Archive of Our Own

The screen glow illuminated Euijoo’s face as he scrolled absentmindedly through his phone, legs tucked beneath him on the dorm couch. A clip autoplayed: Marie Claire video, one of those unexpectedly intimate moments fans loved to dissect. Nicholas’ hand traveled up his forearm, slow and deliberate, before interlacing with his own. The tweet caption snagged his attention: "The difference between their hands size..."  

Euijoo flexed his own fingers, phantom warmth lingering where Nicholas usually held them. He’d never admit it aloud, but he’d memorized the way their palms fit together; the way Nicholas’ thumb could brush the back of his hand while his own fingers barely reached mid-knuckle. A quiet laugh escaped him. Maybe their fans weren’t entirely wrong. 

Euijoo’s thumb paused over the screen, his gaze tracing the paused video of Nicholas’ hand swallowing his own. He let his phone drop to his lap with a quiet sigh, stretching his fingers wide against the fabric of his sweatpants. Even here, alone in the dim dorm living room, the memory of Nicholas’ unfairly large grip made his pulse stutter.  

His eyes flicked to the hallway where Nicholas’ shoes sat by the door, always a full size bigger than his. Even their shared clothes, which Euijoo drowned in, barely stretched across Nicholas’ shoulders. A familiar heat crept up his neck. Everything about Nicholas was just… more.

1.

The practice room mirror reflected Euijoo’s exhaustion back at him; dark circles under his eyes, lips slightly chapped from talking too much during his MC gig. K’s voice cut through the bass-heavy track for the thirteenth time that hour: "Again. From the top. Nicholas, your timing is late."

Euijoo wiped sweat from his brow, catching Nicholas’ apologetic half-smile across the formation. Normally, he’d mirror it, but his muscles screamed in protest as he reset his stance. Leader. Right. He squared his shoulders just as the music kicked in again, ignoring how his borrowed kneepads (Nicholas’, obviously) kept sliding down his thinner thighs.

K’s arms crossed tighter, his expression unreadable behind the studio lights. The younger members had formed a loose semicircle around him: Maki’s dramatic arm flail as he fake-collapsed against Taki, Harua’s exaggerated shoulder slump against the mirrored wall, even Jo’s rare pout fully deployed. Yuma opened his mouth first, voice cracking mid-whine: "Please, please…"

K’s eyebrow twitched. Nicholas saw the opening and lunged for it, stepping forward with sweat-damp bangs clinging to his forehead. "Ten minutes?" His voice dropped into that register Euijoo recognized, soft but persistent, the one that made K sigh through his nose like an annoyed parent. 

When Fuma joined in, fingertips brushing K’s sleeve, the dam broke. "Fine. Hydrate. But I want that timing right after the break."

Euijoo exhaled as their shoulders collectively sagged, catching Nicholas’ fleeting grin before he turned toward the water bottles.

Euijoo watched Fuma press a chilled water bottle against K’s arm, murmuring something that made K laugh. The sight tugged at something in his chest, how effortlessly Fuma read K and how K allowed it, but the thought scattered when a shadow fell over him. Nicholas’ scent hit first, accompanied by that indefinable warmth that clung to his skin after practice. His fingers brushed Euijoo’s wrist as he passed him a bottle, condensation dripping onto Euijoo’s sneakers. 

"Drink," Nicholas murmured, voice low enough that Taki's dramatic reenactment of their choreography drowned it out for everyone else. Euijoo’s throat went dry anyway.

The plastic bottle crumpled slightly in Euijoo’s grip, untouched, as he tracked the line of Nicholas’ throat; the way his Adam’s apple dipped with each swallow, the sheen of sweat catching the overhead lights. His black tank clung to every ridge of muscle, fabric darkened along his spine where exertion pressed it tight. Nicholas raked a hand through damp hair, somehow making the mess of it look intentional, and Euijoo’s mouth dried up again. 

He blinked hard when Nicholas turned, catching his stare with a slow smirk. "Leader-nim," Nicholas teased, thumb swiping at a water droplet on Euijoo’s chin, "hydration’s important." Euijoo barely registered the cold spill down his collar where Nicholas’ fingers lingered a second too long.

Euijoo startled at Nicholas' touch, the cool plastic slipping slightly before he hastily brought the bottle to his lips. He drank too fast; water caught in his throat, sending him into a coughing fit that had Nicholas immediately stepping closer. 

"Hey, easy—" Nicholas' palm settled between his shoulder blades, warm even through the thin fabric of his practice shirt. Before Euijoo could recover, Nicholas' arms wrapped around him fully, pulling him flush against his chest. The hug swallowed him whole; Nicholas' chin rested atop Euijoo's head, his broad shoulders eclipsing the practice room lights. Euijoo's breath hitched, fingers curling into the damp fabric at Nicholas' sides.

Euijoo’s protest was muffled against Nicholas’ collarbone, lips brushing damp skin. “Nichol—mmph—the others—” His hands flexed weakly against Nicholas’ back, fingertips catching on the ridges of his shoulder blades through the tank top. 

The scent of salt and body wash flooded his senses, dizzyingly close. Somewhere behind them, Harua’s distinctive cackle echoed off the mirrors, but Euijoo found himself leaning further into the embrace, forehead pressed to the steady thrum of Nicholas’ heartbeat.  

Nicholas’ laughter vibrated through him, hands splaying possessively across Euijoo’s spine. “Let them see,” he murmured, lips grazing the shell of Euijoo’s ear. His voice dipped, rough with exertion. “My leader deserves a reward.” The words sent a shiver down Euijoo’s spine, his traitorous fingers tightening in Nicholas’ waistband.

Euijoo’s protests died as Nicholas’ fingers carded through his hair, blunt nails scraping lightly against his scalp. The weight of exhaustion: from MC prep, from choreography, from pretending he wasn’t memorizing the exact width of Nicholas’ shoulders whenever they brushed past each other, settled heavy between his ribs. His cheek pressed flush against Nicholas’ deltoid, the heat of him seeping through like a brand. Euijoo exhaled slowly, letting his body melt into the cradle of Nicholas’ frame.  

He likes being taller, yes, but not like this. Not when Nicholas’ collarbone could cradle his head, when the swell of his bicep became an inadvertent pillow. The thought flickered unbidden: Fuma’s weights sessions paid off. His own shoulders, angular and lean under practice clothes, disappeared entirely beneath Nicholas’ shadow in the mirror behind them.

The blaring alarm sliced through Euijoo’s drowsiness like a knife, jolting him upright just as his eyelids had begun to flutter shut against Nicholas. K’s voice followed, crisp through the speakers: "Positions in five. We’re running it until the timing doesn't look like it's one hour late." A collective groan rippled through the room; Taki dramatically flopped onto his back while Harua kicked a stray water bottle across the floor. 

Euijoo reluctantly pushed against Nicholas’ chest, but before he could fully pull away, Nicholas’ teeth grazed the curve of his ear. The sharp sting bloomed into warmth, Nicholas’ breath hot against the shell as he whispered, "Later." 

Euijoo’s knees nearly buckled, his fingers twitching where they’d been fisted in Nicholas’ tank. The imprint of teeth lingered like a promise as he stumbled back into formation, the taste of need and want thick on his tongue.

2.

The dorm erupted into chaos before sunrise. Harua tripped over a dumbbell left in the hallway, Yuma screeched about misplaced protein shakes, and K stood motionless by the fridge in silent judgment of Fuma’s omelet technique. Their pre-tour gym ritual was sacred, a tradition born from necessity after that one disastrous early encore where half the group nearly collapsed mid-performance. Euijoo leaned against the kitchen counter nursing a black coffee. Only Nicholas’ exaggerated stretch, deliberately showcasing the way his tank top clung to his shoulders, made him glance up.

