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Call Hao Sherlock Holmes because he’s pretty sure he’s cracked the case.
Over the last few weeks, there's been a bit of a tug of war of some sort between the two groups. Both are insanely curious about the track list of the other.
Hao has tried to convince Hanbin to sing a few lines of ZB1’s title song. Gunwook tried to outwit Gyuvin into spilling one of A2D’s songs. Yujin has tried to use his maknae privilege to guilt-trip Jiwoong into at least humming anything that might give them a hint. But both groups are strong and, more importantly, determined. Neither budge on the topic. If anything, they’ve started planting false ideas into their heads. Making up songs and titles to try to throw the others off.
It’s fun at first. Not so much after Hao realizes this might be the first secret Hanbin’s ever kept from him. He even tried to use that as bait. Pursing his lips in dismay when Hanbin simply holds him and says he promised the others he wouldn’t say a word, and as the leader of ZB1, he can’t go back on his word, even for him.
Hao gets it. He really does. So he doesn’t ask Hanbin to compromise his relationship with the group for the sake of appeasing him. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways for Hao to win. He just won’t tell anyone about it.
They’ve reached the stage in their relationship where boundaries aren’t really a thing. They have unlimited access to every part of each other. Physical and non-physical. Like cards, bedrooms, passcodes. There isn’t anything about Hanbin that Hao can’t access, and the same goes for Hanbin. Which is why when Hanbin pecks Hao on the cheek after an hour of lounging, telling him he’s going to shower, Hanbin doesn’t even flinch when Hao reaches for his phone and unlocks it.
“Have fun,” Hanbin throws over his shoulder. He sounds amused, but he leaves it alone. There’s a good chance Hanbin thinks Hao is going through his pictures. Hao loves scrolling up and fawning over baby Hanbin. At the thought, Hao pauses. A quick pit stop into Hanbin’s photo gallery wouldn’t hurt.
Then he stops because he’s on a mission and there’s no time to travel back to when Hanbin was a baby, when he has secrets to uncover.
Scrolling through Hanbin’s apps, Hao lands on the notes one. Unlike many people who log their entire lives into their calendars, Hanbin is a complete psychopath when it comes to schedules and important information. He uses the calendar app for general scheduling, but his entire life is documented in his notes app.
Sure enough, it only takes Hao a few swipes up before he lands on a note titled Top Five. Now Hao isn’t too sure, but he does know that the members of zb1 recently went mountain climbing. Taerae called him right after to complain about the trek, and Hao could only offer his condolences to Taerae’s worn legs. But back on the topic at hand. Hao might not be an official genius, but five members on the top of a mountain sounds like a pretty big spoiler to him.
Clicking on the note, Hao prepares to be amazed.
He’s expecting lyrics or maybe a link to a demo of the song. Really, he’s expecting to hit a gold mine of unrevealed information.
Instead, he lands on a short list numbered one through five. The subtitle that Hao couldn’t see before pressing on the note reads ‘top five things I love about Hao’.
Hao went looking for something, and now he has found it. He’s already here, Hao thinks as he looks at the list. It starts from five and then goes down to one. He stares at the description of number five. His lips. Cute, Hao laughs out loud. He always knew Hanbin had an obsession with them. He’s got an obsession with Hanbin’s, too.
The fourth item in the list writes his style, and really, Hao finds that even funnier. Hanbin likes to call Hao’s style daring and a seductive kind of tease. Hao has a feeling Hanbin only says that because the airport underwear incident lives rent-free in his mind, but he likes to think Hanbin prefers his everyday style too.
The third item reads his kiss, and Hao finds it adorable that Hanbin lists his lips and his kiss in the top five things he loves about him because it only reveals how insane Hanbin is about his favorite part of him. Hao won’t comment on the fact that Hanbin has yet to mention his personality, but he’ll save that for later.
