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⇒ Blueprint Apartments
8:55am
It couldn't have been because of the lack of sex and much intimacy, because Felix was mostly on his heat. And neither could it have surfaced as a result of their argument the last Sunday, since they had cleared everything up... So why- why was the air so tense between the couple?
Why was Kai their main reason for conversation throughout the week? And why did Felix suddenly not want any affection even during his heat?
Something was wrong, and the fact that both were evidently avoiding the topic for so many days made it all the more pressurizing for Changbin to even ponder on the idea of bringing it up after such a long time.
Sighing, he rubbed his eyes, scoffing at the sticky note that Felix had planted on their nightstand as he got up. "What movie takes an entire day?" He muttered, yawning and trying not to dwell on the assumption that a simple movie was not all that Felix and Kai had gone out for.
They had to have planned the entire day out to leave so early in the morning. But what hurt even more was how Felix had just left without waking his boyfriend up for a kiss or, at least making breakfast to seem a bit romantic and caring as he'd usually do.
And that Saturday, due to the lingering tension from all week mixed with his loved ones' absence, Changbin felt all too frustrated to stay in that apartment all day. His head had already started to ache although he had just woken up and, the glasses of water that he was downing seemed to make the irritating pain only worse.
So stumbling back to the refrigerator to place the jug back on one of the top trays, Changbin strolled back into his bedroom for his phone, skipping past Felix's number with another scoff before pulling up his best friend's. And then he rang, falling back-first onto the bed with his free hand massaging his forehead.
"Jisungie~" he sang when the expected person picked up, and for the first time since his last conversation with Kai, a wide, honest smile drew up on Changbin's face. "What're you doing today?"
"B-Bin? I- Nothing really... You okay?" A very flustered Jisung mumbled back, curling up tighter underneath his blanket with half of his face covered as if Changbin could see his blush from over the phone. "Y-you wanted to hang out?"
"I wanted to come over," Changbin sighed, setting his phone on speaker to avoid his arm getting tired in the bent position. "It's been a while since I came over alone, come to think of it. I'm always with Kai, I know. So can I come over today? Just me?"
Gulping thickly, Jisung flew up and off of the bed, almost falling down onto the carpet if it weren't for his hand's instinct to lean against the edge of the nightstand. But in order to miss that fall entirely, that same hand had to let go of his cellphone and, Jisung groaned when the device landed face-first onto the floor. "I hope that didn't scare Binnie," he mumbled, picking it up, "Binnie? Sorry, I- I rolled a little too far and fell off of my bed," Jisung lied, still blushing. "Of course you can come over! I'd even make breakfast if you want- You want breakfast?"
"I'd love that, Hannie," Changbin giggled, thanking the higher powers for blessing him with such a generous best friend, even though they didn't always communicate regularly. "I'll go get ready now, hm? And Felix has some leftover brownies in the fridge, so I'll bring some too- I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
"Alright... Haenguni will be happy to see you." Jisung grinned as he strolled into his bathroom, the redness of his puffed cheeks increasing out of embarrassment as soon as he viewed their state in the mirror. What a sucker he was for his taken best friend, one would notice just by his mannerisms; growing so flustered over a mere phone call.
Get it together, Han! Get it together, he thought before speaking again, chuckling when his cat stopped to stretch on its way into the white, bright space. "See, he even came over as soon as he heard his name... We're gonna have a great day today, Binnie..."
"Kiss Haenguni for me please," Changbin pouted playfully, hoping that the new position of his lips would bring more definition to his whiny tone. Standing, he headed for his wardrobe to pick out an outfit; black yet vibrant, before heading for his own bathroom. "So yes, Sungie, I'll see you soon, yeah?"
"Y-yeah... love you..." Jisung had to mute his speaker to be able to react effectively after that line. He squealed so loud that strands of fur on the grey and white kitty straightened upwards before his short legs glided him out of that space. And Han felt like passing out, even more, when Changbin responded just how he wanted, even though it meant something totally different...
"Love you too, Ji."
-
⇒ Sunshine Apartments
9:30am
"Jisungie," Changbin whined, resting his face against the front door in an attempt to echo his voice far inside the smaller, more secluded space. Knocking with one hand, whilst the other held on to a plastic container filled with a few of Felix's brownies, he spoke up again. "Han!"
"Morning, Binnie," Jisung opened up with the widest smile squinting his eyes, and the way that his arms were so eager to find Changbin's torso was enough to let out a soft coo from the older man. Pulling away with an even deeper blush coating his cheeks and ears, he spoke again, "Come inside, Binnie. Make yourself comfortable... Breakfast is almost ready..."
"Thank you, Hannie," Changbin chuckled as he walked in, sliding the bowl of brownies across the kitchen counter before opening his arms wide and taking out his jacket, letting out a loud and tired groan with the stretch. "Damn, feels more like home than home," he joked, plopping down on the couch freely. "Where's baby Haenguni?"
