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“Jaehee-yah.” Yushi croaked out. His voice hasn’t caught up with the early hour.
Daeyoung remained dead asleep as always. The incessant ringing had woken Yushi up first. This time it was the title track from their last comeback, Hello Mellow. Yushi doesn’t hate the song but being violently woken up by it at 6 in the morning will curse your love for it.
Sigh. He turned it off.
He watched the way Daeyoung’s chest rose up and down, ever so subtly. His hand reached out to smooth the front of Daeyoung’s shirt, landing where his heart was. The steady rhythm of his heart calmed Yushi.
There was something about being in love that made Yushi find every little thing about Daeyoung fascinating.
The way he scrunched his nose in disbelief. The crease between his eyebrows when he’s confused. The small frown when he was sleepy. Those puppy dog eyes, that he was so, so weak for. The little tilt of his half smile, his smirk when he finds something incredulous. That silly boisterous laugh.
You get the idea.
Daeyoung barely stirred as Yushi stared at him like a cat eyeing a fish on the table. Winning Daeyoung was the biggest prize in life, or at least that’s what Yushi thinks. Sometimes he gets scolded by their managers or teased by the members for staring at him so much. Hmph. They’re all just jealous, he thinks.
Everyone adored Daeyoung, it could not be helped when he was cute, and kind, and sweet, and tall, and handsome, and thoughtful, and…Daeyoung would usually stop him here, hands covering his face. It amuses Yushi to no end.
“What is it? Why are you so shy?”
So Yushi will crane his neck every time to look at his boyfriend, thank you very much. The cameras be damned. He’s trying to stop whining for him on live though. That was a little embarrassing. He still has some shame left in him, contrary to what some people (Ryo and Sion-hyung) may think.
Now he smooths back Daeyoung’s bangs—they were getting long, covering the moles on his forehead. Yushi didn’t like it but it made Daeyoung happy when his eyebrows were covered.
He was always worried over trivial things. They were cute. The barely visible eyebrows, Yushi means. But no amount of convincing from Yushi has done the trick. So remained covered they did.
Yushi leaned in and gave the hidden moles a quick peck. Kiss. Kiss. His skin was always so cold.
Daeyoung fidgeted a bit.
The warmth of Yushi’s lips must have prompted it. But that wasn’t enough. It was a challenge every time to Yushi, to see how long Daeyoung can go before being awake.
He likes playing this game. It usually took 22 kisses before Daeyoung relents (yes, he’s counted). Not today though. He just wants to enjoy it.
Now Yushi rubs Daeyoung’s cheek. All skin and bones. The elasticity of it reminded him of a mochi. There’s a reason he assigned Jaehee as a warabi mochi in an interview once.
Daeyoung’s skin was so smooth. Not just by touch alone. But up close, Yushi could clearly see the texture. The miniscule bumps. It made him stupidly happy how human Daeyoung was.
He liked watching him breathe in his sleep too. It reminded him of how real, how true this love is. And how lucky he was to have him in his life. Yushi does not know what he’ll do without Daeyoung.
He was the grounding force to Yushi’s free spiritedness. Never holding him back, no. He was simply always there, steady, when Yushi got tired from flying around and needed someone to lean on. A place to go home to.
Anyways, Yushi wished there was a little more bite to his cheeks. He wants to feed Daeyoung more. The younger one always gets sad when he doesn’t eat. But when Yushi did it in turn, Daeyoung brushed it off.
Silly boy. Care for yourself too. Yushi gently parted his bangs, playing with Daeyoung’s soft hair. Running his fingers through it. Feeling its silkiness. He hasn’t coloured it much so it was still healthy while Yushi’s was bleached beyond saving.
Yushi took a deep inhale. He smelled like figs. There was a sweetness to it, and something powdery. It wasn’t as leafy as Yushi thought it would be. It fit Daeyoung so well.
He starts kissing the moles dotting his face.
The one on his right cheekbone.
Kiss.
And the one directly below it.
Kiss.
He rubs the one on his jawline before leaving one there too.