Hao scrolls and finds the second item, his smile. So maybe he shouldn’t take this list seriously. It doesn’t sound like Hanbin’s listing anything of substance. He thought number four was the shift in the list, but now Hao wonders if Hanbin wrote them down thinking about when he takes Hao’s clothes off instead of whatever he has on. Then again, Hanbin loving his smile does sound sort of romantic. Hao can let that one slide.
When he first started reading the list, Hao had big expectations for what Hanbin would list as number one. His biggest guess was personality, which obviously Hao would have loved to see. His second guess was Hao himself, but after seeing Hanbin list his lips in different forms for three out of the five items, he’s sort of given up hope.
Reaching number one, Hao isn’t sure whether to scoff or to address the swarm of butterflies in his stomach. He had half a mind to turn off Hanbin's phone and storm into the bathroom. Number one is how he makes me feel. Which should be the most romantic thing Hao has ever seen, except he’s seen everything else and is now one hundred percent sure Hanbin made this list with one hand down his pants.
Unsure how to feel, Hao leaves the notes app and clears Hanbin’s app history just to make sure. He puts the phone back down on the small desk beside Hanbin’s bed, feeling a little conflicted.
He finds himself sitting there for a while just staring at the monotone color of Hanbin’s blue comforter. By the time Hanbin comes back from his shower, Hao is still debating on bringing up what he found or keep his mouth shut.
“Did you know when you’re a mix of upset and guilty, your face goes like this…” Hanbin’s eyebrows knit together, and his lips push outwards, his eyes narrow as if he’s focusing on something, and Hao hates that Hanbin knows him so well sometimes. Hao is upset about the list, but he’s also feeling pretty upset with himself for looking for it in the first place. Guilt has been gnawing at him since he put the phone down, but it really is his own fault for looking.
Found out and now very sure he wants to address his findings, Hao hangs his Sherlock Holmes hat up and clears his throat, preparing for the worst.
“I went snooping through your notes app for your title song and found the top five things you love about me.”
Hanbin smirks as if he had a feeling this would happen. Hao finds that, as much as he likes to stay ahead of Hanbin, there are many times Hanbin ends up ahead of him.
“Oh yeah? And how did you feel about the list?”
“I feel like you might as well just cut my lips off and frame them,” Hao huffs, crossing his arms, unable to look Hanbin in the eye. “I mean, seriously, out of all the things you could write down, half of them were just, I don’t even know how to describe it.”
Hanbin blinks at him, letting Hao get it all out before speaking. “I think congratulations are in order,” is what Hanbin says when Hao goes silent. “Because those are the lyrics to our title song.”
Seriously, Hao can’t even enjoy his win, knowing their fans are going to be singing along to the shallowest listing of favorite things about him that Hao has ever heard. This can’t be a list that Hanbin made. It lacks something. Hao doesn’t know what, but it’s definitely missing the special Hanbin touch.
“I can see I’m going to need to explain myself,” Hanbin says slowly, joining Hao on the bed. “It may seem like a thoughtless list, but I really did think hard about every item on there.”
“By all means, explain.”
Hanbin gets comfy, pulling Hao to cuddle up against him.
“Alright then, here’s my reasoning for the top five things I love about you in order.”
*~*~*
Number five : his lips
Hanbin never really participated in writing lyrics before.
He’s dabbled in it, of course. But he never put as much effort into lyric writing as Gunwook, who seems to put his heart and soul into his songs. He never truly had a calling for it the way Matthew seems to, or the way Taerae and Jiwoong seem to be taking an interest in. He knows a lot of thought goes into it. He knows that as a singer, sometimes you have to internalize the lyrics to really understand them.
The first day they get the lyrics to top five, the members immediately fall in love with it. They’ve all been waiting for an opportunity like this. Their rebranding gives them the perfect opportunity to break into a sexier style that they’re sure the fans will devour like starved animals. They’ve seen the boards for the concept photos, and with this kind of song, they’re sure to make their first comeback as five a smashing hit.
Hanbin sees that everyone feels the same way he does. He also feels when they look around at the four empty seats quietly wishing they had the opportunity of doing a song like this as the nine of them. Sensing the shift in mood, the producer gathers their attention with a loud clapping of his hands.
