too fragile for your love (too strong for your heart)

under the shadows of eternity (we find each other, again) pt one

jake's watch reads ten fifty-three when he opens the door to heeseung's apartment, and is greeted with utter silence.

he steps over the threshold, his clothes still wet and clinging to his skin uncomfortably. roving his eyes cautiously over the expanse of the living room, he finds no one and finally, he strides over to the opposite wall and flips on the light switch.

"jake hyung?"

jake reflexively shrieks, whirling around and scrambling backwards at the same time, missing a precariously perched white vase by half an inch. he's met with the sight of sunoo and ni-ki sprawled on the floor, between the sofa and the glass table, with morose expressions on their faces, as if they've been waiting for death penalties and now, jake's here to deliver, as their executioner.

"what the fuck, guys?!" he demands, clutching the front of his sodden sweater. "you scared me!"

"sorry, hyung," sunoo says, apologetically, before his expression changes so fast, it's almost comical. "wait, what- hyung, are those-"

the scent of cedarwood and ylang ylang floats into the room right before heeseung walks in and shuts the door behind him. he takes off his ruined jacket, and folds it over his arm in a single movement (which, to jake, seems unbelievably sexy) and then, stops short, raising his eyebrows at the duo huddled together, on the ground. "hide-and-seek, really? at this hour?"

"we're sorry about your oven, heeseung hyung," sunoo blurts out, as he jumps to his feet. "i will reimburse you for that, i promise- but, i really need to know, did jake hyung trip and fall over some weirdly teeth-shaped pebbles or, did you do that to him?"

the ensuing lull in the conversation, that follows, is so grave that not even crickets can be heard.

"did you just say 'hickies'?" jay bursts out of the hallway, his wallet clutched in his right hand.

"he didn't say anything at all," jungwon complains, right behind his older brother. the cat-faced boy comes to a halt, his eyes wide as he stares at jake's exposed neck, which is dotted over with blooming purple bruises. "wow," he says, the single word speaking volumes about how impressed he is.

"this isn't fair!" sunghoon's voice joins the fray, as he appears at the doorway to the kitchen. peeling off the bright yellow gloves he's wearing, he comes to stand behind ni-ki, who's taken out his phone and is clicking away madly, the camera light flashing in rapid succession. "you guys did this on purpose!"

"oh, shut up," jay says, dismissively. "you're just a sore loser, sunghoon. the truth is, i'm the one who won the bet, and now you all have to pay up!"

"i bet that they would make out!" sunoo protests, making jake's jaw drop. "i'm not paying you anything!"

"fine," jay relents. "you all, except sunoo, have to pay up-"

heeseung clears his throat, and everybody unconsciously shifts to attention. the older man crosses his arms, looking incredibly unimpressed. "you bet on mine and jake's relationship?"

"seriously, guys?" jake mutters, visibly dying of embarrassment, even as he tries to pull up the collar of his sweater, impossibly high.

"well... i mean-" jay mumbles, after a pause, clearly dithering. "-it's not like- uh-"

"we were just, um-" sunghoon butts in, when it's obvious that jay is not going to offer any good explanation. "-we were just trying to cheer you on, hyung! we didn't mean anything, really-"

"i bet that you'd confess in a really romantic way," jungwon says, interrupting sunghoon. he tries for a winning smile. "because you're just so suave all the time, heeseung hyung-"