire being. They were happy. He was happy. Hyunjin was happy. He got to live with Hyunjin. Honestly, what was there to not be happy about?

*   *   *   *   *

The next morning, when Changbin got back from the gym, he brewed a pot of coffee and parked himself and his laptop at the kitchen counter. Right on schedule, at 10 am, Hyunjin glided into the room like the world’s sleepiest goddess, wearing nothing but slippers and a big t-shirt, his long hair sticking every which way, his impossibly long legs on full display. Changbin was used to this—he’d lived with the man for years—but for the first time, it was just the two of them, and that did feel more… intimate, in a way. 

“Coffee,” Hyunjin grumbled.

“In the pot, gorgeous,” Changbin said.

“My hero,” Hyunjin said, and Changbin glowed.

They sat in companionable silence while Hyunjin drank his coffee. Changbin knew he always needed at least fifteen minutes to shake the grogginess of sleep before he could hold a conversation. He’d factored in this time to finish up some lyrics he’d been working on, ahead of the next time 3RACHA could get together in the studio. 

When his mug was empty, Hyunjin asked, “Did you sleep well?”

“Like a baby,” Changbin said, looking up from his work. “These new mattresses are a step up, aren’t they?”

“Oh my god,” Hyunjin agreed. “I actually have room to spread out. I felt like royalty.”

“And you look like it too, princess,” Changbin said, which made Hyunjin laugh and shake his head. “Like this, you mean?” he said, gesturing at his wild bedhead.

“I said what I said.” Changbin closed his laptop and turned to face Hyunjin, leaning on the counter as he took him in. The bleary eyes and tousled hair… Something was deeply wrong with Changbin. He found sleepy morning Hyunjin so ridiculously sexy. 

“Stop that,” Hyunjin said.

“Stop what?”

“Stop looking at me like that.” When Changbin didn’t look away, Hyunjin covered his face with his hands. “I need to shower.”

“Dance practice in an hour,” Changbin said. “You wanna shower first or can I hop in before you? I reek from the gym.”

“You smell fine,” Hyunjin said, faintly. “Don’t you usually shower right when you get home? What happened today?”

“Wasn’t sure if it would wake you. New apartment, new shower, you know. Thought I’d wait ‘til you got up.”

“Oh,” Hyunjin said, tucking his hair behind his ear. “That’s sweet. Then—yes, go ahead. You go first. I’ll wait until after practice.”

“You sure?” Changbin got up with a big, overhead stretch. “We can always share…”

Hyunjin laughed, and gave Changbin’s shoulder a light slap. “Stop messing around. Go shower. You do reek.”

“The offer stands!” Changbin called back over his shoulder as he strode down the hall. And if he let his thoughts wander to his beautiful, sleepy, pantsless, runway model of a roommate in the privacy of his own shower—that was between him and his god!

*   *   *   *   *

The first half of practice went surprisingly well. Everyone was in high spirits, their energy perfect for putting the finishing touches on the choreo for their newest title track. Changbin had a great feeling about this comeback—“Chk Chk Boom” was fire, and the boys had more than delivered on the vocal front. All that was left was to nail the choreo, and they were almost there. Minho, their resident self-appointed dance director, was in a suspiciously good mood, even more patient than usual as they ran the number again and again. 

During a break, Chan took it upon himself to order coffees for the group, going around and asking what everyone wanted to add to the delivery order. When he got to Hyunjin, he said, “Just an herbal tea, please.”

Chan blinked back at him in confusion. Jeongin craned his neck to study Hyunjin. “Hyung,” he said, suspiciously. “What’s gotten into you. Are you sick?”

“What? I don’t need the caffeine,” Hyunjin said. “My wife made coffee this morning, I’ve already had plenty.”

It took Changbin a second to register that he was talking about him. “Oh, your wife, huh?” Felix said, grinning broadly, grabbing Changbin’s arm and shaking it.

“Mhm,” Hyunjin said, the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

Changbin was stunned into silence. He was Hyunjin’s wife, now, was he? Because they were living together? After literal years of telling Hyunjin he would marry him in a heartbeat, if Hyunjin would ever give him the chance? He couldn’t help it—he beamed. 

“You’re just gonna take that, hyung?” Jisung asked, his eyebrows raised cartoonishly high.

“Take what?” Changbin said. “Accept the honor of being bestowed with such a title? I graciously accept.”

Hyunjin hummed, then went over to the mirror to tie his hair up. Changbin watched him as he walked away. He couldn’t take his eyes off him. 

It got worse when they started up practice again. Of course, Hyunjin always looked good when he danced. That was a given. Changbin could get caught up watching him on a normal day—he moved with such intensity, such precision and raw power in every step, but also so much fluid grace as he flowed from one count to the next. It could be sort of hypnotic.

Today, though… Today Changbin’s mind was wandering. Today he was thinking about Hyunjin lounging naked on the bed of a bridal suite. He was only human, okay? And Hyunjin was sweating and panting and rolling his hips, and making that face he always made when the spirit of dance possessed him—eyes rolling back, mouth falling open, tongue salaciously on display… Okay. Changbin was thinking about Hyunjin doing a lot more than lounging on that bed.

It didn’t help that Hyunjin was locking eyes with him in the mirror a lot more than usual. Changbin tried to focus on his own rhythm, but it wasn’t like he could tear his eyes away when Hyunjin was looking right at him. 

The music stopped. “Changbinnie,” Minho said. “That’s the third time you’ve missed your cue.”

It was? “Ah, sorry, hyung, sorry.”

“Something on your mind?”

Changbin felt seven pairs of eyes on him. He tugged at the hem of his t-shirt, suddenly grateful for the bagginess of his practice sweats. “Nothing at all! Mind empty. Consider me focused.”

Minho didn’t seem convinced. Changbin caught Hyunjin’s eye in the mirror again. Hyunjin was breathing hard, as always, and as he pushed his bangs out of his eyes, a bead of sweat ran down his temple. Changbin inhaled, shakily, and looked at his own reflection instead. Focus. Right. Focus. He was a pro idol. He could focus.

Somehow, Changbin made it through the rest of dance practice. Their efforts paid off—by the end, they’d managed a few run throughs without a single mistake between the eight of them. Chan seemed satisfied, if a little stressed, but what else was new. With only a few days left before the comeback, every rehearsal counted. 

As they stood around chatting afterwards, checking their phones and chugging water, Hyunjin approached Changbin. “I’m heading back home to take that shower,” he said, shrugging into his jacket. “Did you want to come with?”

Changbin felt a weakness course through his body, which he could definitely attribute to muscle fatigue. Actually, the last thing he needed right now was to be in a confined space with Hwang Hyunjin. The man wasn’t stupid, or blind—he would definitely pick up on how horny Changbin was. He probably had a sixth sense for something like that.

“Can’t today, honey,” he said, aiming for nonchalance, and he was pretty sure he pulled it off. “Uh, the boys and I are heading to the studio.”

“We are?” Jisung stopped short. “Says who?”

“That’s a great idea, Bin,” Chan said. “There’s some tracks I’d like to get a head start on, while I have you two here.”

“Yes! Exactly,” Changbin said. “Always work to do!”

“I didn’t consent to this,” Jisung muttered. “I haven’t even unpacked yet.”

“I’ll see you tonight, Hyunjinnie,” Changbin said, hustling Jisung towards the door. 

“Sure,” Hyunjin said, with a listless wave.

It actually had been a great idea. With Hyunjin out of sight, Changbin was able to put their hypothetical marriage out of mind, and 3RACHA managed to be shockingly productive. They workshopped a few new tracks and went over some technical stuff for the new album, the hours passing quickly as they jumped from project to project, keeping each other entertained and focused in turn. Over takeout dinner, Jisung played the other two a few demos he’d cooked up in his spare time—as usual, Chan and Changbin’s jaws were on the floor by the time they got through listening.