Nicholas stretched more of his arms overhead with exaggerated satisfaction, his tank top riding up just enough to reveal the deep scratch marks someone had left across his abs. The grin he shot toward Euijoo was pure provocation, all sharp canines and knowing glint, as he rolled his shoulders, muscle flexing beneath fabric. 

"Morning, Juju," he drawled, voice dripping with false innocence. "Sleep well?"  

Euijoo's grip tightened around his coffee mug, cheeks flushing despite hiding behind the mug. Behind him, Fuma clapped Maki's back with gym-buddy enthusiasm while Yuma dramatically bench-pressed a water bottle, crowing, "Protein shakes first, then we suffer!" 

The difference was almost comical: Nicholas thriving in the chaos while Euijoo looked ready to dissolve into the tiles.

Nicholas’ laughed as he watched Harua dramatically slump onto the sofa, legs dangling like a disgruntled kitten. “C’mon, Harua,” he called, tossing a protein bar that bounced off the younger’s chest. “You’ll thank me when you’re the only one not wheezing during the tour.” 

His gaze flicked to Taki sulking by the water cooler, arms crossed over his slight frame. “And you—”  

Taki groaned before Nicholas could finish, pressing his forehead against the cooler’s plastic surface. “I hate mornings.” 

The group’s footsteps echoed through the empty company hallway as they approached the gym, their sneakers squeaking against the polished floor. The night-shift security guard blinked at them from his desk, coffee halfway to his lips, before shaking his head and muttering something about “idols and their ungodly hours.” Fuma took point effortlessly, flashing his ID card at the scanner while tossing a grin over his shoulder, sub-leader mode activated despite the hour. Euijoo lingered near the back, hood pulled high as Nicholas deliberately slowed his stride to match his.

Nicholas’ footsteps slowed further, letting the group’s chatter fade ahead as he nudged Euijoo’s shoulder with his own. “So,” he murmured, fingers brushing the hem of Euijoo’s hoodie. “Gym’s your own personal hell, huh?” His grin was all teeth, knowing.  

Euijoo shot him a sidelong glare, tugging his sleeve higher. “I don’t hate it,” he muttered, voice cracking halfway, whether from exhaustion or discontent he wasn’t sure. “Just… prefer dancing.”  

Nicholas’ laugh was low, curling around Euijoo’s ribs like smoke. “Mm. Lucky you.” His thumb pressed into the tender skin above Euijoo’s hipbone through the fabric. “I’ll make sure you enjoy this session.”

Nicholas winked at Euijoo before jogging ahead, his broad shoulders cutting through the gym’s fluorescent lights. He caught Maki mid-stretch, draping an arm around the youngest member’s shoulders with a conspiratorial goal. The whispered exchange was too low for anyone else to hear, but Maki’s sudden mischievous grin sent a jolt of dread straight through Euijoo’s spine.  

Euijoo groaned, rubbing his temple as Nicholas sauntered back toward the changing room with exaggerated nonchalance. It told Euijoo everything he needed to know. Euijoo hissed under his breath, but the other just grinned over his shoulder, flexing his biceps in a silent dare.

The gym’s stale air clung thick as Fuma moved between stations, his clipboard tapping against his thigh. When he paused beside Euijoo mid-bicep curl, his frown was more clinical than critical. “Elbows in,” he murmured, adjusting Euijoo’s form with ease. The weights trembled slightly in Euijoo’s grip, too light, Fuma noted silently, but the muscle definition wasn’t lying. 

He jerked his chin toward the heavier dumbbells. “Switch. You’re stronger than this.”  

Euijoo exhaled sharply through his nose but obeyed, the new weight burning pleasantly as he curled. Around them, the others groaned through reps. K spotting Harua’s shaky bench press, Jo and Yuma locked in a silent squat competition, but the absence prickled at Euijoo’s nape. No Nicholas. No Maki. Just the echo of their last whispered exchange curling like smoke in his lungs.

Then, the changing room door swung open with a metallic creak, drawing every gaze in the gym like moths to flame. Nicholas strode out shirtless, sweat glistening down the carved planes of his chest. Maki trailed behind him, equally bare-skinned and grinning like he'd just won the lottery. The silence was instantaneous.

It was also broken instantly as Harua's dumbbell clattered to the floor, the metallic bang ricocheting off the gym walls as his jaw went slack. His wide-eyed stare at Maki's impeccably defined abs, since when had that happened? Across the room, Taki's treadmill beeped violently as he stumbled, barely catching himself on the handrails before face-planting onto the conveyor belt.  

Jo's usual poker face shattered mid-squat, his knees buckling as Yuma crowned victory (not that anyone noticed). The collective shock was palpable, weighted with the unspoken realization that Nicholas’ influence had clearly rubbed off on their youngest member in more ways than one. Maki’s grin only widened under the scrutiny.

Nicholas’ smirk deepened as he watched the chaos unfold, Maki gloating under the sudden attention, Harua’s dumbbell still rolling across the floor, Taki gaping like a fish out of water. But his gaze inevitably flicked back to Euijoo, lingering on the way his fingers twitched around the weights, knuckles whitening. If Maki was the problem for the others, then Nicholas was Euijoo’s catastrophe; a fact he relished with every flex of his shoulders, every deliberate step closer.  

He caught Euijoo’s wrist mid-rep, fingers circling the delicate bone with mocking gentleness. “Need a spotter, Juju?” The question dripped with false concern, his thumb pressing into the pulse point just to feel it jump. The gym’s fluorescent lights caught the sweat beading at Euijoo’s temple, the way his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.

The gym’s ambient noise faded into white static as Nicholas stepped closer, his bare chest gleaming under the harsh fluorescents. Euijoo’s grip tightened around the dumbbell handle, a futile attempt at anchoring himself against the gravitational pull of Nicholas’ presence. 

“I don’t need anything,” he gritted out, jerking his wrist free with more force than necessary. The weights clattered onto the rack, the metallic clang echoing like a warning shot. Nicholas’ laughter was thick and suffocating.

Nicholas exhaled sharply through his nose before releasing Euijoo’s wrist with an exaggerated flick of his fingers. “Fine,” he drawled, rolling his shoulders until the muscles flexed visibly beneath sweat-slick skin. 

The barbell rack stood barely three paces away, and Nicholas hefted the weight with deliberate ease, the veins in his forearms standing out in stark relief as he adjusted his grip. The metallic clink of plates shifting was almost mocking as he shot Euijoo a sidelong glance mid-lift. 

His eyes never left Euijoo’s face, tracing every micro-expression as he lifted the weight with exaggerated slowness. The overhead lights carved shadows between each defined abdominal muscle, sweat glistening along the ridges like liquid mercury. His biceps bulged obscenely with each controlled movement, veins snaking beneath taut skin.

Euijoo’s throat clicked as he swallowed, fingers twitching at his sides. He’d turned away, he’d looked away, but Nicholas’ gaze was a physical weight, hotter than the gym’s stifling air. The distance between them meant nothing; Nicholas had him pinned under that predatory stare alone, rendering every inch of space irrelevant.  

Nicholas exhaled sharply through his nose as he lowered the barbell, the metallic clang reverberating through Euijoo’s ribs like a gong. His smirk was a blade. “Problem, Juju?”

