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there was something so beautifully serene about it: the quiet sound of blades slicing the ice, the soft breeze flowing through hanbin’s hair as he glided across the rink, his relieved smiles when he successfully completed a difficult jump. hao couldn’t help but watch in awe as always, his jaw dropped and his eyes wide at his boyfriend’s graceful beauty.
there had been a few times that hanbin had fell. throughout their time together, hao had seen him nurse countless injuries yet hanbin would always tell him the more i practice, the better i get so the less injuries i’ll get, it’s simple and then he would once again lace up his skates and step back onto the rink, his home. hao understood, of course he did, yet he just couldn’t stop his heart from leaping into his mouth every time his boyfriend prepared for a jump.
he didn’t have to worry for much longer though, the practice came to an end a little faster than hao expected with the tired voice of hanbin’s coach ringing around the otherwise empty rink, “that’s enough for today i think, you need to be in perfect condition for tomorrow.”
ah, tomorrow. it had been the talk of almost the entire country, korea’s golden ice skating prince sung hanbin would be competing to retain his national champion status for the second year in a row. the short programme began tomorrow at an arena down in busan and hao silently cursed his university for scheduling an exam for the exact same day.
so instead of supporting hanbin in person, hao would watch his boyfriend skate from the comfort of his friend gyuvin’s house. the younger had a real love for ice skating ever since hanbin had emerged on to the skating scene and their friendship group all had a real love for gyuvin so naturally they would all watch any ice skating competition together.
“what are you thinking about?” came hanbin’s voice then as he sat down next to hao on the bench and began unlacing his skates. hao watched him for a brief moment before letting out a deep sigh and replying.
“just how i’m going to have to watch your performance with gyuvin shrieking into my ear tomorrow,” hao feigned annoyance but hanbin saw through him as always. if there was one thing hao loved nearly as much as he loved hanbin, it was his friends.
“just don’t overreact to my performance, they might think i’m your boyfriend,” hanbin teased and hao groaned loudly at his words.
there lay the biggest issue with hao having to watch hanbin skate beside his friends:
none of them actually believed that he and hanbin were dating.
he’d tried to tell them multiple times, even one by one at first because he was afraid of what their reaction might be to hearing that their best friend was dating probably one of the most sought after men in all of south korea. yet their reaction just hadn’t been what he had expected at all.
a small part of him had felt insulted, was hanbin really so far out of his league that the mere idea of hao ever dating him was that unbelievable? sure, he knew hanbin was mega attractive, mega kind, mega talented, mega loved, his boyfriend had half of the population wrapped around his finger but surely hao’s friends would have some kind of faith in him?
honestly though, hao too spent a lot of his time wondering how he got so lucky. there had been days where hao had desperately tried to put into words just how strong his feelings were for the younger boy but the speeches he thought out always paled in comparison to the real emotions. the way he felt was simply indescribable and hao wondered whether that was why none of his friends believed him.
that night hao had stayed at hanbin’s apartment. the younger’s coach had driven them home as they leant against each other on the back seat with their hands intertwined and hanbin’s soft breaths evening out quickly as he fell asleep on hao’s shoulder.
they arrived far too quickly for the oldest’s liking and after receiving a 20 minute lecture from the coach and being forced to set no less than 5 alarms each, they were finally free to head inside and relax.
by now, hao knew the best and worst ways to act around hanbin on the night before a big competition. hanbin’s nerves typically manifested in the morning so on the night, hao would spend his time trying to take his boyfriend’s mind off things and making him rest.
after making sure that hanbin had settled down comfortably on the sofa, hao rushed into the kitchen to grab them some food, ramen for himself and some gross looking protein bar for hanbin. honestly, the older couldn’t wait until after the competition when they could finally order in some fried chicken and hanbin wouldn’t have to feel guilty about skipping his protein bars and shakes for the day.
“do you think i’ll do it tomorrow?” hanbin asked quietly as hao nestled in next to his side on the couch, “win i mean,” he elaborated before pausing again “what do you think?”
“i’d bet my whole life on it,” hao responded without a moments hesitation causing hanbin to hush him quickly.
“you can’t just say things like that, you’ll make me put way too much pressure on myself,” the younger pouted but hao only rolled his eyes in response before moving to face hanbin and setting down his ramen.
“okay then, listen to me,” he waited until the younger turned to face him too before continuing, “i do think you’ll win and you know why? it’s because i’ve never met anyone as determined to push themselves to their best as you are, you’re literally the most inspirational person i know so yes i don’t just think you’ll win, i know you’ll win.”
“you really think so?” hanbin questioned in a rare moment of vulnerability that only hao ever got to see.
“have i ever lied to you?” hao asked.
hanbin shook his head lightly, “no.”
after pressing a soft kiss to hanbin's lips for good measure, hao got back to eating his ramen and scrolling through his phone. it wasn’t until the device pinged that his mind turned back to his own problems tomorrow.
“who is it?” hanbin leaned over to peek at the screen nosily and hao tilted his phone slightly so that the younger could see.
“gyuvin,” hao huffed, “he’s making sure that everyone in the group chat is coming over to watch sung hanbin break the world record tomorrow,” hanbin shot hao a disbelieving look to which the older boy only shrugged, “it’s his words not mine.”
“i’m not yuzuru hanyu,” hanbin scoffed, “although it would be cool to have a room full of winnie the pooh plushies don’t you think?” he continued after a brief moments consideration.
“i guess so,” hao responded, “i think a room of hamster plushies would be more you though.”
they fell into a comfortable silence then with hanbin resting his head on hao’s shoulder and lacing their fingers together. hao’s presence was just comforting for hanbin and no matter what was going on in both of their minds, in that moment they were at peace.
it shattered rather quickly though when hao’s phone pinged again with another message from gyuvin. hanbin didn’t even bother to move from his position as hao leaned forward to grab his phone and again he read over the older’s messages quickly before snorting.
gyuvin (◕ ˬ ◕✿) • 10:32pm
tell your boyfriend that we’re all rooting for him hao hyung
“what’s so funny about that?” hao huffed as hanbin only kept laughing more while watching on as his boyfriend tried to construct a witty comeback.