When Jisung started yawning, Changbin realized it was somehow already 10 pm. If Chan had his way, they would be here all night, but if Changbin wanted to hit the gym before their schedule tomorrow morning, he needed real sleep. Wishing the other two sweet dreams, he packed up his stuff and headed out.

Just in case Hyunjin was already asleep, Changbin eased their apartment door open as quietly as possible. He shouldn’t have worried—he found Hyunjin and Felix curled up on the couch together, cozy but awake, the remains of movie night snacks spread out over the coffee table.

“Binnie!!” Felix threw off the blanket and made grabby hands at Changbin, who took his cue to join them on the couch, leaning back in Felix’s arms and letting himself be wrapped up in a ferocious back hug. 

Hyunjin hugged his blanket tighter around himself, adorably burying himself up to his nose. “Hey hyung,” he said.

“Hi gorgeous,” Changbin said. “Did you give Felix the tour?”

Hyunjin nodded. Felix squeezed Changbin tighter. “Your place is so nice,” he said. “It feels so adult, you know. Me and Seungmin’s definition of interior decorating is competing for who can have the best gaming setup.”

“And I bet that’s not even a competition, is it,” Changbin said, humoring him.

“Not even close!” Felix said. “He does have a pretty pro gaming chair. But the rest of his gear? Amateur.”

“Hyunjinnie gets the credit for all the decorating,” Changbin said. “I just do the heavy lifting.”

“Oh,” Hyunjin said, standing up. “Be right back.” He slipped off the couch and walked off towards his room. 

Felix tucked his face into Changbin’s neck and whispered, “Pssssst. Hyung.”

It tickled. Changbin swatted him away. “What?”

Felix’s voice was a quiet rumble. “Shhh. Hyung. Make sure you take good care of Hyunjinnie.”

“When do I not take good care of my Hyunjinnie?” Changbin whispered back.

Unexpectedly, Felix shrugged. “He’s a little. You know. Low.”

That was surprising to hear. Hyunjin had been all smiles around Changbin for days! “I’ll keep an eye on him,” Changbin said. “Thanks for telling me, Lixie baby.” He craned his neck to plant a loud kiss on Felix’s cheek, just as Hyunjin padded back into the room.

“Gross,” Hyunjin said, wrinkling his nose. He held a paper folder out to Felix. “Here. Something for your room.”

Felix squealed in delight, unceremoniously shoving Changbin out of his arms and taking the folder. He opened it to reveal a stunning watercolor piece—all greens and blues and purples, a semi-abstract beach landscape in a melancholy light.

“Hyunjinnie it’s beautiful, oh my gosh, you didn’t have to make me something! Wow, the colors… How long did this take you?”

Hyunjin tucked his hair behind his ear, studying the piece over Felix’s shoulder and looking satisfied. “Not too long. I thought it would look nice with those purple lights you love to put up.”

“It will!! It’s gorgeous, I love it so much.” Felix carefully set the painting down, then tackled Hyunjin onto the couch, hugging him tight. “My Hyunjinnie is the most talented artist in the world,” he said, his face buried in Hyunjin’s shoulder.

“I can’t breathe… Hyung, help,” Hyunjin said, laughing.

“I’m supposed to break up this beautiful moment?” Changbin said. He fingered the corner of Hyunjin’s painting. “Yongbok is right, this is amazing.”

“You think so?” Hyunjin’s cheeks were pink. He was so talented, but somehow still was so sensitive about his art. Changbin nodded seriously, then looked at Hyunjin with a smile. “You’re constantly improving. I don’t know how you do it.”

Hyunjin glowed. “Thanks,” he said, and looked away quickly. Felix finally let him up. “I’ll hang it up as soon as I get home,” he promised. “Which should probably be now. I bet Seungmin is lonely.”

“Something tells me he’s just fine,” Changbin said. 

Felix and Hyunjin exchanged tearful goodbyes, as though they weren’t seeing each other tomorrow morning. Once Felix was gone with the door closed behind him, Changbin asked Hyunjin about his night. 

“It was nice,” Hyunjin said, without elaborating. “How was the studio?”

“It was good, but… it could have been better,” Changbin said, slowly.

“Better how?”

“Well, my wife could have brought me dinner,” Changbin said. “She was at home watching movies and putting her pretty feet up, and I had to get delivery!”

A smile broke out across Hyunjin’s face, and he giggled. “I didn’t feel like cooking.”

“Oh, I’m not complaining! You should never cook if you don’t want to. In fact, you should never do anything if you don’t want to. Let this humble husband do everything for you.”

“And who says you’re the husband now?”

“What do you need? Neck massage? Shoulder rub? Run a bubble bath for you?”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes, but he still couldn’t help smiling. “You’re too much.”

“Am I?” Changbin yelled, even as Hyunjin turned away from him. “Or am I just enough?”

“Goodnight, hyung,” Hyunjin said, shaking his head as he made his way to his bedroom. Changbin felt very pleased with himself. If anyone could keep Hyunjin’s spirits up, it was him!

That night in bed, as Changbin was falling asleep, images of Hyunjin at dance practice flashed through his mind. The roll of his hips, that flash of tongue, the sweat dripping down his neck. Who was Changbin kidding? He slipped a hand under the covers to touch himself.

It felt kind of wrong, though. More wrong than usual, and Changbin couldn’t explain why. Why was it wrong to think about Hyunjin now? He’d always been just on the other side of a wall, and it had never stopped Changbin before. It wasn’t going to stop him now, either—it just made him think a little more.

Hyunjin’s eyes rolling back, his lips gone slack, his joggers riding low on his hips, exposing his quivering stomach. Jesus Christ, Changbin thought, and the pace of his hand quickened. 

Was it because they were living together, just the two of them? Playing house as a fake married couple? Hyunjin seemed to enjoy the joke—he had started it, for crying out loud! But did that make it worse that Changbin harbored actual feelings for him? Would that make him uncomfortable? Is that why Felix had said it seemed like something was wrong?

No, Changbin was overthinking it. He had to be. Hyunjin didn’t take his flirting seriously—he never had. And he was never going to know about Changbin’s private, nightly activities, so there was no harm in continuing them. Anyway, with those images of Hyunjin burned into his brain, it wasn’t as if he could stop now.

*   *   *   *   *

They settled into a routine: Gym. Shower. Make coffee for Hyunjin. Follow their packed schedules together. Put on their shameless married couple act. Go home together. Get takeout. Once or twice, when they weren’t too exhausted, they wound down in Hyunjin’s room together—Changbin on his laptop, Hyunjin at his easel. The comeback tore through their summer like a tornado, whisking the members to various pre-recordings, interviews, show appearances, and the like. It was all very exciting, and the new album a fantastic success, but it felt like they hadn’t had a real moment to themselves, away from the cameras, in weeks.

Finally, at the beginning of August, things began to slow down. Changbin found the time to call home, and his parents asked about his new apartment, granting him the opportunity to gush about the wonders of rooming with Hyunjin. They had always liked him. His sister told him he seemed really happy. “I am,” Changbin said.

Chan and Jeongin brought a proposal to the group, saying they wanted to host everyone for dinner at their apartment. “A celebration,” Chan said. “Of all our past and future success together.”

“The plan is to get shit-faced off expensive liquor,” Jeongin added. “Who wants in?”

