Kiss It Better [MxM]

Cooking for a Friend

The doorbell rang on Thursday night at 6:30 pm exactly and Inho nearly dropped the knife he was chopping scallions with. He turned the heat on the kimchi stew down to simmer and sprinted to the door to buzz Stephen in. He wished there was a camera on the doorbell or at least that the microphone worked. It seemed to ring randomly at all hours, and he never knew for sure who he was letting into the building. He had a suspicion that one of his neighbors was a small-scale drug dealer though, based on the constant flux of people going in and out and the way someone pressed all the buzzers at once, every now and then.

He gave the soy-braised sesame potatoes a quick stir and raced back to welcome Stephen at the door. Drying his damp hands on his jeans and smoothing his hair, he caught his reflection in the mirror by the door. He scanned his grey t-shirt to make sure he hadn't gotten it dirty while cooking and tried out a small smile to welcome Stephen. Why was he so nervous? He hosted friends all the time back home.

At a soft knock, he immediately swung the door open. Stephen stood facing away, looking at a cat wandering alone in the hallway. He turned to face Inho.

"Is that your neighbor?" he asked. He was wearing a dark navy suit and a herringbone-patterned overcoat, with a cognac leather duffle bag over his shoulder. As usual, he looked classy and expensive – totally out of place in Inho's rundown apartment building.

"Uhm, I guess? It's just Billy the Hallway Cat." He gestured for Stephen to enter.

Stephen laughed, following Inho in. "Billy? And what is a hallway cat?"

"Oh," Inho laughed back, "I don't know, I just named him that. Somebody lets him wander around. He's cool though; he comes over sometimes."

Stephen tilted his head, "That's really... something. But sweet somehow?" He held out a small paper bag by the handles. "This is for you– a housewarming gift."

Inho took the bag and peered in. Inside, there was a small cactus in a white decorative pot.

"Thank you." Inho was a little taken aback by the gift. "It's my first time getting a plant. Usually, people just bring, like, laundry detergent or juice when they visit."

"How quaint." Stephen answered, "I noticed how much you liked the plants at Botany, and I thought you might like this one. It reminded me of you."

Inho inspected the squat cactus, covered in sharp spines, then looked at Stephen quizzically.

"It's kind of cute no? Do you not like it?" Stephen asked.

"I do," Inho replied, " I will name it Harold."

"You really like naming things, huh?" Stephen asked, amused. "Why Harold?"

"I don't know. It just suits him, and I like weird western names." He shrugged at Stephen's puzzled expression, "I'm lonely okay." With that, Inho delicately lifted Harold out of the bag and placed him on the window sill. He guessed the "thing" Stephen said they would need was a cactus. Was he trying to say Inho was too prickly?

Stephen took off his jacket and stared around for where to put it. Inho rushed to take it and hung it in the entryway closet.

"D-d'you want something to drink?" he fumbled, and mentally kicked himself for his nervousness.

"Sure," Stephen answered, then moved to lean casually against the kitchen counter. "I brought some wine. But, ah, this looks very good. What are you making?"

"Oh, just some simple Korean dishes." Inho felt his traitor face warm-up, he had been cooking for hours, with his mom on the phone to guide him through. "I hope you like them."

They made small talk while Inho set the table, and the multi-tasking distracted him from being nervous. Stephen wasn't familiar with Korean food, and Inho had fun teaching him about each of the side dishes, and what bites paired well together. Stephen was interested and excited about everything, and they sipped little glasses of soju as they ate. Inho was more certain of how much soju he could drink and was determined not to get sloppy in front of Stephen this time. His drunk cheek kiss last time made him feel awkward and thrilled at the same time. What had he been thinking?

They faced each other on either end of the couch now, used dishes piled high in the sink. Stephen had taken off his suit jacket and rolled his shirt sleeves up. Inho's looked at his toned forearms, his eyes tracing the vascularity that encircled around them.

"So, we talked about my family last time," Inho started, giving himself a little shake, "It's your turn to talk."

Looking out the bay window, Stephen hesitated before answering in a clipped tone.

"I'm not close with my family," he said, "They're quite...difficult. We haven't talked in years."

"Sorry! I didn't mean to pry," Inho scrambled, worried he'd offended him, "I get it, Jamie's dad is really terrible too. I've been telling her to cut him out for years."

Stephen replied with a non-committal sound, "Mmhmm."

"I always thought if he didn't put so much pressure on her, she'd be so much happier." he continued, "He really didn't like me and – one sec."

The music on the Bluetooth was skipping like crazy. It had been cutting out every few minutes before, but now was in and out unpleasantly. He grabbed the little Bluetooth remote.

"You really love this pop music," Stephen observed.

"Sorry, is it too loud? I had it on while I was cooking, and kinda forgot."

"Maybe just a little. Your music tastes are very fast and intense. You were playing this in the car too."

The car. The car where he'd kissed Stephen on the cheek like a teenager on a first date.

"Yeah," Inho blushed and looked away. Stephen was looking at him and smiling again.

~~

Thanks for all the votes and lovely comments Sugar Gliders! Here's Inho's concept art and bio! Next episode is going to be pretty hot sooooo... make sure to check it out! <3