Ateez Stories & Imagines : A compilation

Jongho • Laps •

You shifted on your seat, eyes trained on Jongho as he jogged past you for the fifth time. 

He had insisted that you stay and count the laps he did until he was too tired to run anymore. 

You had agreed because you could never turn down time with your boyfriend, especially when of late it was so rare, but you were beginning to regret it now that the cold air was finally seeping through the thick jacket you had thrown on. 

By his seventh lap you were clinging your knees to your chest, teeth chattering, but still counting his laps dutifully. Despite the freezing air pressing against your skin, there was a steady flame of happiness inside your chest.  

He slowed on his ninth lap, eyes darting to check on you for the first time since his third lap. 

"Are you cold?" He called, slowing even more until he was all but walking, though still moving. Sweat glistened on his skin from his heavy exercise and a shiver of envy whipped through your body even as you shook your head stubbornly in response to him. 

He lifted his eyebrows, finally coming to a full stop just a few steps in front of you, his breathing  laboured still from his laps. 

You had been sure it was nine, but now you were too cold to be sure of your memory. 

"Well you look cold." He noted, a wry smile twisting his lips and you jutted out your bottom lip, quickly regretting the choice to do so when a blast of cold air hit it, sending yet another shiver through you. 

"I'm okay, keep going." You dipped your head in the direction of the path which he barely cast a glance, moving to drop down beside you with a crunch of gravel and dirt, a few stray autumn leaves whipping through the air past the two of you.  

"Idiot." He said affectionately, wrapping his arms around you and drawing your body tightly against his.

Despite yourself a warm hiss of delight left your lips at the warmth that his body radiated and you found yourself curling against him while he chuckled somewhere above you.  

"I didn't want to interrupt you." You mumbled into his shoulder and you felt it shake with his laughter. 

"So you let yourself freeze?" He asked between chuckles, making you lift your head briefly to halfheartedly glare at him before the cold had you tucking it back against his shoulder, where his warmth drove off some of the shivers. 

"I'm not frozen." You huffed indignantly. He laughed again, the sound of bells chiming and tightened his arms around you, pressing a delicate kiss to the top of your head. 

"You're like a ice cube." He pointed out, his hands searching for yours. 

Like the rest of him, his hands were warm and you hummed with satisifcation and happiness when he wrapped his fingers around yours, leeching away some of the cold. 

You stayed like that for a bit, bundled together on the park bench, until you felt his skin begin to chill, the warm benefits of his earlier exercise finally disiptating with his lack of movement. 

"I think we should go home." You told him, lifting your head to peer up at him. You were surprised to find his gaze already on you, filled with a love and adoration that you didn't often see from Jongho. 

"Just a few more minutes." He hummed softly, lifting his hand from yours to touch your cheek.

You closed your eyes, leaning into the touch.

Not because it was warm but because it was his hand, because even if it had of been covered in icy water, it would be his hand. You didn't see him often enough to turn away from this loving gesture. 

So despite the cold ache in your bones you nodded in agreement with his now silent plea for you to remain in place, dropping your head back against his shoulder. 

Minutes stretched into an hour before you knew it as you watched leaves flutter past on the chilly breeze, until you found your eyes flickering shut, thoughts only on the even sounds of Jongho's soft breathing. 

It wasn't until Jongho's hand came up to gently shake your shoulder and your eyes fluttered open that you realised you had somehow fallen asleep despite the cold.

You could feel the hard edge of the bench below you digging through your jeans now in a way that you hadn't before and your first movement was to shift your weight in hopes of easing some of the discomfort.  

You couldn't remember drifting completely out of consciousness nor how long you had rested blissfully there against his shoulder, your hand still tucked in his other but judging by the darkening of the sky quite some time had passed. 

"If you're tired let's go home." He smiled down at you, thumb rubbing the back of your hand as you blinked around in surprise, your cheeks stinging at the loss of his shoulder blocking the wintery wind. It felt colder now than earlier though perhaps you were just readjusting to it.

Jongho's cheeks and nose were flushed red and his skin had long since lost the warmth it offered you when he first sat down beside you. Guiltily you straightened up, reaching up to cup his cheeks, hoping that there was some warmth in your hands.

He grinned at your effort, his eyes twinkling, though you didn't miss the slight flinch of his cheeks probably meaning that your hands were no warmer than his cheeks had already been. 

"Sorry." You told him, returning his smile. "I didn't mean to fall asleep." 

"It's okay," He said, leaning forward and brushing your lips with his lightly, surprsing you. "But it is cold now, so lets get back quickly." 

Too stunned to argue, not that you would have, you nodded back at him, allowing him to stand first. You accepted his offered hand to pull you up, keeping ahold of it even when you were solidly on your feet, pressing into his side. 

You were happy, barely noticing the walk back nor realising how long had passed until the two of you were stumbling inside, the warmth of your heated apartment blasting you full in the face. 

It was the first time that you were happy to have forgotten to turn off the heating before leaving.

It was so rarely that you got to spend time with him, that he showed so much affection towards you, that you barely cared when you caught sight of your messy haired, red cheeked reflection in the surface of the bathroom mirror when you passed it to deposit your jacket on your bedroom floor. 

Jongho made a small noise in the back of his throat at the sight as he followed in behind you, reaching down to retrieve it and drape it alongside his own on the bed. 

You grinned to yourself. 

He hated things on the floor and truthfully so did you, but you were too elated in this moment to care about it. 

When he turned to face you again, you barrelled yourself without warning against him, wrapping your arms tightly around his waist while he let out a surprised oof, stumbling back half a step before he steadied himself.  

"Is everything okay?" He asked as his arms came up around you, voice dripping with concern. 

