the pair is seemingly caught in the twilight zone , the tables flipped — eden has been in kyungsoo’s shoes more times than he cares to acknowledge, and he deserves to gloat as much as he wishes to. the older’s thoughts are getting louder by the second , and eden’s ears are wide open. smugness increases within the younger , and he stores the reactions carefully , in mind to coax them out of him , over and over. “ you enjoy making me wait a little too much. such a waste of precious time. ” there’s so much teasing he can handle. don’t they deserve all the fun , after six months of behaving ? “ so you say , handsome. but , you’ve yet to comply with what i want. so disappointing. ” a little goading doesn’t hurt anyone. “ CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. remember that you brought this upon yourself , when i get on your nerves so much that you regret every decision you’ve ever made. ” snapping at eden’s competitive string is never a good idea. his determination , rather stubbornness , knows no bound. he can’t say that it doesn’t make him feel warm , and that much more enamored with the man , to have his biggest ‘ flaw ’ be embraced and encouraged by kyungsoo. the embrace tightens subtly , a million silent thank yous in the action. “ well … — ” he doesn’t mean a word he said. like he’d ever entertain entering such a dynamic. “ you’ve never met my fathers. your success rate is about to drop significantly. ” this time , he laughs. eden adores his fathers , but their protective streak borders on ridiculous. “ especially as the first person i’d introduce to them. ” he wants to , god does he want to. share his happiness with the world. he can’t , not even with them.
“ i can’t stand you. ” and if he stomps a metaphorical foot in impatience , it’s no one’s business. “ you get me , however you wish to have me. think about it , baby … all those fantasies of yours being fulfilled in exchange for a secret. what do you say ? ” he can’t make his intentions clearer … once again. he wants , he wants , he needs. maddeningly so , the hitch getting bigger by the second. he can’t , nor doesn’t want to , keep himself under control. it snapped into nothingness , the moment their lips made contact , never to return. “ i’m not trying to rush the process , but a little nudge is sometimes necessary. fear can be paralyzing at times , can’t it ? but it’s part of growing up too , and learning to overcome it is important. perhaps , i’ll never even manage to make a home here either. i can’t predict the future , life is too unpredictable. ” aren’t they proof of it ? eden has a lot to learn still , but he’s found out a lot about life , about himself , in the year and a half he’s been away from home. and , he continues on learning more every single day. “ what about you ? what’s home to you ? ” is it too intrusive ? too soon to bring up the topic ? “ you don’t have to answer that. ” as if he hasn’t long melted into an absolute puddle of goo , yet he liquifies some more against him. he sweetly nuzzles his nose against kyungsoo’s. “ if this is maybe a little , i can’t wait to see what maybe a lot looks like. ” if they get any closer , they’ll mold into a single being. he wouldn’t mind it. “ at times , only ? now , that’s offending. i pride myself on being the most insufferable person possible. tsk. ” and he enjoys it immensely. “ so can you , buddy. doesn’t that make us the perfect pair , mm ? ”
what a waste of precious time. “weren’t you the one who suggested we come to freshen up?” he reminds him, his tone teasing as ever. “was it just a ploy to trick me here, to fulfil whatever fantasies you had in mind?” tsk, tsk. his finger traces over eden’s ear, before his lips ghost over the same sensitive spot. “me fucking you in front that mirror — was it what you really had in mind?” he smiles from eden’s eagerness to take on the challenge — the two have always enjoyed annoying the hell out of each other, the way best friends do. even though making connections with strangers has always been easy to him, what they have has always strayed from what’s common. a special something that’s purposely ignored, swept under the rug to not be inspected again. “maybe it’ll be you who grows tired of me first.” there is a hidden layer of meaning to his words, so casually self-deprecating that one can hardly ever take him seriously. he has always envied it, whenever others mention their parents with fondness, even if they are referring to their protective tendencies. imagine being close with your parents, imagine that. “how can anyone ever resist this face?” he offers his most endearing smile just to prove his point, before he falters from eden’s next words. “the first — ” he swallows the unspoken question, not wanting to mention the name when he knows it’ll mean the return of his budding guilt.
“what about your fantasies?” his smile is wickedly curious. “i want to hear them, too.” he does plan on staying here for the weekend, after all. all this time to explore every filthy thought that’s drifted through their mind. “it’s a brave thing you’ve done, coming here all by yourself.” it is not easy to build a life elsewhere, when eden has such close bonds with the ones back home, too. for kyungsoo, however, running away was more of a reprieve than a risk. if you never had much to begin with, leaving doesn’t sound as frightening as it is freeing. what about you? what is home to you? the atmosphere shifts and he almost feels uneasy. home is not usually a topic that he entertains, preferring to talk about things that are far removed from his past. it always leads to too many questions and a pity party in the end. “home is where people care, i suppose.” but he’s learnt early on that it doesn’t always come from the ones you expect to. he’s since lived without expecting much from others and finds himself that much lighter as a person. the warmth of eden’s body against his is addicting, but a hidden part of him is already bracing himself for the parting. “i have no doubt you do.” he chuckles, the movement causing the water to ripple around them. “a perfect pair.” he hums in kind and bites down every thought that dares to doubt. lowering his head, he buries it on eden’s shoulder before another kiss adorns the skin over his collarbone. you’re perfect to me.