Euijoo didn’t reply, just turned sharply on his heel and stalked toward the benches, pulse hammering loud enough to drown out the gym’s noise. His phone was a cold weight in his palm when he yanked it from his hoodie pocket, thumbs swiping blindly until the camera app flickered open. The screen blurred as his hands trembled, but the auto-focus locked onto Nicholas before Euijoo could stop himself. The shutter clicked silently, capturing the exact moment Nicholas’ biceps flexed under the barbell’s strain, veins like cables bulging.  

He hadn’t meant to but the image was already saved, immortalizing the way Nicholas’ sweat dripped down his collarbones in appetizing trails.

Euijoo’s thumb hovered over the delete button, pulse rabbiting in his throat, until a wall of heat slammed into his back. Nicholas’ sweat-damp chest pressed flush against Euijoo’s hoodie, the fabric clinging instantly where skin met fabric. His arms encircled Euijoo’s waist, biceps pinning Euijoo’s elbows to his sides as he peered shamelessly over his shoulder. The phone screen flickered black under Euijoo’s frantic tap, but not before Nicholas’ smirk flashed back at them, smug and knowing, reflected in the darkened glass.  

Nicholas didn’t speak. Didn’t need to. His breath was hot against Euijoo’s nape, his grip tightening just enough to make Euijoo’s ribs ache with each shallow inhale. The gym’s noises faded to white noise around them, drowned out by the deafening rush of blood in Euijoo’s ears.

Nicholas whined dramatically, draping himself over Euijoo’s shoulders with all the grace of a spoiled cat demanding attention. His fingers curled into the fabric of Euijoo’s hoodie, tugging insistently. 

“Juju~,” he sing-songed, pitching his voice just loud enough for the others to glance over before deliberately dropping into a whisper. “Spot me. Everyone else is busy.” His lips brushed the shell of Euijoo’s ear on the last word, hot and teasing, knowing full well Euijoo couldn’t refuse.

Euijoo’s jaw clenched, but his resolve crumbled the moment Nicholas’ grip slid down to his wrists, thumb rubbing slow circles. The unspoken challenge hung between them and Euijoo exhaled through his mouth, letting Nicholas drag him toward the bench press with a smirk that promised torment wrapped in velvet.

Euijoo hovered awkwardly behind the bench, fingers twitching near the barbell but never quite touching, like Nicholas might burn him if he got too close. The lights carved every ridge of Nicholas’ torso, sweat pooling in the divots between his abs as he lifted with effortless control. Euijoo’s gaze flickered wildly, from the water-stained ceiling tiles to the peeling motivational poster on the far wall, anywhere but down, where Nicholas’ biceps strained with each rep, veins mapping out like rivers.  

Nicholas’ chuckle was a dark rumble, chest vibrating with the sound as he paused mid-lift, the barbell hovering dangerously over his throat. “Eyes here, Juju,” he purred, nodding toward his grip where his fingers flexed around the bar. 

Euijoo’s jaw clenched, but he obeyed, only for Nicholas to deliberately arch his back, the movement making every muscle ripple in a wave that started at his shoulders and rolled down to his hips.

“You’re distracting me,” Euijoo hissed, voice cracking under the weight of the lie, because the truth was worse. Nicholas wasn’t the distraction; he was the only thing Euijoo could see, even with his eyes squeezed shut.

Euijoo thought it couldn't get worse than this, but Nicholas proved him wrong. The groan Nicholas let out was low and filthy, vibrating through his chest. It was pitched just enough for Euijoo’s ears alone, a sound that belonged behind closed doors, muffled into pillows. Nicholas’ hips rolled subtly against the bench, the motion hidden beneath the barbell’s weight but unmistakable in its intent. His lips parted on another exhale, this one sharper, wetter, as if he were imagining something far more obscene than lifting iron.  

Euijoo’s fingers trembled near the barbell’s safety catch, his entire body locking up like a live current had shot through him. The flush crawling up his neck was violent, spreading to the tips of his ears as Nicholas’ next groan dissolved into a breathy chuckle. “Juju,” Nicholas murmured, melodic and saccharine, “you’re blushing.”

The whistle’s shriek sliced suddenly through the gym’s humid air like a cleaver. Fuma stood atop a bench with one foot propped on a dumbbell, cheeks puffed comically around the plastic whistle dangling from his lips. His other hand brandished a stopwatch like a sword, tapping it pointedly with his finger. 

“Session over,” Fuma announced, deadpan despite the absurdity of his stance. The effect was ruined slightly by Yuma wheezing in the background, protein shake dribbling down his chin as he clutched his ribs laughing.  

Nicholas groaned, tossing the barbell onto the rack with a metallic clang that made Euijoo flinch. His smirk was lazy as he rolled onto his side, propping his head up on one hand to watch Euijoo’s frantic retreat toward the changing rooms. “Running away?” he called, voice dripping with false hurt. The way his abs flexed as he sat up was criminal; Euijoo nearly tripped over his own feet.

Euijoo practically lunged for the changing room door, shoulders hunched like a man fleeing an active crime scene. The cold metal handle bit into his palm as he wrenched it open, only for Nicholas’ laughter to chase him inside, ricocheting off the tile walls like a taunt made physical. His reflection in the fogged mirror was a mess: hoodie askew, hair damp with sweat, and a flush so deep it looked like someone had pressed a branding iron to his throat.  

He yanked the hoodie over his head with more force than necessary, the fabric catching on his elbows in a tangle of limbs and frustration. Never again, he vowed silently, tossing the crumpled garment onto the bench with a sound halfway between a groan and a whimper. If Nicholas so much as stepped inside a gym in his presence ever again, Euijoo would personally burn every treadmill that landed in his vision.

3.

The mess of departure echoed through the dorm hallway. Harua’s sneakers squeaking against the laminate as he hip-checked Jo into the wall, Taki’s failed reenactment of some anime protagonist pose halfway out the door as Yuma laughed at him.

Euijoo leaned against the kitchen counter, nursing his third coffee of the morning while Maki paused mid-stride to smirk at him. “You really don’t know Chainsaw Man?” His nose scrunched, all faux-disappointment. “You're so unc.” 

Euijoo’s face crumpled at the unfamiliar slang that sounded like an insult as the maknaes dissolved into laughter, their voices fading down the stairwell like. He exhaled through his nose, tracing the rim of his cup. The quiet settled oddly in his chest; no choreography drills, no screaming about stolen ice cream. Just the distant clatter of Fuma rummaging for his wallet, K’s patient hum as he held out Fuma’s forgotten glasses case. Euijoo’s thumb brushed his phone screen. Alone time, he reminded himself. The thought tasted bitter.

The dorm door clicked shut behind Euijoo, sealing him into the temporary sanctuary of his room. His fingers lingered on the knob, thumb brushing the keyhole, always left unlocked when Nicholas stayed over. The bed creaked faintly as he sank onto the edge. Silence stretched, broken only by the distant hum of traffic multiple floors below. He'd craved solitude all morning, but now that he had it, the absence of Nicholas’ weight dipping the mattress beside him ached like a fresh bruise.  

His phone screen lit up in his palm instinctively, thumb hovering over Nicholas’ contact before he caught himself. The ridiculousness of it, missing someone who shared these same walls more nights than not, twisted his lips into a smile. Euijoo flopped backward, starfishing across the sheets. The pillow smelled like Nicholas’ shampoo.

