There With You: Part 14
Title: There With You - PART FOURTEEN
Pairing: AJ/Soohyun
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AJ and Soohyun go to Ronan’s apartment for Soohyun’s last night in New York. And Soohyun has an evil plan in mind.
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PART FOURTEEN
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“Hey loverboys!” Ronan exclaimed as he opened the door and let them in.
“Ronan, I thought I told you not to-” AJ started to say, but Ronan was already seizing Soohyun in a hug.
“Soohyun, my man!” Ronan cried, squeezing Soohyun tight. “How are you doing, huh huh huh? I hope this crazy fellow wasn’t too rough on you when you two were-”
“Ronan!” AJ hissed. He could hear voices in the next room-lots of voices. “Please, you promised…” He was practically whining, but he didn’t care. He could only imagine how mortified Soohyun would be if anyone were to find out. Ronan knowing was bad enough.
Ronan released Soohyun, smirking. “If you hadn’t been so busy being embarrassed, you would’ve noticed that I didn’t actually promise,” he said.
AJ stared back at him, mouth slightly open. He could not believe his friend sometimes. His brows furrowed. “Ronan…” he said, voice lowering. “If you won’t shut up about it… th-then we’re leaving.” He grabbed Soohyun’s arm.
Feeling AJ tugging on his arm and the word leaving, Soohyun looked quickly between both of the boys in front of him, wondering what in the world could have happened to have them fighting so quickly. But, looking closer, it didn’t seem like they were fighting. AJ just looked embarrassed and Ronan looked, well, smug, or at least pretty pleased with himself. Soohyun stammered a bit as he was jerked further back by AJ, losing his balance and nearly falling into AJ’s chest before another hand was wrapping around his opposite arm, keeping him in place. Two sets of eyes were locked above his head, and Soohyun just hoped he would come out of this with both halves of his body still intact.
“AJ,” Ronan said, his voice even. “Chill. It’s okay. I’m not taking a megaphone to South Korea’s ear. And have you even asked him what he wants, or is this whole ‘keep it secret, keep it safe’ obsession your prerogative? And you don’t just get to leave, because Soohyun is my friend now too. And we should stop talking around him. Right, chingu?” He gave Soohyun a big smile.
AJ frowned. No, he supposed he hadn’t asked Soohyun, but how could his assumption be wrong? Ronan just didn’t understand how different it was for them, two male idols expected to be the epitome of masculinity and heterosexuality. Ronan didn’t understand that some secrets needed to be kept, needed to be protected. He didn’t understand at all.
Soohyun looked up at Ronan, blinking stupidly at the wide grin on his friend’s face. He had heard chingu, obviously, but beyond that there was little else he understood. Whatever it was, AJ didn’t seem too eager to translate, which meant Soohyun was going to be staying in the dark. He sighed, shaking his head a bit and prying away both of their hands. From the corner of his eye, he saw a somewhat familiar figure walk by and took his chance, ducking out from between AJ and Ronan and turning around, walking backwards as he spoke. “Figure out whatever this is, but don’t take too long.” Then he smirked. “And don’t be fighting over me, either.” Then he spun back around and strode across the room, stopping next to the nice girl with long brown hair. He tapped her gently on the shoulder. “Becca?” he asked, smiling warmly, and mentally thanking her for providing him with his escape. Whatever was going on, it was obvious Ronan and AJ needed some time to work it out.
“What did he say?” Ronan asked AJ. But AJ just ignored him and turned away, starting to walk after Soohyun. “Wait,” Ronan said, catching his arm. “AJ…”
AJ flung Ronan’s arm away from him, but then stopped himself from doing anything else rash. He exhaled lengthily. He shouldn’t be treating his friend this way, angry as he was.
“AJ… I’m sorry, okay?” Ronan said. “I was just trying to tease you, but obviously… it’s not funny to you. I know this must be a big deal for you, and I’m sorry for taking it… the way I usually take things. But, AJ.” He laid a hand on his shoulder, cautiously, like he was afraid AJ would jolt away from him again. “You can relax, and tone down protector mode a few notches. The world’s not going to end if other people find out you’re… happy.”
AJ’s lips curved up slightly before forming a straight line once more. There was much more at stake than his happiness.
“But this is about something else, isn’t it?” Ronan went on. “Like, maybe… how I creeped on Soohyun when he was half naked?” He raised his eyebrows.
AJ glanced away from Ronan. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he said. “You made him feel really… weird.”
“You sure he felt that way and not just you?”
AJ’s head jerked up. “No!” he cried. “He told me! It wasn’t just… projection.” He trailed off. Ronan was too clever and had taken too many psychology classes… all the same ones AJ had taken. He sighed. “Okay, yeah, it made me feel weird too,” he said. “But seriously, it made Soohyun really uncomfortable.”
“Okay, I won’t do it again,” Ronan said. “Though… I don’t know if I’ll ever get a chance to.”
AJ rolled his eyes, muttering, “I sure hope not…”
Ignoring him, Ronan continued, “But, AJ... do you really think I would ever do anything to hurt Soohyun? Or you? Or that I would try to steal him away from you?"
Ronan sounded so plaintive and hurt that AJ finally met his eyes. "No," he said. "I know you wouldn't."
Ronan gave him a brief smile. "Mostly I was just admiring the artistry.” He raised his eyebrows again, his sly smile returning. “Those were some fiiiine hickeys, my friend.”
“Yeah, well…” AJ hesitated, but then decided what the hell, it was only Ronan. “He’s got some fine skin.”
Ronan laughed. “There you go, see!” he exclaimed, clapping AJ on the back.
Even more quietly, AJ added, “But really you should see the ones he gave me.”
“What?”
AJ looked up. Ronan was laughing, but AJ could tell he hadn’t heard him. “Nothing.” He shrugged innocently.
Ronan frowned, becoming serious again. “You worry too much,” he said. “You don’t need to be so possessive all the time. Soohyun can take care of himself.” He pointed to the other boy, who was currently being lead by Becca down the row of taco toppings lining the table. She laughed at him as he scooped an over-eager portion of beef onto his tortilla. “See? He’s fine.”
AJ had to smile a little. Soohyun was fine. And that made him happier than anything.
Ronan’s brow creased as he continued to study AJ. “But that’s not the only reason why you’re like this, eh?” he asked. His hand trailed down AJ’s arm. “You miss him already, don’t you?” he said.
AJ froze. Ronan had said it so matter-of-factly, like he already knew the answer. But it couldn’t be true. How could he miss someone who was in the same room as him? He watched Soohyun struggle to follow Becca’s directions about folding his overflowing tortilla into a proper burrito, copying all her motions but finally giving up and sheepishly holding his plate out to her for her to complete. AJ tried to smile but it just came out sad. Of course it was true. Ronan was right again, right about everything-goddamn; when had that happened? “I do,” he said softly.
Ronan gave him a quick hug before walking over to the food table. “Jacket is good, yes?” he said to Soohyun, pointing at it before turning around to smirk back at AJ. AJ rolled his eyes and strode over to join them as well.
Looking up briefly from where he was watching Becca help with his food, Soohyun offered Ronan a quick smile. "Yes, good..." Then he smirked, turning back to his burrito and Becca's skilled hands, purposefully avoiding Ronan's curious stare. "But AJ thinks very good."
"Oh he does, does he?" Ronan turned to AJ and lifted his eyebrows suggestively. "So I guess another of my plans was a success."
"Ronan," AJ groaned. "Please stop. Really."
"What? I want credit for my genius. And this time I even have Becca as a witness." He nudged the girl playfully on the shoulder, ignoring AJ's pained expression. "Isn't that right?"
Becca immediately held up her hands in surrender. "Nuh uh, don't you drag me into this. I'm still recovering from when you were trying to ‘help’ AJ. I'm not going to join this mess."
Ronan pouted for a moment before lighting with recognition, flinging an arm over Soohyun's shoulder. "Ah yes that's right, our little run-in with that douchebag coworker of yours, how could I forget?"
Ronan glanced away from AJ, making him even more nervous. "Do I even want to know?" AJ moaned, looking towards Becca and praying she would assure him it was nothing. But his hopes were immediately dashed as soon as she started speaking, explaining how Ronan had had to stick up for Soohyun's sexuality and race. Becca looked liked she wanted to die from embarrassment by the end but AJ felt furious, hands clenching with anger as he imagined some bastard making fun of Soohyun, judging him. If he had been there...well, he probably would've reacted even worse than Ronan.
As for what Ronan had done… He looked over at the other boy. Ronan had known Soohyun less than a week, but he was already doing all that for him? But it hadn’t just been for Soohyun, it had been for him too. And also because… that’s just how Ronan was. He might be diabolical and lack a sense of propriety, but he was loyal and accepting and understanding and the best friend AJ had ever had, excepting a certain six others. AJ’s expression softened so he was no longer glaring around murderously, but Ronan still wouldn’t look at him. In fact, if AJ didn’t know better, he would say that Ronan’s cheeks were turning a reddish hue. Was he… embarrassed? Was that possible?
AJ grinned. There were some places Ronan’s pride went and some where it didn’t, it seemed. AJ walked over and pulled him into a hug.
“Really, it was nothing,” Ronan muttered.
“Ronan,” AJ said, letting him go. “With you, nothing is ever ‘nothing.’”
“Well, that’s what happened,” Becca concluded, eying the two boys. “And they might be firing him, I’m not sure. But…” She lightly cleared her throat. "Uh, AJ, I’m happy for you." She smiled a little and looked between AJ and Soohyun. "For the both of you."
AJ's eyes immediately widened. Of course she knew. How hadn’t he realized it earlier? He forced himself to smile back. "Thanks Becca, but, um, would you mind not saying anything?" Ronan groaned loudly beside him but AJ ignored him, facing instead the surprise flashing across Becca's face.
"Sure AJ, but you do realize..." She suddenly stopped, watching Ronan flail his arms wildly before narrowing her eyes in a glare. "Ronan.... You didn't.”
Ronan held out his hands innocently, slowly backing away. “I don’t know what you're talking about..."
AJ's eyes flashed between Ronan and Becca, but before he could do more than open his mouth, another of his friends came up, waving at Soohyun and smiling at AJ. “Hey,” he said. “Do they have gay marriage in Korea?”
AJ felt himself melt and congeal into a puddle on the floor. “N-No, they don’t,” he stammered.
“That sucks. But you two will make it work, yeah?” Somehow remaining oblivious to AJ’s bugged out eyes, he added, “Ooooooor you could move here!”
“I… uh… umm… we’ll… uh… we’ll… uh… we’ll see.” AJ swallowed, getting himself under control. “But Ronan and I need to have a talk.” He locked eyes with the other boy, who looked away, whistling. “A nice long talk.”
Sensing the atmosphere slowly grower weirder and weirder around him, Soohyun finally looked up from where he had been eating, eyes taking in all of the various expressions: Becca’s exasperated resignation, Ronan’s guilty terror, and AJ’s embarrassed determination. He sighed loudly before going to stand between the two boys, looking them both square in the eye before grabbing onto both of their arms and dragging them over to the couch, forcing them to sit on opposite ends of each other. “Stay,” he commanded, before marching away and fetching his food from the counter where he had left it, grabbing an extra burrito (courtesy of Becca, bless her soul) for Ronan and some kind of quesadilla thing for AJ on the way back.
When he got back to the couch, he saw that both boys were still where he had left them, shooting glances between each other and the floor. He dropped the food in both of their laps and flopped down between them, taking a bite of his burrito and brooding silently for a moment before finally swallowing and sitting up a bit straighter. He pointed to Ronan’s face and turned to AJ first, stating a resolute, “Ronan, good,” before pointing to AJ and turning to Ronan instead, using the same tone to say, “AJ, good.” While still looking into Ronan’s shocked face, Soohyun continued, “Friends, be friends. No bad.” Then he turned back to AJ, cutting him off with a swift narrowing of his eyes. “Bad, AJ. Bad.”
Switching to Korean and lowering his voice, Soohyun warned, “I don’t know what got into you two but stop being idiots or I’ll force you to do the ‘kiss and make up’ thing, regardless of all your friends being here.”
AJ forced himself to relax, letting out a long breath. Ronan reached an arm around Soohyun, tickling AJ’s shoulder with his fingers. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I know you didn’t want this.”
AJ continued staring at his lap and the plate Soohyun had placed there. “No,” he said, “No I didn’t.”
“But… it’s not the end of the world.”
AJ bit his lip.
“I just… I couldn’t help myself. This is a good thing. You shouldn’t have to hide good things.”
AJ finally raised his head. Ronan was remarkably simple sometimes. But also… sweet. He was just being happy for AJ, in his own way. AJ smiled a little, leaning his head against Soohyun and closer to Ronan’s arm. “Okay Ronan,” he said. “I forgive you.”
“Woot!”
“But…”
“Ah god. What but?”
“This doesn’t mean…” AJ tried to phrase it as delicately as he could. “It doesn’t mean you get to be nosy about… things.”
“Things? What things?” Ronan asked innocently. “Oh, you mean the things… you two do together, just the two of you?” He smirked.