“I know this is going to be different, but I feel like you five can really bring these lyrics to life. Make them your own. Try to resonate with them.”
A hand goes up, and the producer points to Matthew.
“How exactly do you want us to resonate with lyrics that are definitely about people fucking?”
The producer gives him a blank stare, then looks to the manager, whose eyes shift to the side, to Gunwook, then back to Matthew. It’s the manager who speaks up for the producer. “I’m sure you guys can think of something, or at the very least have the means to experience the lyrics. That’s all I’m going to say about that. Any more questions?”
The meeting ends with them piling into their van. Hanbin reads the copy of the lyrics on his phone and tries to make them his own or whatever the producer was trying to get them to do.
He opens his notes app and makes a new note. Top five things he loves about Hao. Then he lists from five to one, starting with his lips. That one’s easy enough. Hanbin finds his thoughts drifting to the very first time he noticed Hao’s lips.
Back then, Hanbin had a habit of staring at someone’s lips when they spoke as a way to really interpret their words. The first time he looked at Hao’s lips, he was trying to understand if the words being spoken were really Korean or Chinese, and once he figured it out, how to get Hao to keep talking so he could keep watching them move.
Hanbin felt like a creep before they got together. Having a crush on your supposed rival isn’t easy, especially when said crush likes you back, and yet you both can’t do anything about it except stare at each other with charged tension. Hanbin spent many nights helping Hao practice, only to wonder what his lips felt like or how they’d feel against his.
He’s still obsessed. More so now that he knows what they feel like. The only difference is now Hanbin can stare, touch, and kiss Hao’s lips whenever he feels like it.
*~*~*
Number four : his style
As Hanbin stares at the fourth item on his list, he hums a little.
In terms of Hao’s style, it varies. Sometimes he’s the cutest, fluffiest embodiment of a human being Hanbin has ever seen. On days like those, he just wants to wrap his arms around Hao and cuddle him like a teddy bear, holding on tight and never letting him go. On other days, Hao is dressed like an expensive housewife who goes out in certain clothes to make their husband jealous, and it sure works on Hanbin. When those days occur, Hanbin wants to squeeze Hao tightly, but not the way he does a teddy bear. He finds trapping Hanbin between his body and the nearest mattress does a better job at conveying his appreciation for those kinds of clothes.
But it isn’t the clothes themselves that Hanbin notices. It’s the reflection of Hao. If he’s feeling confident and wants to show off a bit, he’ll put something on not just to catch Hanbin’s eye but to make himself feel just as desirable as he knows he is. When Hao wants to be cute and doted on, he dresses the part and thrives off the compliments and soft interactions people give him. And when he wants to be left alone, he has outfits for those, too, and people get the message loud and clear.
See, Hao’s style isn’t just for display. It’s who he is and what he’s feeling.
And right now, Hao’s feeling scandalous.
“You’re so wrong for doing this to me,” Hanbin stutters. His fingers intertwine in Hao’s hair, eyes glued to Hao’s lips, currently stretched obscenely around his cock. Hao hadn’t given Hanbin the chance to admire the outfit he put on. He pushed Hanbin onto the couch the moment he arrived, unbuttoning the front of Hanbin’s pants and then his own and sinking to his knees. The unbuttoning of Hao’s pants was intentional. His waist to ass ratio is wide enough that, with the way he’s bent, the back of his jeans doesn’t cover him, revealing the thin strip of pretty black lace. God, how did Hao even find ones that would fit him so well?
Hanbin doesn’t have much time to think about Hao in those right now. His legs part wider, hips pitching forward, rolling deeper into Hao’s hot mouth, and Hanbin fears he won’t make it to see those panties in action.
“You look so good right now,” Hanbin compliments before he doesn’t get the chance. Hao pulls off, a loud slurping sound following. Then he licks his pink, swollen lips, and Hanbin feels his dick twitch in Hao’s hand.