The phone screen burned Euijoo’s retinas as he swiped past endless notifications: fan edits, schedule reminders, a TikTok meme Maki had tagged him in that he didn’t understand. His thumb moved on autopilot: Twitter (Nicholas trending for a fancam), Instagram (Nicholas’ latest selca, lips glistening under studio lights), YouTube (a compilation of Nicholas’ working out that had no right being five minutes long). He exhaled sharply through his nose, fingers tapping his gallery icon before he could stop himself.  

The album labeled WN blinked back at him, innocuous as a landmine. Euijoo’s pinky dug into the mattress as he tapped it open. Dozens of photos unfurled: Nicholas mid-laugh, head thrown back, sunlight catching his eyelashes; Nicholas asleep on Euijoo’s shoulder, mouth slightly open; Nicholas biting his lip in concentration while folding laundry, biceps straining the sleeves of Euijoo’s stolen hoodie. His stomach swooped. Three hours. He’d lasted three fucking hours before the ache set in.  

Euijoo groaned, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyelids. “Pathetic,” he muttered to the empty room, but his thumb hovered over the most recent photo anyway: Nicholas’ fingers splayed across Euijoo’s bare waist from last night, swallowing him whole even in pixel form.

The screen brightness seared into Euijoo’s retinas as he swiped to the next photo: Nicholas mid-rep, shirtless and glistening under the gym’s harsh fluorescents, veins corded along his forearms where they strained under the barbell. His thumb stuttered, pulse kicking against his ribs. The waistband of his boxers dug into his hipbone as he shifted, fabric tightening with the unconscious roll of his hips before he could stop himself. His fingers twitched, then slid beneath the elastic, knuckles brushing the sparse trail of hair leading downward. A shaky inhale. The photo zoomed in with a pinch of his fingers: Nicholas’ sweat-slick collarbones, the dip of his sternum, the way his abs clenched—  

Euijoo’s breath quivered as his palm pressed flush against himself, heat pooling low in his belly. The mattress creaked under his weight, sheets tangling around his thighs. His teeth sank into his lower lip, stifling the quiet noise that threatened to escape when he imagined Nicholas’ hands instead of his own, rough and broad enough to span his entire waist. The thought alone had his hips jerking upward, chasing friction that wasn’t there yet.

The sheets twisted around Euijoo’s thighs as his fingers moved faster, breath coming in ragged bursts. His free hand clutched the phone tighter, Nicholas’ smirk frozen on screen, that goddamn knowing tilt of his lips, like he could feel Euijoo unraveling. A moan slipped past his teeth, sharp and unbidden, and Euijoo bit down hard on his wrist to muffle it. The sting barely registered over the white-hot coil tightening in his gut.  

He’d lost count of how many times they’d been interrupted: Taki’s shrill scream that one evening, Jo barging in for "borrowed" headphones, K’s deadpan stare when he caught them pressed too close in the kitchen. Seven other men. One sexy ass boyfriend. This was fucking unsustainable. 

Euijoo’s hips lift upward, back arching off the mattress as his imagination supplied Nicholas’ weight pinning him down, Nicholas’ mouth sucking bruises along his—

The door swung open with a jarring slam, hinges protesting just as Euijoo’s fingers stilled mid-stroke. His breath caught, sharp and panicked, as he yanked the duvet over himself, heart hammering against his ribs. The muffled thud of footsteps approached, before the blanket was ripped away in one swift motion. Cold air hit his flushed skin, exposing the tented fabric of his boxers, the frantic rise-and-fall of his chest. Nicholas loomed above him, shadows from the doorway cutting across his smirk. 

"Busy, leader-nim?" His voice dripped with amusement, eyes raking over Euijoo’s disheveled state. The phone screen still glowed between them, Nicholas’ own half-naked gym photo glaring back like an accusation.

Euijoo’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly, his fingers spasming around the phone as Nicholas’ smirk deepened. The screen flickered between them; Nicholas’ sweat-slicked collarbones, the way his abs flexed under gym lights, before Nicholas plucked it from his grip with infuriating ease. His thumb swiped across the photo, zooming in on his own smirk frozen mid-rep. 

“Really, Juju?” Nicholas’ voice dropped, rich with amusement as he tossed the phone onto the mattress. One knee pressed into the space between Euijoo’s thighs, crowding him back against the headboard. “When I’m right here?”  

Nicholas’ palm slid up his bare thigh, fingertips skimming the hem of his boxers where damp fabric clung. Heat surged through him, sharp and electric, when Nicholas leaned down, lips brushing his ear. 

“Let me show you the difference,” Nicholas murmured, teeth scraping Euijoo’s neck, “between the photo—” his hand curled around Euijoo’s waist, swallowing him whole, “—and the real thing.”

Euijoo’s back arched off the mattress with a choked gasp, Nicholas’ teeth scraping the column of his throat in a way that short-circuited every coherent thought. One hand (god, his hands) pinned Euijoo’s wrists above his head with terrifying ease while the other dragged down the length of his cock through damp fabric. The sensation scrambled his senses: sweat-slick skin, the musk of Nicholas’ cologne, the sharp bite of pain-pleasure when Nicholas sucked a bruise into his collarbone. Euijoo’s hips jerked upward, seeking friction, only for Nicholas to chuckle against his will. 

“Look at you,” he murmured, lips trailing fire. “Falling apart from just my hands.”

Euijoo gasped sharply, his back bowing off the mattress as Nicholas' fingers tightened around the base of his cock, stopping him just as the first wave of pleasure crested. His hips jerked uselessly against the restraint, a whine tearing from his throat. Nicholas' breath was hot against his ear, voice crazed with amusement. 

"Impatient, Juju?" His thumb swiped cruelly over the leaking head, smearing precum across Euijoo’s trembling stomach. "Naughty leader doesn’t get to come."  

Euijoo’s fingers scrabbled at the sheets, thighs shaking where they bracketed Nicholas’ hips. The denial burned hotter than any touch, his cock throbbing angrily against Nicholas’ palm. "N-Nichol—" His voice cracked, desperation clawing up his throat. Nicholas only smirked, leaning down to lick the sweat from his collarbone. 

"You should’ve waited for me," he murmured, teeth seeping into the sensitive skin. "Now let me play with you a bit longer."

Nicholas’ fingers curled into the waistband of Euijoo’s boxers, the fabric straining for a heartbeat before tearing apart. Cool air rushed against Euijoo’s bare skin, his hips jerking instinctively as Nicholas pushed his thighs wider apart, exposing him completely. The smirk playing on Nicholas’ lips was downright predatory as he leaned down, breath hot against Euijoo’s ear. 

"Juju, you’re so cute," he murmured, fingertips tracing the swell of Euijoo’s ass before dipping lower, teasing the tight furl of his hole. "Already twitching for me."  

Euijoo’s whimper dissolved into a sharp gasp when Nicholas spat onto his fingers, the sound inappropriately loud in the quiet room. A slick fingertip circled his entrance, slow and torturous, before pressing inside without warning. The stretch burned, familiar yet overwhelming, as Nicholas’ other hand pinched his nipple between thumb and forefinger, rolling the bud cruelly just as his finger crooked just right inside him. Euijoo’s back arched off the mattress, toes curling into the sheets. "N-Nichol—ah—!"

Euijoo's breath stuttered as Nicholas' second finger pressed alongside the first, stretching him impossibly wider. The burn bloomed into a sweet ache; Nicholas' knuckles brushing against his rim, the sheer girth of his fingers making Euijoo's toes curl into the sheets. His hips jerked instinctively, trying to both escape and chase the sensation, but Nicholas pinned him down with strength. "T-Tight—" Euijoo choked out, thighs trembling.  