“Yes, Ronan,” AJ said tersely, hoping that if he spoke as succinctly as possible the blush would stay off his cheeks. “Those things. The things that no one else has to know about. Okay?”
“I’ll just ask Soohyun then,” Ronan replied immediately. “Soohyun.” He moved his arm down to pat him on the back. “Are you good at drawing?” He moved his other hand as if he had a pencil. “Drawing? Mmm? Even stick figures are fine.”
Seeing AJ’s appalled face, Ronan cracked up laughing. “My friend, you are far too fun to tease,” he said.
“Very funny,” AJ muttered, finally digging into his quesadilla. Now that his emotions had settled down a little, he realized how hungry he actually was.
With Ronan’s arm still on his back and AJ now starting to eat, Soohyun decided that the battle was over, that all had been forgiven or at least put in the past. Patting Ronan’s leg, he smiled. “Good friend, Ronan.” Then he pointed to the plate balanced on Ronan’s lap. “Eat.” He mimed eating and tried to get across the point that he wanted Ronan to move quickly. After all, he hadn’t agreed to come to this thing just to hang out. And he wasn’t wearing his troublemaker shirt for nothing. Fortunately, Ronan seemed to get the message and AJ stayed blissfully unaware, eating his food at a regular pace while Soohyun and Ronan demolished their plates in record time.
As soon as Ronan wiped away the last bit of sauce from his mouth, Soohyun stood up from the couch and grabbed for Ronan’s plate, taking them out to the kitchen and willing Ronan to follow him, which he did, staring at Soohyun with a curious expression as he leaned against the counter. “So, what’s up? Hm?”
Soohyun twisted his mouth for a moment as he cleaned the plates in the sink, trying to iron out the last details in his plot. Because for his plan to work, a lot of things had to come together. But first, he would have to get rid of AJ. Holding up his hands, Soohyun mimed playing with a controller, saying a firm, “game,” and repeating the motion until Ronan nodded in understanding.
“Yeah sure, we can go play games. I don’t know why you had to ask me that in the kitchen…”
Not waiting for Ronan to finish, Soohyun made an X with his arms, shaking his head before saying, “No AJ.” He pointed between himself and Ronan, explaining, “Ronan and Soohyun, games. AJ… Becca?” He shook his head, not knowing what else to say, forehead scrunching in frustration because he couldn’t properly explain what he wanted. He would have to have AJ start teaching him English.
“No AJ?” Ronan’s eyebrows lifted, interest most definitely piqued. “Why?”
Soohyun glanced over at the couch before gesturing around them and putting a finger to his lips. “Shhhh.”
“Alright, so it’s a secret.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “You want to play games, without AJ, and it has to do with a secret….” A mischievous smile slowly began to spread across his face. “Oh I see, you need to get rid of mister over-protective for a while. And judging by the look on your face, I’d say you’re up to no good. I like it.” He pushed off of the counter and threw an arm over Soohyun’s shoulders. “Whatever you need, I’m in.”
Sensing Ronan was on board, as he assumed he would be, Soohyun smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and clicking on the picture icon. He scrolled through to the ones he had taken of AJ’s room, holding it out to Ronan’s curious eyes. Then he immediately had to clamp a hand over Ronan’s mouth as the boy began to holler with laughter, nearly doubling over as he attempted to quiet himself. Wiping away some tears, Ronan took a deep breath before letting out a contented sigh, “Oh my god, AJ… that boy… he must have some serious stamina. And you, you must be made of steel. How are you even walking? That room is totally trashed! Look at the bed!”
Shaking his head a bit, Soohyun scrolled to the last picture in the set, showing Ronan a picture of AJ’s now once again spotless room and fresh sheets.
“Awwww, you cleaned already? Damn, I bet that was your doing. AJ never would’ve thought of that. Still, much as I’m enjoying this, what are the pictures for?” Soohyun hit a few buttons on the screen then held his phone up for Ronan again, indicating to the print icon. “You want to print them? Print?”
Soohyun just pointed to the icon again so Ronan had to think fast, pulling out his own phone and typing the word ‘print’ into his translator. He held it out for Soohyun who immediately nodded excitedly, pointing to the pictures again. Ronan chuckled. “You are most definitely up to no good, but that just makes this even better. So let’s go play some games before mother-AJ comes in here to make sure I’m not harassing you so we can get this show on the road.” He smiled and slapped Soohyun lightly on the back, keeping his hand there and leading him out of the kitchen. “Games, go!”
Soohyun smiled as well, a devious glint in his eyes that matched the look in Ronan’s. “Go!”
~*~
Underneath it all, AJ knew he was still a little off. Not because of Ronan, not because of anything that could be fixed, just because… this was Soohyun’s last night with him, and he remained constantly aware of that fact, no matter what he did. He wanted to scream at time to stop, to freeze exactly where it was, so he’d have longer to hang on to it, to find some way to make it stay. But he couldn’t. He felt the grains of sand that were his precious moments with Soohyun slipping away. Soohyun was slipping away from him.
He took a deep breath that no one noticed. Calm down, Kim Jaeseop, he told himself. Don’t mourn him before he’s gone. You haven’t lost him yet. He’s right there.
AJ looked over to where Soohyun was, playing a driving video game with Ronan and over-shooting all the curves while Ronan laughed at him. They were on the floor, leaning against the couch, while AJ was still sitting in his spot. Soohyun was happy, really happy, so AJ should try to be too. He should be celebrating. Soohyun had come so far, even just in a few days with him. How much happier would he be once he got to spend all his time with AJ? AJ smiled.
But the smile didn’t last. His hand curled around the cup Ronan had handed him, in secret. Ronan had promised there wouldn’t be alcohol, but sensing how AJ was feeling, he’d clandestinely mixed something up for him and brought it over. It wasn’t that strong, but AJ could feel its influence swim into him, muting everything. Which was kind of nice. Now he could be content to watch Soohyun’s happiness and feel it vicariously. Soohyun and Ronan were practically connected at the hip, which was good to see. Truly. He felt no envy about that.
He was surprised when he didn’t notice when Soohyun went missing right away. He’d been distracted, talking to Becca, and some other people, but he’d promised Soohyun he wouldn’t leave his side. He’d said he’d hold his hand, even, or let Soohyun sit in his lap-those had been his exact words. And he hadn’t done any of those things. No, he’d been too busy being afraid anyone would find out, when they all already knew.
How could he lose Soohyun at two of Ronan’s parties? How was that even possible? Actually, it seemed Ronan was missing too. That was promising. AJ definitely shouldn’t panic… not yet anyway. Actually, he was afraid for different reasons. Soohyun was wearing his troublemaker shirt, but if Ronan were to have one, the letters would be in red, and giant, and underlined a thousand times…
He searched around for a bit, before heading to the most likely location: Ronan’s room. Though what they’d be doing in there, he didn’t know. He knocked on the door, but heard no reply. A sudden surge of jealousy filled him, which he immediately dismissed-as if they’d be doing that. He didn’t believe his own thoughts, but acted on them anyway, striding straight in.
He found Ronan and Soohyun crouched over Ronan’s computer. “Uh, hey,” he said. “What are you two up to?” He frowned. What were they up to?
Ronan thankfully had the reflexes of a cat, and the foresight to have a second window ready to bring up on screen, so as soon as the first knock sounded on the door, the computer only had a Google translate page to show. And a swift, subtle movement of Ronan’s elbow nudged a precarious stack of papers over the top of the small cord connecting Soohyun’s phone to the computer. Still, if AJ were to look too closely, they would be in trouble.
Soohyun turned slowly and gave AJ a small smile, walking across the room in measured steps before sliding a hand around AJ’s waist, one of his fingers just barely sliding beneath the fabric. “Nothing,” he murmured. Then he leaned further forward, lowering his voice just a bit. “Why, did you miss me?” He brought his other hand up and stroked lightly along AJ’s jaw. “Because I missed you, and I haven’t gotten to do any of the things you promised.” Hearing AJ’s intake of breath, Soohyun laughed softly. “I know, I know, I’m the one who left. But let me make up for it now…” He brought their mouths together slowly, barely parting his lips before AJ’s hands were at his waist, pulling him closer and pushing forward.
Glancing to the side, Soohyun could see Ronan furiously working on the computer, trying to organize all of the images in preparation for printing. Hitting a final button, Ronan flashed Soohyun a thumbs up then gestured to the printer, asking with his eyes if Soohyun wanted him to go ahead. Soohyun merely held up a finger, signaling him to wait, before turning his full attention back to AJ who was now becoming slightly aware of this pantomime conversation taking place. And that just wouldn’t do.
Without giving AJ any warning, Soohyun suddenly pushed him back, taking a few steps forward before pinning him to the wall. He forced their mouths closer together and ran his hands up AJ’s arms before wrapping his own around AJ’s shoulders. He sucked teasingly at AJ’s bottom lip for just a moment before tracing it with his tongue, pushing into the crease of AJ’s mouth before opening his own and letting AJ inside. And even though AJ was the one who was supposed to be distracted, Soohyun could feel himself fading as well. AJ was just too irresistible, and the things he could do with his lips… and his tongue… well, Soohyun was finding it hard to focus on anything other than the man in front of him.
To say AJ was surprised at how Soohyun was acting was putting it mildly. Admittedly Soohyun had made out with him before, at the club, where people could’ve seen, where Ronan could’ve seen, but to kiss him, right now, right in front of Ronan, in his room… That was a whole other level. But AJ wasn’t going to resist. He had no shame about any of it, really. He had just wanted to protect Soohyun. And if Soohyun didn’t want to be protected, then AJ wasn’t going to hide it. He wasn’t going to hold back.
All his fears, all his sorrows, melted away when Soohyun’s lips met his and his hands automatically curved around Soohyun’s waist. He couldn’t miss Soohyun before he was gone if Soohyun was there, so real, against his lips and against his body. And then Soohyun was forcing him against the wall, ah god. Wasn’t this what Ronan had told them not to do? Whatever, AJ didn’t care. He vaguely knew that Soohyun and Ronan must be up to something. But he didn’t care about that either. He wasn’t going to pull away until Soohyun did.
And Soohyun wasn’t planning on pulling away for awhile, at least not until Ronan had completed this phase of the plan. Pressing closer to AJ, he tilted his head to the side, letting their lips meet more fully, tasting the alcohol against AJ’s tongue and grinning to himself. If AJ’s inhibitions were dulled even the slightest, that was going to make his job so much easier. To test his theory, he slid a leg between AJ’s thighs, leaning into him while sliding his hand further up AJ’s shirt and pressing his fingers into AJ’s side, feeling warm skin beneath his palm. The clicking of the printer broke through his thoughts and he cursed inside his head as AJ jolted slightly, obviously having at least heard the noise, but he apparently had enough of AJ’s attention to keep him from turning away. And he planned to keep it that way.
Taking his hand out from beneath AJ’s shirt and sighing at the loss, he slid both of his hands up to AJ’s neck and then his face, cupping his cheeks gently for a moment before moving towards AJ’s ears, hooking his fingers around the backs like he had done many times before, urging AJ forward and keeping him from breaking the kiss. But this time, he pressed his palms down as well, attempting to keep AJ from hearing as little as possible.
He was losing himself in the feel of AJ’s lips against his, tongue in his mouth and warm hands against his skin. The world fell away and all he could think of was how beautiful the man in front of him was, how much he wanted to hold him and talk to him and just be with him. His heart felt like it would burst, stretched tight like so many rubber bands and just waiting to snap. He groaned very softly to relieve some of the pressure, sighing into AJ’s mouth as AJ’s teeth tugged lightly on his lower lip. Then, the moment was shattered, broken into tiny shimmering pieces by a piercing electronic beeping. The printer was apparently out of paper and he could tell AJ was beginning to pull away, curiosity momentarily taking over.
Thinking fast, and mind still cloudy with desire, Soohyun grabbed at the back of AJ’s shirt and spun them around so that it was his back pressed up against the wall, and AJ’s leg pinning him in place. He had to hiss back a moan at the sudden flooding of sensation but managed to keep his thoughts mostly in order, leaning forward to murmur in AJ’s ear. “Jaeseop, don’t think too much. Just focus on me.”
AJ didn’t know why Soohyun was doing this. It seemed like there was a reason-there were some weird sounds happening in the background-but did it really matter why? Maybe Soohyun had just been missing his touch so much it was driving him crazy, and now he needed it so badly he didn’t even care that Ronan was there. AJ wanted him that much too. And now Soohyun had moved them so AJ was the one pressing him into the wall, and his beautiful Soohyun was completely surrounded by him, completely his, not wanting or needing anything else, gazing up at him through parted lips with desire and trust and love. His last attempt at holding back was demolished and he covered Soohyun’s body with his own, running his hands under Soohyun’s shirt while taking him over with his tongue, pushing against the growing bulge in Soohyun’s pants. There was nothing else in the universe but Soohyun. Ronan could be filming them right now and he wouldn’t care. He wasn’t going to stop until the whole world ended.
