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the early october afternoon sun made kai’s eyes light up as he finished monologuing about his animal crossing island renovations, pacing around his room and letting his hands tell half the story. taehyun’s eyes were already alight and so, so warm as he nodded along, fingers playing with the ends of his shorts. he sat cross-legged on kai’s bed, a small plushie on his lap and his backpack tossed to the side.
kai felt like his safe space for now was complete. there was supposed to be a little bit of tyun all over his dorm, a little bit of him in every aspect of his life. he felt like parts of his soul were taehyun’s, with how well they clicked together. he’d pour his heart out silently and tyun would catch it every time. kai’s eyes lit up because taehyun’s blinded him, too sunny and sweet and inviting. he looked to the dvds on his tv stand, needing something to distract himself.
“wanna watch something-“ he caught himself, exhaled in the shape of a b. he switched to looking at the floor.
he heard a quiet “sure!” and he took that as confirmation that he should commit to looking through the dvds. he knelt and turned on the dvd player, not hearing taehyun until he was right there in his space, kneeling next to him and picking up dvds to watch. he flailed so hard he nearly knocked over his pet rock, taking great care to right it on its little carpet square.
he leaned to see what taehyun was looking at, and decided to bump his shoulder against his. taehyun recovered his balance and bumped his shoulder back, giggling when kai toppled over. he felt his world spin and suddenly all he saw was taehyun. pulling him back up, arms all the way around his torso, face so close to his.
kai felt like he was made of glass (taehyun could see through him, and he could be shattered by him at any time. his heart was fragile.) he stood weakly, looked at the arms still around his waist with a shy smile. “why’s your face so red?”
taehyun paused. kai blinked. taehyun realized. “well why’s YOUR face so red?” he retorted back, and kai laughed and he joined and they were back to normal. kai could put taehyun’s possible heart eyes behind him and hope his face didn’t parrot his, like it usually did with people he loved.
“well it’s like… you keep staring at me like… that..!” he eventually responded, waving his hand noncommittally. he barely heard taehyun mumble “like this?” before he looked kai up and down exaggeratedly (“like the MENACE he is,” he thought. “unbelievable.”) but all kai could do was shake his head and look back down at the dvds. his chest tightened as taehyun laughed and laid his head on his shoulder.
“i’m just messing with you.”
kai took a deep breath. his spit was heavy as he swallowed.
“i know.” and they sat like that for a bit, quiet and on the spot between uncomfortable and too comfortable. walking the tightrope, but losing their balance the further they went. the rope shook when he asked, “what did you wanna watch again?”
taehyun looked up at him, still leaning on his shoulder. “doesn’t matter.” he couldn’t read his face but it seemed like he wasn’t upset..? which couldn’t be a bad sign.
“ alri -“ kai cleared his throat, avoided his eyes, tried again- “alright, toy story it is!! you wanna put in the dvd while i get snacks?” he spoke a little too fast, hands tearing at what was left of page 20 of the tv instruction manual. bit by bit by bit.
taehyun acquiesced. they separated, and kai turned around to look for the remote and around when he remembered he was looking for snacks and around again when he bumped into the person holding his heart. he was so careful too, made sure it didn’t drop out of his hands. but tyun is just… like that , kai thought. he always was, everything he did was on purpose- including spending time with him. kai knew he chose him over and over, and he appreciated every second. he just wished sometimes he could get the guts to show his appreciation in other, more physical ways.
he looked down and he could tell taehyun had said something and he didn’t listen. as he repeated himself, his focus wandered once again to his teeth, his laugh, his pretty voice. kai wondered if his lips were as sweet as his smile. he wanted to find out one day.
“tyun?”
“hm?”
he could do this. he just had to take a deep breath, steady his heart, swallow so he didn’t have another voice crack, and do what soobin did when he said the l word to his partner. but smoothly. be smooth and cool and normal and if he ignores it then its okay. he just had wait till after he left the dorm to cry. he had some ice cream to eat and he could yell at some pokemon trainers on his switch if he felt particularly pent up. he wished he had his tv manual again.