“the obvious sarcasm,” hanbin replied causing hao to hit his arm lightly and roll his eyes, “you can tell him i said thanks though,” the skater finished and hao took this as his best option.
you • 10:33pm
he said thanks
gyuvin (◕ ˬ ◕✿) • 10:34pm
i can’t believe you’re still carrying this joke on
hao huffed as he heard hanbin begin laughing again. it was as if nothing would ever convince his friends that hanbin was actually his boyfriend and the younger only did everything possible to make it harder for him simply because he found it funny.
it was for this reason that hao didn’t have a single picture of the two of them together on his phone. hanbin had hundreds, of course, but whenever hao tried to do the same thing, his boyfriend would quickly duck out of the frame or run off completely. obviously hao had pictures of hanbin on his own but these were never enough to convince his friends, they just assumed he’d downloaded them from the internet and wouldn’t believe otherwise even when he reverse image searched in front of them and found no results.
it’s not a joke hao typed back before laying his phone down and folding his arms in annoyance much to hanbin’s amusement.
“hey, don’t be mad about it,” the younger spoke as he stared up at hao with brown eyes glistening in amusement and fondness, “it doesn’t matter whether they believe you or not because you’re here with me now aren’t you?”
“yeah,” hao replied, “they can cry about it because they always talk about dating you but none of them will ever be me,” he huffed causing hanbin to laugh again.
“exactly and for the record you’re the only person i ever want to date,” hanbin spoke after a moment with a voice so quiet that hao hardly heard him despite their proximity.
the implications of those words were not lost on the older as his lips curled up into a soft smile and he placed a kiss on the top of his boyfriend’s head, “i don’t want to date anyone else either.”
—
they got tucked into bed soon after that, hanbin needed an early night so that he wasn’t tired before his competition and hao needed it too to prepare for his exam. yet, despite knowing how much they both needed the rest, falling asleep seemed difficult. hanbin tossed and turned for a while, sighing every time he cracked his eyes open again and saw on his clock that another ten minutes had passed.
in the end, hanbin leaned over and wrapped his arms tightly around his boyfriend. they rarely slept in each others embrace anymore, mainly because it was sometimes uncomfortable and because hanbin’s body tended to ache when he woke up if they did. yet that night, it worked well.
“won’t you ache in the morning?” hao whispered softly as he snuggled closer to his boyfriend’s side and took in his comforting scent.
“no, i can handle a dead arm,” hanbin whispered back as he pressed a light kiss to the top of hao’s head, “now let's get some sleep.”
almost as soon as these words left the younger’s mouth, hao had already fallen into a slumber. it seemed that having hanbin so close to him made him feel at peace even when his mind was racing, the same was to be said for hanbin too. no matter how bad his nerves were or how many worst case scenarios were running through his mind, being with hao helped him to shut everything out and let himself let go of his worries.
it was far easier to relax in the presence of the one he loved.
—
the morning was chaos. both of the boys’ alarms rang obnoxiously loudly at the exact same time causing them to jump out of their skin as they reached to stop the noise. hanbin nursed his numb arm for five minutes then as hao repeatedly apologised and hanbin repeatedly reminded him that pins and needles had never killed a man.
their second problem came then, after hanbin’s arm had regained it’s feeling and the clock had ticked 10 minutes closer to the time they had to leave, both boys decided that they needed to use the bathroom at the same time. in the end they decided to shower together with hao claiming that his boyfriend washed his hair better than he could himself anyway and hanbin agreeing because he didn’t have time to waste.
breakfast was spent with the ice skater eating his first sad protein bar of the day and hao trying to cram stupid amounts of equations into his mind that he really should have looked over the previous night. “you should’ve ignored me and studied,” hanbin huffed as he took one look over at his boyfriend’s notes and winced as he didn’t understand a single thing.
“it’s okay, i’ve studied a lot this week and besides it’s not everyday your boyfriend has to go off and defend his national title,” hao responded, it was true. hao could always resit the exam, hanbin could not resit the national championships.
as time closed in on them and hanbin’s coach texted that she was on her way to pick him up, hao discarded his flashcards and paid full attention to the now brutally nervous boy in front of him. “you know that whatever happens today i’ll be stupidly proud of you right?” the older smiled as he sat down next to his boyfriend on the sofa, “although i’m one thousand percent convinced that you’ll win.”
“you should know that one thousand percent isn’t a thing mr geoscience student,” hanbin retorted but he smiled beautifully nonetheless.
hao rolled his eyes and momentarily paused for thought as he rested his head on hanbin’s shoulder and linked their hands together watching in awe as they fit perfectly like always, “do you believe in yourself?” he asked quietly.
the skater seemed to think on it for a moment, his brows furrowing under the weight of the question, yet his eyes became determined as he gave his answer, “i do because i know that you believe in me and that’s what matters.”
hao’s heart felt as if it was trying to beat it’s way free from his chest at the answer and his lips curled into a satisfied smile as hanbin turned his head to look at him. a light pink had dusted itself on the skaters’s cheeks and he simply looked beautiful, hao couldn’t quite believe that he had gotten so lucky.
“i love you so much, you know that right?” he told hanbin and watched in wonder as his cheeks flushed darker.
“i know, i love you so much too,” the younger replied and hao leaned up slightly then so that their lips met in a brief kiss.
as soon as his eyes fluttered open, hao was met with hanbin’s awestruck gaze as his eyes sparkled with affection and all the nerves seemed to have floated away.
“you always know how to calm me down,” the younger spoke quietly before their loving moment was interrupted by a loud knock at the door.
“i think your coach is here,” hao told him and hanbin flashed him a freshly nervous smile before getting up and opening the door to invite her in.
“are you all ready?” her shrill voice echoed around the once quietly calm apartment making even hao feel a little nervous as she approached the living room.
“good morning hao,” she greeted him quickly yet he didn’t even get time to respond before she had once again turned her attention to hanbin who was grabbing his last few bags, “have you remembered your outfit this time? don’t want a repeat of last year now do we?”
that was one thing hao agreed with her on. last year hanbin, in a moment of madness, had managed to leave his outfit in seoul as he traveled to daegu for the national championships. thankfully, hao had both the keys to his apartment and a day off from university so he managed to disembark his train in asan and get the first train back to seoul to deliver the outfit to his boyfriend in time. he could safely say that it wasn’t the greatest moment of his life.
hanbin was smiling sheepishly at the memory as he walked back into the living room and handed over the suit bag in which his freshly ironed outfit resided.
the clothing itself was beautiful, hao had nearly passed straight out the first time he had seen hanbin gliding so effortlessly across the ice in it. it’s beauty was in it’s simplicity and the minor details of the few small gems sewn around the collar of the white shirt. hanbin had looked stunning and hao had found himself with his jaw dropped to the floor for the thousandth time as he got yet another reminder of just why the entirety of south korea had a crush on his boyfriend.