Soohyun felt his knees go weak, muscles turning uselessly limp as he struggled to hold himself up, leaning heavily against the wall and the strength of AJ’s body pressed against him. The constant rubbing between his legs was doing nothing to help him keep a clear mind and he had to remind himself not to get too carried away since he could still hear Ronan moving around in the room, and if he cracked open his eyes, he could see Ronan grinning widely to himself while going about his task. But in reality, Soohyun didn’t care. He loved AJ, Ronan supported that, and he was too addicted to the feel of AJ against him to ever stop, especially when AJ began smoothing one of his hands up and down his spine.
The printer stopped running but Soohyun didn’t stop, only cracked open a bleary eye to watch Ronan begin to collect the pictures, picking up a pair of scissors and brandishing them in Soohyun’s direction, lifting his eyebrows a few times before turning away and beginning to cut. Sometimes, Soohyun wanted to hug that boy, crush him in half with the amount of appreciation he had for him. But at the moment he had more pressing matters, and AJ was becoming more difficult to handle, causing Soohyun to push all of his focus back to the task at hand, which really wasn’t such a bad thing anyway.
“Mmn, Jaeseop,” Soohyun murmured, arching his back and twisting his neck to the side as AJ’s tongue flicked over his Adam’s apple, lips tracing a path along the side of his neck. He threaded his fingers into AJ’s hair and looked up to the ceiling, having to bite his lip to hold back the embarrassing sounds his body wanted to make. AJ bit down particularly hard at the base of his shoulder and Soohyun tugged lightly at his hair, making him lift back up. “Remember, no marks,” he whispered, fixing AJ with as stern of a glance as he could muster in his current state.
“Fuck it, Soohyun,” AJ mumbled. “I just want to…” He managed to stop himself from completing the sentence, suddenly remembering that Ronan was still in the room, and while he was likely seeing all this, he didn’t really need to hear it all as well-not that he would understand it, but the tone would be enough to give it away. Whatever AJ had been about to say anyway-probably something along the lines of I just want to tear you apart. I just want to mark every particle of your being. Soohyun. I just love you so much, I just want to intertwine myself with you. Completely. He took a deep breath in. He should probably save that kind of thinking for later.
He turned around to glance at Ronan, who was sitting in a chair at his desk, playing with something on his phone. He looked up to meet AJ’s gaze. “Oh, don’t mind me,” he said. “Just tell me when you’re ready to get back to watching videos, Soohyun.” He pointed at the computer, “Later, when ready, okay?” He pinched his pointer finger and thumb together to make the symbol. “Or, you could translate that to him,” he added to AJ. He smirked. “If you’re back to talking now.” He returned to his phone, waving a hand at the pair. “Go on now, back to what you were doing.”
AJ swiveled back to Soohyun. By other people’s definition this would be weird, but nothing else was conventional about their relationship either. AJ leaned down, placing his lips against the spot on Soohyun’s collarbone he’d just been abusing and pecking it lightly. A thought occurred to him and he smiled against Soohyun’s skin. “Were you making poor Ronan watch MVs of us?” he asked.
Mentally thanking AJ for providing them with their alibi, Soohyun hummed thoughtfully in the back of his throat. “Yeah, only a few though, he couldn’t stop laughing for long enough to get through them all in one go. He couldn’t believe you had grown out your hair, and bleached it. Or that you had shaved designs into your eyebrows. Or that you had worn clothes like that. But I think his favorite was 0330, when you did that fish thing with your lips. He made me replay that like a hundred times.”
AJ chuckled. “Oh yeah?” He pulled back enough to see Soohyun’s eyes. “Well, should I leave you two alone then?” he asked. “And… save this for later?” He stroked a hand up Soohyun’s side, on top of his shirt this time. He suggested it not because he wanted to stop, but because he figured he should before someone’s clothes came off, which definitely should not happen in front of Ronan.
Throwing a subtle glance over AJ’s shoulder, Soohyun made sure the coast was clear before nodding and covering AJ’s hand with his own, threading their fingers loosely together before giving him a smile. “Alright, later it is then. But for now, why don’t you go get us a spot on the couch. I’ll finish up with Ronan here in a little bit and we’ll be out in time for the movie.”
“Okay.” AJ smiled in return. He removed his hands, leaned in to whisper in Soohyun’s ear, “You can even sit on my lap if you want.” Then, still smiling, he left the room and the two troublemaking boys on their own.
Ronan watched AJ’s retreating back with a smug smirk on his face, which only grew even larger when the door finally shut. He turned to Soohyun and immediately stood, taking a few steps and putting his hands on Soohyun’s shoulders. “You, sir, have all of my respect. I mean good god!” He threw his hands in the air as his voice rose. “I’ve never seen AJ that out of it before. He was even making out with you in front of me! You,” he pointed a finger at Soohyun’s chest. “You are truly amazing, and devious, and I really, really like you.” Then he chuckled at the blank and mildly confused expression on Soohyun’s face. “Even if you can’t understand a word of what I’m saying.”
Soohyun just shook his head and smiled, holding up his hands. “Ronan, English bad.” He pointed to himself, tapping his chest a few times. “Soohyun Korean.”
“I know, I know.” Ronan sighed and dropped one of his hands back onto Soohyun’s shoulder, squeezing lightly. “Ronan will stop. Only easy English. Small English? Simple English? Oh whatever, I’ll just show you the pictures.” Flopping down on his swivel chair and rolling back across the room, he reached down and pulled a stack of pictures from behind his desk, scooting back over to where Soohyun was waiting and holding them out for his inspection. “I think they came out really well, at least for you having taken them with your phone.” He smirked as Soohyun shuffled through to the one of AJ’s back, expertly taken when AJ had been changing and not paying attention. “I think that one’s my favorite. You’re really not as innocent as you look. You’re a troublemaker and apparently a beast in bed, AJ’s definitely going to have his hands full with you… and I mean that in all of the various ways that are implied.”
As Ronan sat there talking and cackling to himself, Soohyun was looking at each of the pictures, flipping through them and feeling a tiny twinge of sadness tug at his heart. At least they’d always be on his phone, right? He would always be able to remember. And AJ would be back to remind him as well, back in Korea, back with U-KISS, back by Soohyun’s side. Then Soohyun sighed, tilting his head back and biting his lip to hold back the wetness shimmering behind his eyes. He hadn’t even left yet and he was already missing AJ, his laughter, his presence, his touch. There was no use feeling this way now, he just had to make the best of what time they had left. And either way, AJ was waiting for him… but first he actually wanted to show Ronan their music videos, and at least attempt to fill him in on their cover-up should AJ interrogate him on the subject.
“Ronan,” Soohyun started, walking over to the computer and gesturing the other boy over. “Ronan watch. Important.” He opened YouTube and clicked on Doradora, watching as Ronan’s eyes widened.
“Oh my god is that you? And AJ? Holy shit man, what is going on with his hair? And your… pants? Are those even considered pants? Good grief.” He broke into a fit of laughter, gesturing all over the screen. “And even with all of that, you still manage to look sexy as hell. How hadn’t AJ jumped you before? I mean really.”
Soohyun just smiled, watching the rest of the video in silence before switching to the next one, and the next, reliving each moment through Ronan’s eyes and thinking ahead to all of the memories he had yet to make. And AJ would be by his side. He would make sure of it: he would never let him go.
~*~
When Soohyun and Ronan finally emerged and rejoined the others in the main room, Soohyun strode straight over to AJ on the couch, a layered expression on his face. He must be feeling the impending loss too, AJ thought, mixed in with his happiness. Without hesitating, AJ pulled him down onto his lap, positioning his arms around his waist. Soohyun was a little surprised, but settled himself comfortably and slightly sideways, grinning. People were looking at them, but AJ had expected that. But they were looking at them and smiling. They were happy for him, every single one of them. Somehow that made AJ even more embarrassed than all the times before, so he hid his face in Soohyun’s back so no one would see his reddened face.
But Soohyun couldn’t hide, even if he wanted to. And he did want to, now that he noticed all of the people staring at him. And not just staring at him like he was an entertainer on stage, but staring at him, because he was him, and because he was with AJ. He immediately ducked his head, looking down at his lap and playing with his fingers, trying to focus on the strong arms wrapped around his middle instead of the many pairs of eyes trained on his face. He bit his lip. He really wished they’d stop… especially since he didn’t know what they were thinking. After all, he and AJ were both boys. And even if Ronan was fine with their relationship, Soohyun knew that plenty of other people wouldn’t be. He squirmed a bit, pressing his palm to AJ’s forearm and trailing his nails against the skin, digging in slightly as he pushed into AJ’s chest. He felt open, exposed, and uncomfortable. Why couldn’t they just stop staring? Was he really that weird, that abnormal? He felt shame start to wash over him, immediately followed by guilt. How could he be ashamed of AJ? He should love him too much to ever think that way. But the roiling in his gut was unmistakable; he couldn’t deny what he felt. And if it wasn’t for the strong hold AJ had on him, he would have already gotten up, to escape their stares, this feeling, and his disloyal heart. He closed his eyes tight and forced a deep breath into his lungs, trying to keep his face as relaxed as possible, calling on all of the training he had been given as a singer to keep up a carefree mask. He could only pray it was working.
AJ felt Soohyun tense, the disruption of his breathing as his nails pinched into his skin-and not in a nice way like earlier. He gave him a squeeze, leaning a little closer to say, “Soohyun, gwaenchana?” Hopefully the comfort of the familiar language would help him feel less awkward. But AJ didn’t think ‘awkward’ was an accurate description of what Soohyun was feeling. AJ had assumed he was already okay with being physical in front of others, but Ronan was one thing and everyone else on the planet was another. Soohyun knew Ronan, he trusted Ronan, Ronan had already proved himself a million times over, but, excepting Becca, he didn’t know any of the others. He probably didn’t even know what their reaction meant.
AJ shut his eyes. This is what he’d been trying so hard not to do to Soohyun, and now it had happened anyway. Why was he always failing him? He couldn’t see Soohyun’s face anymore, and he didn’t know what to do without pulling him out of the room. Really he wanted to draw him even closer but knew that would only make it worse.
Ronan was starting up the movie, so most people had already turned away. Maybe that would help. “I’m sorry,” AJ said softly to Soohyun-and uselessly, he thought. “Do you want to sit next to me instead?”
Just barely shaking his head, Soohyun turned ever so slightly towards AJ, using his free hand to grip into the fabric of AJ’s shirt, clenching his fingers and pulling their bodies closer together. Right now, the last thing he wanted was for AJ to leave him.
“Soohyun…” AJ said. He intertwined his fingers into the hand clinging to his shirt, prying it out of its tight position. “It’s okay,” he said. “They were only looking because they’re happy for us. No one is judging us. No one. It’s okay. I’m sorry, I know it’s still a little much. I’m sorry.” He squeezed Soohyun’s hand. “But don’t be afraid. Please.”
Finally looking up, Soohyun met AJ’s eyes, gripping onto his hand and wrapping his fingers more fully around AJ’s arm. “Jaeseop…”
“Ronan told them all already, even though I didn’t want him to, because I thought it would upset you, to be put in the spotlight like that. That’s what we were fighting about earlier. But, now… I love you, Soohyun. So much. And here… I don’t have to be afraid to show it. And you don’t have to be either. But… if you want to go now, that’s fine. I know it’s different, maybe too different. We can just leave if you want. Whatever you want, Soohyun. I just want to make you comfortable.”
“Jaeseop,” Soohyun said again, voice a low whisper. “I love you too.” Then, moving very slowly, he pressed his mouth to AJ’s, a gentle touching of lips and then he was pulling away, glancing back towards his lap as a pinkish hue crawled up his neck. “I love you too.” And he most definitely wasn’t afraid to show it.
“Soohyun…” The possibility of pulling Soohyun closer, as close as he could, and then really kissing him floated into AJ’s mind, but he steadily forced it away. He ran a finger down Soohyun’s cheek, tracing the blush blooming there before burying his face against him. “I’m glad. I’m so glad,” he whispered. With him, Soohyun knew he was safe. And with him, AJ knew he could take on anything.
“Alright alright, settle down, we’re starting the movie now,” Ronan cried, giving Soohyun and AJ a wink. He stuck the movie in the slot and pressed play, running across the room and shutting off all of the lights before stumbling back to his spot next to the couch, flopping down on the floor at AJ’s feet before grabbing the remote and turning up the volume. Previews flashed across the screen and everyone continued to whisper amongst themselves, waiting for the actual movie to start before settling down and sending the room into silence. The title of the film finally appeared and Ronan cackled over the sudden gasps of astonishment that swept through the room, expertly pulling the remote away from Becca’s reaching hands.
“Ronan, you can’t expect us to watch this!” Becca hissed, elbowing him in the stomach as she stretched her other arm out for the remote.
Ronan just continued to smile. “Oh please, you’ll be fine. It’s just a movie. Besides, if you get scared you can always hide underneath the blankets or something.”
“Or I can just slap you,” she said with a perfectly level voice. “Because if I lose sleep over this, you will be sorry.”
“Becca…” Ronan groaned.