Obviously, they all wanted in. All the members were looking forward to it, and they agreed to dress up a bit. Jisung kept calling it a soiree . On the evening of, Changbin came out of his room, dressed for dinner, to find Hyunjin already waiting for him in the kitchen. To say Hyunjin cleaned up nice was an understatement—he was a Versace ambassador, for god’s sake. Tonight, he had opted for black dress pants and a simple black button down, sleeves rolled up to showcase the expensive gold jewelry adorning his wrists. His makeup was subtle, his hair slicked back in a high ponytail. The sight of him standing there, one hand in his pocket, took Changbin’s breath away. 

“You look nice,” Hyunjin said, sweeping a cursory glance up and down Changbin’s body.

“Aren’t you sweet. You look like someone should be carving statues in your likeness.” Changbin lifted his arm, fighting back the urge to say something ridiculous like ‘my lady, your carriage awaits’. Hyunjin settled a delicate hand on Changbin’s forearm all the same, and humored Changbin by letting him open the car door for him.

Chan and Jeongin’s place was spotless, and very elegant—decked out with classy, minimalist furniture, all glass and dark wood, but also kind of giving the impression that mountains of mess had been shoved under the beds and couches rather than actually cleaned up. Either way, the effort was appreciated by the six visitors, and they lavished compliments on their beaming hosts. 

As soon as everyone settled in, Jeongin broke out the soju. (He hadn’t been lying—this was the pricey stuff.) While Chan dutifully turned the meat on the grill, the rest of the members toasted him, then each other, then their new comeback, then STAY, of course. At a certain point, they were raising a glass to pretty much anything they could think of—Minho’s cats, Changbin’s arms, Hyunjin’s new moisturizer. They were falling over each other laughing, and reasonably intoxicated, by the time dinner was actually ready, and as they gathered together around the dining table, tucking into a delicious meal with no cameras, only each other for company, Changbin could honestly say he’d never been happier.

“I don’t miss you at all,” Jeongin was saying, despite Felix’s protests. “No! I don’t! I see you literally every day, hyung! Oh my god.” He rolled his eyes at Felix’s sad, puppy-dog pout, heaving an exasperated sigh. “ Of course I would miss you if I didn’t see you every day for work. There, are you happy?” Felix nodded, teary-eyed.

“Channie-hyung, I don’t think you’re properly bullying this kid,” Jisung said, his head resting lazily on Minho’s shoulder. “The responsibility falls solely to you now. Listen to this child. He’s out of control!”

Chan and Jeongin exchanged a look. “Don’t know what you mean,” Chan said, with a grin. “We’ve been getting on great.”

“It’s called mutual respect,” Jeongin said. “We have these things called roommate talks, where we go over house ground rules—something I know none of you are familiar with!”

“Ooooh, sounds kinky,” Changbin said, leaning in. “What are some of your ground rules?”

“Well,” Jeongin said, ignoring Changbin’s eyebrow wiggle and leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. “For one thing, shorts or pants must be worn in all common areas of the apartment.”

“But not shirts?” Felix asked.

“Compromises were made,” Jeongin muttered. Chan flashed an innocent smile.

Felix looked intrigued. “This all seems like very important stuff. What else?”

“No getting delivery without telling the other person you’re ordering first,” Jeongin went on.

“Oh,” Seungmin said, looking directly at Felix. “Hmm.”

“And! No overnight guests unless the other person has been informed ahead of time and explicitly agrees to it!”

Minho wound his arm around Jisung’s waist. “We have a similar rule.” 

“Shut the fuck up, hyung,” Jisung laughed, and smacked Minho’s chest, but he did grab his hand and pull it tighter around himself.

“I mean, yeah, that’s actually not a bad rule,” Changbin said, nudging Hyunjin’s foot under the table and grinning. “We could institute that rule, Hyunjinnie.”

Hyunjin’s face remained impassive, but Changbin could tell he didn’t like what he’d said from the tiniest twitch in the corner of his mouth.

“Or not!” Changbin backtracked quickly. “It can just be a free-for-all party house too, I really don’t care. Ground rules are for suckers.”

Hyunjin crossed his arms and exhaled, loudly. He looked irritated.

Changbin was sober enough to realize he was only digging himself into a deeper hole, but drunk enough that he couldn’t stop. “Not that I’m saying you would do that! I’m not implying you’d just be bringing random girls or guys home every night, or anything!”

“But it wouldn’t be a problem if I was?” Hyunjin said, stonily.

“What?”

“If I wanted to bring random guys home every night, you wouldn’t have a problem with that?”

Changbin swallowed. “Of course not,” he said, gently.

Everyone else had gone silent, awkwardly looking back and forth between the two of them. Eventually, Hyunjin said, “Well. Good.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t have a problem if you wanted to either.”

“Sure,” Changbin said. He was more than a little confused.

Thankfully, Minho picked up the bottle and refilled both their glasses. “Cheers. Who wants to hear about the embarrassing thing Hannie did this morning?” he said, to a chorus of enthusiasm, everyone anxious for a diversion.

The eight of them threw back a few more shots, Chan brought out a bottle of wine, and the vibe returned to normal. Changbin still felt like he’d missed something, but he cracked a few jokes that got Hyunjin smiling at him again, and that was all he needed to get back in the party spirit. Felix taught everyone the latest Tiktok dance. Jisung and Minho loudly tried to explain the current plot of One Piece to Seungmin, who was egging them on with progressively stupider questions. Chan took pictures. Changbin relaxed, soaking up the craziness and laughter and love of his seven dearest people, who for one night could pretend not to have a care in the world. 

It wasn’t until Hyunjin stumbled on the way back from the bathroom that they all realized just how drunk he was. Jisung steadied him with an arm around his waist, looping Hyunjin’s arm around his shoulders. “I think someone’s ready for bed,” he said, pretending to buckle under his weight. 

“Shhh,” Hyunjin said, and snorted with laughter. “I’m not a bed.”

Changbin gaped. Chan leaned over to him, his voice laced with concern. “Is he good? How much did he have?”

“Beats me,” Changbin said. To Hyunjin, he called out, “Honey, should we call it a night?”

No response. “I can’t tell, is he asleep?” Jisung asked.

“He’s not asleep,” Hyunjin grumbled. “No thanks to you.” 

“Okay, give him here,” Changbin said, crossing the room to take Jisung’s place supporting Hyunjin. “Channie-hyung, Iyennie, you boys throw one hell of a party. And you have a lovely home. I do have to take my wife home now, though. So don’t get into too much trouble without me!”

While they waited for the car, Changbin promised Chan he would make Hyunjin drink water, and that they’d both be at their call time for filming tomorrow afternoon looking fresh and not at all hungover. Hyunjin hung onto him the whole time, sagging just enough that Changbin was supporting most of his weight. 

He clung to him as they got into the car too, sidling up next to Changbin in the back seat and lacing their fingers together. He laid his head on Changbin’s shoulder. “Mmf. Smells good.”

“Thanks, baby,” Changbin said. “You feeling okay?”

Hyunjin shrugged.

“Think you’re gonna hurl?”

He shook his head. 

Changbin petted the top of Hyunjin’s head with his free hand. “Was it something I said?”

Hyunjin shook his head again. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re just. Perfect. Stupid and perfect.”

Changbin tipped his head back and laughed. “Stupid and perfect. I’ll take it.”

Hyunjin refused to let go of Changbin’s hand the whole way upstairs, which was convenient, because Changbin was more than a little worried about him falling over. Safely inside the apartment, Changbin tried to let go, but Hyunjin only held on tighter. “Stay.”

“I’ll be right next door. I’m not going anywhere.”

Hyunjin shook his head, his eyes downcast. “Please,” he said.

Changbin sighed, overwhelmed with fondness. “You know I can’t say no to you, baby. Just let me change first, I’ll be there in ten.”

