Archive of Our Own

            It was Monday morning and Jeno was in the kitchenette with his college roommate. It was obnoxiously early, which meant Haechan was extremely moody, which made Jeno’s smile widen inexplicably. Jeno and Haechan had an 8 AM class together today. Haechan barely spared him a glance as he sat down at their miniscule coffee table. Jeno didn’t spend too long thinking about how to get Haechan’s attention; instead, he jumped into their daily routine, which meant he literally jumped as high as he could and as close to Haechan as he could get. He bent his knees before hitting the ground much harder than what was necessary to make the loudest noise. It had the desired effect; Haechan nearly fell out of the chair in fear and then immediately recovered only to shoot Jeno a death stare.

“Knock knock.” Jeno said, his grin spreading from ear to ear.

“Don’t.” Haechan warned.

“Don’t who?” He said and doubled over with laughter.

“God, your jokes are so awful. Can’t you wait until the afternoon at least before you start with this shit?”

“Nope.” Jeno said childishly. “Listen to this one,” Jeno continued his attack of jokes. “Why did the chicken cross the road?”

“Just let me eat my breakfast in peace.” Haechan said and Jeno frowned, “You know the answer is to get to the other side, but this joke has a twist I promise.” He told Haechan as he made his way to the fridge and grabbed the milk carton, pouring himself a glass before settling on the table next to Haechan. He looked at Haechan from the corner of his eye, one last attempt to beg for some appreciation, “Aren’t you going to ask me why the chicken crossed the road?”

“My guess is, it heard one of your jokes and wanted to end it.” Haechan deadpanned.

“Fine,” Jeno said. “I’ll stop… That was a good one though. I would have laughed if my heart wasn’t breaking.”

“Good.” Haechan sighed and rubbed at his temples.

“Headache again?” Jeno asked.

“Your jokes’ super power.”

“Cool,” Jeno said. “So I was thinking, this weekend we should rewatch—”

“Rewatching stuff is boring, if you want us to watch something, let’s watch something new.”

“Then how about we check out the new horror film—”

“Horror films are no fun.”

“What’s wrong with you lately? Why is everything I say or do suddenly boring?”

“You’re drinking milk.” Haechan deadpanned.

“So?” Jeno said, brows high in his forehead.

“That’s boring.”

 Jeno sighed, “Let’s just go to class.”

 Haechan trudged through lectures, assignments, quizzes, and extracurricular work painfully until the weekend came at last. Haechan had, if hesitantly, agreed to go see a horror film at the movie theater with Jeno. He had, however, secretly invited Jaemin, Renjun, and Mark to tag along. He only told Jeno about it after he’d booked tickets for all five of them.

They were currently squeezed in Jeno’s car, SYRE was blasting from the stereo. Haechan lowered the volume to say, “How many times are we going to listen to the same album?”

“We just heard three songs!”

“No, I meant this academic year,” Haechan clarified. “How many more times are we going to listen to it? Don’t you have anything else? It’s getting really boring, you know.”

“Renjun,” Jeno called to his half-asleep friend in the backseat. Renjun’s head remained where it was on Jaemin’s shoulder, but he cracked one eye open and met Jeno’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “Are you sick of listening to this genius album?”

“I don’t care.” Renjun said, wrapping his arms tighter around Jaemin’s waist as he twisted around a little, cuddling closer to Jaemin’s side and giving his back to Mark. Jeno sighed in a defeated manner and handed Haechan his phone, “Play whatever you want.”

Haechan took the phone but didn’t change the music. He suddenly felt someone tug on his right sleeve. He turned around against the protests of the seatbelt and was shocked by the proximity of an unfazed Mark. He flicked Mark’s forehead, “What?” He asked.

“What’s up with you and…?” Mark said quietly enough so that it couldn’t be heard over “The Passion”. As though Haechan hadn’t understood what he’d meant he started moving his eyeballs towards Jeno in what was meant to be a secretive and suggestive way. “Shut up.” Haechan said and sat facing forward again.

Mark was Haechan’s best friend. It’s been that way since Haechan could remember. He was the reason Haechan and Jeno met in high school, although, if Haechan hadn’t known Mark he probably would have still met Jeno eventually when they became roommates at university. Mark, being Haechan’s best friend, knew that Haechan has had the biggest crush on Jeno since the tenth grade, which was the first time he noticed Jeno in the school halls.

He remembered his first impression of him, which lasted about three years. He’d thought Jeno was untouchably handsome; an ice prince walking the halls of a grimy school. The juxtaposition always made Haechan’s head spin as his eyes followed the other boy. He remembered thinking Jeno was dating Jaemin the first time he saw them together, which was over three years ago. He’d asked Mark about it at lunch one day and Mark had told him that Jaemin was practically married to Renjun. Then he’d seen Jeno walking with a girl and told Mark that he was probably dating her, to which Mark had shrugged then, after seeing Haechan’s disappointment, he’d asked Haechan whether he wanted Mark to find out for him. Whatever Haechan had said, hoping Mark would do it anyway. Mark told him a few days later that Jeno was in fact single and wiggled his seagull eyebrows suggestively.

