freedom ;; xdinary heroes

thirty seven

[ jumpscare warning lol ]

•

The living room was quiet apart from Jooyeon snoring beside the couple. On their makeshift bed made with stacked blankets and lined with the couch pillows, Jiseok lied between the two boys to prevent any awkward accidents. Jooyeon was long asleep, evident by his bizarre sleeping position and loud snoring, but the couple stayed up a bit longer.

"He's an interesting guy, that's for sure," Seungmin said softly, running a hand through Jiseok's hair lovingly. "He's a little wilder than what I thought would be your friend. I thought you'd adopt someone introverted."

"Like Hyeongjun?"

Seungmin nodded, and the two laughed softly between one another. "But I actually like him. He's fun."

Silence fell over the two for a moment, simply holding one another as they attempted to fall asleep. However, they could both feel it. Jiseok bit his lips together, raising his head from Seungmin's chest. "Has it been too long since the last time?"

Seungmin chuckled, looking up at the ceiling with dazed eyes. "Maybe. But I don't think we should do anything in the living room or next to your best friend."

Jiseok lifted his body from the floor, placing himself on Seungmin's hips with his legs on either side of him. Seungmin's hands habitually went to his waist, sitting up from the floor and pulling the shorter boy closer to him. With tilted heads, their lips met softly for a second before the heat grew ever so slightly.

"Not here," Seungmin said against his lips. "Let's go to your room."

Jiseok nodded, getting up from the other's hips and taking his hand, helping Seungmin stand up as he guided him through the darkness to his room. They carefully closed the door behind themselves to not make any noise, giggling as they kissed each other hotly. Seungmin sat on the bed, holding Jiseok by his waist with his head tilted.

"What do you want me to do?" Seungmin asked, barely able to break his lips from the other to talk.

"Do whatever you want to me," Jiseok breathed, guiding Seungmin's hands to his boxer shorts. "I'll let you do anything. Just don't hurt me."

"Do you still have... those..."

"No time," Jiseok shook his head quickly. "Just take me, please..."

"I can't — we have to go back downstairs," Seungmin said softly. "There's no rush, baby. Let's take it slow, okay?"

Jiseok showed his agreement by moving to lie down on the bed, waiting for Seungmin to get the chosen method of protection. Seungmin pressed their lips together again, lips trailing lower to Jiseok's neck as he used his hands to lift Jiseok's shirt over his head. However, he couldn't see his body quite clearly due to the darkness, which was rather disappointing to Seungmin.

"Are we really doing this?" Seungmin asked, even though he got multiple nods of consent from the other. Seungmin bit his lips together, blindly searching for the hem of the boxer shorts before tugging them off. "I'll try not to hurt you, then."

"It's fine," Jiseok smiled. "I trust you."

•

Jungsu got into the bed beside Hyeongjun after putting the bedroom light off and taking his socks off. Hyeongjun made noises of panic, causing Jungsu to quickly pick his phone up and turn on the flashlight. "Sorry, sweetie. I'll put it off when you fall asleep."

Hyeongjun hummed, putting his arm around Jungsu's waist to hold him close. "Nearly a decade of being friends, and you somehow forgot I don't like the dark."

"Sorry, I'm just so used to just turning it off," Jungsu apologised, pressing a kiss to the other's forehead. He lifted his phone, unlocking it to create more light for Hyeongjun and scrolling through his class's group chat to see what was due over the weekend. Hyeongjun watched with concentrated eyes, staring at Jungsu's screen with interest.

Hyeongjun suddenly turned in discomfort, staring at the ceiling with a frown. "I don't want to wear pants."

"Wha—?!"

"They're uncomfortable," Hyeongjun said flatly. "I don't like sleeping in pants, but I do it anyways when you're here."

"Well... you can take them off..."

Hyeongjun pulled his shorts off underneath the blanket and tossed them to the floor, sighing in relief as he hugged Jungsu again. "Much better. They feel like... fabric. I don't like it. It's another thing that happens."

"Aren't shorts supposed to feel like fabric?"

"Yes, but sometimes my clothes start to feel like clothes, and I just need to take them off," Hyeongjun told him. "When I was a kid, I used to take my shirt off in kindergarten and cry. I put it back on when they cut the label off."

"Wow... you must've been difficult to raise — and not because you're autistic, don't get me wrong. You just have so many... icks."

"Fabric doesn't feel nice!"

"Yes, yes, okay!" Jungsu laughed, turning so that they hugged one another underneath the blanket. They looked at one another, small smiles decorating their lips. "I like you a lot, Jjunnie."

Hyeongjun looked at the other, his gaze filling with love as his eyes softened. Jungsu gently placed his hand to Hyeongjun's cheek, stroking gently with his thumb. "Thank you for trusting me, Jungsu. I'm glad you... don't hate me..."

"How could I ever hate you? I'd argue that I am the one person destined to love and accept you," Jungsu said softly. "I won't ever let you go, baby. I'm your person, right? Your pretty boy."

"You make me unimaginably happy," Hyeongjun spoke gently, placing his hand to Jungsu's that rested on his cheek. "I... I love you. At least, I think this is love. Am I in love with you, Jungsu?"

"I think you are."

"Then I love you."

Jungsu couldn't help but love the warm feeling in his heart. Just looking at the boy in front of him lifted his spirits. Hyeongjun made him happier than most — he was so glad to have him. Jungsu didn't care if they were well into their late teens and arguably didn't know what love really was — but he wanted to find the meaning alongside Hyeongjun.

"Will we stay together forever?" Jungsu asked softly, his expression falling when Hyeongjun shook his head.

"Not forever," Hyeongjun replied softly. "It'll hurt if one of us dies after promising to stay together forever. Rather... let's stay together for a long, long time. Until we decide to stop. A promise of forever is difficult to keep."

Jungsu snuggled into Hyeongjun, closing his eyes with a smile. "For someone who doesn't understand people, you're very good at expressing such beautiful words."

"Of course, love. I do my best for you."

Jungsu wanted to stay with Hyeongjun, as he had said, for a long, long time. "I'll do my best for you as well."