“are you ready to go?” he heard the coach speak then as she stood with hanbin who was placing his name tags on all of his bags in the hall. hao walked the few steps to join them and he lay a comforting hand on his boyfriend’s back as he stood up.
“i think so,” hanbin replied as he glanced nervously at the bags on the floor.
“you’ll do great i’m sure of it,” hao told him, “everyone believes in you and i’m pretty sure the entire country wants you to win, you know you can do it and that’s what matters.”
“thank you,” hanbin told him, “and you for your exam, you’ll do great.”
“don’t worry about my exam,” hao’s eyes crinkled up as he smiled, “text me when you get there okay? i’ll be watching you tonight on tv.”
“good luck,” hanbin joked and hao only rolled his eyes.
“more good luck to you,” he responded, “i love you.”
“i love you too,” hanbin’s lips curled up before he picked up his bags and was out of the door.
it was only then that hao allowed himself to feel nervous on his boyfriend’s behalf.
—
“stressed about the exam?” were the first words that came from jiwoong’s mouth that morning as he slung an arm over hao’s shoulder. they’d all arrived at university early that day as exam season was in full swing and every second they could possibly study for was a second well used.
“that and hanbin’s performance,” hao replied honestly causing everyone present at the table to laugh.
“i love how you’re still going with that joke,” yujin giggled before shaking his head and writing something down on a flash card.
“it’s not a joke,” hao replied in vague irritation as he unzipped his pencil case a little too loudly causing gunwook to look up from his writing.
“it’s okay hyung, you can drop the act with us,” gunwook then laughed a little.
hao decided to simply not respond as his phone lit up with a notification from hanbin himself.
hanbin ♥ ♥ • 9:15am
i’m bored tell me something funny
unless you’re studying then leave me to be bored
hao smiled before typing out his response.
you • 9:16am
i was studying but i can’t have you being bored can i
gunwook just told me that i can drop my act of ‘pretending’ to date you when i’m around them
hao envisaged hanbin laughing at his unfortunate situation and despite how annoying the whole thing was, hao supposed that his misfortune was at least a little worth it just for how amused it made his boyfriend.
hanbin ♥ ♥ • 9:16am
that is funny
do you want some good news though?
might make you feel a lot better about all that
hao replied almost immediately.
you • 9:17am
please
i’ll do anything
hanbin's response came just as quickly.
hanbin ♥ ♥ • 9:17am
i managed to get tickets for you and your friends to come and see the free programme on friday
that is if they’re all free and can afford the train
i can pay if not
i’d just really like it if you came
all of you
but especially you
we could prove something to them too though? ;)
hao could hardly believe his luck as he read the message with wide eyes and a blinding smile. he was getting to see his boyfriend skate in the national final live and he would finally prove to his friends that he was dating him? perfect.
he could just imagine it, being able to watch hanbin in his element, being able to watch the gold medal be hung around his boyfriend’s neck and being able to run up and hug him and kiss him and celebrate together. hao felt butterflies climb into his stomach at the mere idea of it all, he just couldn’t wait to break the news to his friends.
“guys,” hao spoke to get their attention and when no one looked up from their work he cleared his throat loudly and spoke again, “guys!”
“what?” gyuvin looked up finally and stared at him in vague confusion.
“hanbin got us tickets for the free programme on friday,” he watched as they shared disbelieving glances, “if you’d like to go,” he smiled and awaited their reactions.
“funny hyung,” gyuvin spoke shortly before shaking his head with an amused smile and continuing with his work. just as he did though, hao’s phone pinged with an email complete with 6 e-tickets.
“fine then, don’t believe me but i have the tickets right here,” he scrolled to click on one before holding his phone up to show gyuvin. there it was written in plain ink complete with the barcode, ‘Republic of Korea National Figure Skating Championships - Men’s Free Skate x1 Ticket’.
“what?!” the younger’s eyes went wide and he could almost sense that gyuvin’s heart was beating at an unprecedented rate, “those tickets are like gold dust how did you manage it?”
“hanbi-“
“you must’ve paid so much for those, oh my god hyung, what? you really are the best person ever, thank you for doing this for me,” gyuvin looked on the verge of tears and hao was utterly bewildered by his reaction. surely this was proof that he and hanbin were actually together? the tickets were at least 100,000₩ each, there was no way that a broke college student like hao would ever be able to afford it.
“but i-“
“i can’t believe i’m going to see sung hanbin in real life,” yujin chimed in then as he took a look at the barcode displayed proudly on hao’s phone.
“we’re all going?” gunwook asked and hao nodded.
“i have six tickets, one for all of us,” hao smiled and the group fell into a stunned silence for a short moment before their heads began to work properly again.
“how can we get there?” ricky questioned, ever the pragmatic one.
“my dad has a seven seater, i can drive us,” jiwoong responded and gyuvin beamed so brightly that he put the sun to shame.
“hao hyung and jiwoong hyung my saviours how will i ever repay you?” he asked as he faked wiping away a tear that hao wasn’t too sure he was actually faking. despite everything, hao really did love his friends and they all really were obsessed with ice skating so the fact that his boyfriend had been able to get his best friends tickets to such a big event made him feel stupidly happy. hanbin really was an angel.
hao went back to his work after a brief moment of letting his thoughts sink in and it was only after a few moments passed that ricky stood up and spoke, “hyung, will you come with me to get some drinks?”
—
when they reached the vending machine out of sight of their other friends, hao soon realised that ricky hadn’t intended to get drinks at all. instead, the younger boy took a seat at a nearby table and motioned for hao to do the same. the older quickly became confused but ricky’s smile never faltered and as soon as hao sat down, he spoke up.
“tell me about him,” ricky smiled warmly as hao shot him an incredulous glance from across the table.
“who?” he asked in response
“sung hanbin.”
when all hao offered in return was a disbelieving look, ricky’s eyes curled up into a bright grin and he spoke again, “i don’t believe you just happened to get six tickets to something that sold out weeks ago that you can’t really afford,” he explained, “so because of a lack of another explanation i’ve come to the conclusion that you’ve been telling the truth the entire time.”
“you believe me?” hao questioned carefully, in fear that ricky would just start laughing in his face at any given moment.
“yeah, i think i do,” the younger responded and that was when hao’s exterior cracked.