Nicholas' chuckle vibrated through him, high with satisfaction as he crooked his fingers just so, scissoring them to make Euijoo's twitch. "Like you were made for me." The drag of calloused skin against his inner walls had Euijoo seeing stars, his cock leaking helplessly onto his stomach.

Nicholas’ fingers curled deeper, until Euijoo’s thighs shook violently against his hips. The gasp that tore from Euijoo’s throat when Nicholas brushed that spot was downright sinful; high-pitched, broken, his back arching off the mattress like a bowstring pulled too tight. Nicholas smirked as he pressed harder, watching Euijoo’s teeth sink into his own wrist to muffle the scream threatening to escape. 

"Found it," Nicholas murmured, voice thick with content. He crooked his fingers just so, dragging over Euijoo’s prostate with deliberate slowness, relishing how Euijoo’s cock jerked against his stomach, leaking pathetically.  

Euijoo’s vision whited out for a second, his free hand scrabbling at Nicholas’ bicep, nails digging crescent moons into his skin. "N-Nicholas—fuck—" he sobbed, hips stuttering helplessly between the torment of Nicholas’ fingers and the crushing weight of his thighs. Nicholas chuckled, leaning down to lick the tear streaking Euijoo’s cheekbone. 

"Louder," he commanded, punctuating the word with another vicious thrust of his fingers.

Euijoo came with a shattered gasp, his whole body locking tight around Nicholas’ fingers as pleasure crackled through him like lightning. His spine arched off the mattress violently, toes curling into the sheets as his cock pulsed untouched between them, painting his stomach in thick stripes. Blinking hazily through the aftershocks, the realization crashed into him like a hangover; Nicholas hadn’t even touched his dick again. Just his fingers, relentless and knowing, working him open until he shattered.  

Euijoo’s breath shook as Nicholas withdrew his fingers with a slick sound, pressing a kiss to his trembling inner thigh. “Fuck you,” Euijoo rasped, voice wrecked, fingers twisting in the sheets. 

Nicholas grinned, licking his come off Euijoo’s stomach with deliberate slowness. “Already did,” he murmured against the damp skin. “With my fingers.”

Nicholas swallowed the last drop with a hum, tongue swiping over Euijoo's trembling stomach like it was honey dripping from a spoon. His smirk deepened at Euijoo's weak shove, catching his wrist effortlessly. "You're gross," Euijoo muttered, but the way his fingers curled into Nicholas' hair betrayed him. 

Nicholas let himself be dragged down, their bodies slotting together; Euijoo's back pressed flush against Nicholas' chest, his thighs joined by Nicholas' knees. The mess between them cooled sticky against their skin, but Nicholas only nuzzled into the nape of Euijoo's neck, breathing him in. 

"Mine," he murmured, voice rough with satisfaction, arms tightening possessively around Euijoo's waist.  

Euijoo exhaled shakily, fingertips tracing idle patterns over Nicholas' forearm where it banded across his ribs. His eyelids fluttered shut as Nicholas' lips brushed his hair, no teasing, just warmth. The weight of him, the steady rise-and-fall of his chest against Euijoo's spine, anchored the ruckus of the last hour into something tender.

4.

The front door clicked shut behind Euijoo silently, his exhaustion pressing heavily against his shoulders as he toed off his sneakers in the darkened entryway. The dorm hummed with the quiet of late night; only the refrigerator’s persistent whirr and faint snoring from down the hall. Euijoo’s fingers trembled slightly as he pushed open his bedroom door, the hinges creaking softly to reveal Yuma sprawled diagonally across the lower bunk, one arm dangling off the mattress like a cat mid-nap. He paused, watching the steady rise and fall of Yuma’s chest before slipping inside, careful not to wake the sleeping cat up. Euijoo felt sticky and gross after today’s unbearable schedule, so he opted to clean himself up.

The bathroom tiles were cool under Euijoo's bare feet as he stepped under the shower spray, hissing softly as the hot water hit sore muscles. Steam floated around him, fogging the mirror as he leaned heavily against the wall, exhaustion weighing down every limb. His fingers fumbled with the shampoo bottle, twice, before he remembered he hadn't actually locked the door, the realization dawning too late as the shower curtain rippled from the sudden draft of the door swinging open. 

The shower curtain ripped back with a sharp whoosh, steam billowing out into the bathroom like a stage effect. Nicholas filled the doorway, water dripping from his fingertips onto the tiled floor. His eyes raked over Euijoo’s soap-slicked body with shameless hunger.

Nicholas’ smirk deepened as he stepped into the shower, steam dancing around his bare shoulders where water already dripped from his hairline. His fingers hooked under the hem of his white tank, peeling it off in one smooth motion before tossing it onto the sink with a wet slap. The fabric clung briefly to his abs before surrendering gravity. Euijoo’s breath stuttered, predictable and adorable, as Nicholas’ hands slid down to the waistband of his boxers, thumbs dipping beneath the elastic. 

“Didn’t shower yet,” he murmured, voice low enough to vibrate through the steam between them. His boxers hit the tiles with a damp thud. “Might as well… multitask.”  

The spray hissed between them as Nicholas crowded Euijoo against the tiled wall, his larger frame blocking the water’s path entirely. Euijoo’s gasp dissolved into a shiver when Nicholas’ palm flattened against his sternum, pushing him back into the cold ceramic. “Nichol...” The protest died in his throat as Nicholas reached for the shampoo bottle, squeezing a dollop onto his palm before lathering it between his hands. His fingers carded through Euijoo’s hair with infuriating slowness, nails scraping his scalp just so. Euijoo’s knees buckled.

Nicholas caught him by the hips, chuckling against his temple. “Tilt your head back, Juju.”

Euijoo obeyed, tilting his head back with a shaky exhale as Nicholas' fingers worked the shampoo into his hair, thumbs massaging slow circles at his scalp. The protest stopped on his tongue. What was the point, when Nicholas' hands felt like this? Warm water sluiced through his hair, Nicholas' palm cradling his forehead to shield his eyes from the sting of suds. It was dizzying, being cared for like this; Nicholas' touch firm yet tender, as if Euijoo was something fragile, something precious.

Nicholas’ thumbs now dug into the knots along Euijoo’s shoulders with practiced mastery, the pressure just shy of painful. Euijoo groaned, his forehead dropping forward against Nicholas’ collarbone as the tension bled out of him in waves. “Where did you even learn this?” he mumbled into Nicholas’ skin, the words slurring with relaxation.  

Nicholas chuckled, fingers skating down the length of Euijoo’s arm to knead the sore muscles there. “YouTube,” he admitted, pressing a kiss to the crown of Euijoo’s head. “After you kept complaining about your back last month.” His hands were relentless, working Euijoo’s body like clay until he was pliant and boneless against him. 

The water beat down on them both, steam rising in lazy loops as Nicholas murmured, “Good, yeah? Just like that.”

The moan tore from Euijoo’s throat before he could swallow it down, high and desperate, echoing off the shower tiles as Nicholas’ fingers dug into the muscle just above his hipbone. He felt Nicholas freeze behind him, the rhythmic massage stuttering to a halt. Steam thickened between them, Nicholas’ breath hot against the nape of Euijoo’s neck. 

“Juju,” he murmured, voice gone rough. “That wasn’t…” His thumbs pressed harder, circling the dip of Euijoo’s waist. “Innocent.”  

Euijoo’s stomach swooped, his back arching instinctively into Nicholas’ touch before he could stop himself. The denial bubbled up automatically. “I didn’t—ah,” but Nicholas’ chuckle cut him off, lips biting his ear.