"Probably on my bed," Jisung giggled, finishing up a few pieces of bacon to plate near the eggs and pancakes. "You can go get him if you want..."
Not waiting for another word of approval from Jisung, Changbin flew up from the couch to head for the younger's bedroom, inhaling deeply to soak in the sweet, vanilla scent as soon as he got there. And he smiled at the way his Sungie had everything so organized, and how the latter's lavender walls complemented not only the lilac bedsheets, but his personality as a whole; soft, sweet, caring, and beautiful.
Yeah, Jisung was just perfect, to Changbin. And it'd be a lie to say that the latter wasn't a bit- just sort of happy after finding out that he had broken up with Felix's best friend.
But, moving on.
He headed for the bed, tickling the chubby cat awake, and cooing when it quickly melted into his touch.
"Guni~" he sang, picking it up. Kissing its nose and loving how the kitty clung to him with so much trust, he rang soft praises in its ears as he walked, and the cat's purrs were more than enough motivation to continue. "Hannie, I want Haenguni~"
"If you'd come over more often, then maybe he'd be yours too," Jisung joked, setting the dishes on the table and blushing, again, when a grinning Changbin winked at him in response. "D-don't do that," he mumbled, too low for the older to hear, before speaking loud enough. "Go wash your hands to eat, Binnie. Or would you rather eat a little later?"
"No, now. I'm hungry," Changbin chuckled, placing the cat down carefully and watching for a few seconds as it rubbed up on either of his legs. Strolling over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands before taking a seat a the table, he looked over at Jisung on the opposite side then down at his food. And Changbin smiled, licking his lips above the plate of pancakes, bacon and eggs, and cup of orange juice. "This means a lot, Sungie," he blushed, taking a sip when Jisung did. "Thank you..."
"Anything for Binnie..."
But then awkward silence took over the atmosphere as they ate, and after escaping a home with a more hostile level of quietude, Changbin couldn't handle even the slightest bit there at his place of comfort so, he broke it, swallowing a bite of his pancakes.
"So, how has M- How has work been?" He bit his tongue as it almost slipped to ask about Jisung's ex, and he was so thankful that the question was fixed early enough as both's appetite would undoubtedly be reduced if such inquiry was brought forward. "It's been a while since we caught up..."
"Work is not bad," Jisung too, swallowed, sipping on his juice. "It's tiring, yes, but my boss is hot so I can't complain." They both chuckled at that line, thanking god that the mood was lightened a bit. "And he's kind as well, so that's a plus. He's not one of those that want to sleep with their secretary either."
"Oh, that's good. I'm glad he has respect and all," Changbin smiled, biting his tongue as if threatening it to say something else to prevent the unsettling silence from returning. "K-Kai's birthday is next month, you know. Little man's already going to be four."
"O-oh... what're you and Lix doing for him?" Jisung looked forward briefly, straining to keep a blush from his face at the recognition of Changbin's eyes on his own fidgety frame. Gulping, he continued, but his smile dimmed a little at just the thought of what he was about to say. "T-two years for you guys...?"
"I guess so," Changbin smiled, strained, appetite cutting at the recollection of just how rocky his relationship had been for the past couple of days. "Time really flies, doesn't it?"
"What do you mean guess?" Jisung inquired, cautious with his tone, before sending down another portion of his food with some juice. "T-trouble in paradise?"
Sighing, Changbin looked sideways, laying down his fork and feeling kind of bad at the way that Jisung's expression dropped due to his gesture. They both felt guilty; Jisung, for bringing up such a topic that he did not know would cause any harm and, Changbin, for feeling as if he was overreacting or something.
"It's just," he started, seeing no use in hiding. "Ever since finding Kai's dad, Lix has just been kind of... different."
"Different?" Jisung pushed further, settling on the clear fact that Changbin did not mind talking about it, even though they couldn't eat anymore; they were practically almost finished anyway. "Different how...?"
"Like, especially recently, he's been really edgy... He's been... not wanting much affection... But I guess it was his heat? But still, it hurts, you know? And he goes out with Kai and his father a lot... I mean, I don't want to prevent Kai's relationship with his father... but it's like costing me our own relationship, you know? Even when Kai and I play sometimes, I know its innocent but, it hurts when he always talks about his Channie." Changbin sniffled, sighing when Jisung stood to near his side and hug him. Melting into the soft touch of the slimmer arms embrace his shoulders, he shed a tear and continued, sort of enjoying that opportunity to vent.
"Like this morning, he left so early... I wanted to spend the day with them, since it's been a while since we went out together because of that same guy, and he didn't even wake me up to say good morning or anything. Everything is just- it's complicated, you know?" He sniffled, again, letting more tears slide down his cheeks. "It's like he doesn't love me anymore... you know? I don't know if I'm just overthinking, but it hurts... It really hurts and I can't help it..."