Kiss.
The one at the bottom of his lip.
Kiss.
Daeyoung’s lip twitched, the left corner raised slightly. “Mhmphh.” He groaned.
But his eyes remained stubbornly closed so Yushi continued his agenda. Kiss. The one at the left corner of his lip. Kiss. And just because he couldn’t help himself, one square on the mouth. Daeyoung’s lips were pursed now and Yushi cocked an eyebrow.
“Jehi. Are you awake?”
“Huh?” he said, voice muffled with sleep.
“You want to get kissed?”
“...”
“Jehi. Jehi-yah.” Yushi shakes his shoulder gently. Daeyoung turned to the side, pulling the blankets higher.
“I’m awake.” He opened his eyes for a split second, if you could even call it that. His eyelids were so droopy that Yushi almost missed it.
“Daeyoung, you’re lying to me?”
The younger continued breathing through his nose. It was not a feign of nonchalance, his boyfriend really was back to dreamland.
Yushi poked at his cheek. “Jaehee-san. Do you know it’s bad to lie to your hyung? Hmm?”
But Jaehee-san paid no mind. Yushi pecks his right cheek that Daeyoung was presenting to him. This had always been his softer side. Less sharp lines and angles, all rounded edges.
Yushi leaned in to kiss his eyebrow. “Daeyoung-ah” Kiss. “You’re doing this on purpose aren’t you, puppy?” Kiss. He noses the younger’s cheek. “Hmm?” He smells good even here. Kiss. “You want me to kiss you.”
“Mhmmph.” Daeyoung had shifted in his sleep, Yushi’s relentless attack chipping away at his resolve. His full face was facing Yushi now, eyebrows scrunched. Squinting through his sleepy haze.
So Yushi continues his assault and then some.
“You’re lucky I love you.” A kiss to his nose. “Who else could put up with you like this?” The space between his eyes. “Only I can.”
Daeyoung whimpered in protest.
“You-” Kiss. “and your-” Kiss. “endless-” Kiss. “stupid-” Kiss. “alar-”
Before Yushi could land his final one, Daeyoung whined. “Hyungiee.” He reached out to shove Yushi off but his limbs were still heavy with sleep.
Yushi harked a small laugh.
“It’s too muchhh.” Daeyoung attempts to pull the blanket over his head, but Yushi was in the way. He kisses away the pout. Yushi’s lips were starting to feel numb from the workout he gave them so he tells himself it's the last one.
“Puppy, it’s time to wake up. You’ve slept for far too long.”
“Don’t wanna, you’re being mean.”
“Oh? No more kisses for you then.”
That has Daeyoung’s eyes opening in alert. Easy. He looked at Yushi, fighting the heaviness of his eyelids. “We don’t even have schedules today.”
“You’re the one who set the alarm for this time.”
“Hyung, I forgot! To turn it off…” His eyebrows were drawn together over those puppy dog eyes. Lips formed in a small pout, quivering. Yushi wants to eat him. This puppy doesn’t realise how evil he is for Yushi’s heart.
“Never mind that. I want to do things with you today.”
“You do?”
“Of course. But do you want more sleep?”
“I want whatever hyung wants.”
“Do you want to sleep more?”
“If you want to.”
“I’m asking what you want.”
“But hyung-”
“Oi, you brat. Don’t play this game with me right now.”
“Hhnghh.” Daeyoung whines then says a little too loudly, “Fine! I want to sleep more, hyung! Okay?”
Yushi smiles something satisfied. In the end, he always got the upper hand. His puppy listens to him so well.
“Good boy.” He pecks Daeyoung’s nose and watches the flush creep all over. The rosy tint made his skin so pretty.
“Stop treating me like a dog.”
Yushi pinches the younger’s cheek. “You know you like it. And how many times do I have to remind you? You can be selfish with me.”
Daeyoung looked up at Yushi. He still looked like he was fighting sleep, yawning ever so often. But he was trying his best to be good. “Sorry, hyung.”