Hyunjin pouted. “Five.”

“You’ll miss me that much for ten whole minutes?” Changbin shook his head in disbelief. “Okay, okay. Five. Go brush your teeth and chug some water, you’ll thank yourself tomorrow. Do you need Binnie’s help with that too?” The last part he said in his cutesiest baby voice. 

Hyunjin glared. “No,” he insisted, finally dropping Changbin’s hand. He very gracefully stumbled through the bathroom door.

Changbin went into his room and stripped out of his party attire, pulling on a comfy t-shirt and sweats. He stared at himself in the mirror, slapping both hands onto his cheeks. Sober up, man, he thought. Hyunjin apparently needs you! He waited until he heard the bathroom door reopen and Hyunjin’s door close before sneaking in there to wash up himself.

Hyunjin was already in bed with the lights out when Changbin knocked softly, exactly five minutes later, and slipped into his room. Hyunjin had his back to him, so Changbin slid under the covers and wrapped an arm around his waist from behind. He heard Hyunjin let out a loud exhale, felt him settle back against him. Neither of them said a word.

This was fine. They cuddled all the time. Never alone in an apartment, just the two of them, but what difference should that make? Changbin was hyper-aware of how loudly his heart was pounding in his chest. His chest prickled with sweat—Hyunjin was so warm, it was verging on uncomfortable. There was no way Changbin was moving, though. He shouldn’t even be sleeping. He should be trying to stay awake to commit this precious moment to memory. 

“Hyung?” Changbin slowly opened his eyes at the sound of Hyunjin’s voice. He had almost fallen asleep. He grunted in acknowledgement, burying his face in Hyunjin’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” Hyunjin said quietly. “For staying.”

“Anytime, kid,” Changbin said, the last thing he remembered before drifting off completely.

*   *   *   *   *

When Changbin woke up the next morning, Hyunjin was still fast asleep. He snored a little, which was adorable. Changbin slipped out as quietly as he could—no hangover was going to keep him away from the weight room! He set up the coffee, texting Hyunjin to let him know he was planning to shower at the gym and head straight to the studio, but that he’d see him that afternoon, signing the message off with “xoxoxo hyungie loves you~”. That ought to help with the splitting headache.

For today’s schedule, they were filming a series of group interviews, followed by individual photoshoots for their latest sponsorship. The eight of them seemed to be operating under the mentality that if no one acknowledged they felt like shit, they could all pretend they didn’t. Changbin pretended it was working. Needless to say, there wasn’t a ton of time or energy for chatting or messing around, and with staff everywhere, he and Hyunjin didn’t really get a chance to talk.

After they wrapped filming for the day, Chan cornered Changbin and asked if he could come with him back to the studio. He seemed tense. As soon as they were alone, Chan sat Changbin down. “So I was a little nervous about something like this happening,” he said.

Changbin laughed. “You wanna be a little more specific, hyung?”

“Hyunjin pulled me aside to talk earlier.”

“Okay…” Changbin said. “What about?”

Chan gave a nervous laugh, then a very long exhale. “About the possibility of switching dorms.”

Changbin froze. “What?”

“Did something… happen?”

“No!” Changbin said. “Nothing happened—wait, what did he say?”

“Because we’ve already gone public with the new arrangements, it would be a bit tricky to shuffle them now,” Chan went on. “Of course, if Hyunjin is uncomfortable, we can make it work, we’ll come up with something. But I just wanted to talk about it first to see if we can avoid that, yeah?”

“Did he say he was uncomfortable?” Changbin raked both his hands through his hair, like combing it out of his face would give him answers. “Channie-hyung, what is going on.”

“You tell me.” Chan looked more stressed than Changbin was feeling, which was saying something. “You’re… sure nothing happened?”

“Absolutely. Nothing. Happened. Like painfully so. Nothing has ever happened despite how badly I might have wanted something to have happened. Nothing! Happened!”

“Okay,” Chan said, wringing his hands. “Okay. We’ll figure this out.”

Changbin took a deep breath, forcing his racing mind to slow down and approach the situation calmly and rationally. “It’s fine. You don’t need to figure it out. I’ll talk to him. It’s Hyunjin, okay? I’m sure he just wants me to talk to him.” He sighed. “Don’t know why he felt like he had to come to you instead of me, but. I’ve got it covered.”

Chan didn’t look convinced, but Changbin was already pulling out his phone to text Hyunjin, asking him if he had some time to pop by the studio. Almost immediately, Hyunjin answered. “Just getting dinner now,” he messaged. “Be there soon.”

When Hyunjin knocked on the studio door and let himself in, he looked anxious, but not unhappy, which instantly set Changbin at ease. Chan quickly excused himself, mumbling something about coffee, and then they were alone.

“Hey, honey,” Changbin said, leaning back in his desk chair. “Long day?”

“I guess,” Hyunjin said. He fiddled with the strap of the bag on his shoulder. “How’s writing?”

“It’s good. Hey, are we okay? Channie says you want to move?”

Hyunjin blushed. “Oh,” he said. 

“I told him he was full of it. I know you’d never say something like that, cause we’re the happiest couple in Stray Kids, right?”

“Hyung…”

“Hmm?” Changbin spun back and forth in his chair, smiling mischievously, so Hyunjin would know he wasn’t actually upset. “Unless… Wait, you’re telling me I just lied to Channie-hyung? Oh god.” He clutched his head in his hands. “What have I done!?”

Hyunjin had picked a spot in the corner of the ceiling to stare at. “Hyung, I have to tell you something.”

“I was worried this day would come,” Changbin said. “You’re pregnant.”

Hyunjin gave an exasperated sigh, but Changbin finally got him to crack—he buried his face in his hands and laughed.

“Whose is it??”

“Hyung,” Hyunjin said, his voice muffled. “Can you please be serious.”

“Isn’t it easier to talk to me when I’m being unserious?” Changbin asked, seriously.

Hyunjin sighed. “A little bit,” he said.

“So what’s going on? Is our whirlwind romance over? I think the honeymoon phase is supposed to last a tad longer than that.”

“What romance,” Hyunjin muttered into his hands.

“Hmm?” Changbin tilted his head. “What do you mean, our—”

“What romance,” Hyunjin said again, dropping his hands to meet Changbin’s gaze. “It’s not… It’s not real. It’s just a funny little joke to you, but I don’t think it’s funny anymore!”

Changbin was processing. His mind was firing on all cylinders, gears whirring at lightspeed, trying to understand if Hyunjin was saying what he thought he was saying.

“I didn’t actually want to move,” Hyunjin said. “I… I knew Channie would talk to you and I didn’t know how else to get you to notice. But I just, I don’t know! It’s gotten to be too much!” His voice pitched higher, like he was genuinely distressed. “I had all these—these stupid, ridiculous, romantic expectations for what would happen when we moved in together, and then nothing changed, and then I just felt so stupid and embarrassed for thinking something would have changed!”

“Hyunjin,” Changbin said, and his voice came out hoarse. “Explain it to me like I’m five years old, because I can’t afford to get this wrong. Are you saying you want it to be real?”

Hyunjin’s lower lip trembled, but he didn’t answer. His eyes welled up with tears, though, and that was enough for Changbin.

“Baby,” Changbin said. “It’s real. It’s real for me, anyway. It’s not a funny little joke.”

Hyunjin sniffed. “What?”

Changbin ran a hand through his hair, trying to take this in, but there was no time for slow processing when Hyunjin was standing in front of him, wanting something from Changbin that Changbin had been trying to give him for years. There was no time to break down how ridiculous this all was, because Hyunjin was crying, and Changbin wouldn’t stand for that.

