Work Text:
Jeonghan is scrolling through the food delivery app on his phone when the Weverse Live notification pops up. He clicks on it without thinking, absently swirling the wine in his glass. He can’t help the fond smile that forms on his face as Seungcheol turns up. His stage makeup is smudged, framing his round eyes with a smoky outline. All his recent favorite jewellery is in place — the pendant that was a gift from the members and the gold chain bracelet that reminds Jeonghan of a promise.
Seungcheol is playing with filters on his phone screen. They’re silly and he’s a bit confused by them. Fondness fizzes in Jeonghan’s chest, bursting out of him in an amused giggle. He settles further into the couch he’s made a home of, and props his socked feet up on the low coffee table before typing out a few comments. He’s tipsy enough to not overthink it, the wine smoothing out any worries and sweetening whatever bitterness he’s been feeling about the distance. Jeonghan announces his presence in the comments section with a few giggles first, then tells Seungcheol to not turn the filters off.
Seungcheol notices him pretty quickly, almost immediately if Jeonghan’s memory of the real time delay of these lives is to be trusted. His voice turns cloyingly sweet after the surprise of Jeonghan’s appearance, tenderness lacing every syllable.
Seungcheol says Jeonghan’s name a few times, first in disbelief and then in a way that sounds like coming home.
He says Jeonghan’s name like it belongs there, in his mouth, on his full lips and pink tongue.
He shivers when Seungcheol says something about the highball not tasting the same as it did when they drank it together, biting his lip before telling himself to focus.
He has a promise that needs to be fulfilled.
buy my gift and come back
The comments start running up the screen at double the speed that they had been before, and Jeonghan belatedly realises he should probably have said hello to the fans first. He does that, reiterating that he’s asking Seungcheol to buy him his promised gift.
Seungcheol starts chuckling after reading Jeonghan's comments out loud, and his face opens up in the most familiar way. Jeonghan knows instantly he’s going to get riled up. He makes the same excuses again — that the item isn’t on sale (at least not anywhere either Jeonghan and Seungcheol can get it delivered or picked up from).
The number of viewers on the top corner keep going up, and the comments speed up even faster somehow. It’s making Jeonghan dizzy, so he hides the entire section from view. It’s just Seungcheol and him now — and a couple hundred thousand fans, but the wine is telling him to forget them, so he does. He tsks to himself at Seungcheol’s (perfectly sensible) excuses as he types out another demand — to just find the bracelet somewhere else.
Seungcheol dismisses that one as soon as he reads it, with a swift “I don’t want to.” But Jeonghan knows that he’ll have his demands met before the year is out, and the gift will be delivered not just with love, but with devotion.
Something similar, Jeonghan bargains in his next comments, as if Seungcheol will settle or let Jeonghan do that — at least not anymore.
He’s pulled away from his thoughts as Seungcheol starts whining. Jeonghan rolls his eyes at how he betrays what Jeonghan asked him for, but it doesn’t dull the ache in his chest at seeing the needle scar on his wrist. He wants to kiss it, terribly.
Jeonghan wants to kiss Seungcheol. He’s engulfed by the desire so suddenly that it shocks him, has him gripping the stem of his wine glass. He wants to interrupt this stupid, showoff-y rant Seungcheol has gone on — hook a finger in the necklace he’s wearing and tug him closer and closer and closer until he gives in and bites — both the bait and hopefully, Jeonghan’s lips.
I want to kiss you, he types out, before backspacing. I wish I could reach into my phone and just. Grab you. That just sounds threatening, and not in a funny way.
Jeonghan breathes in deeply, then breathes out, trying to dislodge the sticky feeling in his chest. He finds it has wriggled and burrowed in quite deep though.
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ because we need to be coupling, he comes up with after a few tries.
Close enough to the truth. He presses send. It feels good for a moment, watching a little smile light up Seungcheol’s face. The comments appear again, going insane, and Jeonghan likes that he gets to sit back on his sofa, next to his Toram plushie and just watch the fans process his words in the peace of his own home.
But then it gets to an extent where Jeonghan gets a bit scared that they’re going to crash the app, but surely it should be okay?
That’s the thought which brings him back to reality. Something like that would just be undue attention. He can imagine the headlines too. That’s the last thing he needs to be dealing with at work tomorrow—
The app. Right. This isn’t— He can’t be like this. Not to this extent.
Jeonghan curses Minghao for his amazing taste in wine that has left him so loose lipped (loose fingered? That doesn’t sound right.) He types out a customary I’m just joking comment, and puts the almost empty glass of wine on the table.
Seungcheol’s voice goes quiet and deep when he sees that comment, like he truly is just speaking about Jeonghan to himself.
“Pretending that he’s joking when he’s not.”
There’s a beat of silence, and Jeonghan lets himself sit with it, instead of rushing to type out something to dismiss Seungcheol with. It’s Seungcheol’s eyes that stop him, looking right into the camera with the kind of gaze that he has always used to say “I get it, just trust me.”
Seungcheol changes the subject, bringing up how he did the silly charger bit that Jeonghan does during Japanese concerts at today’s show.
Relief floods Jeonghan, drowning the sticky longing that was lodged deep in his chest. Seungcheol knows him, he knows where Jeonghan’s lines are. Hell, he helped draw some of them. Jeonghan feels overwhelmed with love, looking at Seungcheol tilting his head, gently and lovingly keeping Jeonghan here: in this moment, that has connected them across an ocean and in this love, that they built together, that grew with them.
However, Jeonghan knows Seungcheol too. He knows that now, most of their lines are meant to keep precious things within them, rather than keep dangerous things out. Seungcheol has been better at it, historically. It takes courage, something Jeonghan often lacks. He has learned not to fixate on this shortcoming with the years that have passed them by; everyone has their role to play and being audacious is not his.
Maybe it’s the wine, or the long Thursday he’s had. Maybe it’s the proud look on Seungcheol’s face over aegyo of all things, or the fact that he has kept the stupid filter up for all of this live. Maybe it’s just Seungcheol, and all the love Jeonghan can’t keep contained.
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ alright you can't come back empty handed, he types in.
Seungcheol lets out another laugh, and Jeonghan's chest feels lighter. It’s his heart, he realises, little fragments of it settling in the crow’s feet at the corners of Seungcheol’s smiling eyes, in the valley of his dimple, and in the condensation of the glass that holds his highball.
Jeonghan doesn’t mind, he hasn’t for a while. It might be in parts for now, but Jeonghan still belongs with Seungcheol.
Two weeks ago
“This is new.”
Jeonghan is running his index finger under the chain wrapped around Seungcheol’s wrist. The metal glints under the passing streetlights as Seungcheol drives, his hand resting easily on Jeonghan’s thigh.
“Do you like it?” Seungcheol asks, a knowing lilt to his voice.
“It’s pretty.”
“Want me to get you one, just like this?”
Jeonghan enjoys being predictable sometimes. He smiles to himself.
“You’d get me anything, won’t you?”
Jeonghan catches the quick look Seungcheol throws him even out of the corner of his eyes, still focused on the bracelet. His fingers pull it taut, so it digs into Seungcheol’s wrist. It makes him hiss and the sound sparks a fire that had been waiting to burn in Jeonghan’s veins all evening.
“What if I just took this off of you right now? Would you miss it?”
Jeonghan knows the answer. Seungcheol is predictable too, after all.
“Take it.” Seungcheol murmurs.
Jeonghan brings Seungcheol’s hand to his lips, and intertwines their fingers. He brushes his lips over his wrist, soothing over the burn of gold cutting into thin skin, the kiss is a promise for the rest of the night.
“Let’s go home, hm?”