“Liar,” he breathed, fingers skating lower. “You wanted me to hear that.” The accusation sent heat surging straight to Euijoo’s cock, already half-hard under the spray. 

Nicholas’ palm slid around his hip, pressing flush against his stomach. “Now what,” he mused, “should I do about it?”

Nicholas' teeth sank into the juncture of Euijoo's neck and shoulder with predatory intent, sucking hard enough to bruise. The sharp pain-pleasure had Euijoo gasping, his fingers scrabbling against the slick tiles as Nicholas laved his tongue over the mark, owning and savoring it. "Nichol—ah—you fucking asshole," Euijoo hissed, voice cracking between outrage and breathlessness.  

Nicholas chuckled amusedly, lips still pressed to the rapidly purpling skin. His palm slid down Euijoo's stomach, calloused fingers wrapping around his cock with infuriating casualness. "You'll thank me later."  

Euijoo's knee-jerk kick missed by a mile, water sloshing violently as Nicholas pinned him harder against the wall. "I hate you," he gasped, hips stuttering forward into Nicholas' grip anyway.

Nicholas crashed their mouths together with the desperation of a starving man; his lips swallowing Euijoo’s thinner ones whole, teeth scraping before his tongue licked inside. The sheer size of Nicholas’ mouth engulfed him, the angle leaving Euijoo gasping into the kiss, his frame caged between the tiles and Nicholas’ broad frame. Steam clung to their skin as Nicholas bit down on Euijoo’s lower lip, tugging sharply, his breath hot between them.

Nicholas' lips trailed downward with agonizing slowness, teeth grazing the sensitive skin of Euijoo's throat before biting down, not enough to break skin, but enough to wring a choked gasp from him. Each mark bloomed darker than the last, a descending constellation of bruises that Nicholas mapped with his tongue, savoring the salt on Euijoo's skin. When he reached the swell of Euijoo's chest, he paused, exhaling hotly over a peaked nipple before dragging his teeth across it like he meant to pluck it clean off. Euijoo arched violently, his fingers twisting in Nicholas' hair as Nicholas laved over the abused bud with deliberate cruelty.

Nicholas' lips burned a trail down Euijoo's sternum, pausing to drag his tongue along the line of his abs, each plane worshipped like hallowed ground. His palms spanned Euijoo's waist completely, thumbs meeting in the middle with room to spare, fingers pressing possessive crescents into the delicate curve. 

"Fuck," Nicholas muttered against his skin, the words vibrating through Euijoo's ribs. "Every time you wear those crop tops on stage—" His teeth scraped the jut of Euijoo's hipbone, sharp enough to make him jerk.

Euijoo's breath hitched as Nicholas' mouth sealed over the sensitive skin just above his waistband, sucking hard enough to leave a bruise that would linger for days. The mark bloomed purple-red under Nicholas' lips, a brand hidden beneath fabric until he chose to reveal it. 

"There," Nicholas murmured, laving his tongue over the fresh bruise with sickening satisfaction. "Now they'll never see it like I do."

Euijoo’s breath slowed as Nicholas’ mouth traveled lower, each flick of his tongue sending sparks up Euijoo’s spine. The water cascaded over them both, but the heat between their bodies rivaled the scalding spray. Euijoo’s fingers tangled in Nicholas’ hair; whether to push him away or pull him closer, even he didn’t know. His thoughts blurred into static, the ruthless pleasure short-circuiting any coherent protest.  

Nicholas hummed against his skin, the vibration reverberating through Euijoo’s bones. “Still thinking straight, Juju?” he teased, nipping at the tender flesh just below Euijoo’s navel. The bite stung, but the sharp pain only amplified the dizzying pleasure, leaving Euijoo’s knees weak. His response was a broken whimper, hips twitching forward helplessly. Nicholas chuckled, low and victorious. “Didn’t think so.”

Nicholas didn’t hesitate; his lips parted wide, tongue already flattening against Euijoo’s cock before swallowing him down in one smooth, obscene motion. Nicholas made it look effortless, Euijoo’s length disappearing past those sinful lips until his nose pressed flush against damp curls. Euijoo choked on air as Nicholas’ throat fluttered around him, hot and wet.  

Nicholas groaned around him, the vibration echoed straight to Euijoo’s toes, curling them against the shower floor. His hands gripped Euijoo’s hips hard enough to bruise, fingertips digging into the soft skin there as he pulled back just to drag his tongue along the underside, slow and filthy. “Fuck—Nichol—” Euijoo’s voice cracked, his thighs trembling violently as Nicholas swallowed him down again, deeper this time, until tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

Nicholas surged forward with renewed intensity, his mouth sealed tight around Euijoo's length as he sucked in brutal, rhythmic pulls. Euijoo's fingers twisted violently in his hair, nails scraping his scalp, but Nicholas only groaned around him; the vibration sent shocks of pleasure straight to Euijoo's core. Water sloshed wildly around them as Euijoo's thighs trembled, his voice breaking into a ragged shout. "I—I'm gonna—Nicholas!"  

The warning barely left his lips before Nicholas doubled down, hollowing his cheeks and swallowing him deeper, relentless. A broken cry tore from his throat as his orgasm ripped through him, white-hot and consuming. Nicholas didn't pull away, not even as Euijoo's hips jerked uncontrollably, his release spilling down Nicholas' throat in thick pulses. He could feel Nicholas swallowing every last drop, lips still working him through the oversensitivity until Euijoo's legs gave out entirely.

Nicholas surged upward, water sluicing off his shoulders as he caught Euijoo’s waist, just in time to keep him from crumpling to the shower floor. His grip was firm, thumbs pressing into the soft dip of his abdomen. The taste of Euijoo lingered on Nicholas’ lips, salty and bitter-sweet, when he crushed their mouths together again. Euijoo whimpered into the kiss, oversensitive and pliant, as Nicholas licked the remnants of his own release from his tongue. 

“There,” Nicholas murmured against his lips, voice rough. “Now you know how good you taste.”  

Euijoo’s knees buckled again, but Nicholas held him effortlessly, his chuckle vibrating through their chests where they pressed together. Nicholas nipped at Euijoo’s swollen lower lip, savoring the way he shuddered.

Nicholas exhaled sharply through his mouth, his cock straining against Euijoo’s thigh where they were pressed together. The urge to rut against him, to chase his own release, was almost overwhelming. But Euijoo’s eyelids were already fluttering shut, his body limp and spent in Nicholas’ arms. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to pull away just as a sharp rap echoed against the bathroom door.  

"Hyung, hurry up," Yuma’s sleep-roughened voice whined through the wood, followed by a theatrical groan. "I’m gonna pee my pants out here."  

Nicholas bit back a laugh, reaching to turn the water off with one hand while the other steadied Euijoo’s swaying frame. "C’mon, baby," he murmured, pressing a kiss to Euijoo’s damp hair. "Let’s get you to bed."

The morning after, the group prepared to rehearse their choreo like usual, yet they’re still waiting for one person. The practice room buzzed with idle chatter until Euijoo shuffled in, drowning in a black turtleneck sweater despite the sweltering heat. Nicholas' smirk bloomed slow and wicked as he leaned against the mirror, eyes tracking the way Euijoo's fingers nervously tugged at the suffocating fabric around his throat.  

Yuma's elbow jabbed into Harua's ribs, jerking his chin toward Euijoo with exaggerated eyebrows. "Told you," he stage-whispered, fanning his face dramatically. "Full crime scene under there—Nicholas was feral last night."

5.