“Aw, thank you binnie. You don’t look bad yourself.” Then he’s back on him until Hanbin comes down his throat, falling back weakly against the couch. “Well, don’t just sit there. You have to see the rest of it.”
Hao climbs into his lap, and Hanbin takes in the perfectly parted pieces of Hao’s outfit. He looks a little too professional for someone who was just on his knees. A white button-up covered by a black vest, and those jeans that didn’t do anything to hide what Hao had on underneath.
A hand reaches for Hanbin’s idle one, guiding it behind Hao until his palm slides over the warm roundness of Hao’s ass. “I did this for you,” Hao tells Hanbin with a shy smile.
No. Hao did this for himself. And that’s what Hanbin loves about him.
*~*~*
Number three: his kiss
Call Hanbin an addict, the way he can’t seem to get enough of kissing Hao.
They aren’t even supposed to be doing this. They’re supposed to be enjoying date night, and really, this isn’t supposed to happen until later, but here they are sitting on Hao’s bedroom floor, a card game abandoned in front of them as they face each other.
They’re already here, Hanbin rationalizes when his hand palms Hao’s dick through his pants. Hao’s lips part around a silent moan, and Hanbin takes advantage of it, sucking Hao’s bottom lip into his mouth and releasing it with a wet pop.
Hanbin kisses Hao hard, not wanting to release him but wanting to taste more of him. His tongue swipes along Hao’s, exploring Hao’s mouth, kissing him until they both can’t breathe, and his whining because he needs air.
“Should we move?” Hao asks when Hanbin starts pushing him down. The bed is comfortable, but it’s also far, and Hanbin doesn’t want to move away for even a second. He shakes his head and dives back in, and Hao giggles against his lips like Hanbin’s desperation is the best thing he’s ever experienced.
They stay like that until Hanbin gets his fill. They part panting, lips swollen, and Hao’s bitten and kissed beyond belief.
“Would it be too much for us to move now?” Hao jokes while Hanbin wonders why he can’t seem to get enough of Hao tonight. He wants to go in again. To kiss the smile off Hao’s face and a few more insane thoughts involving Hao’s saliva that he definitely should keep to himself.
But right now, Hao is looking at him the way he does when he wants Hanbin in him, and Hanbin won’t ever deny Hao. So he pulls Hao up only to get him down on the bed.
“No, they hurt,” Hao whines when Hanbin tries to kiss him again. “They’re not invincible, you know. You have to be gentle if you’re going to kiss me all night.”
“So if I’m gentle, I can kiss you?”
Hao looks hesitant. Hanbin really must have gone overboard with it. Still, Hao nods, and Hanbin is extra careful when he captures Hao’s lips between his own. It’s the kind of kiss he knows Hao’s going to be thinking about later. Deep and full of passion yet still careful.
“How was that?” Hanbin asks even though he knows the answer.
Hao licks at his kiss-bitten lips.
“More like that.”
*~*~*
Number two: his smile
Hanbin has written poetry about Hao’s smile.
Early in their relationship, and still to this day, Hanbin writes Hao letters. He always thought the idea of writing letters was romantic. He used to leave them on Hao’s pillow, under his pillow, on his desk, and so forth. Now he mails them himself and waits patiently for Hao to send him a selfie of him and his new note.
Hanbin’s most recent letter was an ode to Hao’s smile. He’s been trying his best to make the lyrics of Top Five feel like his own. Trying to apply them to his and Hao’s relationship and use them as a way to appreciate things about Hao
He might take for granted. Hao’s smile is one of them.
Hao has a special smile reserved just for him. It’s an affectionate smile. One that lights Hanbin’s whole world up when Hao points it in his direction.
It’s more than just special. Because it’s the same smile Hao’s been giving him since the day they met. That first meeting, first love, first real crush sort of smile that transports Hanbin back to the first time he ever laid his eyes on Hao in that large room filled with people. He knew then that Hao would be a permanent part of his life.
They’re in Hanbin’s kitchen. Hanbin is cooking as the only one capable enough to produce something edible, and Hao is doing his best as Hanbin’s assistant chef, cutting, or attempting to cut, the vegetables.