When Haechan kept asking Mark whether Jeno was dating whomever it was he saw him walking with or talking to, Mark had suggested that he introduce them. Haechan was mortified and begged Mark not to. A few weeks later, when Haechan asked Mark whether he thought their sixty year old biology teacher seemed particularly interested in Jeno, Mark had snapped and forced an introduction, which Haechan was still embarrassed about and hated Mark for. He didn’t like to relive the details, but Mark had for some reason told Jeno that Haechan was a fan of his, Jeno was in the school’s basketball team. Haechan, who had never seen a single game, had just stared dumbly while Jeno smiled patiently at him. He felt like a nuisance and almost excused himself, but then Lucas, Jeno’s teammate from basketball and Mark’s Not Boyfriend had insisted that they all grab a bite together after school. Haechan just nodded along and claimed he had class before quickly leaving.

After school, he texted Mark that he wouldn’t be joining them and that he’d have Mark’s head if he ever saw him again. Of course, he did see him again, the very next day, forgiving him as soon as Mark promised he’d never pull something like that ever again.

            Haechan didn’t speak to Jeno again until his first day of university, exactly five months ago, when he found out who his roommate was. He’d been nice, he remembered Haechan and everything. Haechan, on the other hand, had been so flustered he pretended he didn’t know who Jeno was. Jeno had reintroduced himself with a smile that almost set Haechan’s heart to flames. Soon after, the other, dorkier, side to Jeno, the side he’d kept only to his closest friends, was revealed to Haechan. Haechan didn’t think it was possible for his crush on Jeno to get more intense, but before he knew it, his one-sided crush on Jeno grew into Haechan being in like with Jeno. And now… now he was absolutely screwed and he knew only one way to save himself, even if Mark didn’t approve.

Here they were, on their way to see a horror film together. Haechan was beyond grateful Lucas was busy. Because if Lucas hadn’t been busy, Haechan and Jeno would have had to be the fifth and sixth wheels again. They were almost at the movie theater. Jeno was singing along to “B”. Haechan had to admit (to himself and only himself) that Jeno sounded amazing. His soft voice was gently carrying more emotion than Haechan thought his carefree and easygoing friend and roommate capable of, which naturally did dangerous things to Haechan’s heart. Haechan pretended to be engrossed in the scenery outside, but really he was just listening as carefully as he could. Jeno, unlike Haechan, did not sing often and so he wanted to commit the raw, endearing tone of his voice to memory. From his peripheral vision, he became painfully aware of Jeno’s right arm on the center console. His hand was curled loosely around thin air. Haechan’s own hands sat in his lap, his palms stared up at him judgmentally. And so Haechan did the only thing he could think to do to stop himself from grabbing Jeno’s hand and intertwining their fingers like he desperately wanted to; he clutched at his left ear and wailed out in mock pain, “OWWW YOUR VOICE IS PIERCING INTO MY EARDRUMS MAKE IT STOP PLEASE GOD! OH, GOD!”

Jeno stopped singing to yell back, “THEN JUST PLAY SOMETHING ELSE!” The way he said it was very cute and Haechan couldn’t help but smile. Jeno grabbed a fistful of Haechan’s shirt with his right hand while his left hand remained on the steering wheel. Jeno reaching the end of his patience always cracked Haechan up. He was laughing so hard at Jeno’s reaction to the point where his intended yell came out as a wheeze, “WE’RE GONNA DIE!” He managed and went back to clutching at his stomach and giggling while Jeno still pulled at his shirt in a pathetic attempt at intimidation.

“Kill him, Jeno!” Renjun encouraged in between his own gasps of laughter.

“No!” Mark yelled from behind Haechan’s seat and tried to wrestle Jeno’s hand off of Haechan’s shirt. Haechan tried to bite Mark’s hand and Mark pulled it back quickly saying, “You know what, KILL HIM, JENO!”

For a moment, as Jeno’s fist tightened in his shirt, Haechan wondered if he would rip it and Haechan would be forced to see the horror movie without a shirt on. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere, he vaguely pondered as Mark’s laughter rose in volume behind him and Jeno let out the softest growl.

Jaemin grabbed the phone, which was lying uselessly in Haechan lap and played a song neither of them knew, but to which Mark let out a big whoop of celebration. They only heard a few seconds of it, though, because Jeno finally let go of Haechan’s now completely crumpled shirt to park the car. Haechan got out of the car and grabbed onto Mark’s arm as fast as he could. Jeno, Jaemin, and Renjun walked slightly ahead of them, Jeno turned back for a second to narrow his eyes at Haechan who stuck his tongue out. They had time to grab snacks and Renjun volunteered to get them because he claimed they were being too loud and a few minutes away from them would be worth waiting in line for.

Haechan looked at Jaemin to see if he would complain, but before there was time for Jaemin to react to Renjun’s words, Renjun was whispering, “I’ll miss you.” In his ear, which they all heard and pretended not to. Jaemin pushed Renjun off of him with an embarrassed smile. Haechan’s hand flew up to pinch Jaemin’s burning cheeks and the rest of the guys joined in.