“And what about Soohyun? The poor guy won’t even know what’s going on. He’ll just see things jumping out from everywhere. He’ll be scared out of his mind!”
At that, Ronan smirked. “Exactly.”
~*~
“KYAAAAA, HOLY SHIT WHERE DID THAT COME FROM??” Becca shrieked, pulling the covers up over her face again before peeking over the top.
Ronan nudged her lightly with his elbow. “What, you’ve never seen someone’s head turn like that before?”
“No, of course no-OH MY GOD WHY IS THAT COMING OUT OF HIS MOUTH???”
The entire room erupted into my screams and jolts of astonishment, cringing slightly as the next character was killed. Even Ronan jumped a bit, yanking at Becca’s blankets and earning a punch to his arm.
From his perch on AJ’s lap, Soohyun could only laugh, seeing so many people scared out of their minds over a little movie. It wasn’t even that realistic! The screen was fuzzy, like some kind of home camera, and things kept popping out looking like they were hung by string. And the actors! Oh my god they were terrible, shrieking at the slightest thing, walking down corridors alone like idiots. Yeah, there’s some creepy flickering lights and robotic breathing coming from this direction, let’s go check it out. Great plan. He scoffed a bit and laughed even louder as the next teenager was taken out, attempting to stifle the sounds into AJ’s neck which, to his extreme amusement, was tense with built-up anxiety.
But when the intense music came on again and another character turned down a deserted alleyway, only to be jumped from above by some creature, Soohyun couldn’t hold back, pointing to the screen and losing it, clapping his hands and doubling over. “Why are they so predictable? And the graphics are terrible! Not scary at all.” Quieting down a bit, he wiped at his eyes, shaking his head and taking a few breaths. “Ahhh, so funny.” And that’s when he noticed that the entire room was once again staring at him, mouths gaping open as he finished composing himself.
“AJ,” Ronan began, voice slow and careful. “Why is Soohyun laughing?”
Lowering the blankets further and turning completely away from the screen, Becca looked towards AJ as well. “Yeah, what was he just saying?”
AJ swallowed. “Well, he was laughing at the movie, saying how it’s not scary, and that he thinks it’s really funny.”
A room full of jaws hit the floor.
“Damn AJ, your boyfriend must have no fear.”
“He really doesn’t think it’s scary at all?”
“Good grief, I’m about to pee myself and he thinks it’s funny…”
“Are you sure that’s what he said?”
Ronan scratched the back of his neck and shook his head, reaching out to pat Soohyun’s leg reassuringly. “You certainly are full of surprises, aren’t you?”
AJ whispered the translation into his ear and Soohyun could only smile, nodding happily at Ronan’s acceptance before directing everyone’s attention back to the screen where yet another strange creature had appeared, having to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing when everyone screamed. This really was too much fun. He glanced back at AJ and covered his hands with his own, noticing they were a bit cold and sweaty before leaning back to press his lips to his ear. “Are you scared?”
AJ glanced up at Soohyun briefly before fixing his eyes back on the screen. “Not really, I know something like this could never happen in real life. Just when they jump out, I’m never expecting it. Not everyone has nerves of steel like you.”
“Then do you want me to warn you? Or maybe I should distract you?” Soohyun teased, sliding his hand along AJ’s jaw. The movie wasn’t that exciting for him anyway, and if AJ wasn’t enjoying himself… well, he could think of other ways for them to pass the time.
AJ felt his body fill with heat. Soohyun’s proposal reminded him that there were far, far better things they could be doing in a dark room like this, and now he was imagining all of them. He swallowed, straining his mind to come up with a response, his wit returning to him just in time. He smirked, and managed not to stutter. “Who’s the horny rabbit now, huh?”
Laughing softly, Soohyun withdrew his hand from AJ’s cheek, pitching his voice even lower to murmur in AJ’s ear, making sure not to draw any attention to what they were doing. “Maybe I am horny, or maybe I was just trying to help. Either way, I won’t bother you anymore.” He pressed a single kiss just below AJ’s ear. “Enjoy the movie.” He pulled back and leveled AJ with a smirk before turning around, settling back against AJ’s chest and closing his eyes as the movie continued to play. He knew AJ had just been joking around, but it was still fun to mess with him. And judging by the sound of the music, another ghost should be popping out in, 3… 2… 1...
Shrill screams rang in his ears and AJ jolted against him. Soohyun didn’t bother to control the shaking of his shoulders. Without even opening his eyes, he whispered softly into the dark. “Wish you had taken me up on my offer now? Or was that little jump just my imagination?”
Recovering himself, AJ put his hands on Soohyun’s waist, swiveling him around until AJ could see his face again. Soohyun’s eyes fluttered open; he hadn’t even been watching the stupid movie anymore. He was just relaxing smugly in AJ’s lap, somehow driving him even crazier even without doing anything. But AJ wasn’t going to let Soohyun get away with teasing him like that, pressing his lips against his sensitive spot and tickling AJ’s ear with his warm breath before pulling away like it was nothing. Hopefully this plan wouldn’t backfire too. He didn’t want to watch any more of this movie.
He leaned close, stopping just before his lips met Soohyun’s. “Okay, you win,” he whispered. “Can I still take you up on your offer?”
Eyes already closing again, Soohyun felt himself drawn to AJ’s warmth, body leaning forward the tiniest bit, head already tilting to the side. “Mmmm, that depends…” he murmured.
“Depends on what?” AJ murmured back. A shiver went through him, and it definitely wasn’t from the movie this time. Only Soohyun could do this to him. “Depends on if I leave you a choice?” Then he at last closed the infinitesimal gap between them, one of his hands moving up to the back of Soohyun’s neck to bring him forward, the other staying gripped around his waist. He immediately took control, his tongue finding Soohyun’s and tracing every surface he could find.
Everyone else in the room screamed when some new scary event happened on the screen, and AJ grinned into the kiss. This definitely wasn’t a standard romantic moment, but that made no difference at all to them. AJ’s tongue rubbed against Soohyun’s again and the other boy moaned softly against him. Yes, this was definitely better than the movie.
Soohyun bent one of his arms behind AJ’s back and let the other trail down to his waist, hand going up under his shirt as AJ continued to hold him. All he really wanted to do was throw his leg over AJ’s waist and straddle him, push him into the couch and take and be taken, but he figured that would be a little much. So he settled for leaning back a bit, taking AJ with him until his back hit the armrest, having to stifle a moan as AJ pressed into him. “Jae-Jaeseop…” he panted, eyes flickering open and searching for AJ’s face in the dim light of the room. Dark eyes came into focus and he sucked in a breath, momentarily silenced by the desire he saw there before his lips were taken again, all of his soft groans and hums lost in the heat of AJ’s mouth.
Mind a mess of scattered thoughts, he reached for the hand AJ had left at his waist, tugging on it and slipping it beneath his shirt, onto his stomach, so he could feel the rough warmth of AJ’s skin. His back arched as AJ’s hand began to move on its own, his own arm withdrawing to cling to AJ’s shoulders, fingers sliding down over AJ’s bicep before roaming back up and tracing the crook of his neck. He moaned loudly as AJ’s fingers ghosted across one of his nipples, sound thankfully covered by another round of screams. And even if he wanted to warn AJ, to tell him to stop, he couldn’t do it. Because deep down, he wanted it. He didn’t care if other people saw, or heard. Panting softly, he pulled AJ closer, slipping his own fingers beneath the collar of AJ’s shirt and scratching between his shoulder blades, making new marks on top of the old.
Not at my apartment, Ronan had said. Not even in the bathroom, and especially not… ‘In his room’? Was that what Ronan had been about to say? Because there was a bed in there, and a door that closed. Also a floor. Even that would do. Or, slightly more prudently, they could just leave, right now; AJ could sweep Soohyun into his arms and carry him away before any of the others had a chance to blink. Then they’d be alone in AJ’s room, and…
No, AJ told himself. I will not make love to Soohyun again. I must not make love to Soohyun again. Not even if he begs me. Not even if he begs me with his whole body and his voice and every particle of his being. No. I must resist. The consequences of their passion were wreaking havoc on poor Soohyun’s body-it would already be far from comfortable for him to sit on the plane all those hours-and AJ was determined not to make it any worse. He would not, he must not, he could not…
AJ forced himself to break away from Soohyun, even though Soohyun’s nails had started to dig into his back again, in that way that felt so good. “Soohyun,” he whispered in as low a voice as he could manage. “We should… we need to stop. Because… otherwise…” He dared to say what he had held back earlier: “I’m going to tear you apart.”
A shiver ran through Soohyun’s entire body at AJ’s words, making him feel even colder now that AJ was pulling away. We need to stop, AJ had said. But Soohyun didn’t want to stop, couldn’t stop, not when AJ’s warmth was running through his veins, flooding his senses and making it impossible to think. Digging his nails in, he pulled AJ back down, angling his head so that his teeth connected with the soft skin of AJ’s neck. He bit down harshly before soothing the reddened skin with his tongue. “But Jaeseop,” he murmured, lips trailing up to AJ’s ear. “What if I want to be torn apart?”
AJ managed to take a breath. “Th-Th-Then we should go,” he stammered. “And-And continue this elsewhere.”
Unfortunately, their conversation had gotten loud enough that Ronan became aware of it and looked over. And laughed. He tapped AJ’s leg to get his attention, noticing the flush on his skin as he turned around, and the large mark on his neck that Soohyun had obviously just created. He gestured towards the door, smirking. “Go ahead, just try not to trip over anything on the way out. And go to your room, not mine.”
Following AJ’s gaze, Soohyun caught sight of Ronan’s grin and blushed, ducking back behind AJ’s chest. He felt AJ’s voice through his fingers, rumbling deep into him as he responded to whatever Ronan had said.
“Yeah, we will. And I’m sorry, I know you wanted to say goodbye, but…”
Ronan waved him off. “I’ll say my goodbyes in the morning. I’m going with you to the airport, remember? Just text me what time I need to be ready when you get the chance.” He grinned wider. “Which might not be for a while, eh?”
“Ronan…” AJ warned, using his hold on Soohyun to sit him up and pull him into his chest, protecting him from his friend’s perverted eyes.
“Ah yes, guardian AJ is back. Tell Soohyun I’ll see him later, and try not to be too rough with the guy, he does need to be able to walk tomorrow. I doubt they’ll let you carry him onto the plane.”
AJ narrowed his eyes but nodded anyway. Then he grabbed both of Soohyun’s hands. “He says we can go, and that he’ll see you later,” he explained. “He wants to come to the airport with us in the morning. But… for now…” He leaned in to Soohyun’s ear. “There are some things you want me to do to you, yeah?”
Heat once again rushed through Soohyun’s body as he swallowed, trying to wet his suddenly dry throat as AJ withdrew, only serving to make Soohyun’s hands twitch with the urge to pull him back. He glanced at Ronan and saw him nod, smile still in place, urging them on their way. He squeezed AJ’s hands. There was still one thing he had to make sure of. “What about your other friends? Will they be upset if you leave without saying anything?”
“I’ll just say we have to leave so you can catch your flight in the morning,” AJ said. His mouth curved up sideways. “Which is true.” He ruffled Soohyun’s hair. “Don’t worry about it.”
Frowning up from underneath AJ’s hand, Soohyun watched him stand then grabbed onto the fabric of his shirt, using it to pull himself up before clinging to AJ’s back. He really didn’t want to step on anyone or draw too much attention, still a bit uncomfortable from their earlier staring. But it was really dark, and the screen wasn’t offering much light, not to mention that he still wasn’t walking completely right. He was momentarily tempted to make AJ carry him, if only to keep him from falling on someone, but decided that would be too embarrassing, and he was heavy, and he really needed to stop acting like a five-year-old in front of the other boy. After all, Soohyun technically was older. Not that anyone could tell. He pouted more to himself and lifted his hand to fix his hair, combing it back into place with his fingers as he waited for AJ to lead the way.
Ronan promptly seized the remote and paused the movie, freezing it just as the remaining living characters were making bizarre faces. Now everyone really was looking at them, but AJ just put his arm around him, saying some things in English that Soohyun assumed was an explanation of why they were leaving so suddenly. Then everyone was waving at him and calling out phrases with his name in them, which he partially understood. “Nice to meet you, Soohyun!” “Safe travels!” Soohyun smiled and waved back, especially at Becca, but his mind was still elsewhere, buried in the warmth of AJ he longed to return to. Then AJ took his hand and lead him to where their shoes were and he was able to relax. Now he was where he belonged, where he didn’t have to pretend anymore. Well… almost… In a perfect world, they’d already be back in AJ’s room, holding each other, losing themselves in the warmth of each other’s bodies. But they still had a few minute’s walk until they could get to that point, and the cold winter air of New York to brave. He sighed a bit as he stood, turning to face AJ and looping his arms around AJ’s shoulders. “Kim Jaeseop,” he murmured. “Take me home.”
AJ kissed him lightly. "Alright baby," he said. "Let's go home."