“I swear,” Changbin said. “I swear on everything. I swear on the group. Honest to god truth, Hyunjin. I thought you knew. I’ve meant everything I’ve ever said to you. It’s always been real.”

“But. You didn’t kiss me,” Hyunjin said.

“What?!”

“I asked you to stay in my bed last night,” Hyunjin said. “I was practically throwing myself at you, and you wouldn’t even kiss me. I was so embarrassed. I thought… I thought for sure you didn’t want me.”

“Baby,” Changbin said, laughing at the absurdity of it all. “I didn’t know! I didn’t kiss you because I didn’t know you wanted me to! Also no offense, but you were folded. I don’t think it would’ve been the right time!”

Hyunjin tugged adorably at the sleeve of his sweater. “But you did want to?” he asked, quietly.

“Hyunjin.”

“What!”

“Is that a serious question?”

Hyunjin huffed. “Yes!”

“Of course I did,” Changbin said. “Of course I do! How often do I talk about your lips? How often do I wax poetic about your beauty!!”

“Yeah, but,” Hyunjin said. “That’s just for STAY.”

“Says who!”

“I don’t know.”

“I say it when there are no cameras!!”

Hyunjin made a noise in protest, and was about to keep arguing when Changbin interrupted him. “Come over here,” he said.

“What if I don’t want to anymore?”

Changbin heaved an exasperated sigh. “If you don’t want to, of course that’s fine!”

Hyunjin pouted. “So you won’t fight for me?”

“Oh my god,” Changbin laughed, dropping his head back in his chair. “Baby. Come here.” He got to his feet and took Hyunjin’s reluctant hand, leading him over to the couch and sitting him down so they were side by side, face to face. “You’ve been reading too many novels. What is this about not fighting for you?”

When he was only met with Hyunjin’s very adorable frown, Changbin conceded. “I’ll fight for you. Of course I’ll fight for you.”

“Okay,” Hyunjin said. “Good.”

“How should I start? What should Hyunjinnie’s knight in shining armor do to win him back?”

“Hm.” Hyunjin’s face softened. Tentatively, he tangled their fingers together, his eyes darting away from Changbin’s. “I don’t know. You think of something.”

Cute. Cute. Changbin was going to die, he was so cute. “Sure,” he said, and cupped Hyunjin’s chin gently with the tips of his fingers. “Something like this?”

Hyunjin’s eyes met his, smoldering with a dark intensity now, like he was daring Changbin to go on. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Changbin repeated. Without wasting another second, he leaned in.

Hyunjin let out a tiny gasp as their lips connected, and then his eyes fluttered closed, and it was all over for Changbin. The kiss itself was gentle, very chaste and proper, but Changbin felt like fireworks should be going off, trumpets should be playing, something.

He kissed Hyunjin’s top lip, then his bottom one, then both of them again. When he made to pull away, Hyunjin wound his arms around Changbin’s neck and drew him back in.

The man could kiss. Changbin hadn’t been wrong to dream about those lips—full, and plush, and so, so precious as they kissed Changbin again and again. In the stillness of the recording studio, the only sounds were the soft, wet noises their mouths made as they moved against each other. Music, Changbin thought, deliriously.

“Hyung,” Hyunjin said, when they broke apart for air. “I don’t want to move out.”

“I know you don’t, baby,” Changbin said, feeling indescribably fond, and more than a bit dazed.

“I want to be with you.” 

“You are,” Changbin insisted, wrapping his arms around Hyunjin’s thin frame. “You’re with me.”

Hyunjin nodded, his tongue darting out to wet his lower lip. Changbin stared, and then he remembered he could do more than stare—he could kiss him again, draw that lip in between his teeth and suck on it, sweetly coax Hyunjin’s mouth open until they were really, truly kissing. 

One of Changbin’s hands cradled the back of Hyunjin’s head, pressing him even closer as he took and took and took. He groaned when Hyunjin slipped his tongue into his mouth, the silken slide unreal against his own. “Baby,” he whispered, when their lips parted. “Holy shit, you’re so good.”

Hyunjin shyly caught his lip between his teeth. “You like it?”

“You’re perfect,” Changbin said, drawing him in for another kiss. “Been dreaming about this since we first met.”

Hyunjin laughed, his long fingers tracing little circles on the nape of Changbin’s neck. “That can’t be true. I was so embarrassing back then.”

“You were the prettiest boy I’d ever seen, and I’m fairly certain I told you that week one.”

“Why are we still talking?” Hyunjin asked, and Changbin laughed. “No idea,” he said. “Because I’m an idiot. Come here.”

Like water, Hyunjin poured himself into Changbin’s lap, his long legs straddling Changbin’s thighs. He kept his arms looped around Changbin’s neck for support, for leverage, for generally driving Changbin closer and closer to insanity, and kissed him again. Changbin sent a thousand blessings to the heavens for allowing him to experience this moment in his lifetime—and a quick “I told you so” to his eighteen-year-old self. 

Hyunjin made the cutest noises whenever Changbin kissed him just right—little gasps and broken-off sighs, like he was enjoying the world’s most satisfying massage. Always a sucker for positive feedback, Changbin trailed his lips down Hyunjin’s throat, latching onto a swath of smooth skin at the base of his neck. 

Hyunjin gasped, his head falling back, his mouth falling open. Changbin nipped and sucked at his throat, his jaw, anywhere he could get his mouth on. He caressed the sensitive skin with his tongue, and Hyunjin’s hips stuttered in Changbin’s lap.

“Hyung,” Hyunjin moaned, he actually moaned. Changbin couldn’t help it—he bit down hard. Hyunjin flinched, squeezing his eyes shut tight.

“Sorry, baby,” Changbin said, quickly, pressing soothing kisses to the marks he’d left on Hyunjin’s otherwise flawless skin.

“Don’t be,” Hyunjin whispered. His chest was heaving. “I–I liked it.”

“Oh yeah?” Changbin’s hands flew to Hyunjin’s waist, anchoring him in his lap. Tentatively, Hyunjin ground down against him. Changbin was already hard—shocker how fast that always happened when this man was involved—and Hyunjin could definitely feel it. He rocked down against him, dragging his hips in a sinfully slow roll, his eyelids fluttering open, then closed again.

“Feels good?” Changbin asked, breathless, and Hyunjin gave a desperate nod. One of Changbin’s hands slid down to squeeze Hyunjin’s ass through his jeans. As Hyunjin moved in his lap, Changbin used his firm, two-handed grip to help him along. His mouth returned to Hyunjin’s neck, lavishing it with kisses.

“Faster,” Hyunjin breathed, and Changbin obeyed like a well-trained house pet. Hyunjin weighed practically nothing in his hands. Changbin ground back up against him, chasing the friction of Hyunjin’s hips against his own as he moved him back and forth in his lap. 

When Hyunjin managed to lift his head and meet Changbin’s gaze, Changbin almost lost it then and there. Half-lidded, glazed-over eyes, lips slightly parted, cheeks flushed—Hyunjin looked debauched, and they’d barely been making out for ten minutes.

“Baby,” Changbin said. “Oh my god, Hyunjin, we need to stop. You have to get off me. We’re in the studio.”

“But,” Hyunjin said, with another roll of his hips, kissing the corner of Changbin’s mouth once, twice, three times. “But this was your idea.”

“I know. But I’m actually going to lose it if we keep going. Which wouldn’t be a problem, but Channie-hyung is definitely gonna walk in and see us and I’m not sure if that would make it weirder or hotter but it’s definitely going to make it something.”

Hyunjin nodded, breathing heavily even as his hips stilled. He glanced around the room, as if he’d forgotten, and his red cheeks flushed even redder. “Oh. Oh god.”