“he’s amazing, we met in a coffee shop, i didn’t really know who he was because he had his mask up but he has really pretty eyes so i was just drawn to him, he started up a conversation and asked about my flash cards i was writing for my senior year exams,” hao explained, “it snowballed from there, we talked for hours and when he finally told me who he was it didn’t really faze me because we’d just been talking like regular people and he is just normal well not normal he’s amazing but…” hao trailed off after rambling and he could see the fondness radiating from ricky as he continued on, “i just love him a lot, it’s hard to put into words.”
the older blushed a little then as ricky nodded while taking all of the information in. “i can tell, i don’t know how i’ve never noticed how happy you are when you talk about him but then again, i was never like the others, i always had my suspicions,” he spoke quietly after a second, “so why don’t you have any pictures with him then?”
“he finds it funny that none of you believe me,” hao huffed but still maintained his adoring smile, “he’s insufferable sometimes.”
as if on queue, hao’s phone pinged with a message from hanbin whining about how he’d been left on read.
“speak of the devil,” he laughed, “wait until he hears that you believe me, i hope he’ll be as happy as i am.”
ricky frowned a little at this as guilt began to seep into his expression, “sorry that i didn’t fully believe you before, like i said if i think back on it now it should’ve been obvious from how happy you get whenever he’s mentioned or whenever you talk about him, i’m sorry for not being a good enough friend to notice that.”
“it all sounds far fetched so i don’t blame you for not believing me, i wouldn’t believe you if you came into class and told me you were dating hyunjin from stray kids would i?” hao asked causing his friend to smile softly, “there’s no point feeling bad about it, it doesn’t bother me to the point where i go home and cry every night, besides the others will get the shock of their life on friday anyway while you just get to say i told you so.”
ricky seemed to deflate at this and hao knew that his words had worked as he wanted so he refocused his attention back to hanbin for a second to type out an excited everyone can come, i’m going to cry, i love you so much before they actually did use the vending machine and returned back to the others.
“what took you so long?” yujin yelped as ricky pressed an ice cold bottle of water to his face.
“hyung was telling me about sung hanbin,” ricky smiled causing hao to flush a dark red.
“oh?” gyuvin laughed, “i bet that was a long conversation.”
“it was actually,” ricky began causing the other boys to look up from their work, “he said that hanbin finds it funny that none of us believe him and that’s why they have no pictures together.”
jiwoong snorted rather loudly at that and bowed his head quickly in apology when a few people from the surrounding tables turned to glare at him. “sounds convenient,” he giggled.
“it’s true!” hao protested yet he laughed along this time still high off the feeling that one of his friends actually believed him.
“but hyung, how would you have even met him?” yujin questioned and ricky seemed ready to answer this too suddenly proud of his status as an expert on all things hao and hanbin.
“they met in a coffee shop when hao hyung was in senior year,” ricky explained, “hyung said he didn’t know who he was because he had a mask on the whole time but that his eyes were really pretty.”
“he does have pretty eyes,” gyuvin all but swooned as he let himself get lost in his thoughts, “i wish you were telling the truth hyung because then i could steal him from you.”
“i don’t think there’s any chance of that happening but you can try on friday,” hao laughed as gyuvin’s face lit up again just at the mention of the performance.
“i can’t believe i’m actually going, i don’t know how to repay you really,” the younger boy grinned.
“you don’t have to, just give hanbin your support and that’s enough for me,” hao replied.
“wow you should lead his fan club,” gyuvin laughed.
“i already do enough for him thanks.”
jiwoong snorted again while hao shared a look with ricky. if only they all knew.
—
the exam went far worse than hao expected, it seemed that hanbin, as always, just refused to leave his mind. every question about ice, or jumps or speed just made hao wonder what exactly his boyfriend might be doing in that moment. space in his brain that was supposed to be reserved for formulas was instead filed with hanbin’s performance times and the scores he so desperately wanted to beat and the way he smiled when he executed the most difficult parts of his routine flawlessly. so all in all, hao flunked for the first time ever.
he hadn’t told hanbin this though when the younger had sent a message to ask him how it all went, he’d said the usual ‘it was fine, i knew most of what i was writing about’ and he’d received a cute thumbs up selca from hanbin in return that he proceeded to share only with ricky out of pure pettiness.
as for the rest of the day, hao spent it feeling sick. despite the fact that it wasn’t him who would be performing for a crowd of thousands and then millions of viewers across the world, hao was convinced that he must be just as nervous as hanbin was. perhaps it was the fact that he couldn’t be there or the fact that he’d seen how hard hanbin had worked himself over the past few weeks but by the time that hao stepped through gyuvin’s door that night, he felt seconds away from passing out.
the last time hanbin had texted him had been half an hour previous, just before the first warm ups started. it had been in reply to hao’s huge essay about how he was going to ‘change the world with his performance’ the younger had sent a simple, ‘i love you’. this was enough to nearly push hao over the edge.
he’d decided to sit between ricky and gyuvin, he loved hearing constant compliments about his boyfriend and desperate attempts to ease his own anxiety in equal parts so sitting by those two was the natural option. as the first few skaters took to the ice, jiwoong emerged from the kitchen with yujin in tow holding numerous bowls of snacks and alcoholic drinks that hao would’ve downed in one if not for ricky stopping him.
“i’m sure you actually want to remember his performance don’t you?” the younger questioned and hao only hummed in response. it was true though, no matter how many times he had seen hanbin skate the exact same routine in practice, nothing ever quite compared to the real thing.
the first group of skaters began after a short while. hao watched them and was glad of the fact that he had enough knowledge to understand the scoring, he shared his thoughts on each performance solely to ricky in a hushed voice. his reason for this was half rooted in pettiness and half rooted in the fact that he was certain only ricky would care about how clean someone’s camel spin was.
“there was a lot of movement there,” hao noted about one of the skaters causing ricky to turn to him in disbelief.
“but it looked perfect,” the younger had uttered back, baffled.
“yeah but think of how much he moved away from the original spot he started the spin at,” hao spoke and ricky thought about it for a moment.
“i don’t know, it’s still pretty impressive isn’t it?” he asked and hao nodded.
“not as impressive as hanbin,” hao smiled smugly causing him to earn a light slap on the arm from ricky.
“lets not be cocky about someone else’s achievements now,” he giggled to which ricky only laughed before protesting.
“i’m allowed to, he’s my boyfriend.”
“are you also allowed to become the world’s leading ice skating expert?” jiwoong cut their conversation off with an amused but equally fond smile, “you’ve been breaking down every tiny detail of every performance, how much skating have you watched to do that?”