Mark was ruffling Jaemin’s hair on one side of Haechan and Jeno was pulling at Jaemin’s ears and neck on the other all while Jaemin tried to fight them off to no avail. Jeno used both hands, which put Haechan somewhere between his body and Jaemin’s. Haechan’s hands stopped mid motion on Jaemin’s cheeks when Jeno’s chest pressed against his side while the weight of his arm settled on Haechan’s shoulders. He swallowed hard when he felt Jeno’s breath tickling his ear. A shiver ran down his spine and his ears and chest burned. He sneaked a glance at Jeno’s face, too close and not close enough. He was smiling at Jaemin and his nose scrunched in a way that twisted Haechan’s chest so badly it hurt.

Suddenly he was being pushed forward towards Jeno’s face. He ducked his head either to avoid breaking his nose on Jeno’s cheekbone or to avoid accidentally kissing the pretty mole there. He ended up with his face tucked into the crook of Jeno’s neck, breathing in the clean scent of his skin. He was very much aware of where his lips were smushed against the delicate skin under Jeno’s ear and where Jeno’s soft hair tickled his forehead. He tried to back away before Jeno could feel his erratic heartbeat but Jeno’s arm was still around him, if with a looser hold than before, and he only managed to make the situation worse because whereas his lips were merely squished against Jeno’s neck a second before, they were now brushing against it and he thought he felt Jeno shiver and his body reacted by doing the same. He didn’t have time to curse the lack of originality. His own arms were by his sides, painfully squeezed between Jeno and Jaemin’s torsos. His lips were uselessly touching a spot he’d fantasized about kissing, licking, biting…

“I can’t believe I almost missed the group hug!” Renjun was saying fondly.

Haechan heard Mark groan, “No, Renjun, it wasn’t a group hug, now let go I can’t breathe!”

“Oh.” Renjun said and there was space around Haechan once again. He moved off of Jeno like he’d been burned. It certainly felt like his entire body was on fire.

“How are you so strong?” Jeno asked a smug looking Renjun incredulously. Jeno’s face was pink and his eyes a little wild.

“Come on let’s go.” Haechan said. He thought he saw Jeno touch his neck where his face had just been, but he wasn’t sure. He pressed his lips together in embarrassment before quickly taking Mark’s arm in his and Jaemin’s hand in the other when they got close to the theater. He did not want to end up sitting next to Jeno in a dark room.

He felt like gloating when he was successfully situated between Mark and Jaemin in the seats they booked at the very back of the mostly empty theater. Renjun sat next to Jaemin and Jeno was on the far left next to Renjun. He must have said a bad joke, because Renjun was strangling him. Haechan cursed his ears for not catching it, but he couldn’t ask what it was without showing interest that was out of the ordinary.

The beginning of the movie was extremely slow and Haechan found his mind wandering. That was, until Jaemin and Renjun started being gross next to him. He wouldn’t have noticed had it not been for Jaemin’s hand clutching at the armrest between them and Haechan’s arm with it. When he turned around to see them sucking each other’s faces he almost puked. He also felt like he was being violated because Jaemin had decided to get his arm involved. He pulled his arm out of Jaemin’s vice-like grip with difficulty and Jaemin was suddenly disinterested in the armrest and grabbed Renjun’s face with both hands to properly lick into his mouth. He was going to leave them to it after letting out a sound of disgust at the sight, but then he noticed a very lonely and upset looking Jeno who seemed very invested in the back of the seat in front of him as he hugged his popcorn close to his chest.

“You guys are being gross.” Haechan informed the back of Jaemin’s head. Jaemin gave him the middle finger before getting up and dragging a more than willing Renjun with him. Jeno didn’t move until Haechan called him over, feeling guilty for making him sit alone with only the horny couple for company.

“They were more terrifying than this film could ever be.” Jeno whispered. Mark laughed a bit too loudly at that. One of the ushers came over to warn him to stop before they were forced to escort him out. Haechan tried to focus on the film. When the lead screamed with the camera zooming in on her uvula, Mark broke into a fit of extremely loud giggles, his popcorn was flying everywhere as he tried to clap his hands while holding it. Haechan had the sense to lean into Jeno to avoid being smacked by Mark in his wild state. Mark was finally asked to leave by the distressed usher.

“I’m so sorry guys!” He told them while trying to catch his breath. “But that was seriously so funny.” He said this to the angry usher, pointing at the screen as he made his way down the stairs.

“Do you want to leave?” Jeno asked Haechan.

“No,” Haechan said. “Why should we?” Jeno nodded and focused on the movie.

“I’LL WAIT FOR YOU GUYS OUTSIDE AFTER I FIND JAEMIN AND RENJUN OKAY?” He yelled from the bottom of the stairs. The usher looked like he was having an aneurysm. Someone shushed Mark loudly, but he didn’t seem to care, “HAVE FUN, SORRY AGAIN!” He reenacted the actress’s high-pitched scream with his hands forming a square and coming closer to his mouth then he laughed his way out of the theater still talking to the traumatized usher like they were best friends.

Haechan slid lower down the seat and covered his face with his hands. A minute later Jeno tugged at his sleeve, “It’s getting good watch.” He whispered and Haechan did. Or at least he tried to. But as soon as the embarrassment Mark had caused subsided, something shifted in the atmosphere. At least it did for Haechan. The air felt warm whereas he’d been freezing cold a few minutes before. He was following the plot of the movie, but just barely. He was too aware of Jeno’s presence next to him in the dark silence. Jeno shifted next to him. When Haechan looked down he found Jeno’s arm on the armrest between them, just like it was in the car. He wrapped his arms around himself. His heart was beating traitorously loudly.

