abstract affection (oneshot)

They fall into the same pattern as before again. Jongin tries to work harder on returning before midnight now though, and although he still leaves Kyungsoo as a worried mess, it's getting better.

Sometimes Jongin manages to get home for dinner, and they eat together. Jongin is a pig, talking with his mouth full of food. Kyungsoo listens patiently. Jongin always has the best stories. Working on the streets, you see a lot of interesting things.

Jongin has told him stories of school kids, and families, and joggers with dogs that run off. Once, there was a story about a homeless man who stole Jongin's lunch and left a sorry note in its place. Jongin laughed as he told that story, and asked Kyungsoo for two lunches the next day.

There's something oddly innocent about Jongin, Kyungsoo has noticed. No matter how deft his fingers are, how sultry his stares are, Jongin has this childish aura about him. He sympathizes more than most, and views things in an almost naive manner.

Kyungsoo wonders when Jongin will ever grow up. They've known each other for almost three years now, and the only things that changed are the cuts and the paint in his hair.

One thing Jongin never talks about are couples though, and Kyungsoo knows he must encounter those a lot. He asks about them one night, and he expects an offhanded response, but Jongin surprises him.

"Why would I talk about couples?" Jongin asks, stuffing more spaghetti into his mouth.

"Well you're always telling me about everything else," Kyungsoo replies with a shrug. "What, are there no interesting couples?"

"I tell you about everything else so you could see into my day, and I know you like little things like this," Jongin answers, catching Kyungsoo's eyes. "But I don't talk about the couples I see because there's only one couple I care about – us. The rest are irrelevant."

It's stupid and sweet all at the same time, and they skip dessert that night, too busy tasting each other instead.

–

Kyungsoo isn't one for dates and all, but this is one that he remembers. He's been counting down the days since the month began. He wants everything to be perfect, because this Friday marks their two-year anniversary of their relationship.

Exactly two years ago, Jongin asked him out by inviting him downtown to see him paint. Kyungsoo loved watching Jongin work, so he accepted gladly. Kyungsoo arrived late due to bad traffic, but Jongin was still working. He sat behind him, watching attentively.

At first, he didn't know what it was. It looked abstract, a mess of shapes and letters in no particular order. He recognized a Pororo shape in the back and smiled to himself.

Jongin's body blocked most of the painting, so Kyungsoo waited until he finishes to see. For the time, he settled for watching Jongin's muscle flex, as his tongue darted across his lips, eyes narrowed in concentration. It was a nice sight.

When Jongin finished, he stepped away to let Kyungsoo see it. He was playing with his paintbrushes, gauging Kyungsoo's response, which came fairly quickly. It didn't take long for Kyungsoo to decipher the letters that read out his name in blocks, and the word 'dinner' below it.

Kyungsoo didn't know what to say. They'd been dancing around each other for months now, flirting with the idea of something more, but Kyungsoo didn't think Jongin would ever take the next step.

They had dinner together the next night, and have ever since been inseperable.

Now Kyungsoo wants to celebrate that momentous moment. He has dinner set up on the table, a present in front of Jongin's seat, and everything is perfect. Everything, except that Jongin is nowhere to be found, again.

–

Jongin returns home at midnight, bags under his eyes, feet dragging. Kyungsoo is wide awake though, washing the dishes quietly. He ignores the arms sliding around his waist from behind.

"Hmm, why are you still up?" Jongin murmurs into his neck, eyes closed. "The dishes can wait until tomorrow morning. Come to bed with me."

"Go to bed yourself," Kyungsoo replies coldly, and that wakes Jongin up.

"What's wrong?" he asks, frowning. He tilts his head to see Kyungsoo's face, frowning when he notices the rigid expression. "Wait, did you make dinner tonight? Weren't you busy?"

"I was, but I came back early," Kyungsoo mutters, scrubbing harder.

"Why?" Jongin looks around and notices the box on the table. "Wait, what's that?"

"Your gift," Kyungsoo deadpans.

"Gift? For what?" Jongin asks weakly, knowing this cannot be good.

"Our two year anniversary," Kyungsoo hisses, throwing the sponge into the sink and yanking free from Jongin's hold. He leaves the kitchen and heads for their room, but Jongin stays behind, watching wordlessly.

His eyes float to the calendar on their fridge, Kyungsoo's unmistakable writing circling and re-circling today's date.

So caught up on his project, he completely forgot, and he knows not even kisses will be enough to forgive this.

–

Jongin treads cautiously the following week. He leaves early in the morning, leaving Kyungsoo breakfast as an apology. He returns later too. The only thing that keeps Kyungsoo from exploding from frustration are the texts he occasionally gets from Jongin, saying how much he misses him and that he's almost done.

After the week is over, on Sunday evening, Jongin takes him out. He doesn't say anything about it though; he just grabs Kyungsoo's hand and leads him out of the apartment building and into a taxi. He plays with his hands in the taxi, and Kyungsoo wonders what has Jongin so fidgety.

They arrive in an oddly familiar area. Kyungsoo knows these streets, but not well. He looks around for a restaurant Jongin could possibly be taking them, but this is mostly an industrial area.

"Why am I here, Jongin?" Kyungsoo asks with a sigh, crossing his arms.