“No. It’s good. It’s so good, we’re just gonna go home, okay?” With some difficulty, Changbin released his grip on Hyunjin’s ass, rubbing the small of his back instead. “Yes? Do you wanna go home? I kind of want to tear all your clothes off, and I can’t do that here.”

Hyunjin shook his head. “No. Definitely can’t. Channie-hyung is coming back.”

“He would be way too into it, and then you’d be embarrassed.”

Hyunjin made an indignant noise and smacked Changbin’s shoulder. “He would not!”

“He absolutely would. Come on, get up, let’s make ourselves presentable and call the car.”

Speed-walking down the hallway hand in hand, they did in fact pass a very confused Chan on their way out. Changbin tugged Hyunjin along and sped right past him. “Talk later, hyung. Sorry!”

“Oh, okay? Bye?”

“He’s going to know,” Hyunjin said, under his breath.

“Of course he’s going to know, I’m gonna show you off to everyone tomorrow.”

“You don’t want this to be our secret?”

They pushed through the front doors of the building, dropping each other’s hands as they stepped out into the fading evening light. Changbin turned to Hyunjin. “Of course not,” he said. “Publicly, sure. But not from the others, unless that’s what you want. But I don’t think it is.”

Hyunjin smiled cautiously. “It’s not,” he said, looking pleased.

“Good. I want them all to know what you are to me.” The car pulled up in front of them. His hand on the door handle, Changbin said, in a low voice that only Hyunjin could hear, “But right now, I just want my hands on your body. How fast do you think they can get us home?”

Hyunjin swallowed. He followed Changbin into the van, sliding into the back seat next to him. “Fast, I hope,” he whispered, and settled a hand on top of Changbin’s thigh.

Changbin raised an eyebrow. He cast a glance at their driver, who was already pulling into traffic, his eyes locked on the road ahead. Hyunjin didn’t meet Changbin’s eyes. In fact, he pretended to be very focused on what was going on through the car windows. His hand crept towards the inseam of Changbin’s jeans.

Changbin stopped breathing. Hyunjin’s long, spindly fingers ghosted over his fly, before coming to rest over the outline of his cock.

“Hyunjinnie,” Changbin warned, his voice as low and steady as possible. 

Hyunjin only hummed, his gaze locked on the view outside the window. He dragged his fingers gently over the front of Changbin’s jeans, back and forth. If the driver looked in the rearview mirror, he would only see the two of them sitting in silence. He wouldn’t catch the subtle back and forth motion of Hyunjin’s hand, or the obvious bulge in Changbin’s now-much-too-tight jeans.

When Hyunjin cupped his fingers around his cock and squeezed, Changbin almost blacked out. He probably would have, if blacking out wouldn’t have meant interrupting this beautiful moment. Instead, he closed his eyes and bit back a moan.

Smiling, Hyunjin finally looked at Changbin, slowly withdrawing his hand. “Okay,” he whispered. “No more of that.” 

“You want me dead. You actually want me dead.”

“Shhhh.” Hyunjin patted Changbin’s knee. “Almost home.”

The front door of their apartment wasn’t even closed before Changbin whirled around and backed Hyunjin up against it. Hyunjin tossed his hair out of his eyes, laughing as he took in Changbin’s playfully furious expression. 

“It wasn’t that bad,” Hyunjin laughed, while Changbin glared up at him. “Did it feel good?”

Changbin scrunched his face up, trying to force his smile down. “What do you think?”

“Okay, okay,” Hyunjin said. “I’ll make it up to you.” Without another word, without even taking off the bag slung over his shoulder, he dropped to his knees. 

Changbin’s mouth went dry. “You don’t—you don’t have to,” he said, frozen in place as Hyunjin whipped Changbin’s belt out of its loops and undid the button on his jeans. 

“I know,” Hyunjin said, directing Changbin by the hips until he was leaning back against the door. “I want to, dummy.” He took Changbin’s zipper between his thumb and forefinger and carefully pulled it down, then slid his jeans and briefs down his thighs until they pooled around his ankles.

Hyunjin stared for a moment, then locked eyes with Changbin. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple visibly bobbing, as he took Changbin’s very hard cock in his hand. 

“Jesus,” Changbin said. This was not real. There was no way. 

Hyunjin bit his lip, smiling dangerously. Then, he parted his lips and took Changbin into his mouth. 

Changbin couldn’t help it—he groaned, loudly, goddamn it was nice that they lived alone. He sagged against the door, letting it support him as Hyunjin stretched his beautiful, perfect lips around his cock. Changbin forced himself to watch, even as his eyes threatened to roll back in his head. He would die before he missed a second of this.

Hyunjin hummed, working Changbin over with his lips and tongue. The inside of his mouth was tight and hot, and it was all Changbin could do to keep his hips still as Hyunjin took him far deeper than he was expecting. He made himself useful by gathering Hyunjin’s long hair and holding it back from his face.

Hyunjin pulled off with a loud pop, wiping his mouth daintily with the back of his hand. “You’re so hot,” he said, mouthing at the tip of Changbin’s cock before swallowing it down again. 

“I’m hot? Hyunjin, you— oh fuck,” Changbin bit back another shameless moan as Hyunjin took him all the way, his mouth and throat stuffed full, his lips buried in Changbin’s neatly trimmed hair. Hyunjin’s eyes watered, but he didn’t choke as he stared up at Changbin. Changbin’s mouth fell open, and he caressed Hyunjin’s hollowed cheek. “You’re amazing. Your mouth. You’re fucking perfect. I want to have your babies.”

At that, Hyunjin coughed, choking on Changbin’s cock as he pulled off. “What!?” he sputtered, laughing. “Don’t say that!”

“Get up here,” Changbin practically growled. Hyunjin got to his feet, sheepishly, and Changbin kissed him, hard. He could taste himself on Hyunjin’s tongue, and it filled him with a desperate, growing, searing-hot need for more. 

“You’re so good to me,” Changbin said, between kisses. “Let me be good to you.”

Hyunjin gave a shy smile. “Do you have something in mind?”

“Yeah. Take your shoes off.”

When they both had done so, Changbin got a hand under Hyunjin’s knees and scooped him into his arms. Hyunjin yelped as he was literally swept off his feet and carried bridal-style towards his bedroom. 

“You really like the wife thing, don’t you,” Hyunjin said, hanging onto Changbin’s neck as he relaxed in his arms.

“You knew I would,” Changbin said. He laid Hyunjin out on the bed. “Can I tear your clothes off now?”

“Be gentle,” Hyunjin said. “They’re designer.”

His designer jeans landed in a crumpled heap on the floor, along with his designer sweater and designer briefs. Changbin pulled his own t-shirt over his head, and just like that, they were naked.

Changbin grazed a hand down Hyunjin’s side, taking in the sight of him. Hyunjin was all long limbs and harsh angles, from his prominent collarbones to the flat plane of his stomach. His long, black hair splayed out beneath him as he looked up at Changbin with hungry eyes.

“How is this allowed?” Changbin murmured, more to himself than to Hyunjin. “How are you allowed to be like this?”

Hyunjin blushed faintly. “Like what.”

“You know.”

“Tell me I’m pretty,” Hyunjin said, his hand twisting in the bedsheets.

“You are actually,” Changbin said, enunciating every word carefully. “The most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”

Hyunjin turned his head to bury his face in the mattress. “Tell me you want me,” he said.

Changbin felt like his insides were on fire. He knelt between Hyunjin’s legs, his arms caging him in as he leaned in to whisper into his exposed neck. “I have never,” he said. “Wanted anyone else. The way I want you.”