~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Thank you all for your patience in the large gaps between updates... Hopefully you all are still enjoying the story. I will be posting two chapters tonight to make up for the long gap. >_<
Pairing: AJ/Soohyun
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AJ and Soohyun go to Ronan’s apartment for Soohyun’s last night in New York. And Soohyun has an evil plan in mind.
~*~*~*~*~
PART FOURTEEN
~*~*~*~*~
“Hey loverboys!” Ronan exclaimed as he opened the door and let them in.
“Ronan, I thought I told you not to-” AJ started to say, but Ronan was already seizing Soohyun in a hug.
“Soohyun, my man!” Ronan cried, squeezing Soohyun tight. “How are you doing, huh huh huh? I hope this crazy fellow wasn’t too rough on you when you two were-”
“Ronan!” AJ hissed. He could hear voices in the next room-lots of voices. “Please, you promised…” He was practically whining, but he didn’t care. He could only imagine how mortified Soohyun would be if anyone were to find out. Ronan knowing was bad enough.
Ronan released Soohyun, smirking. “If you hadn’t been so busy being embarrassed, you would’ve noticed that I didn’t actually promise,” he said.
AJ stared back at him, mouth slightly open. He could not believe his friend sometimes. His brows furrowed. “Ronan…” he said, voice lowering. “If you won’t shut up about it… th-then we’re leaving.” He grabbed Soohyun’s arm.
Feeling AJ tugging on his arm and the word leaving, Soohyun looked quickly between both of the boys in front of him, wondering what in the world could have happened to have them fighting so quickly. But, looking closer, it didn’t seem like they were fighting. AJ just looked embarrassed and Ronan looked, well, smug, or at least pretty pleased with himself. Soohyun stammered a bit as he was jerked further back by AJ, losing his balance and nearly falling into AJ’s chest before another hand was wrapping around his opposite arm, keeping him in place. Two sets of eyes were locked above his head, and Soohyun just hoped he would come out of this with both halves of his body still intact.
“AJ,” Ronan said, his voice even. “Chill. It’s okay. I’m not taking a megaphone to South Korea’s ear. And have you even asked him what he wants, or is this whole ‘keep it secret, keep it safe’ obsession your prerogative? And you don’t just get to leave, because Soohyun is my friend now too. And we should stop talking around him. Right, chingu?” He gave Soohyun a big smile.
AJ frowned. No, he supposed he hadn’t asked Soohyun, but how could his assumption be wrong? Ronan just didn’t understand how different it was for them, two male idols expected to be the epitome of masculinity and heterosexuality. Ronan didn’t understand that some secrets needed to be kept, needed to be protected. He didn’t understand at all.
Soohyun looked up at Ronan, blinking stupidly at the wide grin on his friend’s face. He had heard chingu, obviously, but beyond that there was little else he understood. Whatever it was, AJ didn’t seem too eager to translate, which meant Soohyun was going to be staying in the dark. He sighed, shaking his head a bit and prying away both of their hands. From the corner of his eye, he saw a somewhat familiar figure walk by and took his chance, ducking out from between AJ and Ronan and turning around, walking backwards as he spoke. “Figure out whatever this is, but don’t take too long.” Then he smirked. “And don’t be fighting over me, either.” Then he spun back around and strode across the room, stopping next to the nice girl with long brown hair. He tapped her gently on the shoulder. “Becca?” he asked, smiling warmly, and mentally thanking her for providing him with his escape. Whatever was going on, it was obvious Ronan and AJ needed some time to work it out.
“What did he say?” Ronan asked AJ. But AJ just ignored him and turned away, starting to walk after Soohyun. “Wait,” Ronan said, catching his arm. “AJ…”
AJ flung Ronan’s arm away from him, but then stopped himself from doing anything else rash. He exhaled lengthily. He shouldn’t be treating his friend this way, angry as he was.
“AJ… I’m sorry, okay?” Ronan said. “I was just trying to tease you, but obviously… it’s not funny to you. I know this must be a big deal for you, and I’m sorry for taking it… the way I usually take things. But, AJ.” He laid a hand on his shoulder, cautiously, like he was afraid AJ would jolt away from him again. “You can relax, and tone down protector mode a few notches. The world’s not going to end if other people find out you’re… happy.”
AJ’s lips curved up slightly before forming a straight line once more. There was much more at stake than his happiness.
“But this is about something else, isn’t it?” Ronan went on. “Like, maybe… how I creeped on Soohyun when he was half naked?” He raised his eyebrows.
AJ glanced away from Ronan. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he said. “You made him feel really… weird.”
“You sure he felt that way and not just you?”
AJ’s head jerked up. “No!” he cried. “He told me! It wasn’t just… projection.” He trailed off. Ronan was too clever and had taken too many psychology classes… all the same ones AJ had taken. He sighed. “Okay, yeah, it made me feel weird too,” he said. “But seriously, it made Soohyun really uncomfortable.”
“Okay, I won’t do it again,” Ronan said. “Though… I don’t know if I’ll ever get a chance to.”
AJ rolled his eyes, muttering, “I sure hope not…”
Ignoring him, Ronan continued, “But, AJ... do you really think I would ever do anything to hurt Soohyun? Or you? Or that I would try to steal him away from you?"
Ronan sounded so plaintive and hurt that AJ finally met his eyes. "No," he said. "I know you wouldn't."
Ronan gave him a brief smile. "Mostly I was just admiring the artistry.” He raised his eyebrows again, his sly smile returning. “Those were some fiiiine hickeys, my friend.”
“Yeah, well…” AJ hesitated, but then decided what the hell, it was only Ronan. “He’s got some fine skin.”
Ronan laughed. “There you go, see!” he exclaimed, clapping AJ on the back.
Even more quietly, AJ added, “But really you should see the ones he gave me.”
“What?”
AJ looked up. Ronan was laughing, but AJ could tell he hadn’t heard him. “Nothing.” He shrugged innocently.
Ronan frowned, becoming serious again. “You worry too much,” he said. “You don’t need to be so possessive all the time. Soohyun can take care of himself.” He pointed to the other boy, who was currently being lead by Becca down the row of taco toppings lining the table. She laughed at him as he scooped an over-eager portion of beef onto his tortilla. “See? He’s fine.”
AJ had to smile a little. Soohyun was fine. And that made him happier than anything.
Ronan’s brow creased as he continued to study AJ. “But that’s not the only reason why you’re like this, eh?” he asked. His hand trailed down AJ’s arm. “You miss him already, don’t you?” he said.
AJ froze. Ronan had said it so matter-of-factly, like he already knew the answer. But it couldn’t be true. How could he miss someone who was in the same room as him? He watched Soohyun struggle to follow Becca’s directions about folding his overflowing tortilla into a proper burrito, copying all her motions but finally giving up and sheepishly holding his plate out to her for her to complete. AJ tried to smile but it just came out sad. Of course it was true. Ronan was right again, right about everything-goddamn; when had that happened? “I do,” he said softly.
Ronan gave him a quick hug before walking over to the food table. “Jacket is good, yes?” he said to Soohyun, pointing at it before turning around to smirk back at AJ. AJ rolled his eyes and strode over to join them as well.
Looking up briefly from where he was watching Becca help with his food, Soohyun offered Ronan a quick smile. "Yes, good..." Then he smirked, turning back to his burrito and Becca's skilled hands, purposefully avoiding Ronan's curious stare. "But AJ thinks very good."
"Oh he does, does he?" Ronan turned to AJ and lifted his eyebrows suggestively. "So I guess another of my plans was a success."
"Ronan," AJ groaned. "Please stop. Really."
"What? I want credit for my genius. And this time I even have Becca as a witness." He nudged the girl playfully on the shoulder, ignoring AJ's pained expression. "Isn't that right?"
Becca immediately held up her hands in surrender. "Nuh uh, don't you drag me into this. I'm still recovering from when you were trying to ‘help’ AJ. I'm not going to join this mess."
Ronan pouted for a moment before lighting with recognition, flinging an arm over Soohyun's shoulder. "Ah yes that's right, our little run-in with that douchebag coworker of yours, how could I forget?"
Ronan glanced away from AJ, making him even more nervous. "Do I even want to know?" AJ moaned, looking towards Becca and praying she would assure him it was nothing. But his hopes were immediately dashed as soon as she started speaking, explaining how Ronan had had to stick up for Soohyun's sexuality and race. Becca looked liked she wanted to die from embarrassment by the end but AJ felt furious, hands clenching with anger as he imagined some bastard making fun of Soohyun, judging him. If he had been there...well, he probably would've reacted even worse than Ronan.
As for what Ronan had done… He looked over at the other boy. Ronan had known Soohyun less than a week, but he was already doing all that for him? But it hadn’t just been for Soohyun, it had been for him too. And also because… that’s just how Ronan was. He might be diabolical and lack a sense of propriety, but he was loyal and accepting and understanding and the best friend AJ had ever had, excepting a certain six others. AJ’s expression softened so he was no longer glaring around murderously, but Ronan still wouldn’t look at him. In fact, if AJ didn’t know better, he would say that Ronan’s cheeks were turning a reddish hue. Was he… embarrassed? Was that possible?
AJ grinned. There were some places Ronan’s pride went and some where it didn’t, it seemed. AJ walked over and pulled him into a hug.
“Really, it was nothing,” Ronan muttered.
“Ronan,” AJ said, letting him go. “With you, nothing is ever ‘nothing.’”
“Well, that’s what happened,” Becca concluded, eying the two boys. “And they might be firing him, I’m not sure. But…” She lightly cleared her throat. "Uh, AJ, I’m happy for you." She smiled a little and looked between AJ and Soohyun. "For the both of you."
AJ's eyes immediately widened. Of course she knew. How hadn’t he realized it earlier? He forced himself to smile back. "Thanks Becca, but, um, would you mind not saying anything?" Ronan groaned loudly beside him but AJ ignored him, facing instead the surprise flashing across Becca's face.
"Sure AJ, but you do realize..." She suddenly stopped, watching Ronan flail his arms wildly before narrowing her eyes in a glare. "Ronan.... You didn't.”
Ronan held out his hands innocently, slowly backing away. “I don’t know what you're talking about..."
AJ's eyes flashed between Ronan and Becca, but before he could do more than open his mouth, another of his friends came up, waving at Soohyun and smiling at AJ. “Hey,” he said. “Do they have gay marriage in Korea?”
AJ felt himself melt and congeal into a puddle on the floor. “N-No, they don’t,” he stammered.
“That sucks. But you two will make it work, yeah?” Somehow remaining oblivious to AJ’s bugged out eyes, he added, “Ooooooor you could move here!”
“I… uh… umm… we’ll… uh… we’ll… uh… we’ll see.” AJ swallowed, getting himself under control. “But Ronan and I need to have a talk.” He locked eyes with the other boy, who looked away, whistling. “A nice long talk.”
Sensing the atmosphere slowly grower weirder and weirder around him, Soohyun finally looked up from where he had been eating, eyes taking in all of the various expressions: Becca’s exasperated resignation, Ronan’s guilty terror, and AJ’s embarrassed determination. He sighed loudly before going to stand between the two boys, looking them both square in the eye before grabbing onto both of their arms and dragging them over to the couch, forcing them to sit on opposite ends of each other. “Stay,” he commanded, before marching away and fetching his food from the counter where he had left it, grabbing an extra burrito (courtesy of Becca, bless her soul) for Ronan and some kind of quesadilla thing for AJ on the way back.
When he got back to the couch, he saw that both boys were still where he had left them, shooting glances between each other and the floor. He dropped the food in both of their laps and flopped down between them, taking a bite of his burrito and brooding silently for a moment before finally swallowing and sitting up a bit straighter. He pointed to Ronan’s face and turned to AJ first, stating a resolute, “Ronan, good,” before pointing to AJ and turning to Ronan instead, using the same tone to say, “AJ, good.” While still looking into Ronan’s shocked face, Soohyun continued, “Friends, be friends. No bad.” Then he turned back to AJ, cutting him off with a swift narrowing of his eyes. “Bad, AJ. Bad.”
Switching to Korean and lowering his voice, Soohyun warned, “I don’t know what got into you two but stop being idiots or I’ll force you to do the ‘kiss and make up’ thing, regardless of all your friends being here.”
AJ forced himself to relax, letting out a long breath. Ronan reached an arm around Soohyun, tickling AJ’s shoulder with his fingers. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I know you didn’t want this.”
AJ continued staring at his lap and the plate Soohyun had placed there. “No,” he said, “No I didn’t.”
“But… it’s not the end of the world.”
AJ bit his lip.
“I just… I couldn’t help myself. This is a good thing. You shouldn’t have to hide good things.”
AJ finally raised his head. Ronan was remarkably simple sometimes. But also… sweet. He was just being happy for AJ, in his own way. AJ smiled a little, leaning his head against Soohyun and closer to Ronan’s arm. “Okay Ronan,” he said. “I forgive you.”
“Woot!”
“But…”
“Ah god. What but?”
“This doesn’t mean…” AJ tried to phrase it as delicately as he could. “It doesn’t mean you get to be nosy about… things.”
“Things? What things?” Ronan asked innocently. “Oh, you mean the things… you two do together, just the two of you?” He smirked.
