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It’s a really snowy evening for a date.
Jackson had thought about cancelling, like maybe the near snowstorm was enough of a bad omen to reschedule this meet up for next week, but when he’d dropped hints, Jaebum had shut him down. i’m not afraid of a little snow. are you? his text said, and Jackson had grinned, staring down at his phone. That sounds like a challenge. He’s always up for a challenge.
So that’s why he’s right now wading through ankle-deep snow to the cafe, hands stuffed in his pockets and shoulders hunched against the wind. It’d seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he’s mostly cold and damp. It’s a damn good thing that Jaebum’s so hot, cause otherwise, he’d just bail.
When he finally pushes through the door into the cafe, all he feels is warmth and relief. He spends a few minutes stomping the snow off his shoes and shaking off his shoulders, and when he looks up, he sees Jaebum at the back of the room in their usual booth, watching him, amused. “You look like a snow creature,” he says, reaching out to dust the snow out of Jackson’s hair as he pulls off his jacket. “You’re so red.”
“I can’t feel my nose,” Jackson says mournfully, but it’s mostly so that Jaebum will stretch up and cup his cheeks in his nice warm hands. It works. “That helps,” he says, turning into the touch until Jaebum tweaks his nose.
“You’re such a baby,” Jaebum says, and Jackson slides into the seat across from him. There’s already a mug waiting for Jackson, a mocha the size of his head, topped with a thick cap of whipped cream and drizzle and sprinkles. Jaebum knows him so well. “But you managed to get here all by yourself. Congratulations.”
Jackson doesn’t even bother with a spoon, he just raises his mug to his face and sticks his face in it, taking an enormous mouthful. “Thanks a lot,” he says, and in his peripheral vision, he can see a blob of whipped cream bob on his nose. If this were a drama, Jaebum would reach out to wipe it off all sensually and then lick his finger clean. It’s not, though. Jaebum just pulls a face and throws a napkin at him. “You should give me more credit, man. I’m a fully grown adult, you know?”
Jaebum snorts. “Yesterday, I woke up to you trying to spell ‘dick’ with your Alphabits cereal,” he points out.
“Yeah, well.” Jackson ignores the napkin in favour of using his fingers, so he doesn’t waste any of the whipped cream. “Dude, Alphabits my ass. There wasn’t a k in the entire box.”
Jackson’s favourite thing in the world is when Jaebum looks at him like that, with that twist of his eyebrows that’s like ‘You’re a complete idiot, but I love you anyway’. He’s pretty sure that Jaebum is the only one in the world who can look that exasperated and fond all at once. “Must’ve been pretty traumatic for you,” he says. and Jackson puts on a pout.
“I’ll never recover,” he agrees, and he grins. He’s so glad he’s here with Jaebum now, instead of making due with texts and emojis and a handful of pictures of Jaebum’s cat. Even a snowstorm can’t keep them from taking advantage of the first day they’ve had to spend together in way too long. It’s more than worth it.
After they’re done, when they’ve both got bellies full of warm drinks and sweet pastries, they have to brave the cold again. “At least it’s died down a little,” Jackson grumbles, pulling his collar up to cover the back of his neck. It’s dark now, and the snow looks kinda pretty in the streetlights.
“If you dressed for it, you probably wouldn’t freeze all the time,” Jaebum points out. He grabs Jackson’s hand, folding it in his own, and tucks it into his pocket, nice and warm.
“Are you kidding me?” Jackson asks. He squeezes Jaebum’s hand. “Dude, it’s all an elaborate scheme to get you to hold my hand.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “And it’s totally working, because you’re weak.”
“You could just ask,” Jaebum says, but he’s smiling again, eyes soft. “Are you sure about that whole grown man thing?”
A gust of wind hits them and Jackson wrinkles up his nose, tucking his chin into his chest and hunching his shoulders. “Ugh,” he mutters. “Yeah, I’m sure.” He leers goodnaturedly. “You would know best, wouldn’t you?”
Jaebum stops them at a corner, pulling his hand out of Jackson’s, ignoring the little petulant noise Jackson makes. “Is that full grown?” he asks, unwinding his scarf. His eyes flick pointedly down to Jackson’s crotch and then back up again. “Oh, well. It’s not that bad, I guess.”
“Dude!” Jackson exclaims. His dick is fine. He pats it a few times, so it doesn’t get its feelings hurt, and when he looks back up, Jaebum is already starting to wind his scarf around his neck. “Hey. What about you?”
“I’ll be fine,” Jaebum assures him, but Jackson yanks the ends out of his hands. Doesn’t seem fair that Jackson gets to be warm and Jaebum doesn’t, so he starts wrapping the spare end of the scarf around Jaebum in turn. “What are you doing? We can’t walk like this.”
Good thing Jackson had gotten this extra long scarf for Jaebum for his last birthday. He always thought Jaebum looked handsome when he was all snuggly. “Nope,” he agrees cheerfully, each new loop forcing them closer together. “But it’s super convenient for making out in the snow.”
“I’m not making out with you on the street,” Jaebum says firmly, but when Jackson leans in, hands on Jaebum’s waist, he doesn’t object to a kiss. The lady doth always protest too much when it comes to Jackson. “This is less romantic than you think it is,” he murmurs, even as Jackson’s trying to kiss him again. “My nose is getting cold.”
“It’s super romantic,” Jackson argues. “Look, nobody’s out here, just chill.” His eyelashes flutter as Jaebum brushes away snowflakes from his cheeks.
“I am chill,” Jaebum replies, smirking a little, and that answer is so bad that the only thing that Jackson can do is kiss him again and shut him up. It’s pretty effective, and even if Jackson’s ankles are damp with the snow and his toes are going numb in his shoes, he’ll leave all his regrets for tomorrow.