The dorm’s nighttime stillness settled like a held breath, broken only by the occasional tap of Nicholas’ fingers against his laptop keyboard. Euijoo lay sprawled on his bed, chin propped on folded arms as he watched Nicholas’ back; the way his shoulders shifted beneath his thin cotton shirt with every keystroke, the faint glow of the screen casting sharp shadows along his jawline. The cotton of Nicholas’ shirt stretched thin across his shoulders as he shifted against the chair. Euijoo’s tangerine-patterned pajamas were rumpled from rolling onto his stomach, the cheerful print at odds with the sleepy pout he aimed at Nicholas’ back. 

Nicholas' fingers paused mid-keystroke, the sudden silence louder than his typing had been. He didn't turn around, just tilted his head slightly. "You bored?" His voice was casual, but the way his shoulders tensed betrayed his focus shifting entirely toward the bed.  

Euijoo buried his face deeper into his folded arms, the fabric of his pajamas muffling his grumble. "...Yeah." The admission was grudging, his toes curling into the bedsheet as he refused to elaborate further. Nicholas' chair creaked as he leaned back, the sound ominous in the quiet dorm. 

Nicholas' fingers drummed against his thigh, once then twice, before he pushed back from the desk with deliberate slowness. The chair legs scraped against the floor like a warning, but his voice was honey-smooth when he finally spoke.

"Juju." He didn't turn around, letting the name hang in the air between them, heavy with unspoken command. "C’mere."  

Euijoo bristled, burying his face deeper into the pillow. "No." The word was muffled but firm. 

A beat passed before he peeked out with narrowed eyes, adding, "...Unless you promise not to touch me." The challenge was clear, Euijoo’s lips twitching at the corners, knowing full well Nicholas' hands were his greatest weapon and greatest weakness. Nicholas' laugh was accompanied by his shoulders shaking with it as he finally swiveled to face Euijoo fully.

Nicholas' smirk twisted into something sharper, bitter yet amused, as he raised his hands in mock surrender. "Fine," he conceded, voice dripping with innocence while his fingers flexed against the armrests, every tendon taut with restraint. "No touching." 

The lie tasted sweet on his tongue, especially when Euijoo finally unfolded himself from the bed with wary grace, pajama sleeves slipping down his wrists as he padded closer like a skittish cat approaching a predator.  

Euijoo halted just out of arm's reach, chin tilted in defiance despite the flush creeping up his neck. "I mean it," he warned, jabbing a finger toward Nicholas' chest without making contact. "One grab and I'm gone."

Euijoo’s fingers curled into the hem of his pajama sleeves as he weighed his options: Nicholas’ smug smirk, the laptop’s glow painting half his face in cool light, the challenge hanging between them like a dare. Then, with a sharp inhale, he made his move. Before Nicholas could react, Euijoo pivoted and dropped backward onto his lap, back pressed flush against Nicholas’ chest as he faced the laptop screen. The chair groaned under their combined weight, but Euijoo didn’t flinch, just tilted his head slightly, feigning nonchalance as Nicholas’ breath stopped behind him. Nicholas’ hands twitched toward Euijoo’s hips instinctively before freezing mid-air, fingers flexing with visible restraint.

He craned his neck slightly to peer around the obstruction, fingers hovering over the keyboard while his other hand settled cautiously on Euijoo’s thigh, just above the knee. 

“You’re literally in my way,” he murmured, “but fine. Keep sitting there looking pretty.” His fingers resumed typing one-handed, the other tracing idle circles on Euijoo’s pajama-clad leg, light enough to toe the line of their agreement.  

Euijoo squirmed slightly, shoulders tensing at the contact, but didn’t pull away. Instead, he tilted his head back against Nicholas’ collarbone, watching the screen with feigned interest. The corner of his mouth twitched, a silent victory, when Nicholas’ typing slowed, distracted by the weight of him.

Euijoo pulled his phone from his pocket with pure disinterest, thumb swiping mindlessly through a blur of social media posts; each image dissolving into the next before his brain could register them. The brightness seared his retinas in the dim dorm room, but he welcomed the distraction from the heat of Nicholas’ thigh beneath him and the rhythmic tap of fingers against his knee. Scrolling became a mechanical reflex, a desperate buffer against the tension coiling in his stomach whenever Nicholas exhaled against his hair.  

He paused abruptly on a video of a puppy tumbling into a pile of leaves, the kind of thing he’d normally coo over, but the pixels might as well have been static. His pulse thudded louder than the muted laughter from the speaker, fingers tightening around the device until the case creaked. Ticking time bomb indeed, one wrong move and Nicholas would explode.

Five minutes stretched like taffy; Euijoo shifted subtly every sixty seconds as if testing the boundaries of their fragile truce. First, he tilted his phone screen downward, feigning absorption in a cooking reel while his elbow nudged Nicholas’ ribs. Then, a slow slide of his hips to the left, creating a sliver of space between their bodies that lasted exactly three breaths before Nicholas’ exhale ruffled his hair. By minute four, Euijoo’s socked foot tapped an erratic rhythm against the chair leg, the motion jostling Nicholas’ typing into staccato hiccups. Nicholas’ fingers never stilled, but his jaw tightened incrementally with each of Euijoo’s calculated movements, the only tell betraying his fraying patience. 

Euijoo shifted for the last time, slow and intentional, the friction of his pajama-clad ass dragging against Nicholas' lap like a match strike waiting to catch. He felt it instantly; the hardening line of heat pressed insistently against him, unmistakable even through layers of fabric. Nicholas' typing stopped, fingers freezing mid-sentence as his breathing shallowed against Euijoo's nape.  

Euijoo froze too, caught between the thrill of provocation and the sudden reality of what he'd done. The silence between them thickened like syrup, broken only by the quiet creak of the chair as Nicholas leaned infinitesimally closer, his exhale scalding against the shell of Euijoo's ear. 

"Juju," Nicholas murmured, voice roughened with warning, "you win."

The laptop snapped shut with a decisive click, plunging the dorm into near-darkness save for the faint glow of Euijoo’s phone screen. Nicholas moved fluidly, his grip on Euijoo’s waist unyielding as he hoisted him up and pivoted him midair like a doll, depositing him squarely in his lap to face him. The sudden proximity knocked his phone to the floor with a muffled thud. Nicholas didn’t bother glancing at it, his hands already framing Euijoo’s jaw, thumbs pressing into the hinge just hard enough to sting. 

“You wanted this,” he murmured, eyes flickering between Euijoo’s parted lips and his wide, dark pupils. The accusation wasn’t a question.

Euijoo’s breath came shallow, fingers scrabbling at Nicholas’ shoulders for balance as his hips rolled forward instinctively, only to freeze when Nicholas’ grip tightened warningly. “I—” The lie died on his tongue when Nicholas leaned in, close enough for their lips to brush with every ragged exhale.

Nicholas didn’t let him finish, crushing their mouths together with a hunger that stole Euijoo’s breath and his thoughts in one brutal motion. His tongue slid against Euijoo’s, swallowing every aborted whimper as his hands slid down to grip the back of Euijoo’s thighs, hauling him closer until their hips aligned perfectly. The kiss broke only when Euijoo gasped for air, Nicholas’ lips skating along his jaw to nip at the frantic pulse beneath his skin. 

"You always—" Nicholas punctuated each word with a sharp bite to Euijoo’s collarbone, "—succeed—" another bite, deeper, "—at driving me crazy." His hands flexed, fingertips digging into the softness of Euijoo’s inner thighs. "Now take responsibility."