They both jumped at an extremely expected jump scare. Jeno let out a small, but pathetic yelp. Haechan laughed silently at him, but made sure Jeno noticed by pointing at him. The next jump scare had Haechan screaming. But thankfully he wasn’t the only one. A girl sitting in the middle of the theater had screamed at the same time. He almost blamed it all on her and echoes, but Jeno was already grinning triumphantly at him. Haechan’s stomach did an impressive flip. He rolled his eyes and tried to ignore Jeno when he put an arm around his shoulder and hugged him to his side, slightly shaking him as he did. He pushed his elbow into Jeno’s side to get away. Jeno was ticklish and so he lifted his arm from Haechan’s shoulder only to push at him until he was half lying down on the armrest that was separating his seat from Mark’s abandoned one. Their fight was mostly silent so the usher didn’t even notice them.

By the time their fight had ended, Haechan was sure his sides were bruised and Jeno was nursing his calf for some reason. Haechan hadn’t kicked him that hard. They refocused on the movie. Jeno making annoying (adorable) comments every now and then. By the end, he just repeated everything the characters said in the high-pitched voice that wasn’t too different from his normal tone, which Haechan found endearing so he told Jeno about how his voice didn’t sound any different and Jeno sulked for a while before telling Haechan that it was rich coming from him.

“Your brain worked hard for that one, huh?” He said. Jeno narrowed his eyes. His face looked sharper in the dim lighting, but his lips still looked soft and Haechan really wanted to kiss him so he looked away.

They stayed in place as the credits rolled. Jeno looked lost in thought and Haechan was content to just sit in the silence. But then Jeno spoke softly, “I have something I want to tell you.”

Haechan’s heart immediate started hammering against his ribcage. His hands shook ever so slightly and he sat on them to hide them from Jeno’s eyes. It didn’t make sense how quickly his body reacted to the smallest actions and words from Jeno. He waited, holding his breath while his heart raged on. Jeno took a deep breath and let it out before speaking again, his eyes bored into Haechan’s. Jeno’s hand crept up Haechan’s upper arm and settled on his shoulder, “The reason the chicken crossed the road was to get to the other side, there wasn’t a twist to the joke.” He said.

Haechan exploded. He called Jeno every last bad word he’d ever heard and cursed him with every breath he had. He even made up a few curse words of his own especially for Jeno. Jeno was laughing. Haechan thought this was a good opportunity to move on, and he didn’t know why, but he couldn’t do it.

When they rejoined their friends, Haechan was still going on about how “awful” living with Jeno was. He could tell that Jeno was starting to get a little hurt from his words, but he kept going anyway.

“If I could put a human being on mute you’d be the first on my list.” Haechan said. They were alone in the car after dropping off the guys who gratefully escaped the vehicle. Mark even jumped out before the car came to a full stop.

“Is that right.” Jeno said.

“Yeah.”

“Fine then,” Jeno answered, his jaw set. “You’ll get what you want.”

“What do you mean?” Haechan asked.

“I’ll take a vow of silence.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t trying to be.”

“You—you can’t, you have classes.” Haechan reasoned.

“I never speak in class anyway, and I don’t have any presentations coming up.”

“Are you seriously considering taking a vow of silence just because I said your jokes are lame?”

“I think I’ll start now.”

“You can’t do it.” Haechan challenged. Jeno silently parked the car and got out. Haechan scrambled after him, “Hold on, Jeno, this is ridiculous.”

They took the elevator to their floor, all the while Jeno ignored him while he tried and failed to get him to say something. As soon as they entered the apartment Jeno grabbed a pair of pajama shorts and went into the bathroom. Haechan paced the tiny length of the living room. Jeno wasn’t wearing a shirt when he left the bathroom, which didn’t surprise Haechan but he couldn’t say he appreciated it. “Jeno.”

Nothing.

“Fine, you want to be like that, go ahead.” He was met by only silence as Jeno went into their room, closing the door behind him.

Haechan was lying on his side, staring at Jeno’s back in the dark room. He could tell that Jeno was still awake from how tense his shoulders were and his uneven breathing. “Goodnight, Jeno.” Haechan said, not really expecting a reply.

Normally, he would have heard some god-awful pun from Jeno by now, which was usually followed by Haechan spending the night stressed over the fact that he’d managed to catch feelings for someone with such a terrifyingly awful sense of humor. Haechan allowed himself a small smile before his eyes fluttered shut. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Haechan woke up to an empty room. Jeno’s bed was made, which was strange. He checked his phone and saw that it was noon, which meant he’d slept for around eleven hours. Jeno would have normally woken him, but maybe he was still pissed about last night. The door was closed, but he could hear someone pacing in the living room.

After shaking sleep from his bones, he opened the door. As expected, Jeno was the person pacing. He was wearing a long-sleeved cotton shirt and gray sweats. He had his phone tucked between his neck and shoulder as he did tricks with his fidget spinner.