"Binnie..." Jisung mumbled, kind of unsure what to say in fear of triggering his best friend more. "I'm so sorry... But please don't beat yourself up..."
"How can I not? It's maybe because I can't give-"
"No, Changbin," Jisung cut him off pointedly, dropping the soft and flustered front that had appeared naturally to talk Changbin back into his senses. "You've given Felix and Kai all you have, so if he can't see that, it's definitely not on you! If he doesn't love you? Guess what, somebody out there does and can't wait for you to see that," his voice cracked, and he almost flinched when Changbin looked back. "I'm not saying that he doesn't- I'm not saying that he doesn't care or anything like that, I just don't want you thinking bad about yourself... okay?"
Sighing, Changbin nodded, wiping his tears and, pulling Jisung to his front to surprise him with a kiss to one of those puffed-out cheeks. "Thanks, Sungie," he giggled at the flustered boy, brow arching when the latter's face just became redder and redder at the sentence; he'd never thought such a shade possible, and especially not in that short space of time.
"O-of course... I- a-anytime, Binnie..."
-
⇒ Blueprint Apartments
5:45pm
"Why didn't you eat my food?"
"What?" Changbin furrowed his brows at the unwelcoming voice as he walked through the hallway, head tilting to the side at the sight of a rather monotonous Felix at the table. "Lix? When'd you get home?"
"Why didn't you eat what I made for you, Bin?" Felix frowned, looking down at the covered plate before him. "And you didn't even touch the note I left you? C'mon, Changbin. Where even were you?"
"I- you made me food?" Changbin stuttered, dreading the guilt that had already started construction in his conscience. "Baby... I didn't know, I'm so sorry..."
"If you read my note, you would at least look for it." Felix frowned even lower, sniffling as he pulled the piece of paper from his pocket. "Good morning, Bin-Bin," he started to read, not sparing Changbin a second glance. "Sorry we have to leave so early, but don't worry, we'll be home by mid-afternoon. I didn't wake you because you looked so peaceful sleeping, and I know you'd not want us to go. I made you some pancakes and eggs; they're in the fridge at the bottom because of space, and for the sake of ants. Don't miss us too much, XOXO, Felix."
"Baby..."
"It's 6 PM... where were you, Changbin?"
"I went over to Jisung's," Changbin gulped, taking slow, cautious steps up to his lover's side. "I fucked up big time, I admit, and I'm sorry... When I woke up so early and saw you gone, I felt bad and thought you left me... Like you didn't care... So I saw the note while sleepy and decided to not even read it in fear of becoming sadder, you know? And because I was so down, I went to Jisung's place..."
"But why didn't you answer my texts?" Felix questioned, tone soft and hesitant as he fought to drown a certain voice in his head that was literally expressing satisfaction with their quarrel - as it'd pose as a valid excuse for his heart's indecisiveness - with the evident hurt that he was feeling on the surface. "I texted you at intervals..."
"Lix, baby... again, I fucked up... My phone has been on silent, and I wasn't on it much since Hannie and I were watching movies..." Changbin sighed, stooping down to meet Felix a little below his eye level. "I really didn't check my phone, and I'm sorry. I felt left out, and instead of talking about it, I didn't pay attention to you... And I'm sorry for that, okay? Do you forgive your Binnie?"
Unable to keep back a small smile from cracking up his lips, Felix nodded, blushing when Changbin leaned up to kiss him. "Mhm," he hummed against into the touch, lowering a hand to cup his cheek. "I forgive you... But please don't do it again, okay? If I leave you a note, read it. And if you're going out, no matter what misunderstanding we have, keep your phone on loud."
"Yes, love. I've learned my lesson." Changbin chuckled, standing. "I'm guessing Kai is napping, so do you wanna watch a movie with me while I eat? You could eat with me too..."
"You're gonna feed me...?"
"Anything for my Lixie..."
That seemed more like it; jovial Felix with a humble, loving Changbin, yeah. Things felt more natural to the two, that night. The love that they made felt sweeter than the last since it'd been a while and, they could even spend the Sunday together, just like Changbin had wanted.
So maybe he was overreacting?
Maybe?
Maybe...
He just hoped that things would actually stay like that.
But Felix kind of hoped that they'd have more of that... just to find an excuse.
Not that he didn't genuinely love his boyfriend; that wasn't the case at all. But just for his own selfish need of the avoidance of guilt; he wanted his heart to do its balancing and analyzing in peace, without feeling like a bitch for thinking that way about Changbin.
So yes, Felix would not dread a bit more misunderstandings.
He wouldn't.
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[A/N]
1. What do you think is the history behind Changbin and Jisung?
2. What do you think about Felix's "logic"?
3. What's your take on Changbin's decision to ignore the note? Justifiable or unjustifiable?