“i watch hanbin train all the time,” hao spoke back, “i just pick it up from what his coach tells him.”
jiwoong only scoffed with a smile, “i knew you’d say something like that.”
the younger rolled his eyes before deciding to ignore everyone who wasn’t ricky for the night as he settled into watching the competition. the first group of skaters had nearly finished by now but it was already obvious that hanbin would be part of the fourth and final group so they had at least an hour and a half to wait before he would even go out to warm up.
unfortunately, the long wait did nothing to help hao’s nerves and with ricky’s watchful eye preventing him from touching any alcohol, hao took to eating copious bags of gummy sweets instead. by the end of the second group, he was just opening his second sharing bag of sweets, gyuvin seemed to notice this time as he took the bag straight from hao’s hands, “hyung, those are to share,” he spoke pointedly as he lay the bag back on the table in front of them.
“i’m nervous please just let me eat them,” he whined causing both yujin and gunwook to throw him a look. he knew what they were thinking, something along the lines that he was taking the joke too far or just being annoying but hao really couldn’t help the way he was feeling. skating was everything to hanbin and hanbin was everything to hao so naturally what happened on the ice was important to him too.
“look,” hao began, “even if you don’t believe me, this is really important to hanbin and i’ve watched him stress over this for weeks so just let me be nervous please,” he spoke out, “you don’t have to believe me or whatever but just ignore my weird behaviours tonight.”
it wasn’t long before a guilty expression made its way on to each one of his friends’ faces. he knew that by now some of them must have least had a tiny bit of doubt in their mind about whether hao was actually telling the truth or not and his words likely played on this doubt.
“i’m sorry hyung,” gyuvin was the first to apologise with a pout as he reached forward to hand hao back his bag of gummy sweets, “please don’t be mad at me,” he finished complete with eyes so sad and apologetic that hao couldn’t help but cave even though he knew 75% of it was an act.
“i’m not mad,” he replied truthfully and gyuvin seemed satisfied with this answer as he cuddled somewhat into hao’s side and once again became fully enraptured in what he was watching on the tv as the other’s apologies echoed around the room soon after.
despite his huge crush on hanbin, gyuvin’s love for ice skating had made hao extremely excited to be able to take him to watch the competition at the end of the week. although he always wanted hanbin to win, gyuvin would carefully watch whoever was skating and hao thought then that maybe the boy to his left might enjoy his critical analysis too. however, one look at jiwoong’s concentrated expression was enough to know that if he kept whispering over the music any longer he’d likely get a cushion thrown straight at his face.
before long, it was time for the fourth group to take to the ice to warm up, hao had just opened his third bag of gummy sweets and it was now gyuvin giving critical analysis of the routines. as soon as hao saw hanbin’s figure glide out on to the ice, his breath caught in his throat. of course, he’d seen hanbin skate his routine in that outfit before, he’d seen copious amounts of dress rehearsals and even been the one to style his hair some days but again, like always, nothing ever did quite compare to the real thing.
his warm up seemed to go well, “he landed all his axels,” gyuvin pointed out to hao who had all but hidden his face behind a pillow, “you can watch you know.”
“i know, i’m just nervous,” hao replied back and gyuvin leant over to grab his hand.
“i’m sure he’ll win, i’m 1000% sure,” the younger smiled.
hao was glad of his words even though he knew that gyuvin was simply humouring him.
the first skater of the group performed then, flawlessly executing his routine and scoring a personal best, the second skater was nearly as good other than the fact that he placed a hand to the ice after one of his jumps. the third skater, however, was hanbin’s main rival and from what his boyfriend had told him, hao knew that he was a bit of an asshole too.
“you see him?” hao leant over to ask ricky and the younger nodded curiously, “hanbin really doesn’t like him, he’s only ever beat him once but he told me that he came up to him in the waiting room afterwards when they were about to go out and get the medals and he told hanbin that he would always be second to him after that.”
ricky’s face hardened immediately, “well, hanbin definitely proved him wrong.”
“he did,” hao smiled proudly, “i still want him to fall over though,” he spoke a little too loudly causing gyuvin to throw him a shocked look.
“that’s so mean leave him alone,” the younger hit him lightly with a pillow. hao didn’t care much, his point still stood.
unfortunately for him, the skater in question performed an almost flawless routine, every element was executed as close to perfection as hao had ever seen and he was hardly surprised when a score that was far higher than hanbin’s personal best flashed up on the screen. 105.87 hao had to fight down a lump that was beginning to form in his throat.
“next to skate is the man we’ve all been waiting for, three times national champion and one time world champion, sung hanbin,” hao sat forward in his seat as he saw his boyfriend skate towards the middle of the ice. he could tell by the boy’s posture that he was nervous yet hanbin was never one to crumble under pressure, he’d practiced this routine an infinite amount of times, he knew exactly what he needed to do and if he did it just as he had in training, hao had no doubt that he’d beat the previous skater’s score in no time.
he began well, completing most of the more difficult elements in the first half of his routine. when he landed his triple axel perfectly, hao found himself physically deflating, it was all going perfectly. the jumps were all completed soon and hanbin only had some spins and more artistic moves left to do. hao had long since settled into the performance but his heart was still beating at an unimaginable speed as he watched his boyfriend complete his final spin of the routine.
as the music crescendoed and hanbin struck his finishing pose hao let out a breath that he didn’t even know he’d been holding. “he did it!” he all but yelled happily, “did you see that? it was perfect.”
“i saw it!” yujin was the first to reply, “he was amazing, he definitely outdid the other guy i’m sure of it.”
“yeah,” gyuvin spoke out next and hao heard the emotion in the younger’s voice.
“are you crying?” ricky asked him with a snort and gyuvin nodded tearfully.
“don’t you think he just skates so beautifully?” the boy asked and hao couldn’t help but wrap an arm around his friend.
“he does,” hao smiled with a heart so full of pride it was about to burst, “lets see the scores.”
they sat back in silence then, six pairs of eyes glued to the tv and almost afraid to blink in case they missed anything. this was definitely the worst part for hao, he could see the nerves in hanbin’s eyes as he sat in the waiting room listening out for his score. when it finally came in, hao felt his heart sink. 102.64, 3 points lower than the previous skater, hanbin was really not going to be happy.
the next two performances passed in a blur and hao found himself entirely deflated so he didn’t speak much at all. he was checking his phone anxiously waiting for any kind of message or call from hanbin even though he knew that he wouldn’t hear from him until the event was completely finished. despite how hanbin would be feeling, hao knew that it wasn’t the end of the world, hanbin always performed better in the free skate and hao was still quietly confident that he’d win.
the eventual phone call came around fifteen minutes after the show finished and gyuvin and yujin were in a heated debate about whether hanbin’s rival’s program component score should really have been that high. hao’s phone blared and he immediately excused himself and talked in a hush voice as he all but ran outside.
