1.1 | louder than bombs

- 19 -

Jaemoon found himself waking up to the sound of his boyfriend's giggles, gentle touches flitting across his face.

He opened his phoenix-eyes, straightaway locking his with Cairo's doe ones. They had moved to his tent after spending some time under the stars last night. The sunlight could barely make its way through the polyester confines, the space lighting up with its soft glow.

Cairo's long fingers were tracing his nose, a boxy-smile adorning his face as his eyes turned into crescents.

"Good morning, Moon," his Doe greeted him, retracting his hand only to be stopped by Jaemoon who interlaced their fingers, placing a soft kiss on the back of Cairo's hand.

"'Morning, Doe"

Cue the blush.

Cairo cleared his throat. "I was thinking," he lowered his eyes to Jaemoon's chest, feeling it was too early for him to bear his Moon's intense gaze, "We could go out today, maybe to the City. You, me and our friends if there isn't anything else to do. What do you think?"

Jaemoon rested his hand on Cairo's waist, drawing circles on the naked skin that was exposed when Cairo decided to examine the ravenette's face with his slender fingers. Cairo shivered, the touch so foreign yet so welcome.

"I think it's a great idea. We can leave in an hour," he smiled at Cairo as he leaned forward, "But only if you give me a kiss."

"No."

Jaemoon raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Really? But your actions last night seems to be saying something else."

"You're so annoying," Cairo mumbled as he nuzzled his face into Jaemoon's broad chest, a small smile tipping his lips upwards at the memory.

Jaemoon kissed the brunette's soft locks, relishing his blueberry scent. The two lovebirds stayed that way for a while, their heartbeats syncopating to form a beautiful melody, a melody of love.

🏔

"Where are we going?" Troy asked in an obnoxiously loud tone as he munched on a packet of broccoli chips, earning a stink-eye from Cairo.

The five friends were seated in a Jeep, all bundled up in layers of clothing to ward off the chilly breeze. It was a cold morning, the usual chipper of birds not as loud, the bright ball of sunshine in the sky barely doing anything to keep the Military officers warm.

"If you were not so busy in burrowing through your bag for finding that despicable snack, you would have known," Cairo gritted out, still going strong with the stink-eye.

"Why are you hating on my Brassica oleracea var. Italica? What did they ever do to you?" Troy clutched the packet to his chest dramatically, looking at his glaring best friend with mock horror.

Jaemoon grinned as he looked at his Doe all rilled up while Phoenix and Dohyun laughed from the front seats.

"Don't you dare start with your drama again," Cairo jabbed his right pointer finger in Troy's chest, his face heating up with anger, "Not if you want your dead body ditched in the woods."

Jaemoon was dying on the inside from all the cuteness, seeing his small Cairo looking as threatening as a puppy while cornering a muscled and laughing Troy.

"Calm down, Doe," he wounded his arm around the brunette's waist, pulling Cairo closer to his large body, "Why do you hate it so much anyway?"

Cairo whipped his head up to look Jaemoon in the eyes, incredulity swirling in his brown monolids. "You mean, eating that," he said, pointing a finger at the pack of the green flower in Troy's hands, "is acceptable?"