junhui and minghao were seated in the maroon couch, enjoying the warmth of the crackling fireplace. they had spent their day without too many activities, not wanting to burden junhui's condition any further. unfortunately, it also meant they had to leave out on doc's daily walk around the lake that included adventurous stories and discoveries to new paths and roads.
dinner had gone by like usual; noisy but full of family-like warmth. doc had told another story about one of the travels he made in his twenties. from jungles in brazil to other travels through the continent south-america.
and now here they were, junhui and minghao both seated on opposite sides of the loveseat couch, their legs stretched out and fairly brushing against one another. while minghao was seemingly engulfed by the tale of the book he held, junhui's book remained untouched in his lap. occasionally he glanced up to minghao, who managed look so utterly ethereal in the orange hue of the dancing flames.
purposely, junhui tickled the boy's outer thigh with his feet, catching his attention in just a brief second. minghao cocked a brow, wondering why junhui needed him so suddenly.
"how is your book?" junhui asked. he flashed his characteristic smile that had blood rushing up minghao's cheeks.
"i would really appreciate it if you stop bothering me every other minute and continue reading your own book. thank you junhui." minghao spoke his last three words in a bittersweet tone, flashing a rather sarcastic smile in return.
"aww come on, don't be lame. tell me what it is about!" junhui gave it another try, this time receiving a singular huff. minghao didn't even take the effort to look up from the words written on the yellowed pages, remaining unbothered to whatever junhui attempted.
junhui could do nothing besides staring at the boy in front of him with an amused grin plastered to his face. as it was past nine am, minghao was dressed in the same silken bathrobe he had worn on the night they met and junhui guessed he wore nothing but the black thin trousers that peeked underneath it. though it was tied up around his waist, his well defined collar bones peeked out, unconsciously catching junhui's attention as well.
but who was he to blame? every feature on minghao was captivating in his opinion, how could he possibly leave a single thing out?
sick of his constant distraction and his craving for attention, junhui moved forward in a swift motion and managed to snatch minghao's book from his grip. "junhui! what the actual-" "-no cussing minghao." junhui interrupted him, leaning back with a playful smirk, studying the book he had stolen.
"oh now it's my fault? you stole my book! give it back you son of a b-" "-minghao, calm down." junhui calmly replied, finding his reaction all too amusing.
"how about we make a deal, huh? what would you say?"
minghao clearly disagreed with whatever junhui had to say. though it was obvious he was willing to do anything just to get his book back. if that meant going along with junhui's childish games, minghao was prepared for anything.
"what type of deal? i'm not trusting you if you keep smiling like that!" minghao argued, crossing his arms as a defeated pout tugged on his lips. the blush that painted his cheeks was undeniable at this point and if it wasn't for that, junhui would have stopped a long time ago.
"you have to agree with it in exchange for your book. else-wise i'm afraid i won't be able to continue." junhui mocked a formal tone, catching a glimpse of a small smile on minghao's face.
"you're not going to let me do some weird shit, right?" minghao asked for some extra assurance before mindlessly agreeing to something. though he trusted junhui with strangely much, the smirk that displayed on his face couldn't be no good.
even when his mischievous expression seemed oddly attractive to minghao.
"oh please have a little faith in me, would you?" junhui's cackling but soft laugh filled the room. and with just that one sound, minghao knew that it could do no harm to follow junhui's request.
so with a sigh and an eye roll he admitted to junhui's persistent behavior. "okay okay, i trust you." never in his life had minghao trusted someone so easily. not even when it came to little things like these. "now i swear, if it is something weird i'll go upstairs to grab another book. so it better be good."
minghao's exaggerated sulky behavior only managed to make junhui laugh even louder. the contagious, gentle noise even had minghao laughing for a split second, though he brushed it off pretty easily. not wanting to be caught in the middle of his act.
"you want to know what it is?" junhui mysteriously questioned, not giving away a single clue of what it could possibly be.
"come on just tell me already, i want to continue reading." minghao said, impatiently tapping his fingers against his crossed arms, giving junhui a death glare.
so without saying anything more, junhui shuffled over to the outer side of the arm rest he had been leaning against the entire time, stretching his left arm and resting it on the back pillow. minghao still seemed oblivious to the hint he was given and only stared at the gesture with a cocked brow.
junhui noticed how it made no sense to minghao and decided to go into further explanation to clear things up. "come here?" junhui said, a smile of sincerity displaying. the mood suddenly set to something completely different, washing away the playful atmosphere that had previously been there.
"there? but.. there's only little space, how am i supposed to fit in between the couch and you, you'll fall off." minghao said, a little insecure about what would happen next. though that particular spot seemed pretty alluring to him.
"you can lean your back against my chest, just come sit with me." it was unlike minghao to suddenly crave for physical touch. yet it was junhui's gesture that made him want to be engulfed by that certain warm pair of arms that always felt so tender and safe.
"okay." he replied in a small whisper, slowly crawling over to the spot junhui had pointed out. careful, as if he could make a possible wrong movement, he leaned his body weight against junhui's chest, their thighs fitting perfectly together in the little space they had to share. "like this?"
junhui couldn't restrain a soft chuckle, gently nuzzling his nose against minghao's temple as he returned him his book. "exactly like this." the elder murmured, gently wrapping his arms around minghao's delicate body.
"i can continue my book now, right?" minghao's previous defensive tone had entirely vanished, making place for that endearing soft voice he used when he was shy, or taken aback by something.
"as long as you stay here, you can." junhui ensured him, forgetting about his own book as he closed his eyes and just revel in minghao's presence.
and while the two boys lay cuddled up on the couch, enjoying the late hours of the evening in the cozy warmth of the fireplace, entirely caught up in their own little world, doc had observed them all this time. even the middle aged man wasn't able to blink away a small tear because of junhui's unfortunate fate.
what a waste for such beautiful young people..