“hey, how are you feeling?” were the first words from hao’s mouth as he stood outside the room and nervously awaited hanbin’s reply.
“okay i think, obviously it’s not what i wanted but it’s only three points,” hanbin spoke out and hao could tell from his voice that he only half believed what he was saying.
“listen to me, what’s your strongest skate?” hao asked him and another second passed before he got the reply.
“the free,” hanbin breathed down the phone.
“and what’s his weakest skate?”
“the free,” came the reply again.
“so who’s going to win?” hao asked and hanbin laughed albeit just a little.
“hopefully me,” he responded finally.
“there’s no hopefully about it, you were brilliant and your free skate this season is amazing, i’d be surprised if you didn’t get a personal best and you know that’s the truth,” hao told him, “plus you made gyuvin cry with how beautifully you skated.”
“i did?” hanbin laughed properly this time and hao could only hope his words were getting through to him.
“yeah,” hao smiled as he heard the life beginning to come back into his boyfriend’s voice, “you’re sung hanbin, everyone wants you to retain your title and everyone knows you will, i hope you know that i’ve never doubted you, not even for a second.”
hanbin was quiet for a moment as he let the words sink in and hao could only hope that what he was saying was helping, “not even when i tried to put my skates on the wrong feet.”
“not even when you tried to put your skates on the wrong feet,” hao confirmed with a giggle.
“i really love you so much, you know that right?” hanbin spoke suddenly then causing hao’s heart to race in his chest.
“i do and i love you so much too, i’ll message you when i get there on friday, jiwoong hyung is going to drive us down,” hao felt his heart bloom just at the thought of it all.
“okay, i’ll meet you at the end, i’ll hang the gold medal around your neck,” hanbin joked but hao could hear the determination and desire behind it.
“i’ll hold you to that,” hao told him and they hung up soon after when hanbin’s coach called him. as he headed back into the room, hao found that gyuvin and yujin’s discussion now included everyone other than ricky as the younger seemed to be waiting to speak to him.
“how is he?” he asked as soon as hao sat back down.
“he was a little deflated at first i think and nervous, i spoke to him a bit and i think i managed to calm him down, he wants this really bad, he said he’s gonna hang the gold medal around my neck on friday,” hao blushed and ricky whooped loudly.
“look at you living a real life romantic comedy,” ricky joked and hao couldn’t do anything but laugh because it was true and he was loving every second of it.
—
friday couldn’t come quickly enough. hao had already packed his bags up on wednesday night and the whole of thursday he spent texting, calling and facetiming hanbin at every single given moment. sure, there were times when the younger was hanging out with some of his friends, hanbin had known these people for over ten years after all. yet other times, hanbin just wanted to lie down and listen to hao’s voice as he spoke about nothing in particular just to let his boyfriend feel calm for a bit.
hao, however, was never one to practice what he preached. despite genuinely meaning it when he told hanbin that he was 1000% sure that he was still going to win, he couldn’t help but yet again feel physically sick as he climbed into the back of jiwoong’s dad’s car.
“how are you feeling?” ricky asked and the older could barely hold eye contact with him out of sheer nerves.
“ill,” he spoke simply before shoving his airpods in and listening to his and hanbin’s joint playlist to filter out the sound of his friend’s ice skating based discussions. they’d decided to get the journey done in one go, five hours didn’t seem like much after all but by the third hao was getting restless and he’d had at least 4 messages in their group chat from ricky begging someone to ask jiwoong for a bathroom stop.
ricky (㇏(•̀ ᢍ •́ )ノ) • 11:24am
please can someone ask jiwoong hyung for a bathroom stop
i’d do it but
you know how he gets in the zone when he drives
gyuvin (◕ ˬ ◕✿) • 11:24am
it’s literally jiwoong hyung
the worst he’ll do is glare at you for like one second and then he’ll go
of course my wonderful son i adore you i’d love to stop off for you
ricky (㇏(•̀ ᢍ •́ )ノ) • 11:25am
you do it then
yujin /ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\ • 11:25am
hao hyung should do it
he’s the oldest of us
jiwoong hyung can’t say no
gunwook (ᵔᴥᵔ) • 11:25am
no yujin should do it
jiwoong hyung’s his father
yujin /ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\ • 11:25am
you must think you’re hilarious
delete that before we get there or i’ll hit you
he’s not my dad
anyway i’ll ask
he’s not gonna say a thing you’re all weird
you • 11:26am
yeah because it’s you
yujin mumbled something under his breath about hao being a traitor before he asked jiwoong if they could stop at the nearest service station to use the bathroom. as expected jiwoong didn’t even flinch at the question before agreeing almost too happily and not even five minutes later he’d parked up and they were all running into the building.
“i’m getting some drinks while you’re in there, anyone want anything?” gunwook asked and hao could only laugh at the instant regret on his face when five different orders came his way, “never mind, i’ll get six bottles of water.”
hao laughed before running off to the bathroom quickly and then choosing to spend the rest of his time outside on the phone to hanbin.
you • 11:39am
are you there?
we’re at the service station
i can call
hao didn’t even need to wait for a response before his phone was ringing and hanbin’s voice came through the speaker. “are you nearly here?” he asked excitedly and hao couldn’t help but smile at the sound of his voice.
“yeah about an hour away now, why are you asking? you won’t be able to see me until after your performance anyway,” hao smiled and hanbin sighed deeply down the phone.
“i know but it’ll make me feel better when i know you’re here, i just feel comfortable when i know that you’re in the crowd supporting me, is that weird?” the younger asked and hao felt his knees grow a little weaker at the words.
“not at all,” he spoke back in an adoring tone before adding, “hanbin why did you never consider going in to poetry you really know how to make me blush.”
“shut up,” came the immediate reply, “i was being all serious then.”
“i know and for the record i feel a lot happier when i'm around you too,” hao spoke out and he could almost hear hanbin’s smile down the phone.
“hyung!” a voice called out then, “we’re all done are you coming?” gunwook asked him as he walked closer.
“yeah, one second!” hao called back before turning his attention back to his boyfriend, “i’ve got to go but i’ll text you when i make it to busan okay?”
“please do,” hanbin spoke, “doors open at 2:30, remember to get in straight away, i’ll look for you when i’m warming up.”