“I don’t want to hear it, now come. Let’s go back to sleep.” Yushi fell back into bed, wrapping his arms around Daeyoung. Squishing their faces together. The younger happily obliged, squeezing his ribs a little too tight.
Like a dog, Daeyoung had the tendency to get too eager at times. But he indulged in Yushi’s cat-like feistiness and periods of playing hard to get, so Yushi isn’t one to complain.
Daeyoung just doesn’t know his own strength sometimes and Yushi would happily be squashed by his boyfriend if he continues getting hugged.
The last thing he needed was Daeyoung being too scared to hug him for fear of breaking him.
He can feel Daeyoung’s breathing starting to settle down again but Yushi never makes it easy. Slipping his hands underneath Daeyoung’s shirt, he made slow circles in the dips of his hips. Daeyoung flinches.
“Hyungg, it tickles.”
“Hm?” Yushi continued ever so slowly. He stroked the sides of Daeyoung’s torso with the back of his hands before going full attack mode.
“Ushi hyung! You said-ah! That we’re going-” He let out a gleeful sound. “Back to sleep,” Daeyoung said, sounding betrayed. Breath panting. But Yushi could see the smile on his face. The indentation of his dimple. He poked at it.
Yushi was grinning so widely that it hurt. “Don’t you like it when I play with you, hmm?” Yushi splayed his hands across Daeyoung’s back, kneading the skin. “I’m helping you. You’re always so cold.”
Daeyoung hummed in acknowledgment but twitched from the sensation. He reached out to caress Yushi, the rough ridges of his thumb smoothing over his cheeks, his right thumb resting on his scar. Daeyoung leaned in to kiss it. Then one each on Yushi’s eyelids as they fluttered close.
“I love you, hyung.”
Yushi shifted closer, resting his head on Daeyoung’s collarbone. Quirking open his eyes for a second, he kissed the mole there. He murmurs his response into Daeyoung’s skin. The younger one doesn't complain about a clear confirmation this time. And he’s already off to sleep again.
Yushi listened to the slow drumming of his heart. Dub. Dab. Dub. Dab. The ragged breathing through his stuffed nose. He felt himself drifting to sleep too. Yushi wouldn’t trade these mornings being entangled with Daeyoung for nothing.
Life feels like a dream most days. But not always in a good sense.
Sometimes Yushi doesn't really feel real. He's never really lost anyone. Not anyone that mattered deeply. He was never close with his family members that passed so it didn’t alter his life much.
And for that, he had a lot of anticipatory grief. It should be unnatural to think of it so much but he couldn’t help himself.
Yushi was always scared, holding on tightly to those around him. Luckily for him, his members were all clingy with one another so they never questioned it. But sometimes he worries that Daeyoung would one day get overwhelmed by the enormity of his affection.
They’ve talked about it before and it was Daeyoung’s turn to tell him not to worry over something, for once.
“Hyung, if anything *I’m* the one who can be a bit much at times.”
“That’s different, you’re self-sacrificing. It’s not healthy, Daeng.”
“Wait, hyung. I’m not arguing. I’m just saying I’m not worried. Or you shouldn’t be. I love you, I mean it."
“....”
Daeyoung had reached out then, tucking his chin over Yushi’s head, arms wrapping around him. “I mean it all those times when I said I liked you the way you are, hyung. It wasn’t for the cameras or fans.”
Yushi grumbled. But did not push him off.
“You can play with me as much as you want. Push me if you feel like it. Be mean to me. Cling and stare too hard. I love it all. You know this, hyung. I know you do. Nothing will drive me away. Least of all your love.”
So everytime anyone asks him if he minds the alarm clocks, if he’ll one day reach his breaking point, he says no with full confidence. Because nothing in life is ever perfect and tolerating Daeyoung’s waking up troubles was the least of Yushi’s concerns. All he wanted was Daeyoung to be in his life forever.
And truly, Yushi doesn’t mind the alarms. They had to wake one way or another. His love for Daeyoung would always prevail over trivial things.
へ ♡ ╱|、
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乀 (ˍ, ل ل じしˍ,)ノ