“Yes, Ronan,” AJ said tersely, hoping that if he spoke as succinctly as possible the blush would stay off his cheeks. “Those things. The things that no one else has to know about. Okay?”
“I’ll just ask Soohyun then,” Ronan replied immediately. “Soohyun.” He moved his arm down to pat him on the back. “Are you good at drawing?” He moved his other hand as if he had a pencil. “Drawing? Mmm? Even stick figures are fine.”
Seeing AJ’s appalled face, Ronan cracked up laughing. “My friend, you are far too fun to tease,” he said.
“Very funny,” AJ muttered, finally digging into his quesadilla. Now that his emotions had settled down a little, he realized how hungry he actually was.
With Ronan’s arm still on his back and AJ now starting to eat, Soohyun decided that the battle was over, that all had been forgiven or at least put in the past. Patting Ronan’s leg, he smiled. “Good friend, Ronan.” Then he pointed to the plate balanced on Ronan’s lap. “Eat.” He mimed eating and tried to get across the point that he wanted Ronan to move quickly. After all, he hadn’t agreed to come to this thing just to hang out. And he wasn’t wearing his troublemaker shirt for nothing. Fortunately, Ronan seemed to get the message and AJ stayed blissfully unaware, eating his food at a regular pace while Soohyun and Ronan demolished their plates in record time.
As soon as Ronan wiped away the last bit of sauce from his mouth, Soohyun stood up from the couch and grabbed for Ronan’s plate, taking them out to the kitchen and willing Ronan to follow him, which he did, staring at Soohyun with a curious expression as he leaned against the counter. “So, what’s up? Hm?”
Soohyun twisted his mouth for a moment as he cleaned the plates in the sink, trying to iron out the last details in his plot. Because for his plan to work, a lot of things had to come together. But first, he would have to get rid of AJ. Holding up his hands, Soohyun mimed playing with a controller, saying a firm, “game,” and repeating the motion until Ronan nodded in understanding.
“Yeah sure, we can go play games. I don’t know why you had to ask me that in the kitchen…”
Not waiting for Ronan to finish, Soohyun made an X with his arms, shaking his head before saying, “No AJ.” He pointed between himself and Ronan, explaining, “Ronan and Soohyun, games. AJ… Becca?” He shook his head, not knowing what else to say, forehead scrunching in frustration because he couldn’t properly explain what he wanted. He would have to have AJ start teaching him English.
“No AJ?” Ronan’s eyebrows lifted, interest most definitely piqued. “Why?”
Soohyun glanced over at the couch before gesturing around them and putting a finger to his lips. “Shhhh.”
“Alright, so it’s a secret.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “You want to play games, without AJ, and it has to do with a secret….” A mischievous smile slowly began to spread across his face. “Oh I see, you need to get rid of mister over-protective for a while. And judging by the look on your face, I’d say you’re up to no good. I like it.” He pushed off of the counter and threw an arm over Soohyun’s shoulders. “Whatever you need, I’m in.”
Sensing Ronan was on board, as he assumed he would be, Soohyun smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and clicking on the picture icon. He scrolled through to the ones he had taken of AJ’s room, holding it out to Ronan’s curious eyes. Then he immediately had to clamp a hand over Ronan’s mouth as the boy began to holler with laughter, nearly doubling over as he attempted to quiet himself. Wiping away some tears, Ronan took a deep breath before letting out a contented sigh, “Oh my god, AJ… that boy… he must have some serious stamina. And you, you must be made of steel. How are you even walking? That room is totally trashed! Look at the bed!”
Shaking his head a bit, Soohyun scrolled to the last picture in the set, showing Ronan a picture of AJ’s now once again spotless room and fresh sheets.
“Awwww, you cleaned already? Damn, I bet that was your doing. AJ never would’ve thought of that. Still, much as I’m enjoying this, what are the pictures for?” Soohyun hit a few buttons on the screen then held his phone up for Ronan again, indicating to the print icon. “You want to print them? Print?”
Soohyun just pointed to the icon again so Ronan had to think fast, pulling out his own phone and typing the word ‘print’ into his translator. He held it out for Soohyun who immediately nodded excitedly, pointing to the pictures again. Ronan chuckled. “You are most definitely up to no good, but that just makes this even better. So let’s go play some games before mother-AJ comes in here to make sure I’m not harassing you so we can get this show on the road.” He smiled and slapped Soohyun lightly on the back, keeping his hand there and leading him out of the kitchen. “Games, go!”
Soohyun smiled as well, a devious glint in his eyes that matched the look in Ronan’s. “Go!”
~*~
Underneath it all, AJ knew he was still a little off. Not because of Ronan, not because of anything that could be fixed, just because… this was Soohyun’s last night with him, and he remained constantly aware of that fact, no matter what he did. He wanted to scream at time to stop, to freeze exactly where it was, so he’d have longer to hang on to it, to find some way to make it stay. But he couldn’t. He felt the grains of sand that were his precious moments with Soohyun slipping away. Soohyun was slipping away from him.
He took a deep breath that no one noticed. Calm down, Kim Jaeseop, he told himself. Don’t mourn him before he’s gone. You haven’t lost him yet. He’s right there.
AJ looked over to where Soohyun was, playing a driving video game with Ronan and over-shooting all the curves while Ronan laughed at him. They were on the floor, leaning against the couch, while AJ was still sitting in his spot. Soohyun was happy, really happy, so AJ should try to be too. He should be celebrating. Soohyun had come so far, even just in a few days with him. How much happier would he be once he got to spend all his time with AJ? AJ smiled.
But the smile didn’t last. His hand curled around the cup Ronan had handed him, in secret. Ronan had promised there wouldn’t be alcohol, but sensing how AJ was feeling, he’d clandestinely mixed something up for him and brought it over. It wasn’t that strong, but AJ could feel its influence swim into him, muting everything. Which was kind of nice. Now he could be content to watch Soohyun’s happiness and feel it vicariously. Soohyun and Ronan were practically connected at the hip, which was good to see. Truly. He felt no envy about that.
He was surprised when he didn’t notice when Soohyun went missing right away. He’d been distracted, talking to Becca, and some other people, but he’d promised Soohyun he wouldn’t leave his side. He’d said he’d hold his hand, even, or let Soohyun sit in his lap-those had been his exact words. And he hadn’t done any of those things. No, he’d been too busy being afraid anyone would find out, when they all already knew.
How could he lose Soohyun at two of Ronan’s parties? How was that even possible? Actually, it seemed Ronan was missing too. That was promising. AJ definitely shouldn’t panic… not yet anyway. Actually, he was afraid for different reasons. Soohyun was wearing his troublemaker shirt, but if Ronan were to have one, the letters would be in red, and giant, and underlined a thousand times…
He searched around for a bit, before heading to the most likely location: Ronan’s room. Though what they’d be doing in there, he didn’t know. He knocked on the door, but heard no reply. A sudden surge of jealousy filled him, which he immediately dismissed-as if they’d be doing that. He didn’t believe his own thoughts, but acted on them anyway, striding straight in.
He found Ronan and Soohyun crouched over Ronan’s computer. “Uh, hey,” he said. “What are you two up to?” He frowned. What were they up to?
Ronan thankfully had the reflexes of a cat, and the foresight to have a second window ready to bring up on screen, so as soon as the first knock sounded on the door, the computer only had a Google translate page to show. And a swift, subtle movement of Ronan’s elbow nudged a precarious stack of papers over the top of the small cord connecting Soohyun’s phone to the computer. Still, if AJ were to look too closely, they would be in trouble.
Soohyun turned slowly and gave AJ a small smile, walking across the room in measured steps before sliding a hand around AJ’s waist, one of his fingers just barely sliding beneath the fabric. “Nothing,” he murmured. Then he leaned further forward, lowering his voice just a bit. “Why, did you miss me?” He brought his other hand up and stroked lightly along AJ’s jaw. “Because I missed you, and I haven’t gotten to do any of the things you promised.” Hearing AJ’s intake of breath, Soohyun laughed softly. “I know, I know, I’m the one who left. But let me make up for it now…” He brought their mouths together slowly, barely parting his lips before AJ’s hands were at his waist, pulling him closer and pushing forward.
Glancing to the side, Soohyun could see Ronan furiously working on the computer, trying to organize all of the images in preparation for printing. Hitting a final button, Ronan flashed Soohyun a thumbs up then gestured to the printer, asking with his eyes if Soohyun wanted him to go ahead. Soohyun merely held up a finger, signaling him to wait, before turning his full attention back to AJ who was now becoming slightly aware of this pantomime conversation taking place. And that just wouldn’t do.
Without giving AJ any warning, Soohyun suddenly pushed him back, taking a few steps forward before pinning him to the wall. He forced their mouths closer together and ran his hands up AJ’s arms before wrapping his own around AJ’s shoulders. He sucked teasingly at AJ’s bottom lip for just a moment before tracing it with his tongue, pushing into the crease of AJ’s mouth before opening his own and letting AJ inside. And even though AJ was the one who was supposed to be distracted, Soohyun could feel himself fading as well. AJ was just too irresistible, and the things he could do with his lips… and his tongue… well, Soohyun was finding it hard to focus on anything other than the man in front of him.
To say AJ was surprised at how Soohyun was acting was putting it mildly. Admittedly Soohyun had made out with him before, at the club, where people could’ve seen, where Ronan could’ve seen, but to kiss him, right now, right in front of Ronan, in his room… That was a whole other level. But AJ wasn’t going to resist. He had no shame about any of it, really. He had just wanted to protect Soohyun. And if Soohyun didn’t want to be protected, then AJ wasn’t going to hide it. He wasn’t going to hold back.
All his fears, all his sorrows, melted away when Soohyun’s lips met his and his hands automatically curved around Soohyun’s waist. He couldn’t miss Soohyun before he was gone if Soohyun was there, so real, against his lips and against his body. And then Soohyun was forcing him against the wall, ah god. Wasn’t this what Ronan had told them not to do? Whatever, AJ didn’t care. He vaguely knew that Soohyun and Ronan must be up to something. But he didn’t care about that either. He wasn’t going to pull away until Soohyun did.
And Soohyun wasn’t planning on pulling away for awhile, at least not until Ronan had completed this phase of the plan. Pressing closer to AJ, he tilted his head to the side, letting their lips meet more fully, tasting the alcohol against AJ’s tongue and grinning to himself. If AJ’s inhibitions were dulled even the slightest, that was going to make his job so much easier. To test his theory, he slid a leg between AJ’s thighs, leaning into him while sliding his hand further up AJ’s shirt and pressing his fingers into AJ’s side, feeling warm skin beneath his palm. The clicking of the printer broke through his thoughts and he cursed inside his head as AJ jolted slightly, obviously having at least heard the noise, but he apparently had enough of AJ’s attention to keep him from turning away. And he planned to keep it that way.
Taking his hand out from beneath AJ’s shirt and sighing at the loss, he slid both of his hands up to AJ’s neck and then his face, cupping his cheeks gently for a moment before moving towards AJ’s ears, hooking his fingers around the backs like he had done many times before, urging AJ forward and keeping him from breaking the kiss. But this time, he pressed his palms down as well, attempting to keep AJ from hearing as little as possible.
He was losing himself in the feel of AJ’s lips against his, tongue in his mouth and warm hands against his skin. The world fell away and all he could think of was how beautiful the man in front of him was, how much he wanted to hold him and talk to him and just be with him. His heart felt like it would burst, stretched tight like so many rubber bands and just waiting to snap. He groaned very softly to relieve some of the pressure, sighing into AJ’s mouth as AJ’s teeth tugged lightly on his lower lip. Then, the moment was shattered, broken into tiny shimmering pieces by a piercing electronic beeping. The printer was apparently out of paper and he could tell AJ was beginning to pull away, curiosity momentarily taking over.
Thinking fast, and mind still cloudy with desire, Soohyun grabbed at the back of AJ’s shirt and spun them around so that it was his back pressed up against the wall, and AJ’s leg pinning him in place. He had to hiss back a moan at the sudden flooding of sensation but managed to keep his thoughts mostly in order, leaning forward to murmur in AJ’s ear. “Jaeseop, don’t think too much. Just focus on me.”
AJ didn’t know why Soohyun was doing this. It seemed like there was a reason-there were some weird sounds happening in the background-but did it really matter why? Maybe Soohyun had just been missing his touch so much it was driving him crazy, and now he needed it so badly he didn’t even care that Ronan was there. AJ wanted him that much too. And now Soohyun had moved them so AJ was the one pressing him into the wall, and his beautiful Soohyun was completely surrounded by him, completely his, not wanting or needing anything else, gazing up at him through parted lips with desire and trust and love. His last attempt at holding back was demolished and he covered Soohyun’s body with his own, running his hands under Soohyun’s shirt while taking him over with his tongue, pushing against the growing bulge in Soohyun’s pants. There was nothing else in the universe but Soohyun. Ronan could be filming them right now and he wouldn’t care. He wasn’t going to stop until the whole world ended.