“Given up already, huh?” Haechan said. Jeno only looked at him before he continued on like Haechan hadn’t said anything.

“Who are you talking to?” Haechan asked only to be ignored once again. He frowned. Jeno sat on the couch, still holding the phone to his ear. Haechan charged forward, smacking the fidget spinner out of Jeno’s hands as a distraction and stealing his phone. He tried to run with the phone, but Jeno grabbed him by the hips and dragged him back before holding him in place while trying to wrestle the phone out of his hand.

“UGH! Hello?” Haechan groaned into the phone.

“Haechan? You piece of shit.” It was Jaemin.

“Ah—OW! Jaemin is he ignoring you, too? Fuck.” He asked. Jeno’s arms wrapped around his stomach from behind and squeezed. Hard.

“He’s not ignoring me, he’s taken a vow of silence thanks to you. He can’t even text!” Jaemin said.

“Whoa, hold on. This isn’t my fault.” Haechan tried.

“THEN WHOSE—” Jaemin took a deep breath and let it out loudly enough for Haechan to hear over the phone and in spite of having his internal organs pushed painfully together by Jeno behind him. “Give the phone back to Jeno?”

“How are you even talking to him he can’t say anything—JENO YOU’RE GONNA KILL ME I SWEAR-- OW THIS HURTS STOPP. TELL MARK I THINK HE’S DUMB WHEN I’M GONE!” Haechan could almost hear Jaemin grinning over the line and he regretted expressing his pain if only to deprive Jaemin the satisfaction of knowing he was suffering for his sins.

“I’m talking, he’s listening,” Jaemin explained. “Look, just give him the phone he wants to talk to a cat I found outside my dorm building.”

“HOW IS HE GOING TO TALK TO THE CAT AND HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT HE WANTS TO ANYWAY!”

“He’s Jeno.”

“Right.”

“Haechan?”

“Yeah?” Haechan wheezed. Jeno was pressing his forearm against his windpipe and no matter how hard he scratched his arm, he wouldn’t budge.

“Give Jeno his phone.”

“Fine.” He said giving Jeno the phone. Jeno finally let go and Haechan fell to the ground as dramatically as he could. He gasped for breath. Jeno looked unbothered as he sat back down and smiled. He was probably “talking” to the cat or whatever. Haechan stayed on the ground, hoping to get Jeno to break his silence. After an hour, he started getting antsy and thought playing with his phone wouldn’t really stand in the way of his pretending to be dead and all.

A shadow quickly sliding over him snapped him out of his daze. Jeno had stepped over him on his way to the kitchenette. Haechan was extremely offended and to make matters worse, his stomach gave a loud growl.

“You can’t cook.” Haechan said in singsong. A few minutes later, Jeno came back with a ramen cup in hand. He stepped over Haechan again to get back to the couch, pulling his laptop onto his lap and connecting his headphones.

“What are you watching?” Haechan asked. Then he asked it louder. Nothing. He grunted and got off the floor. When he saw what Jeno was watching he let out an exaggerated gasp. “How could you?” He hissed and smacked the back of Jeno’s head. Sherlock’s paused expression on the screen was of feigned shock and Haechan ignored it. Jeno looked at Haechan angrily before forcibly smoothing his expression back to one of serenity.

Haechan sat down next to Jeno and experimentally unplugged the headphones before playing the episode. Jeno did nothing to stop him. If Haechan could get over the fact that all his comments and attempts at discussion (his favorite part of watching shows with Jeno) were ignored, he could not get over the fact that Jeno has taken the vow of silence so far so as to laugh silently. He would be laughing and then feel the couch shaking only to see Jeno grinning and shaking with his mouth slightly open. His own mouth parted in shock and he paused the episode, “Are you really going to be like this?” Jeno cocked his head and widened his eyes innocently.

“I’ll break you.” He said. Jeno clutched his heart, his face twisting in cartoonish fear. Haechan rolled his eyes and called their favorite take-out restaurant.

“Hello, yes, I’d like to order please.” Jeno started swaying to music that wasn’t playing. Haechan covered the bottom of the phone with his palm and whispered, “You don’t get any unless you say please.”

Betrayal covered Jeno’s face for only a second before he shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ll take the Candied Fried Buffalo Strips… hmm, say about a dozen? Yes. Extra sauce. Thank you. Bye.”

When the food arrived, Haechan dug in right next to Jeno while they binged Sherlock. “Just ask for a piece whenever you want one.” Haechan reminded him. “Do it quick before they get cold.”

When Haechan held a piece close to Jeno’s mouth only to snatch it back and eat it, Jeno paused the episode. Haechan was sure he was going to speak, so he stupidly put the fried chicken down on the table and crossed his arms, waiting. But Jeno didn’t speak; instead he pushed Haechan down the couch. They both lunged for the box of chicken. Haechan made it to the box just in time. But Jeno still managed to wrestle it out of his grip. When he fought to take it back Jeno actually sat on him. He started to happily eat the chicken with Haechan pinned down and fuming underneath his weight.