“okay,” hao beamed, “see you later, you’re gonna do great.”
the reply of ‘i hope so’ never came and instead hanbin spoke confidently back to him, “i know,” before hanging up and hao couldn’t help but laugh at the boy’s antics. he was stupidly in love.
“are you done flirting with your phone screen?” jiwoong asked as he climbed in the car and hao only rolled his eyes.
“yeah, lets go, hanbin wants us in there for when the doors open.”
—
at 2:45pm hao felt as if he was actually going to be sick. they hadn’t managed to get into the arena yet, it seemed that fans of his boyfriend had been queuing up for horus upon hours to be the first ones to catch a glimpse of him. of course, gyuvin was whining because of all of this and hao half wanted the queue to move just so he’d be quiet.
he hadn’t heard from hanbin for a while, the younger must have started getting ready by now so hao wasn’t surprised that his phone lay silent. this didn’t stop him from checking it every 5 seconds though until they finally got into the arena.
“woah,” was gyuvin’s first reaction as they walked down the steps to their seats and hao couldn’t help but echo his thoughts. of course, the arena in daegu last year had been huge but for some reason this occasion felt infinitely bigger. maybe it was because pretty much every single person in the stands had some kind of banner or something relating to hanbin but hao couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by just how loved his boyfriend really was.
“we’re right at the front,” yujin spoke excitedly as they took their seats just two rows back, they had a nice view of the rink and were situated nearly central just behind the tunnel that the skaters would enter the arena from. hao knew that his heart would fall out of his chest when he saw hanbin walk through there for the first time.
his nerves didn’t ease as they waited. by 4pm hao was already taking his fifth bathroom trip in an attempt to find literally anything else to do than just sit there and when the competition finally began at 5, hao was holding on to the edge of his seat so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.
he could see hanbin’s coach from where he sat and she sent a brief smile in his direction but hao knew that he wouldn’t see hanbin himself until much later on. it always ran a little like this, his coach would watch the first two rounds and then spend the time during the third behind the scenes doing whatever last minute preparation she thought was necessary and of course relaying to hanbin that his boyfriend was, indeed, in the crowd watching.
the first two sets of skaters did well. gyuvin cheered embarrassingly loudly for a junior skater who messed up badly and went off the rink crying, the young boy seemed glad of his support though as he flashed gyuvin a watery smile before heading over to the waiting room. the third set were, as expected, much better but hao found himself unable to really take any of it in knowing that soon his boyfriend would be taking to the ice to defend something so utterly important to him.
as the round ended and the current leaderboard was displayed on the screen hao found himself watching the tunnel intently and only a few seconds later he finally saw the skater he’d been so desperately waiting to see.
hanbin looked straight up towards him as he stepped out of the tunnel and hao felt his heart catch in his throat when they finally locked eyes and his boyfriend’s smile grew impossibly wide. hao wasn’t really sure how it worked but hanbin had once said that all of his nerves dissipated whenever he saw him in the crowd and after that hao had made sure to always offer hanbin his brightest smile.
“he’s real,” hao heard gyuvin speak, shell shocked and honestly he couldn’t quite believe it either. it was the way that the thin pieces of fabric attached to the back of hanbin’s shirt floated behind him like a pair of wings as he stepped out onto the ice, it was the way he looked so serene despite the internal turmoil he must have been dealing with, it was the way he looked like he belonged no where else but on the rink.
“he is,” hao breathed back, equally awe-struck despite seeing his boyfriend like this thousands of times.
hanbin did well in the warm up, every jump he attempted was landed perfectly and hao found himself relaxing a little as he saw his boyfriend breathe a sigh of relief after every successful move.
“hyung,” a voice came from next to him as the warm up was about to end and hao turned to face gyuvin who stared back at him with a serious expression, “he’s going to win.”
the soft reassurance from the younger was nearly enough to make hao cry. he didn’t know if gyuvin finally believed him and honestly in that moment he didn’t really care, all he knew was that the younger was right and hanbin was going to break his personal best and become a four time national champion, he had to.
hao didn’t pay much attention to the first few skaters from the group instead watching hanbin talk to his coach as she pointed a few things out on the ice and gave him what looked to be the most insane pep talk hao had ever seen. due to the scores, hanbin would be performing second to last and in a way hao knew that his boyfriend would be glad of this.
despite not crumbling easily under pressure, hanbin was someone who liked to focus on himself rather than what others were doing and knowing that he had no clue how the other skater was going to perform, hanbin was free to focus solely on his own routine.
as the skater before hanbin in the order finished and the crowds cheers rang out, hao gulped nervously. he felt gyuvin hold on to his hand and they remained like that, holding on for dear life both indescribably nervous. hao breathed deeply before he watched his boyfriend take to the ice, in his state he reminded himself that this was sung hanbin he was watching and the only thing sung hanbin knew how to do was win.
“next to skate: sung hanbin!”
hao’s skin paled.
the music started gently and hanbin began by gliding effortlessly around the rink. most of his jumps came early in the routine so that he didn’t have to worry about much towards the end. he landed his triple salchow without looking like he was even trying and he skated on then before perfecting his difficult step sequence and landing a triple axel.
hao was beginning to calm down by now, everything was going perfectly and with the difficulty of the routine and the preciseness of hanbin’s movements, he was easily on track for a personal best.
it was around half way through the performance though that hanbin’s biggest trick was due. hao had watched him fall numerous times while trying to perfect it and his boyfriend had spent hours upon hours upon hours desperately trying to get it right.
he help his breath and prayed to every entity there might possibly be when hanbin prepared for his quad toe loop. hao could hardly watch as his boyfriend took off into the air, it was like hanbin was moving in slow motion and the older couldn’t breathe as he counted the spins, one, two, three, four!
“he did it!” hao whispered softly to gyuvin desperate to share his excitement, the boy only flashed him a beaming smile in response as they watched the rest of hanbin’s performance. hao felt so utterly peaceful now, content in the knowledge that nothing that the other skater had up his sleeve could possibly even come close to what hanbin had just achieved.
as the music crescendoed and hanbin struck his final pose, hao leaped out of his seat and cheered loudly for his boyfriend. he saw the way hanbin’s gaze landed on him and his stupidly wide smile became even wider, hao could hardly contain the pride that was bursting in his veins. he’d done it, hanbin had done it.
when his boyfriend left the ice, hao sent him a thumbs up as he walked past and towards the waiting room, hanbin mouthed back to him ‘for you’ and hao had to fight back the fiery blush on his face. he thought that jiwoong had said something to gunwook about it but he couldn’t find it within him to care instead he was far too focused on the screen waiting for his boyfriend’s result to show up.
it was around a minute after hanbin entered the waiting room that it was finally announced. “sung hanbin, men’s free skate score 209.86.”
hao felt the world stop. he saw hanbin react on the screen first as he jumped up from his seat and engulfed his coach in a hug, hao thinks he might have screamed then with the way that everyone around him stared at him weirdly but the excited smile that hanbin sent his way made him forget about it all.