Hyunjin shuddered, arching his back to press their bodies together. Changbin's breath caught in his throat at the brush of Hyunjin’s hard cock against his own—he had seen it, but feeling it was a different story. He lowered himself so their bodies were flush, and the sensation magnified tenfold.

“How do you want me?” Hyunjin asked, snaking an arm around Changbin’s neck and pulling him in. They kissed, gasping into each other’s open mouths, heat building between their bodies. Changbin felt drunk—his face hot, the room spinning, his inhibitions gone out the window. His entire world had been reduced to Hwang Hyunjin.

“I want to fuck you,” Changbin said, his voice coming out rougher than he intended. “I want to— to bend you over. Take you apart. Make you mine. Can I do that?”

Hyunjin nodded frantically. “Please,” he whispered. “Please, hyung, I want— I want your…”

“My babies?”

“Shut up,” Hyunjin laughed.

Changbin nipped at Hyunjin’s upper lip. “You want my what, baby?”

“Your cock,” Hyunjin said, deliberately lowering his eyelashes, grinding his hips against the thing in question.

“It’s all yours, angel. I’m gonna give it to you.”

“Good,” Hyunjin said, with a deep and shaky exhale. “Call me that again.”

A delighted smile crept across Changbin’s face. “Angel?”

Hyunjin nodded again. “And baby. I like baby too.”

“Okay, baby. You got it. Anything you want.”

“What about you?” Hyunjin said, his voice pitching lower, his hands running up and down the muscles of Changbin’s back. “Anything… anything you like?”

Changbin laughed. “Baby, I like everything. I love whatever you’ll let me do with you.”

“Fine,” Hyunjin said. “You can tell me specifics later. Can you fuck me now?”

“Yeah,” Changbin breathed. “Lie back, angel. Let me take care of you.”

He kissed his way down Hyunjin’s chest, already glistening with a faint sheen of sweat. Hyunjin’s stomach quivered as Changbin peppered it with kisses. When he reached Hyunjin’s cock, he took it in hand reverently. 

“Gorgeous,” Changbin said, and he kissed the tip. “Absolutely beautiful.”

“Oh my god,” Hyunjin groaned, but he didn’t take his eyes off Changbin. Changbin kept that eye contact as he took Hyunjin between his lips, as Hyunjin’s breath quickened and his thighs trembled. Changbin hollowed his cheeks and took him deeper, the taste of Hyunjin’s precome on the back of his tongue. Hyunjin squirmed beneath him, whimpering, his face flushed and damp with sweat.

Changbin pulled off. “So fucking sexy, baby,” he said, pumping his hand a few times. “Where do you keep your lube?”

“My—my sock drawer.”

“Cute,” Changbin said. Having retrieved it, he settled back between Hyunjin’s thighs and slicked up his fingers. “Can I?”

Hyunjin let him slide a pillow under his hips and spread his ass cheeks, exposing him completely. Changbin dragged the slippery pad of his thumb over Hyunjin’s entrance, drawing a teasing circle. “You’ve done this before,” he said, not really a question.

“Mhm,” Hyunjin said, closing his eyes and sighing when Changbin pressed the tip of his finger inside. “And you…?”

“Yeah,” Changbin said. 

“Don’t tell me about them,” Hyunjin said, quickly.

Changbin cracked a smile, massaging his finger in a slow circle. “About who? My whole world is you now.” He slipped a second finger in alongside the first, and Hyunjin gasped, his head falling back against the mattress.

Changbin laughed. “Feels good?”

Hyunjin bit his lip and nodded.

“What’s wrong, princess,” Changbin said, his voice a low rumble. “You don’t want me to hear you?”

Furiously, Hyunjin shook his head, his hair a wild mess beneath him. 

“But I want to,” Changbin said. “I know how loud you get.”

“I— I don’t— ah!” Hyunjin couldn’t hold back a strangled cry as Changbin pulsed his fingers against his prostate, and he clenched tightly around him. Changbin smirked, carefully extracting his fingers as soon as he was able. “Okay, okay,” he said. “Hands and knees, baby. Let’s go.”

Hyunjin obediently rolled onto his front, arching his back as his knees dug into the mattress. Changbin wanted to lick a stripe down the long, bony ridge of his spine. Later, he told himself. That itself might be enough to send Changbin over the edge, and he wanted to finish inside Hyunjin. There would be time to fully worship his body later.

“Ready, gorgeous?” Changbin asked, getting to his knees behind Hyunjin. He fisted his own cock, slicking himself up with a liberal coating of lube.

“Ready,” Hyunjin whispered, and Changbin lined up with his hole and slowly pushed inside. They gasped in unison at the sensation—tight, searing heat as Changbin eased all the way in, forcing his hips still while Hyunjin adjusted to the size. 

“Perfect,” Changbin said, rubbing circles into the smooth, pale skin of Hyunjin’s ass. “So fucking perfect, baby.”

“You’re perfect,” Hyunjin echoed, breathlessly.

“You’re perfect.”

“No, you are.”

Changbin grinned. “Okay, you’re right. I’m perfect.” He caressed Hyunjin’s sides, his waist, the slight curve of his ass—all glistening with sweat, all his for the taking.

“And you can get moving any day now,” Hyunjin said.

“Oh, can I?” Changbin laughed, smoothing his hand over the small of Hyunjin’s back. “What if I want to take my time with you?”

Hyunjin craned his neck over his shoulder to glare at Changbin. His sweat-soaked hair was loose and wild in his face, and he huffed out a sharp breath to clear it from his eyes. “You wouldn’t,” he said, scandalized. “I thought you cared about me.”

His hands traveling back to Hyunjin’s waist, Changbin shifted his hips in a slow roll, barely rocking in and out. “I do care,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady as Hyunjin’s insides clenched tight around him. “I love you, you know that.”

Still looking back at him, Hyunjin’s eyes went wide. 

Changbin started. “You already knew that!” He gave Hyunjin’s waist a comforting squeeze. “Baby, you know that! You know I love you, right?”

Hyunjin’s cheeks were heating up, flushing adorably pink before he turned back around. “I mean, you’ve said it before.”

“I know.” Changbin leaned all the way forward, plastering himself to Hyunjin’s back. He pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “Because I mean it.” Another kiss. “I love you.”

Hyunjin let his head drop between his shoulders. “Hyung,” he said. “Please. Fuck me.”

“Okay, angel,” Changbin said. “All yours.” He pulled out almost all the way, then thrust back in, punching a gasp out of Hyunjin and jolting his entire body up the mattress.

Fucking Hyunjin was every fantasy Changbin had ever had, but different, and better. A thousand times better. His hands anchored to Hyunjin’s hip bones, Changbin slid in and out of him at a brutal pace, his breaths coming hot and heavy as he willed himself to keep his stamina up. Hyunjin took him so well. Bracing himself on his hands and knees, he rocked back to meet each of Changbin’s thrusts, his ragged moans echoing in the otherwise quiet room.

“Harder,” Hyunjin panted, and who was Changbin to deny him anything? He picked up speed, snapping his hips so hard that Hyunjin cried out, clenching his fists in the bedsheets.

“That’s how you like it, baby?” Changbin had Hyunjin’s waist in a bruising grip. “You like it rough?”

“Yes,” Hyunjin moaned, and holy fuck, Changbin was committing that sound to memory. He drove his cock inside him, again and again, reveling in the shameless cries and moans he pulled from Hyunjin every time he hit that spot just right.

“You like that?” Changbin asked, his own chest heaving. “Is that good?”

“Ah— so good,” Hyunjin said. “I bet— ah— bet you can— go harder—”

Changbin groaned, laughing as he yanked Hyunjin’s hips back towards him. “You bet your cute little ass I can.” He slammed into him, and with another strangled cry, Hyunjin’s arms collapsed out from under him, his beautiful face crushed against the mattress. “Like that?” Changbin said, through gritted teeth.