When Haechan calmed down, the situation he was in began to dawn on him. Jeno was currently straddling him. He tried to wiggle away... it was a very bad idea. Jeno’s thighs tightened around him and he leaned in, discarding the now empty box. He smiled down at Haechan, his eyes curving distractingly. Haechan was breathing hard, but he stopped breathing altogether when Jeno started licking remnants of sauce off of his thumb and index finger. He couldn’t stop himself from watching as Jeno’s tongue darted out slightly and his lips closed around his fingertips. Haechan felt a bit lightheaded. He had to get Jeno off of him now before things got too complicated to explain; he was good at controlling himself, but he wasn’t that good.

“Get off me, you’re breaking my ribs.” He whined. It worked. Jeno had won, after all, and there wasn’t anything else he wanted.

Haechan decided to take this to the next level. He connected his phone to Jeno’s speakers and played “Watch Me,” which was Jeno’s favorite song. Jeno almost fell for it, opening his mouth to sing along, but he stopped himself before making a sound.

“Really? Not even Jaden can get you to make a sound?” Haechan said mostly to himself. “Whatever, I’m gonna take a shower, don’t watch the rest without me.”

The upside of Jeno’s vow of silence, Haechan found, was that they seemed to be getting closer, physically at least since they had to touch in order to communicate. The downside, on the other hand, was that Haechan really missed Jeno. That night, he admitted defeat but not without the promise of revenge tomorrow. He would get Jeno to speak one way or the other.

He set his alarm to 6 AM; the more exhausted Jeno was, the more likely he was to mess up. The first thing he did when he woke up was to draw the curtain open, then the window. The first elicited a groan from Jeno, the second, woke him up completely. It was freezing cold outside, which Haechan depended on. Haechan watched with barely concealed amusement as Jeno opened and closed his mouth about a hundred times before resolutely closing it and wrapping himself tightly with his comforter as he laid back down with his back to Haechan.

The second thing Haechan did was to steal every textbook and notebook Jeno had in their apartment and hide them. Jeno liked to do his schoolwork on Sundays so he would be looking for them very soon. And he would have to ask for them eventually. Haechan hummed as he moved Jeno’s things around for good measure. Taking a sweatshirt of his and placing it in the sock drawer, then grabbing his boxers and putting them in the oven.

After half an hour had passed, he was done and very bored. He went back into their room and joined Jeno in bed. Jeno was asleep, but he shifted a little when Haechan lightly traced his sides over the comforter. He then snuck his hands underneath its edge to gently pull it off of Jeno’s sleeping form. He traced his fingers lightly over his sides again. He shivered, but didn’t wake. He started tickling him and Jeno writhed awake, letting out a small yelp, which Haechan took as a small win. Haechan then started pulling at his hair, his cheeks, his neck, anything to cause him to tell Haechan to stop. Unfortunately, he didn’t anticipate that Jeno would be so surprised he would head-butt Haechan hard enough that he would fall backwards and off the bed. It would have been worth it if Jeno had apologized, but Haechan had no such luck. Instead, he just stared at him through slitted eyes.

“I’m leaving.” Haechan announced and waited for Jeno in the living room, where he blasted SYRE really loudly.

Jeno walked into the living room, or more like, he danced into the living room. He waved at Haechan before grabbing a bowl of cereal and eating it happily. Haechan internally groaned, but reminded himself to be patient. He forced a smile, “Jeno,” He started, imagining Jeno’s reaction when he found his stuff missing. “I’m sorry I said your jokes suck, it’s just that they’re really bad.” He wasn’t expecting a reply, so he wasn’t too torn up when he didn’t get one. Soon enough, Jeno was in the shower, which meant he would need a new pair of boxers soon.

His plan worked better than he had expected. Jeno was beyond pissed when he reemerged from the bathroom. He was clad in nothing but a towel, unfortunately for Haechan’s heart. He waited for Jeno to ask for his stuff or yell at him. Instead, he just walked past Haechan, opening every drawer and pushing every piece of furniture. In a matter of minutes, he found everything. Haechan threw himself on the couch and pouted, “That’s no fun…”

Jeno rushed him, fisting both hands in Haechan’s orange t-shirt. He almost screeched, but any sound he was going to let out was swallowed by Jeno’s sudden proximity. His breath fanned across Haechan’s face and he could feel a flush creeping up the back of his neck.

“What the fuck, Jeno” He said. Jeno just stared at him. Haechan tried to calm his breathing. “Jeno,” He repeated. “What—” Jeno leaned in, so close to Haechan’s face he thought he might kiss him. He could smell his shampoo. A few drops of water fell from Jeno’s hair onto Haechan’s nose. But then Jeno released a breath he was holding and moved away from Haechan. Shaking his head as though coming out of a trance.

As soon as Jeno changed out of his pajamas, he left the apartment. Haechan wanted to chase after him, to ask him what he would do if someone tried talking to him, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The past two days have been exhausting. He never imagined a silent Jeno would be harder to deal with.

He was about to make himself something to eat, but as soon as he reached for the fridge, a violent sneeze ripped its way out of his nose, leaving his chest and throat burning. It was quickly followed by another and another. By the time he was nibbling on his sandwich, his throat felt scratchy and his nose was clogged. An hour later he found himself struggling to lift his aching head off the table. His bones hurt terribly.

So he called Mark.

“You’re burning up.” Mark said for what seemed like the millionth time.