“run.”
whoops.
taehyun squealed as kai chased him around the little dorm, playing their little cat and mouse game (kai always won but it seemed like tyun didn’t mind?). they knocked blankets over and tripped over the desk fan kai had running on the floor and found the remote and kicked the desk fan (“you’re gonna break it baby,” taehyun laughed, out of breath as he jogged into the kitchen area. kai stopped moving the fan out the way to stare at him and try not to scream because he didn’t know that was allowed???). the mouse caught the cat once again, lifting him up and twirling him around in his arms as he made happy fists and giggled.
kai stopped spinning and huffed a little, already out of breath. he really should work out with taehyun more. “are you dizzy yet?” he happily nodded, wrapping his legs around his waist. “you want more?” he nodded again, this time wrapping his arms around his shoulders.
“hold on tight!” he spun them around and around again, taehyun squealing again and letting out little “ ahhhh! ”s in between twirls. he stopped a little earlier this time, already out of breath again. he looked up and they locked eyes and he just couldnt help but laugh with him; he felt so happy how could he not? taehyun made him feel like it was summertime.
he pressed his nose to taehyun’s before he could control himself, and he heard, underneath the sound of the curtains blowing in the wind and the feeling of carpet on his feet, a little hitched breath. it wasn’t his.
he pulled back and asked, “you okay?” taehyun held up a finger, red faced and unfocused, so kai busied himself by drumming his fingers on tyun’s butt.
“thought. you were. g’na ksss me.”
“oh.” kai’s red face mimicked taehyun’s now. “should i?”
“do it. you won’t,” tyun smiled down at him now. kai suddenly barked out a loud “ HAHAHA! ”, eyes wandering and unsure of what else to say. he dared to look back and taehyun was still looking at him . his head spun. his heart dropped.
“wait are you being serious?”
taehyun looked contemplative for a second, then nodded. he caught his heart.
now it was kai’s turn to smile up at him. “ok. turn your head please.” his stomach flipped. why did he agree to this? tyun was gonna hate him he didn’t even know how to kiss is he leaning in right is he gonna be able to reach his cheek- fuck he’s too high up-
taehyun let out a squeak as kai’s lips brushed past his jaw, and then he started laughing. his ears were red and kai was sure the rest of his visible skin was too. and probably the non-visible parts too, but he really didn’t want to think about that.
“so cute.” taehyun touched their noses together again. kai felt himself short-circuiting.
“that was the lamest kiss ever,” he pouted, “and my arms are tired.” they touched noses a third time. god they were so close , all tyun had to do was move a bit closer-
and he did, for a split second. he hopped down, effectively stunning kai into silence. “that didn’t count since i initiated it, so try again. it’ll be easier since i’m on the ground this time,” he suggested.
after kai processed what the fuck taehyun just did to him, he wrapped his now sore arms around him, fully embracing him from the side and god how good did it feel. he fit perfectly there, the weight of his head on his shoulder so comforting. he looked good in his arms, like he was meant to be there at all times. and when tyun embraced him back, when he swayed them back and forth, round and around in lazy circles around their little corner? he felt like he was right where he was meant to be; with his rock.
they eventually slowed to a stop after a while. he dared to look down at him and his heart felt so full his chest hurt. tyun was in his arms. his. kai waited a heartbeat to see if he would move from his position, and when he didn’t, he pressed two soft little pecks to his forehead. he felt weightless.
“good job,” tyun murmured into his chest, bringing him back down to earth red-faced and giddy. he pressed a third kiss to his lips, and felt taehyun smile before he saw it. “movie time?” he practically purred.
“sounds good,” kai agreed. he might’ve ended up back hugging tyun while they got snacks and while they watched their movie, pressing little pecks on his jaw, but you can’t blame him. tyun was his soulmate, and kai knew he was put on this earth to love him.