Soohyun felt his knees go weak, muscles turning uselessly limp as he struggled to hold himself up, leaning heavily against the wall and the strength of AJ’s body pressed against him. The constant rubbing between his legs was doing nothing to help him keep a clear mind and he had to remind himself not to get too carried away since he could still hear Ronan moving around in the room, and if he cracked open his eyes, he could see Ronan grinning widely to himself while going about his task. But in reality, Soohyun didn’t care. He loved AJ, Ronan supported that, and he was too addicted to the feel of AJ against him to ever stop, especially when AJ began smoothing one of his hands up and down his spine.
The printer stopped running but Soohyun didn’t stop, only cracked open a bleary eye to watch Ronan begin to collect the pictures, picking up a pair of scissors and brandishing them in Soohyun’s direction, lifting his eyebrows a few times before turning away and beginning to cut. Sometimes, Soohyun wanted to hug that boy, crush him in half with the amount of appreciation he had for him. But at the moment he had more pressing matters, and AJ was becoming more difficult to handle, causing Soohyun to push all of his focus back to the task at hand, which really wasn’t such a bad thing anyway.
“Mmn, Jaeseop,” Soohyun murmured, arching his back and twisting his neck to the side as AJ’s tongue flicked over his Adam’s apple, lips tracing a path along the side of his neck. He threaded his fingers into AJ’s hair and looked up to the ceiling, having to bite his lip to hold back the embarrassing sounds his body wanted to make. AJ bit down particularly hard at the base of his shoulder and Soohyun tugged lightly at his hair, making him lift back up. “Remember, no marks,” he whispered, fixing AJ with as stern of a glance as he could muster in his current state.
“Fuck it, Soohyun,” AJ mumbled. “I just want to…” He managed to stop himself from completing the sentence, suddenly remembering that Ronan was still in the room, and while he was likely seeing all this, he didn’t really need to hear it all as well-not that he would understand it, but the tone would be enough to give it away. Whatever AJ had been about to say anyway-probably something along the lines of I just want to tear you apart. I just want to mark every particle of your being. Soohyun. I just love you so much, I just want to intertwine myself with you. Completely. He took a deep breath in. He should probably save that kind of thinking for later.
He turned around to glance at Ronan, who was sitting in a chair at his desk, playing with something on his phone. He looked up to meet AJ’s gaze. “Oh, don’t mind me,” he said. “Just tell me when you’re ready to get back to watching videos, Soohyun.” He pointed at the computer, “Later, when ready, okay?” He pinched his pointer finger and thumb together to make the symbol. “Or, you could translate that to him,” he added to AJ. He smirked. “If you’re back to talking now.” He returned to his phone, waving a hand at the pair. “Go on now, back to what you were doing.”
AJ swiveled back to Soohyun. By other people’s definition this would be weird, but nothing else was conventional about their relationship either. AJ leaned down, placing his lips against the spot on Soohyun’s collarbone he’d just been abusing and pecking it lightly. A thought occurred to him and he smiled against Soohyun’s skin. “Were you making poor Ronan watch MVs of us?” he asked.
Mentally thanking AJ for providing them with their alibi, Soohyun hummed thoughtfully in the back of his throat. “Yeah, only a few though, he couldn’t stop laughing for long enough to get through them all in one go. He couldn’t believe you had grown out your hair, and bleached it. Or that you had shaved designs into your eyebrows. Or that you had worn clothes like that. But I think his favorite was 0330, when you did that fish thing with your lips. He made me replay that like a hundred times.”
AJ chuckled. “Oh yeah?” He pulled back enough to see Soohyun’s eyes. “Well, should I leave you two alone then?” he asked. “And… save this for later?” He stroked a hand up Soohyun’s side, on top of his shirt this time. He suggested it not because he wanted to stop, but because he figured he should before someone’s clothes came off, which definitely should not happen in front of Ronan.
Throwing a subtle glance over AJ’s shoulder, Soohyun made sure the coast was clear before nodding and covering AJ’s hand with his own, threading their fingers loosely together before giving him a smile. “Alright, later it is then. But for now, why don’t you go get us a spot on the couch. I’ll finish up with Ronan here in a little bit and we’ll be out in time for the movie.”
“Okay.” AJ smiled in return. He removed his hands, leaned in to whisper in Soohyun’s ear, “You can even sit on my lap if you want.” Then, still smiling, he left the room and the two troublemaking boys on their own.
Ronan watched AJ’s retreating back with a smug smirk on his face, which only grew even larger when the door finally shut. He turned to Soohyun and immediately stood, taking a few steps and putting his hands on Soohyun’s shoulders. “You, sir, have all of my respect. I mean good god!” He threw his hands in the air as his voice rose. “I’ve never seen AJ that out of it before. He was even making out with you in front of me! You,” he pointed a finger at Soohyun’s chest. “You are truly amazing, and devious, and I really, really like you.” Then he chuckled at the blank and mildly confused expression on Soohyun’s face. “Even if you can’t understand a word of what I’m saying.”
Soohyun just shook his head and smiled, holding up his hands. “Ronan, English bad.” He pointed to himself, tapping his chest a few times. “Soohyun Korean.”
“I know, I know.” Ronan sighed and dropped one of his hands back onto Soohyun’s shoulder, squeezing lightly. “Ronan will stop. Only easy English. Small English? Simple English? Oh whatever, I’ll just show you the pictures.” Flopping down on his swivel chair and rolling back across the room, he reached down and pulled a stack of pictures from behind his desk, scooting back over to where Soohyun was waiting and holding them out for his inspection. “I think they came out really well, at least for you having taken them with your phone.” He smirked as Soohyun shuffled through to the one of AJ’s back, expertly taken when AJ had been changing and not paying attention. “I think that one’s my favorite. You’re really not as innocent as you look. You’re a troublemaker and apparently a beast in bed, AJ’s definitely going to have his hands full with you… and I mean that in all of the various ways that are implied.”
As Ronan sat there talking and cackling to himself, Soohyun was looking at each of the pictures, flipping through them and feeling a tiny twinge of sadness tug at his heart. At least they’d always be on his phone, right? He would always be able to remember. And AJ would be back to remind him as well, back in Korea, back with U-KISS, back by Soohyun’s side. Then Soohyun sighed, tilting his head back and biting his lip to hold back the wetness shimmering behind his eyes. He hadn’t even left yet and he was already missing AJ, his laughter, his presence, his touch. There was no use feeling this way now, he just had to make the best of what time they had left. And either way, AJ was waiting for him… but first he actually wanted to show Ronan their music videos, and at least attempt to fill him in on their cover-up should AJ interrogate him on the subject.
“Ronan,” Soohyun started, walking over to the computer and gesturing the other boy over. “Ronan watch. Important.” He opened YouTube and clicked on Doradora, watching as Ronan’s eyes widened.
“Oh my god is that you? And AJ? Holy shit man, what is going on with his hair? And your… pants? Are those even considered pants? Good grief.” He broke into a fit of laughter, gesturing all over the screen. “And even with all of that, you still manage to look sexy as hell. How hadn’t AJ jumped you before? I mean really.”
Soohyun just smiled, watching the rest of the video in silence before switching to the next one, and the next, reliving each moment through Ronan’s eyes and thinking ahead to all of the memories he had yet to make. And AJ would be by his side. He would make sure of it: he would never let him go.
~*~
When Soohyun and Ronan finally emerged and rejoined the others in the main room, Soohyun strode straight over to AJ on the couch, a layered expression on his face. He must be feeling the impending loss too, AJ thought, mixed in with his happiness. Without hesitating, AJ pulled him down onto his lap, positioning his arms around his waist. Soohyun was a little surprised, but settled himself comfortably and slightly sideways, grinning. People were looking at them, but AJ had expected that. But they were looking at them and smiling. They were happy for him, every single one of them. Somehow that made AJ even more embarrassed than all the times before, so he hid his face in Soohyun’s back so no one would see his reddened face.
But Soohyun couldn’t hide, even if he wanted to. And he did want to, now that he noticed all of the people staring at him. And not just staring at him like he was an entertainer on stage, but staring at him, because he was him, and because he was with AJ. He immediately ducked his head, looking down at his lap and playing with his fingers, trying to focus on the strong arms wrapped around his middle instead of the many pairs of eyes trained on his face. He bit his lip. He really wished they’d stop… especially since he didn’t know what they were thinking. After all, he and AJ were both boys. And even if Ronan was fine with their relationship, Soohyun knew that plenty of other people wouldn’t be. He squirmed a bit, pressing his palm to AJ’s forearm and trailing his nails against the skin, digging in slightly as he pushed into AJ’s chest. He felt open, exposed, and uncomfortable. Why couldn’t they just stop staring? Was he really that weird, that abnormal? He felt shame start to wash over him, immediately followed by guilt. How could he be ashamed of AJ? He should love him too much to ever think that way. But the roiling in his gut was unmistakable; he couldn’t deny what he felt. And if it wasn’t for the strong hold AJ had on him, he would have already gotten up, to escape their stares, this feeling, and his disloyal heart. He closed his eyes tight and forced a deep breath into his lungs, trying to keep his face as relaxed as possible, calling on all of the training he had been given as a singer to keep up a carefree mask. He could only pray it was working.
AJ felt Soohyun tense, the disruption of his breathing as his nails pinched into his skin-and not in a nice way like earlier. He gave him a squeeze, leaning a little closer to say, “Soohyun, gwaenchana?” Hopefully the comfort of the familiar language would help him feel less awkward. But AJ didn’t think ‘awkward’ was an accurate description of what Soohyun was feeling. AJ had assumed he was already okay with being physical in front of others, but Ronan was one thing and everyone else on the planet was another. Soohyun knew Ronan, he trusted Ronan, Ronan had already proved himself a million times over, but, excepting Becca, he didn’t know any of the others. He probably didn’t even know what their reaction meant.
AJ shut his eyes. This is what he’d been trying so hard not to do to Soohyun, and now it had happened anyway. Why was he always failing him? He couldn’t see Soohyun’s face anymore, and he didn’t know what to do without pulling him out of the room. Really he wanted to draw him even closer but knew that would only make it worse.
Ronan was starting up the movie, so most people had already turned away. Maybe that would help. “I’m sorry,” AJ said softly to Soohyun-and uselessly, he thought. “Do you want to sit next to me instead?”
Just barely shaking his head, Soohyun turned ever so slightly towards AJ, using his free hand to grip into the fabric of AJ’s shirt, clenching his fingers and pulling their bodies closer together. Right now, the last thing he wanted was for AJ to leave him.
“Soohyun…” AJ said. He intertwined his fingers into the hand clinging to his shirt, prying it out of its tight position. “It’s okay,” he said. “They were only looking because they’re happy for us. No one is judging us. No one. It’s okay. I’m sorry, I know it’s still a little much. I’m sorry.” He squeezed Soohyun’s hand. “But don’t be afraid. Please.”
Finally looking up, Soohyun met AJ’s eyes, gripping onto his hand and wrapping his fingers more fully around AJ’s arm. “Jaeseop…”
“Ronan told them all already, even though I didn’t want him to, because I thought it would upset you, to be put in the spotlight like that. That’s what we were fighting about earlier. But, now… I love you, Soohyun. So much. And here… I don’t have to be afraid to show it. And you don’t have to be either. But… if you want to go now, that’s fine. I know it’s different, maybe too different. We can just leave if you want. Whatever you want, Soohyun. I just want to make you comfortable.”
“Jaeseop,” Soohyun said again, voice a low whisper. “I love you too.” Then, moving very slowly, he pressed his mouth to AJ’s, a gentle touching of lips and then he was pulling away, glancing back towards his lap as a pinkish hue crawled up his neck. “I love you too.” And he most definitely wasn’t afraid to show it.
“Soohyun…” The possibility of pulling Soohyun closer, as close as he could, and then really kissing him floated into AJ’s mind, but he steadily forced it away. He ran a finger down Soohyun’s cheek, tracing the blush blooming there before burying his face against him. “I’m glad. I’m so glad,” he whispered. With him, Soohyun knew he was safe. And with him, AJ knew he could take on anything.
“Alright alright, settle down, we’re starting the movie now,” Ronan cried, giving Soohyun and AJ a wink. He stuck the movie in the slot and pressed play, running across the room and shutting off all of the lights before stumbling back to his spot next to the couch, flopping down on the floor at AJ’s feet before grabbing the remote and turning up the volume. Previews flashed across the screen and everyone continued to whisper amongst themselves, waiting for the actual movie to start before settling down and sending the room into silence. The title of the film finally appeared and Ronan cackled over the sudden gasps of astonishment that swept through the room, expertly pulling the remote away from Becca’s reaching hands.
“Ronan, you can’t expect us to watch this!” Becca hissed, elbowing him in the stomach as she stretched her other arm out for the remote.
Ronan just continued to smile. “Oh please, you’ll be fine. It’s just a movie. Besides, if you get scared you can always hide underneath the blankets or something.”
“Or I can just slap you,” she said with a perfectly level voice. “Because if I lose sleep over this, you will be sorry.”
“Becca…” Ronan groaned.