“Nngh– mmhmm,” Hyunjin managed. He arched his back, lifting his ass even as the rest of him sprawled out on the bed.

“You’re perfect,” Changbin said, for the hundredth time, digging his fingers into Hyunjin’s bony hips and fucking him like his life depended on it. “So fucking sexy.”

Hyunjin seemed to be past the point of words. He sobbed limply into the mattress, the sheets beneath him a mess of sweat and spit and tears. As Changbin rammed into him, he could feel the tension melting out of Hyunjin’s body. He wanted to see him go completely boneless. The very thought of it was driving Changbin closer and closer to climax. He could feel the pressure building in his core—he wouldn’t last much longer.

Hyunjin whimpered something into the mattress.

“Can’t hear you, beautiful,” Changbin said.

“Don’t stop,” Hyunjin said, turning his head, and Changbin got a look at his crazed, open-mouthed smile. “Ah— ah— hyung, don’t stop, don’t stop, I—”

“Me too, baby,” Changbin gasped. “Together—come on.” He watched Hyunjin fumble a hand under his own body to touch himself, wishing he could see more from this angle. Next time, Changbin told himself, while he still had the capacity to think. He let his hips take over, staccato thrusts as he threw his head back, his vision going white as he tipped over the edge. He heard Hyunjin moan beneath him, felt him spasming around him, drawing out the aftershocks of Changbin’s orgasm until they were both trembling and fighting for breath.

Slowly, Changbin’s heart rate returned to normal. His first coherent thought was: they had been so loud. His second: no roommates. Relieved and deeply satisfied, he eased out of Hyunjin, ignoring the sticky mess they had made of themselves to collapse on the bed next to him. Hyunjin, who was face down in a puddle of his own drool, looked maybe the hottest Changbin had ever seen him. The drool was hot—that was how far gone he was for this man.

He lay there with him until Hyunjin recovered enough to turn his head. His big, hazy eyes blinked open, and he mumbled something.

Changbin’s heart seized in his chest. “Honey.”

“I love you,” Hyunjin repeated. Changbin resisted the urge to make fun of him—Hyunjin saying those words for the first time, while they lay together in postcoital bliss? What a hopeless romantic. Changbin might die, he was so happy.

“Baby, come here,” Changbin said, and gathered Hyunjin into his arms. Their foreheads knocked together. “I love you more.”

“No,” Hyunjin said, his mouth curling into a smile, his eyes fluttering shut.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially to my favorite person, but the numbers don’t lie.”

Hyunjin laughed, his lips brushing Changbin’s. “What numbers.”

“Oh, I’ve got numbers. Facts and figures, if you will. If you add them up, it’s not even close.”

“Mmm.” Hyunjin shook his head. “You have bad numbers.”

“Sorry, baby. I won’t let you win this one.” Changbin closed the distance between them, meeting Hyunjin’s soft lips with his own. He kissed him a few times, and Hyunjin kissed back, but sleepily. Changbin smiled against his mouth. “You wanna sleep first or shower first?”

“Sleep first,” Hyunjin grumbled. “Don’t shower without me.”

Changbin beamed. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

*   *   *   *   *

They napped, then showered. Changbin insisted on carrying Hyunjin bridal-style to and from the bathroom, despite Hyunjin’s half-hearted protests. “And I’ll do it all day tomorrow too!” he said, clutching Hyunjin’s warm, clean body to his chest. “If it hurts for you to walk, it’s my fault, you know.”

“It’s not that bad,” Hyunjin insisted, rolling his eyes, but Changbin could tell he was loving the attention.

They decided to spend the night in Changbin’s bedroom, where the atmosphere was less romantic but the sheets were clean. On the way there, Changbin retrieved his phone from his abandoned jeans to plug it in for the night. Once he and Hyunjin had settled in, he unlocked his phone, and… oh dear. Two missed calls from Jisung and a few dozen new messages from practically every other group member.

Channie

i presume you guys talked? and that hyunjin is feeling okay now? i don’t want to assume… 

keep me in the loop 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Felix

hi hyung~

is hyunjin with you?

he said he was going to talk to you

but hasn’t checked in

let me know 🥺

Jisung

hyung

channie says you and hyunjin booked it out of the studio together holding hands

holding HANDSSSS

tell me this means what i think it means

tell me it does

talk to me baby

unless you’re with him rn

well duh you live together

but you know…… 👀

if i’m completely off the mark please disregard all previous messages

min says 100% chance you guys are banging rn

he wants to bet real money

but i don’t wanna bet bc i kinda think he’s right…

Minho

Congratulations Binnie 😸

If you’re looking for sex tips from your wise hyung

The answer is no

Seungmin

For your protein shakes do you use the whey isolate or the whey concentrate? Your recipe didn't specify and the grocery store had both.

Jisung

WELL IT’S BEEN AN HOUR???

TEXT ME WHENEVER YOU LOOK AT YOUR PHONE??????

Felix

oh

btw

nevermind hyung

sungie called me

and also

we all talked

you can ignore my question

🥲

i love you guys

🩵🩵🩵

Changbin lowered his phone, shaking his head and laughing. He held it out to Hyunjin, nestled in bed next to him, so he could read too.

“I’m afraid to look at mine,” Hyunjin said. “Innie just messaged you too, by the way.”

“Let me guess, he also needs help with his protein shake.”

Hyunjin tilted his head, studying the screen with knitted eyebrows. “Actually, this just looks like a screenshot of a group chat without us in it. Yeah, they’re all talking about us.” He handed Changbin back his phone, burying his face in the pillow. “How do they all know already??”

“They’re smart boys,” Changbin said. “Word travels fast.”

“They’re going to be so annoying about it,” Hyunjin whined. “We were so annoying about Minho-hyung and Hannie. You know at least those two will want revenge.”

“I’m glad they all know,” Changbin said, wrapping his arm around Hyunjin’s waist and pulling him closer. “I told you I wanted to show you off.”

Hyunjin fought back a smile. “It’s none of their business,” he said.

“It is too. Because they love us, and they want us to be happy, and being annoying is their love language—it’s in their DNA. And also because we’ll make it their business when we can’t stop kissing at dance practice.”

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow. “Will we?”

“Yup. And when you insist on sitting in my lap at movie nights.”

“I did that last time…”

“I know!” Changbin shouted, laughing. “I was painfully aware of you doing that last time! I don’t even remember the movie, I was so focused on pretending your ass wasn’t directly on my dick for two hours!”

“I was so annoyed,” Hyunjin said, sheepishly. “You seemed like you barely even noticed I was there.”

“Oh, I noticed!! Believe me when I say I noticed!!”

Hyunjin giggled. “Well, next time, you can notice even harder.”

“I plan on it.” Changbin rolled on top of him, settling comfortably on his chest. He traced the contours of Hyunjin’s collarbones with his finger. “I always notice you.”

“I know,” Hyunjin said, in a serious voice. His gaze was soft as he watched Changbin draw a heart on his skin.

“But everything’s different now, because you finally actually noticed me!” Changbin planted a kiss above Hyunjin’s heart. “Now we’re unstoppable. Now the kids won’t know what hit them.”

“I noticed you a long time ago,” Hyunjin said.

Changbin’s heart soared. The others would want details tomorrow—and they would get some of them, for sure. Not all of them. Some moments belonged only to Changbin and Hyunjin, in the lovely little home they had made together, where they had a lot of catching up to do.

But right now, Changbin cradled Hyunjin’s face in his hands, leaning in for a kiss. “Baby,” he said. “You say the sweetest things.”