Hanbin slides up beside Hao, peeking over his shoulder at Hao’s artistic cutting skills, and can’t help but smile. Hao is amazing at so many things, so many difficult things. Yet something as simple as cutting vegetables causes him this much trouble.
“What?” Hao asks, putting the knife down. With his hands on Hao’s waist, Hanbin turns him around slowly, taking in the handsome features in front of him. “I swear I’m trying,” Hao defends immediately, lips downturned. “It’s the knife.”
“The knife is cutting the vegetables wrong?” Hanbin asks as if he is trying to understand Hao’s logic.
“It’s definitely not me.”
Hanbin snickers. Hao is so cute sometimes, he just can’t resist. Pressing a slow kiss to Hao’s lips, Hanbin pulls back, ready to pin the blame on Hao’s knife when he finds that smile on Hao’s lips, and his heart swells at the sight.
“Even if it was you, I’d still blame everything else. In the kitchen, you can do no wrong.”
Hao’s smile widens, and yeah, Hao truly can’t do any wrong.
“So I can cook the rest of the food?”
Hanbin snaps out of it.
“Maybe you can do no wrong in the living room.” When Hao frowns deeper, Hanbin's quick to make it up to him. “Maybe we can do no wrong together on the couch.”
Just like that, Hao’s smile is back.
*~*~*
Number one : how he makes me feel
Sometimes Hanbin feels like a rubber band stretched to his max until he’s alone with Hao, and he snaps.
Before Hao became his, Hanbin would have dreams about moments like these. Fantasies of Hao where Hanbin couldn’t even imagine the full picture because he always knew it would never compare to the real thing.
It doesn’t.
Hanbin feels whole. Like the entire week has gone by without his missing piece, and now that Hao is here with him, nothing else matters except for him, Hanbin, and the four walls of Hanbin’s bedroom.
Hanbin’s eyes are closed. He closed them about two after he slowly buried himself inside of Hao for the first time tonight. The heat that enveloped him had been so inviting, so addicting, Hanbin had to close his eyes to stay focused; otherwise, he wouldn’t last.
Since they’ve started, Hao hasn’t stopped making these breathy noises. Moans of pleasure float past those beautiful lips that Hanbin just can’t help but lean down and kiss, muffling Hao’s sounds just for a moment before pulling back and giving Hao the space to let them all out.
Everything about Hao winds Hanbin up. If he feels like a rubber band without Hao, then he feels like a wind-up toy with him. With every thrust, every feeling of Hao’s dull nails dragging down his back and arms, every satisfied wail of his name, everything about Hao makes the coiling inside of him tighten more and more until he’s so wound up he needs to release it.
“Fuck,” Hao whines as if he can’t get enough. Hanbin drags all of himself out of Hao and plunges back in slowly, over and over again, loving the way Hao tightens along his length and how deep he can go. “I love when you do that,” Hao says, followed by a low, drawn-out moan that Hanbin swears is what an angel must sound like.
The longer they keep this up, the faster Hao starts to unravel. He’s close. Words spilling past his lips as it all becomes too much.
He tells Hanbin how it feels. How he can’t get enough, and how nothing can come close to how he feels when Hanbin fucks him. It reminds Hanbin of how he feels right now in this moment with Hao.
He feels accomplished. Like this is his ultimate prize that nothing else will compare to the gratification that Hanbin is overcome with as he looks down as Hao writhing underneath him, trying not to pull away as his orgasm rios through him, covering them both in the proof of Hao’s words.
This feels like love to Hanbin.
This is love to Hanbin.
Being able to be here with Hao like this, even if it’s for a few hours. Smooth legs tighten around Hanbin’s waist, pulling him deeper, and he has the pleasure of watching an overstimulated Hao’s eyes roll back as Hanbin’s cock is sheathed all the way in, throbbing and bare, reminding Hanbin of how Hao begged and whined for him not to use a condom so that nothing could be between them.