209.86, 3rd in history
hao could hardly speak.
he must’ve blanked out all through the next skater’s performance because hao couldn’t remember a second of it other than the point where he touched his hand to the floor after his triple axel. instead he focused on hanbin where he was sat across the arena watching the scoreboard and nervously awaiting the confirmation that his huge personal best had been enough.
when the skater finally finished and found himself with a score lower than even hao could have wished for, hanbin finally reacted. he engulfed his coach in yet another hug whilst cheers rang around the arena and hao felt himself tearing up just so caught up in it all. he barely even registered the tissue that ricky passed to him as he wiped the tears that were streaming down his face away while watching hanbin on the big screen.
hao just couldn’t seem to stop crying, even as the organisers brought the podium out and the crowd were chanting hanbin’s name and especially not as his boyfriend climbed triumphantly onto the highest step and had the gold medal hung around his neck.
perhaps there was no way to describe how insanely proud hao was feeling but he knew that hanbin had felt it regardless because as soon as the ceremony ended and most people had left, he was all but sprinting around the side of the rink desperate to reach his boyfriend.
hao quickly excused himself and pushed past his friends to make it to the bottom of the flight of stairs that were just next to where they sat. he didn’t even bother to watch for their reactions as he and hanbin finally met and he pulled hanbin into his arms despite the barrier between them.
“you have no clue how much i just cried,” hao began, eyes still teary as they set upon his boyfriend’s blinding smile.
“i do,” hanbin giggled, “i can see it.”
hao hit him on the arm lightly before beginning to talk again, “i knew you could do it, you were so amazing it was really the best i’ve ever seen you skate i’m so proud of you i actually can’t even express it.”
“thank you,” hanbin responded simply but his words sounded so sincere that hao felt his heart fill up to the very brim, “i mean it, i really wouldn’t have got this far without you.”
hao’s face flushed a deep red but he smiled in spite of it, “you would, you’re amazing all on your own.”
they took in the sight of each other for a second then before hanbin’s took the medal from where it lay on his chest to wrap the ribbon around his boyfriend’s neck instead. hao was shell shocked at this as he stared at it in awe and the looked back up to lock eyes with his boyfriend.
“it suits you,” hanbin commented, smile full of love and happiness as he pulled on the ribbon gently to press a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s forehead.
hao only laughed lightly as he looked down at the gold medal again and when he finally looked back up he caught his boyfriend staring over at where his friends were sat. only then did the older turn to face them.
in all honesty, the sight of the five of them sat there looking as if the world had just imploded right in front of them was nothing if not hilarious. hanbin had snorted first and then hao had joined in on his giggles before eventually calling them over.
“you don’t have to be so scared,” hao spoke as gyuvin approached first whilst staring at hanbin as if he was some kind of mythical being.
“it’s just,” gyuvin looked between the two of them with wide eyes, “i’m sorry hyung.”
hao’s heart softened yet again and he lay a comforting hand on the younger’s shoulder, “you don’t have to apologise, i get why it didn’t sound real, i won’t hold it against you’ll i just tease you about it for the rest of time.”
gyuvin rolled his eyes at that and hao was happy to see that he was at least somewhat acting like his normal self again. he gave the same message to the other three who joined them before pointing ricky out to hanbin as the only one who believed him.
“the one with the blonde hair is ricky,” hao explained first in a hushed voice to which hanbin nodded and flashed him a bright smile, “but your biggest fan ever is gyuvin,” he beamed before pulling the younger to stand next to him.
“nice to meet you gyuvin,” hanbin smiled kindly, “thank you for supporting me.”
gyuvin basically froze at the words and hao shared a highly amused look with his friends all of whom had also never seen the kim gyuvin actually unable to speak.
“hao hyung can your boyfriend be with us all the time if gyuvin hyung forgets how to talk around him,” yujin piped up then causing hanbin to snort for the 100th time that day and the awkward tension to break completely.
they all talked amicably then and at one point hao found himself stepping back from it all as he watched hanbin laugh at something gyuvin had said to ricky and then say something to gunwook. really, his friends and hanbin were an extension of his family so to see them getting along well had hao finally feeling at peace.
even as they went out for dinner that night, hanbin had already taken a shine to yujin and was babying the youngest just as much as hao usually found himself doing. they’d booked into the back room of a nice-ish restaurant after hanbin had quickly made arrangements for them to stop in a hotel and hao had found himself fighting gyuvin for the seat next to his boyfriend before ricky pulled the younger away to sit next to him instead.
by the time their meal was over and both hao’s heart and stomach were full, he bid goodbye to his friends in the elevator as he and hanbin continued to the higher floor where his boyfriend had spent the past few days. as soon as the door swung open, hanbin wasted little time in slipping off his shoes and flopping down on to the sofa.
“long day?” hao joked as he sat down next to him on the floor and gently intertwined their fingers.
“not really,” hanbin spoke with an amused smile, “i feel energised now that i’m with you.”
“oh?” hao giggled as he pressed a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s lips, “why are you nearly falling asleep lay on the couch then?”
“it’s because i’m so peaceful when i’m around you,” hanbin joked again but this time hao could tell that it was at least partially true.
“we should get some sleep,” the oldest commented then after a moments consideration and hanbin hummed in agreement. they’d gotten up at that, hao had washed hanbin’s hair gently in the shower and dressed him in his favourite pyjamas that he’d accidentally left in his apartment before they climbed into the bed and hao rested his head on hanbin’s chest.
“your heart is beating fast,” the older commented and he watched as a smile formed on hanbin’s lips.
“i wonder why that could be,” he grinned as hao moved to lay his head on the pillow next to him and press a soft kiss to his lips.
“i love you so much, i’m so so proud of you for today and everything else,” hao whispered out as he stared deeply into his boyfriend’s eyes, their faces just inches apart.
“i love you so much too, thank you for always supporting me,” hanbin replied sleepily.
“i always will,” came the response.