(no) Strings Attached

Just Us, Always

"Don't worry, I'm not doing anything you're not comfortable with." Hongjoong chuckled.

"But I...m not uncomfortable." Seonghwa sucked a deep breath in as he sensed the way Hongjoong froze, eyes running up and down his face.

"Is that so?" Hongjoong's voice came out lower, softer, making Seonghwa's insides churn in a good way.

Not confident to use his voice, the younger nodded once, biting his lips harshly.

"Come here then," Hongjoong mumbled one hand patting his own lap. The way Seonghwa's eyes widened for a split second, his jaw dropping a few centimeters, made the adoration in his chest bloom even louder.

Despite never being this intimate with anyone before Hongjoong, Seonghwa wanted to let himself feel. The love, the other around him. The way Hongjoong's hugs said nothing but everything at the same time.

He missed that, he missed the comfort only Hongjoong's presence can give him.

"...okay?" He rasped, his hands suddenly too sweaty, his chest too fuzzy.

Like a scared mouse, he crawled—yes crawled— towards Hongjoong, his hands grabbing in the older's shoulders for support as he hopped a leg over his thighs.

When Hongjoong's hands wrapped around his waist, he let a content sigh out, wrapping his arms around the other's nape, laying his head on the crook of his neck.

Hongjoong didn't hesitate to turn his head enough to stick his lips on the younger's temple, kissing him every few seconds.

"Look at me, butterfly." Hongjoong demanded, no roughness in his tone whatsoever.

"Why?" Seonghwa mumbled against his skin, pushing his face further into it. Hongjoong chuckled. "Don't be shy, baby. Not in front of me, please." He whispered in his ear, kissing the tip lovingly.

It successfully coaxed Seonghwa to lift his head, audibly gasping at the shortened space between them.

"Is it okay if I kiss you?" Hongjoong asked, carefully, his eyes on the other's bitten pink mouth.

Seonghwa gasped yet again, his lips pursing as if he wanted to object but he bit them shyly, nodding his head yes.

Hongjoong didn't need second confirmations, he just raised his hand to Seonghwa's cheek pulling him closer as he closed the gap between them.

The moment their lips locked, Seonghwa's eyes fluttered close, his heart beat raising alarmingly high. One of his hands clutched Hongjoong's hoodie painfully tight.

The older's ones patted his back, the back of his head, in an almost reassuring manner. As if telling him that he is doing good, that it's going to be okay.

And for the moment Seonghwa can't, but trust and believe him.

Not because he has to, but because he wants to trust him. Hongjoong, the only person who cared enough to see him. Not his outer image— him. Who went out of his way to reach out, with salvation in his hand, so that he could offer Seonghwa something beautiful, something worth wanting to wake up for.

Hongjoong pulled away first, his pants meeting Seonghwa's mouth as a fan in the summer. He knocked their foreheads together, keeping an eye contact trained.

"I can't believe you're here. I can't believe you're mine. I can't believe I used to hate you when we were kids." The older rambled, a crease between his apologetic eyes.

"Shh," it was Seonghwa's confront this time.

He brought his free hand to cup Hongjoong's cheek, lifting his slightly dropped head up again. "That's in the past, Hongjoong." He decided to say. "We both know why things turned out like that, and we both know you have nothing at fault here." He whispered, his doe eyes glassy with honesty.