“I know.”

“Like, really really burning up.”

“Mark, if you’re trying to say I’m actually on fire, please be more clear about it or at least put out the flames.” Mark laughed for about five whole minutes, causing little sparks of pain to spike through Haechan’s head.

“God, Make it stop.” He groaned.

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

“Try to sleep, okay? I’ll make you some soup.”

“PLEASE DON’T!” Haechan yelled, or tried to. It came out as a croak. Mark sighed.

“I have to go,” Mark said after a minute. “Is there anything you need?”

“No, I’m fine. Thanks for coming.”

“I told Jeno you were sick, he should be back any minute now.” Haechan pretended to have fallen asleep. He heard the door open and close. Some time after that he crept into a dreamless sleep.

When Jeno came home, the apartment was completely dark. He turned on the lights in the living room and put a kettle on the stove. Mark told him Haechan was asleep. He carried the brown bag, which contained store-bought chicken soup with him to their bedroom. He left the door open to let in some light, but otherwise did nothing to disturb the darkness. Haechan was curled on his side under a mountain of blankets. His forehead was damp and his eyebrows were knitted together in pain. He was muttering something in his sleep, but Jeno couldn’t make out any of the words.

He sat on the bed and brushed Haechan’s bangs away from his burning forehead gently. Haechan didn’t move. Jeno carded his fingers through Haechan’s slightly sweat-damp locks. When he swiped his thumb over the crease between Haechan’s eyebrows to smooth it, Haechan let out a contented sigh. He made a mental note to bring a bowl with ice water and a towel to serve as a cold compress.

“Haechan.” He whispered. The other boy didn’t seem to hear him. He shook his shoulder a little and his eyes slowly fluttered open.

“Mark?” Haechan croaked. “Is that you?”

Jeno ripped the bag open and put the soup and spoon on Haechan’s bedside table, “Drink this.” He said and went back to the kitchen.

“You eat soup, Mark, you don’t drink it-- how many times…” Haechan said to his back. He was still talking, but Jeno couldn’t hear him from the kitchenette.

When he came back, the soup was already gone and Haechan was lying down again. “This is going to feel too cold, but you need it, alright?” He warned before pressing the towel to his forehead. Haechan let out a gasp and closed his hand around Jeno’s wrist, “Mark, get it away from me. I’m melting.”

Jeno didn’t bother correcting him. He was clearly delirious, “Just relax, you’ll feel better soon, I promise.”

“What time is it?” Haechan asked.

“8 PM.”

“Jeno’s still out,” He said. Jeno froze. “He doesn’t care that I’m sick. He hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you.” Jeno supplied.

“He would like me more if I were a cat.” Haechan said. Jeno’s eyes widened.

“He—What? No, he wouldn’t!” Jeno was outraged at the accusation.

“Meow.” Haechan tried. Jeno’s heart just about exploded, it was the saddest yet cutest thing he’d ever witnessed.

“He doesn’t hate you, Haechan. I promise.”

“He does,” Haechan whispered. “I was really mean to him. I took it too far.”

“His jokes are pretty lame, it would drive anyone crazy.” Jeno said bitterly.

Haechan scoffed, “You’re one to talk… I miss them so much.”

“Who?”

“Hand me some tissues, will you?”

“Who do you miss?”

“The jokes, the puns, everything. Now for God’s sake my nose is running can I have a tissue please?” Jeno silently handed him a box of Kleenex. “I miss his voice. He has a really nice voice. His laugh. The asshole wouldn’t even laugh audibly, he just shakes now. That’s how much he hates me,” Haechan pointed a finger at nothing then dropped his arm down the mattress with a dull thud, his eyes remained closed against the dim light, which probably felt too bright to him. “I miss him. He hates me and I miss him.”

Jeno couldn’t resist, he leaned in and pressed his lips to Haechan’s soft cheek once. He seemed to have fallen asleep, so Jeno went back to finishing the ginger tea he was making. He’d heat it up when Haechan woke up.

He was watching a show about a woman who either hates her mother or her husband or both, he wasn’t quite sure, when Haechan came into the living room. His bare feet padded soundlessly on the floor. His eyes still couldn’t handle the light, as he squinted at Jeno and asked, “Where did Mark go?” then he shook his head before Jeno could answer. His face was dripping water, like he’d washed it and didn’t bother drying it afterwards. The drops on his shirt further proved Jeno’s theory, “Never mind,” Haechan said. “You have your silent vow to uphold, I’ll just text him.”

Jeno got up to heat the tea. “Don’t drink that tea if Mark made it,” Haechan warned him with a serious look. Jeno’s heart warmed. “I’m serious, if you value your life, don’t drink it.” His voice was scratchy, but at least he didn’t sound like a frog anymore. Jeno smiled fondly, pouring two cups and walking them back to where Haechan sat on the couch.

Jeno checked Haechan’s forehead. His temperature had dropped, but he still felt hotter than normal. He pushed one of the cups to Haechan and took a sip from the other to prove to him that he wouldn’t die. Haechan pouted a little, suspiciously eyeing the cup in front of him. He did take a sip eventually.

