cigarettes after sex

apocalypse

'when you're all alone, i will reach for you. when you're feeling low, i will be there too.'

✩₊˚🧸.⋆☾⋆⁺₊💤✧

bold is what jisung has written down.

they quickly reached the malaysian restaurant and jisung happily entered, he breathed in the mix of smells and his eyes lit up.

minho watched him with loving eyes as they approached the little desk to get seated.

"how many people?" the woman asked, going to grab some menus.

"just two please." minho responded and the woman led them over to a table near the back of the restaurant.

they thanked her and sat down, minho immediately found the dish that jisung recommended and decided he was going to order that, not even looking at the other dishes.

jisung chose his dish and minho ordered for both of them.

when minho looked back from ordering, he noticed jisung looking a little anxious. gently, he nudged the boy with his foot under the table.

"okay?" he asked, a concerned look adorned his face as he scanned over jisung's body language.

jisung nodded his head, his hands lay shakily on the table and he grabbed a napkin, quickly scribbling something down.

from the small time minho had known and observed him, it seemed jisung always tried to talk before writing down, but today, he immediately went to writing. the older probably shouldn't be as worried as he was, however, because he didn't know jisung well as all, he couldn't predict what he would do or when he felt comfortable to talk. he couldn't wait until he was able to do that though.

jisung slipped the napkin across the table so minho could read it.

"i thought that there would be less people here, but it's very crowded, i don't do well in crowds." he had explained. minho perfectly understood.

nodding and making a sound of acknowledgment, the older slid the napkin back towards the boy across from him.

"you want to leave? we can wait until our food is here and then ask them if they could pack it up, maybe explain there was an emergency?" he reached over and placed his hand over the younger's, rubbing his thumb in a gentle circle.

jisung tipped his hand around and wrapped his fingers around minho's so they held hands on the table, minho smiled softly at the action.

"i-i wa-...i-i th-thi-ink..." the younger stumbled over his words in frustration, not being able to get his sentence out.

"take your time, there's no rush, hm?" the tattoo artist squeezed his hand slightly in reassurance, helping jisung to carry on speaking.

the younger knew that he should try and speak as much as possible because the speech therapists said that would help him overcome his stammer, so far it hadn't worked, but he kept trying in hopes that one day something would change in his speech. it was his biggest insecurity after all, he used to dream of speaking normally as a kid.

"o-o-ov...over...whe-whelm...med." jisung stammered with tears in his eyes.

"oh, darling." minho reached across and caressed his cheek slowly, wanting to press a kiss to his forehead to ease his worries, but he knew it was too soon.

just then, the food came and as it was being placed down, minho caught the attention of the waitress.

"um, i know you just placed the food down, but there's been an emergency and we simply have to go, is there anyway you can pack this up? if not then i'll just pay without us eating it..." the older looked at the waitress with guilty eyes and jisung almost gasped at his request, not intending for his comment on how he was feeling overwhelmed to cause such a nuisance for the people around him.

"yes, of course we can pack them up." the woman bows and minho bows back, a small 'thank you' escaping his lips.

jisung quickly grabbed his pen again and scribbled something down before once again sliding it across the table to the older in front
of him.

"there was no need, really. i didn't want to cause that sort of reaction with my silly inability to function in crowds, i can pay, i'm sorry for making things complicated and being so anxious and depressed all the time."

jisung nervously bit his lip as he watched minho read the note, he was so embarrassed. why couldn't he just function normally?

he knew minho deserved better, deserved someone who could at least do the simple task of speaking.

"darling..." the older stood up and made his way over to sit next to jisung in the booth. he slowly placed his hand on the boys thigh, testing the waters. when jisung moved his leg closer to minho and gently tugged his sleeve, minho knew it was okay.

he tenderly caressed his thigh and knee and let the younger play with the loose string his hoodie.

"listen, you're not a nuisance by any means. i want you to feel safe and comfortable where you are, and if that means staying in, then i'm as happy as if we went out. i don't care what we do, okay?" minho tucked a strand of hair behind jisung's head with his free hand before adding, "and anxiety is not silly, it's real and serious and should be treated as such. you matter...especially to me." the tap in jisung's eyes was just about to turn on and let the tears flow out and the younger couldn't stop it.

he watched with wide eyes as minho spoke
to the waitress, paying with his card and grabbing the bags of food, being extra careful not to spill anything.

he'd never been treated with such kindness in so long that it was almost alien to him.

"m-m-mi-minh-ho." he stuttered out, not being able to contain his steady flow of tears.

with great speed, the older set the food down on the table and rushed to jisung's side, crouching in front of him as jisung sat on the side of the booth.

minho placed his hands on the younger's knees and massages circular shapes.

"what's wrong? what happened? is everything a bit too much?...yeah?" he stroked a hand through the younger's hair as he nodded slowly.

"let's get you somewhere private darling. my apartment is just down the street, so you think you can walk?" minho asked with such a soft tone.

jisung nodded and gave a thumbs up which minho thought was absolutely adorable.

the older picked up the bags of food and carried them in one hand, holding out his free one to jisung as they stood up and quickly made their way to minho's apartment.

the older's heart breaking with every little sniffle or muffled sob.

he couldn't wait to be home and comfort the younger until he stops crying and gains back that beautiful smile he could only have dreamt about until he met him.