“And what about Soohyun? The poor guy won’t even know what’s going on. He’ll just see things jumping out from everywhere. He’ll be scared out of his mind!”
At that, Ronan smirked. “Exactly.”
~*~
“KYAAAAA, HOLY SHIT WHERE DID THAT COME FROM??” Becca shrieked, pulling the covers up over her face again before peeking over the top.
Ronan nudged her lightly with his elbow. “What, you’ve never seen someone’s head turn like that before?”
“No, of course no-OH MY GOD WHY IS THAT COMING OUT OF HIS MOUTH???”
The entire room erupted into my screams and jolts of astonishment, cringing slightly as the next character was killed. Even Ronan jumped a bit, yanking at Becca’s blankets and earning a punch to his arm.
From his perch on AJ’s lap, Soohyun could only laugh, seeing so many people scared out of their minds over a little movie. It wasn’t even that realistic! The screen was fuzzy, like some kind of home camera, and things kept popping out looking like they were hung by string. And the actors! Oh my god they were terrible, shrieking at the slightest thing, walking down corridors alone like idiots. Yeah, there’s some creepy flickering lights and robotic breathing coming from this direction, let’s go check it out. Great plan. He scoffed a bit and laughed even louder as the next teenager was taken out, attempting to stifle the sounds into AJ’s neck which, to his extreme amusement, was tense with built-up anxiety.
But when the intense music came on again and another character turned down a deserted alleyway, only to be jumped from above by some creature, Soohyun couldn’t hold back, pointing to the screen and losing it, clapping his hands and doubling over. “Why are they so predictable? And the graphics are terrible! Not scary at all.” Quieting down a bit, he wiped at his eyes, shaking his head and taking a few breaths. “Ahhh, so funny.” And that’s when he noticed that the entire room was once again staring at him, mouths gaping open as he finished composing himself.
“AJ,” Ronan began, voice slow and careful. “Why is Soohyun laughing?”
Lowering the blankets further and turning completely away from the screen, Becca looked towards AJ as well. “Yeah, what was he just saying?”
AJ swallowed. “Well, he was laughing at the movie, saying how it’s not scary, and that he thinks it’s really funny.”
A room full of jaws hit the floor.
“Damn AJ, your boyfriend must have no fear.”
“He really doesn’t think it’s scary at all?”
“Good grief, I’m about to pee myself and he thinks it’s funny…”
“Are you sure that’s what he said?”
Ronan scratched the back of his neck and shook his head, reaching out to pat Soohyun’s leg reassuringly. “You certainly are full of surprises, aren’t you?”
AJ whispered the translation into his ear and Soohyun could only smile, nodding happily at Ronan’s acceptance before directing everyone’s attention back to the screen where yet another strange creature had appeared, having to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing when everyone screamed. This really was too much fun. He glanced back at AJ and covered his hands with his own, noticing they were a bit cold and sweaty before leaning back to press his lips to his ear. “Are you scared?”
AJ glanced up at Soohyun briefly before fixing his eyes back on the screen. “Not really, I know something like this could never happen in real life. Just when they jump out, I’m never expecting it. Not everyone has nerves of steel like you.”
“Then do you want me to warn you? Or maybe I should distract you?” Soohyun teased, sliding his hand along AJ’s jaw. The movie wasn’t that exciting for him anyway, and if AJ wasn’t enjoying himself… well, he could think of other ways for them to pass the time.
AJ felt his body fill with heat. Soohyun’s proposal reminded him that there were far, far better things they could be doing in a dark room like this, and now he was imagining all of them. He swallowed, straining his mind to come up with a response, his wit returning to him just in time. He smirked, and managed not to stutter. “Who’s the horny rabbit now, huh?”
Laughing softly, Soohyun withdrew his hand from AJ’s cheek, pitching his voice even lower to murmur in AJ’s ear, making sure not to draw any attention to what they were doing. “Maybe I am horny, or maybe I was just trying to help. Either way, I won’t bother you anymore.” He pressed a single kiss just below AJ’s ear. “Enjoy the movie.” He pulled back and leveled AJ with a smirk before turning around, settling back against AJ’s chest and closing his eyes as the movie continued to play. He knew AJ had just been joking around, but it was still fun to mess with him. And judging by the sound of the music, another ghost should be popping out in, 3… 2… 1...
Shrill screams rang in his ears and AJ jolted against him. Soohyun didn’t bother to control the shaking of his shoulders. Without even opening his eyes, he whispered softly into the dark. “Wish you had taken me up on my offer now? Or was that little jump just my imagination?”
Recovering himself, AJ put his hands on Soohyun’s waist, swiveling him around until AJ could see his face again. Soohyun’s eyes fluttered open; he hadn’t even been watching the stupid movie anymore. He was just relaxing smugly in AJ’s lap, somehow driving him even crazier even without doing anything. But AJ wasn’t going to let Soohyun get away with teasing him like that, pressing his lips against his sensitive spot and tickling AJ’s ear with his warm breath before pulling away like it was nothing. Hopefully this plan wouldn’t backfire too. He didn’t want to watch any more of this movie.
He leaned close, stopping just before his lips met Soohyun’s. “Okay, you win,” he whispered. “Can I still take you up on your offer?”
Eyes already closing again, Soohyun felt himself drawn to AJ’s warmth, body leaning forward the tiniest bit, head already tilting to the side. “Mmmm, that depends…” he murmured.
“Depends on what?” AJ murmured back. A shiver went through him, and it definitely wasn’t from the movie this time. Only Soohyun could do this to him. “Depends on if I leave you a choice?” Then he at last closed the infinitesimal gap between them, one of his hands moving up to the back of Soohyun’s neck to bring him forward, the other staying gripped around his waist. He immediately took control, his tongue finding Soohyun’s and tracing every surface he could find.
Everyone else in the room screamed when some new scary event happened on the screen, and AJ grinned into the kiss. This definitely wasn’t a standard romantic moment, but that made no difference at all to them. AJ’s tongue rubbed against Soohyun’s again and the other boy moaned softly against him. Yes, this was definitely better than the movie.
Soohyun bent one of his arms behind AJ’s back and let the other trail down to his waist, hand going up under his shirt as AJ continued to hold him. All he really wanted to do was throw his leg over AJ’s waist and straddle him, push him into the couch and take and be taken, but he figured that would be a little much. So he settled for leaning back a bit, taking AJ with him until his back hit the armrest, having to stifle a moan as AJ pressed into him. “Jae-Jaeseop…” he panted, eyes flickering open and searching for AJ’s face in the dim light of the room. Dark eyes came into focus and he sucked in a breath, momentarily silenced by the desire he saw there before his lips were taken again, all of his soft groans and hums lost in the heat of AJ’s mouth.
Mind a mess of scattered thoughts, he reached for the hand AJ had left at his waist, tugging on it and slipping it beneath his shirt, onto his stomach, so he could feel the rough warmth of AJ’s skin. His back arched as AJ’s hand began to move on its own, his own arm withdrawing to cling to AJ’s shoulders, fingers sliding down over AJ’s bicep before roaming back up and tracing the crook of his neck. He moaned loudly as AJ’s fingers ghosted across one of his nipples, sound thankfully covered by another round of screams. And even if he wanted to warn AJ, to tell him to stop, he couldn’t do it. Because deep down, he wanted it. He didn’t care if other people saw, or heard. Panting softly, he pulled AJ closer, slipping his own fingers beneath the collar of AJ’s shirt and scratching between his shoulder blades, making new marks on top of the old.
Not at my apartment, Ronan had said. Not even in the bathroom, and especially not… ‘In his room’? Was that what Ronan had been about to say? Because there was a bed in there, and a door that closed. Also a floor. Even that would do. Or, slightly more prudently, they could just leave, right now; AJ could sweep Soohyun into his arms and carry him away before any of the others had a chance to blink. Then they’d be alone in AJ’s room, and…
No, AJ told himself. I will not make love to Soohyun again. I must not make love to Soohyun again. Not even if he begs me. Not even if he begs me with his whole body and his voice and every particle of his being. No. I must resist. The consequences of their passion were wreaking havoc on poor Soohyun’s body-it would already be far from comfortable for him to sit on the plane all those hours-and AJ was determined not to make it any worse. He would not, he must not, he could not…
AJ forced himself to break away from Soohyun, even though Soohyun’s nails had started to dig into his back again, in that way that felt so good. “Soohyun,” he whispered in as low a voice as he could manage. “We should… we need to stop. Because… otherwise…” He dared to say what he had held back earlier: “I’m going to tear you apart.”
A shiver ran through Soohyun’s entire body at AJ’s words, making him feel even colder now that AJ was pulling away. We need to stop, AJ had said. But Soohyun didn’t want to stop, couldn’t stop, not when AJ’s warmth was running through his veins, flooding his senses and making it impossible to think. Digging his nails in, he pulled AJ back down, angling his head so that his teeth connected with the soft skin of AJ’s neck. He bit down harshly before soothing the reddened skin with his tongue. “But Jaeseop,” he murmured, lips trailing up to AJ’s ear. “What if I want to be torn apart?”
AJ managed to take a breath. “Th-Th-Then we should go,” he stammered. “And-And continue this elsewhere.”
Unfortunately, their conversation had gotten loud enough that Ronan became aware of it and looked over. And laughed. He tapped AJ’s leg to get his attention, noticing the flush on his skin as he turned around, and the large mark on his neck that Soohyun had obviously just created. He gestured towards the door, smirking. “Go ahead, just try not to trip over anything on the way out. And go to your room, not mine.”
Following AJ’s gaze, Soohyun caught sight of Ronan’s grin and blushed, ducking back behind AJ’s chest. He felt AJ’s voice through his fingers, rumbling deep into him as he responded to whatever Ronan had said.
“Yeah, we will. And I’m sorry, I know you wanted to say goodbye, but…”
Ronan waved him off. “I’ll say my goodbyes in the morning. I’m going with you to the airport, remember? Just text me what time I need to be ready when you get the chance.” He grinned wider. “Which might not be for a while, eh?”
“Ronan…” AJ warned, using his hold on Soohyun to sit him up and pull him into his chest, protecting him from his friend’s perverted eyes.
“Ah yes, guardian AJ is back. Tell Soohyun I’ll see him later, and try not to be too rough with the guy, he does need to be able to walk tomorrow. I doubt they’ll let you carry him onto the plane.”
AJ narrowed his eyes but nodded anyway. Then he grabbed both of Soohyun’s hands. “He says we can go, and that he’ll see you later,” he explained. “He wants to come to the airport with us in the morning. But… for now…” He leaned in to Soohyun’s ear. “There are some things you want me to do to you, yeah?”
Heat once again rushed through Soohyun’s body as he swallowed, trying to wet his suddenly dry throat as AJ withdrew, only serving to make Soohyun’s hands twitch with the urge to pull him back. He glanced at Ronan and saw him nod, smile still in place, urging them on their way. He squeezed AJ’s hands. There was still one thing he had to make sure of. “What about your other friends? Will they be upset if you leave without saying anything?”
“I’ll just say we have to leave so you can catch your flight in the morning,” AJ said. His mouth curved up sideways. “Which is true.” He ruffled Soohyun’s hair. “Don’t worry about it.”
Frowning up from underneath AJ’s hand, Soohyun watched him stand then grabbed onto the fabric of his shirt, using it to pull himself up before clinging to AJ’s back. He really didn’t want to step on anyone or draw too much attention, still a bit uncomfortable from their earlier staring. But it was really dark, and the screen wasn’t offering much light, not to mention that he still wasn’t walking completely right. He was momentarily tempted to make AJ carry him, if only to keep him from falling on someone, but decided that would be too embarrassing, and he was heavy, and he really needed to stop acting like a five-year-old in front of the other boy. After all, Soohyun technically was older. Not that anyone could tell. He pouted more to himself and lifted his hand to fix his hair, combing it back into place with his fingers as he waited for AJ to lead the way.
Ronan promptly seized the remote and paused the movie, freezing it just as the remaining living characters were making bizarre faces. Now everyone really was looking at them, but AJ just put his arm around him, saying some things in English that Soohyun assumed was an explanation of why they were leaving so suddenly. Then everyone was waving at him and calling out phrases with his name in them, which he partially understood. “Nice to meet you, Soohyun!” “Safe travels!” Soohyun smiled and waved back, especially at Becca, but his mind was still elsewhere, buried in the warmth of AJ he longed to return to. Then AJ took his hand and lead him to where their shoes were and he was able to relax. Now he was where he belonged, where he didn’t have to pretend anymore. Well… almost… In a perfect world, they’d already be back in AJ’s room, holding each other, losing themselves in the warmth of each other’s bodies. But they still had a few minute’s walk until they could get to that point, and the cold winter air of New York to brave. He sighed a bit as he stood, turning to face AJ and looping his arms around AJ’s shoulders. “Kim Jaeseop,” he murmured. “Take me home.”
AJ kissed him lightly. "Alright baby," he said. "Let's go home."
~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Thank you all for your patience in the large gaps between updates... Hopefully you all are still enjoying the story. I will be posting two chapters tonight to make up for the long gap. >_<