“I’m sorry.” Haechan said. Jeno cocked his head. Haechan sighed, “For being an asshole. I’m sorry. Please go back to speaking. Your stupid jokes are funny sometimes. Or they’re so bad, they’re kind of funny. Or maybe they’re just funny because you’re the one saying them,” His face turned red at his admission. “Just—just stop this. Please.”

Jeno closed the distance between them so quickly the other boy’s eyes widened despite their sensitivity to the bright lights. He smoothed his thumb over Haechan’s heart-shaped lips and they fell open under his touch. He could see Haechan’s chest rising and falling as well as he could feel his short breaths coming up from his parted lips against his own.

He took one of Haechan’s hands and pressed it flat against his chest, where his heart was raging, willing the boy to understand. Haechan’s eyes narrowed in understanding, but he still seemed uncertain. Jeno ran his hand through Haechan’s hair once before allowing his lips to brush ever so lightly against Haechan’s. Jeno’s breath stuttered out at the sensation and Haechan gasped, his hand fisted in Jeno’s shirt and pulled him forward. Jeno’s chest felt like it was on fire. Haechan’s full lips were soft as they moved slowly against his own. He pulled away to stare at Jeno, blinking a few times. Jeno felt his cheeks burning under the attention. Haechan put a hand to his cheek and leaned in carefully until he pressed a kiss to Jeno’s cheekbone. Then out of nowhere, Haechan’s eyes flew open and he moved back. His hand covered his lips and he said, “Why’d you kiss me?”

“Huh?” Was all Jeno could say. His mind was still fuzzy and his body was buzzing. His heart, which felt so full a moment before, shattered. His ears and throat burned at the thought that Haechan didn’t want him.

“You made me forget that I’m snotty and contagious and gross.” Haechan complained.

Jeno sighed in relief and proceeded to remove Haechan’s hand and replace it with his mouth. “You’re the opposite of gross.” He said against Haechan’s skin as he peppered his entire face with kisses, making sure to cover every last corner. Haechan tried to shy away, but gave up quickly.

“But I am snotty.” He stated.

“Does it look like I care?” Jeno said and he licked Haechan’s lips along with his nose for good measure.

Haechan scrunched his nose, “Freak.” But he pulled Jeno down for another kiss.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the tenth grade.” Jeno admitted. Haechan opened his mouth only to press his lips together, something Jeno was used to seeing him do whenever he was embarrassed.

“Me too.” Haechan said.

Jeno paused, tilting his head, “So you do remember me…”

“Who?” Haechan said, trying to pull Jeno back into a kiss. Jeno laughed and relented.

He didn’t know how much time passed, but he was basically in Haechan’s lap. It wasn’t comfortable with the way his neck was bent, but it wasn’t like he was going to complain. When Mark had asked him to take care of Haechan, he wasn’t quite sure this was what he meant. But Haechan’s body didn’t feel too hot under his own anymore. That might be because they’d been making out for God knows how long and Jeno’s body temperature had risen considerably as well. He wasn’t sure, though. Haechan was leaving open-mouthed kisses on a spot under his ear, which caused Jeno to let out a string of embarrassing sounds that made Haechan smile into his skin before continuing his attack down Jeno’s neck, only pausing when he reached his collarbone. After a few seconds of consideration, he pulled his shirt down to bite him there and Jeno hissed. Jeno took his revenge by stilling Haechan’s face between his palms and nibbling on his lips before closing his teeth on his bottom lip and pulling. The whine that escaped Haechan’s lips left him dizzy with desire. He laughed when Haechan pushed him onto his back almost angrily and followed him down.

They were both in Haechan’s bed, ready to sleep. Their arms were wrapped around each other to fit into the tiny space. Haechan suddenly gasped for what seemed to be no reason at all.

“What’s wrong?” Jeno whispered.

“You’re talking.” Haechan said.

“No shit.”

“I was a little too preoccupied and feverish to notice.”

“Remember when Mark brought you that soup?”

“Uh, yeah…”

“That wasn’t Mark.” Jeno smiled.

Haechan was silent for a long moment as realization fell upon his features, “Asshole.” He decided.

Jeno feigned shock, “I nursed you back to health!”

“I’m still sick and you’re still an asshole…” After a pause, Haechan’s eyes grew large with horror. “Did I… meow?”

Jeno couldn’t help but laugh, “Maybe?”

“You could have said something.”

“But that wouldn’t have been fun.”

“What do you know about fun?”

“Do you want to know why the chicken crossed the road?” Jeno threatened, his tone sharp.

“To avoid having to listen to the end of this joke?”

“To—” Jeno couldn’t remember what he was about to say because Haechan’s mouth was on his; his fingers slipped up the soft hairs at Jeno’s nape and were now gripping the hair at the back of Jeno’s head. Jeno’s arms tightened around the other boy’s torso, pulling him closer. When they broke apart, both gasping for breath, Jeno was too dazed to say anything.

“That’s better.” Haechan smiled, closing his eyes and snuggling closer to Jeno.

“Get to the other side.” Jeno finished the joke a few minutes too late. But Haechan was already fast asleep. He thought about waking him for a second, but he looked exhausted and Jeno didn’t feel like dying, so he would just have to tell him tomorrow. He kissed Haechan’s nose and closed his eyes.