Absolutely nothing.
Hanbin comes, fucking into Hao with short thrusts and almost apologizing for the agonizing few minutes it’s going to take for them to get it all out later. But right then, he can’t think of the future.
He only thinks of Hao and his lips as Hao’s teeth dig into the swollen flesh of the bottom one, as Hanbin pulls out slowly. He thinks of the sheets that drape over Hao’s legs, acting as his only covering from the cold he’s exposed to when Hanbin’s heat is gone. He thinks of Hao’s kiss when he stands to follow Hanbin to the bathroom, unable to stop even when they manage to find themself inside the shower. He thinks of Hao’s smile when he pulls back, somehow still shy even though they’ve done this thousands of times.
He thinks of how he feels when Hao hugs him tightly and tells him he loves him, and how Hanbin’s body feels as if it’s about to implode when Hanbin says it back.
*~*~*
“So you see…” Hanbin says now that he’s done retelling the true meaning of his version of the list. “It might all seem kind of meaningless when it’s listed like that, but…are you crying?”
“Yes, I’m such an idiot,” Hao sniffles, sitting up. “I thought you made the list while jerking off or some other insensitive way you could explain writing lips, kiss, and smile all in the same list. I should have known you had some sweet reasoning behind everything.”
Hanbin looks a little bewildered. “I’m pretty sure I just told you five scenarios where I love you, and we were having sex in almost all of them.”
“That’s besides the point,” Hao says, swatting Hanbin’s comforting hand away. “You’re going to be performing that song for the rest of your career, and you’ll always be thinking of me like that. It’s…”
A lot is what Hao wants to say. Whenever he catches himself humming or singing here I am he still gets that butterfly feeling he felt the first time he performed it together with Hanbin. And now Hanbin is going to be preforming top five and thinking of Hao. Then Hao really thinks about it. If he gets butterflies when he thinks about Hanbin, then what’ll happen to Hanbin when he preformed top five.
“Promise me you won’t pop a boner while performing such a beautiful song.”
“Whoa, where is this coming from? You were just so sweet a minute ago.”
“Hanbin, I’m serious. The fans already know you have a massive dick. I don’t need you going around and confirming it just because you get a little hot thinking about me.”
“I’ve created a monster,” Hanbin complains with an amused laugh. “I promise I’ll be careful.”
They both sit there with lots on their minds as they go over what just took place in their own way.
“Maybe you should think about your top five reasons you love me,” Hanbin jokes when Hao’s eyes drift lower.
“Okay then,” Hao says, combing his fingers through his hair to push it out of his face. “Take your pants off, and we can get started.”
Hanbin feels himself getting wound up again, his dick reacting to Hao’s filthy words like some sort of switch has been flipped. “Can you see why I’m so obsessed with you?” Hanbin asks when Hao tracks his movements with his eyes.
“I have some idea.”
*~*~*
“So your song is about sex.”
Hanbin nearly chokes on his drink, swallowing it way too quickly.
Forced to wait for the song to come out, Hao had to hear it for the first time with the rest of the world. It took him one listen before he called Hanbin ready to tease him.
“It’s not entirely about it.”
“Hanbin, the lyrics are literally tastes so sweet can’t resist it, you already know where this leads anyways, and you plus me, imagination don’t stop it. It’s about sex. You don’t have to pretend it isn’t. I have half a mind to believe you wrote these lyrics.”
Hanbin can’t help but feel his ears start to burn with Hao’s bold callout. “It’s just five guys trying to express their top five feelings for a friend? Co-worker? Partner?”
Hao coos into the speaker. “It’s so sweet that you think the others have the same mindset towards the lyrics as you do. I can’t believe you guys are performing this live.”
“It could be worse,” Hanbin points out. “We could be preforming customize, and then everyone would know how badly Gunwook wants Matthew.”
“They already know,” Hao points out. “And now I think they’re about to know how badly you want me. I thought about the top five reasons I love you.”
Hanbin hums. “Really, and what are they?”
“Come over, and I’ll tell you.”