You almost laughed. Things had never been further from not okay.  

"Everything is fine Jongho," You told him, stepping back to regard him with a small smile. "I just miss this." 

His concern hardened into guilt at your words and he looked away, lips tightening into an unhappy curve. 

Your happiness slipped just a little bit out of reach and desperately you started forward, realising too late that your choice of words had ignited a spark of distance in him. 

Inwardly you berated yourself for your carelessness, hands closing around empty air as he stepped away from you, his hands lifting to run through his dark hair, eyes closing tightly. 

You could see the frown creasing between his closed lids. 

"I'm sorry." He murmured after a few moments in which you came to stand where you'd stood when you hugged him. 

It had been literally only seconds ago, but it had quickly been swallowed by the familiar stress beginning to cloud his handsome features. It seemed like hours ago. 

You knew that he was apologising for more than suddenly stepping away, for more than his walls jumping back up. 

He was apologising for the same thing he always did, the same thing you had told him time and again that he didn't need to apologise for.  

"Don't, Jongho." You insisted, shoving your hands into the back pockets of your jeans to keep them for reaching for him. Sometimes he just needed his space, you'd learnt that long ago. "You and I both know that you can't help it, that wasn't what I meant." 

He looked at you, frowning. 

"I can help it though." He said tightly, lifting his hands in exasperation, more with himself than you, you knew that. "I could tell them that I can't do the tours, that I need a break." 

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, your lips twitched in a small smile. 

"Jongho, I know that you love your music and I really don't mind-" 

"But I love you too!" He burst out loudly, interrupting both your words and train of thought. Your jaw slackened, mouth dropping open in a muted 'o' of surprise.

You didn't know what to say. Did you say 'I love you too' or did you say 'you haven't said that in a long time' or did you just say nothing? 

Judging by the growing anxiety in his eyes, the latter option was not going to cut it, but neither would the former options. 

You swallowed around the sudden lump in your throat, reaching for his hands tentatively. 

Of course he let you take them, his fingers easily slotting between yours like it was second nature. 

You held his brown eyes with yours, searching them for the smiling and carefree Jongho that had caressed your cheek earlier. 

There. In the deepest depths of the guilt, there it was. 

That sparkle about him that you loved. 

You felt a smile tug at your lips. 

"I know that you love me, I know that I'm important to you." You spoke softly enough that he had to lean forward slightly, his dark eyes never leaving yours as the words poured out of you. "But you can love me and your music at the same time Jongho. Neither of us are going anywhere." 

His lips parted, you could already hear his argument in your mind. You spoke before he could. 

"I know that I said I miss this," you gestured between the two of you, now close enough that the motion was awkward to execute without hitting either of you in the chest. "And I do, I do miss it. Every second with you is precious to me, but even if we had all the time in the world, I would still miss you the moment you walked out of that door." 

You paused, tilting your head to survey his expression. The guilt still clung stubbornly to his gaze, but there was a reluctant smile on his lips and after a moment he gave a slow nod, indicating he was still listening. You touched the side of his face tenderly. 

"You let it get in the way of so many things, your worry about me." You murmured, looking away from his face now. "That, is what upsets me more than not seeing you for a few weeks or months." 

He released a breath, the only warning of the sudden, tight, hug that he then pulled you into. 

You let out a muffled sound of surprise into the material of his shirt, inhaling the smell of vanilla and sandalwood that always seemed to cling to your boyfriend. 

"I worry about you because I care about you." He informed you quite matter of factly from somewhere above, his arms looping around your waist, giving you a chance to lean back from his chest and look at him. 

"I know."  

"Good." He smiled, releasing you from his hold as suddenly as he'd pulled you into it, humming under his breath as he darted out of the bedroom, his soft footsteps echoing on the wooden floorboards. 

You blinked at the space he'd just been in. 

"Come on!" He called out, making you jump a little, glancing at the empty doorway where his voice had vibrated from. "Bring our coats." 

You eyed first the coats, then the doorway again, where he reappeared, an eyebrow lifted at your frozen position. 

"Come on." He repeated, softening the words with a smile. 

"Come on?" You echoed, reaching slowly for the jackets. "What are we doing? We just got home, it's still cold out there, you can't want to go running agai-" 

Jongho stepped back towards you, cutting you off with a quick kiss to your forehead. 

"We're going to go out and get dinner together. And then we're going to come home and spend the rest of the night on the sofa watching whatever the hell you want to force me into watching." He grinned, eyes twinkling at you. 

This time you returned it with one of your own, hand slipping into his. 

"Okay," You hummed, smiling. "I know the perfect place." 

A/N ~ It's been a while huh? It's really hard to write lately ㅠ-ㅠ both bc Ive felt no motivation and cause I've been working flat out. But I finally had a break today and this spilt outta me. I haven't proof read or edited or anything, this is raw and who knows if I'll get around to editing it. I really really wanted to write something for Jongho as I don't often write him. I find it very hard because of his age. 

Anyway! I hope that you enjoy, please PLEASE do leave me suggestions/prompts/improvements to be made etc in the comments. I love love loveeeee hearing from you all in my messages and the comments, every little thing helps me and inspires me. I'm currently trying to work on a few requests for people but I find I can't focus on one plot for too long or my writing goes wOnKy so having something little to work on between can be really helpful. 

I appreciate everyone who has commented and voted on this and my other stories so far! I just want to remind you all that I also have accounts on Tumblr and Archive Of Our Own under the same username as my wattpad :3 sometimes I upload things on those that I don't on here!

 P.S I really haven't edited this, Im so sorry if it's not as good as my other works i just didn't want to forget about it in my drafts.