Euijoo's smirk curled predatory as he braced his hands on Nicholas' shoulders, lifting himself just enough to slide his fingers beneath the waistband of those damned sweatpants. The fabric gave way easily, too easily, like Nicholas had been waiting for this exact moment, and the heat that spilled against Euijoo's palm wasreal. Thick, heavy, already leaking against his wrist as he wrapped his fingers around the base, squeezing just to hear Nicholas' breath fracture into a ragged groan. 

"Crazy?" Euijoo murmured, thumb swiping lazily over the head, smearing precome down the length. "You haven't seen anything yet."

Nicholas' hips jerked upward instinctively, chasing the friction, but Euijoo tightened his grip in warning, relishing the way Nicholas' teeth dug into his own bottom lip to stifle another sound. The power thrumming between them was intoxicating, Euijoo's pulse hammering in his throat as he leaned down, breath ghosting over Nicholas' ear. 

"You want me to take responsibility?" His tongue traced Nicholas' ear before biting down sharply. "Then beg for it."

Nicholas' breath was sharp and ragged, as Euijoo's fingers tightened around him in a slow stroke, thumb pressing deliberately against the slit just to watch his hips jerk. "Juju—" The name fractured into a groan when Euijoo twisted his wrist on the upstroke, nails grazing the underside just enough to sting. Nicholas' hands scrabbled at Euijoo's hips, fingers hooking into the waistband of those flimsy pajama pants and yanking them down in one rough motion. 

The sight of Euijoo's cock straining against his briefs, tip already dampening the fabric, drew a punched-out sound from Nicholas' throat. "Fuck," he rasped, hips bucking into Euijoo's grip helplessly, "you're—fuck—you're already—"  

Euijoo smirked, fingers still working Nicholas with torturous drive even as he ground down against Nicholas' thigh, the friction against his own erection pulling a whimper from his lips. "Beg harder," he murmured, leaning close enough for their breaths to mingle, hot and uneven.

Euijoo's fingers hooked into the waistband of his briefs with deliberate slowness, peeling the fabric down just enough to free his cock, already flushed and dripping against his stomach. The moment his tip brushed Nicholas', slick precome smearing between them, both men shuddered in unison. Nicholas' breath punched out of him in a sharp gasp, hips jerking forward instinctively to grind their lengths together, the slide of skin on skin electric. Euijoo's smirk wavered as Nicholas' larger head nudged against his own, the contrast in size drawing a whimper from his throat before he could stifle it. Nicholas' hands clenched on Euijoo's thighs, blunt nails digging in as he rocked upward again slowly this time, savoring the drag. 

"Look at that," he murmured, voice wrecked, tipping his forehead against Euijoo's to force eye contact. "Even here—" another agonizing roll of his hips, "—you're fucking smaller." The taunt was ruined by the way his breath hitched when Euijoo twisted his wrist around them both, their cocks slotting together perfectly despite the disparity.

Euijoo’s grip tightened around their cocks with sudden authority, fingers pressing as he forced their lengths together in one slick, unbearable slide. Nicholas’ groan shattered into a ragged cry, back arching off the chair as Euijoo leaned down, his breath hot against Nicholas’ parted lips. 

“Watch your mouth,” Euijoo murmured, voice low and dangerous despite the tremor in his thighs. His thumb swiped roughly over Nicholas’ slit, smearing precome down his shaft as he added, “Or I’ll stop.” The threat lingered between them like a lit fuse, Nicholas’ hips jerking involuntarily into the pressure before he caught himself, teeth sinking into his own bottom lip hard enough to blush the skin.  

Euijoo didn’t relent, rolling his hips forward to drag their cocks together in slow, deliberate circles, each motion wringing another punched-out sound from Nicholas’ throat. The chair creaked dangerously beneath them, Nicholas’ fingers clawing at Euijoo’s waistband like a lifeline as his head tipped back, exposing the sweat-damp column of his throat. “Juju—” His voice cracked, hips stuttering upward into the friction, “fuck—”  

Euijoo smirked, relishing the way Nicholas’ trembles when he loosened his grip fractionally, just enough to tease. “That’s it,” he cooed, breath ghosting over Nicholas’ fluttering eyelids.

Nicholas’ breath stuttered when Euijoo’s fingers curled around them both, his thicker, veiny shaft pressing flush against Euijoo’s longer but slimmer length. The contrast was obscenely perfect, Euijoo’s hand just barely able to close around Nicholas’ girth while his own cock stretched tantalizingly alongside it. Nicholas groaned as Euijoo twisted his wrist, their combined precome slicking the way as their cocks rubbed together in a way that felt almost fated. 

"Fuck—" Nicholas choked out, "how the hell do you fit me and that ego in one hand?"

Euijoo smirked, tightening his grip just enough to draw another ragged sound from Nicholas’ throat. "Shut up and take it," he murmured, thumb swiping over both their tips in a slow, filthy circle that made Nicholas’ thighs tremble beneath him. The way their lengths slid together was maddeningly good, each stroke sending sparks up Euijoo’s spine despite his attempt at control.

Euijoo’s wrist twisted faster now, their mixed precome slicking the way as their cocks rubbed together in a rhythm that bordered on desperate. The sound was obscene, wet and rhythmic, punctuated by Nicholas’ bitten-off groans as his hips jerked upward into every stroke. Euijoo’s breath came in ragged pants against Nicholas’ throat, his own cock twitching against the larger length trapped in his grip.

Nicholas’ fingers dug into Euijoo’s hips hard enough to bruise, his voice raw when he gasped, “Juju—fuck—” before Euijoo silenced him with a sharp twist of his wrist, thumb pressing insistently against the swollen head of Nicholas’ cock.

“Quit whining,” Euijoo murmured, though his own voice shook with the effort of maintaining control. “You’re taking it so well.”

Nicholas' shout tore through the dorm's stillness, raw and unfiltered, as his hips jerked upward one final time, his cock pulsing against Euijoo's grip. "Euijoo—!" His voice cracked on the syllable, hands scrambling to clutch Euijoo's waist like a drowning man as heat spilled between them in thick, sticky streaks. 

Euijoo's own release followed instantly, triggered by the vibration of Nicholas' groan against his throat and the sharp bite of teeth sinking into Nicholas' collarbone. A claiming mark bloomed purple-red beneath his lips even as his vision whitened from pleasure. Their cum mixed messily between their stomachs, Nicholas' larger load dripping down to coat Euijoo's fingers where they still trembled around their softening lengths.  

Euijoo panted against the damp skin of Nicholas' shoulder, tongue darting out to soothe the bite mark he'd left behind, an apology and a brand in one. Nicholas' chest heaved beneath him, fingers tracing lazy circles on the small of Euijoo's back as they rode out the aftershocks, sticky and spent. The chair creaked ominously when Nicholas shifted, but neither moved to disentangle themselves just yet, too caught in the haze of sweat-slick skin and shared breath.

Euijoo's grin stretched wider, smug and victorious, as Nicholas' forehead thumped against his shoulder with a groan. The damp heat of Nicholas' breath seeped through the thin fabric of his pajama top, lips brushing the curve of his collarbone in something between surrender and worship. 

"Happy now?" Nicholas mumbled into his skin, fingers tracing idle patterns on the side of Euijoo's thighs where they still straddled his hips. The words vibrated against Euijoo's chest, warm and rough-edged from exertion.  

Euijoo hummed, tilting his head to press a kiss to Nicholas' sweat-damp temple, lingering just long enough to savor the way Nicholas' grip tightened reflexively on his waist. 

"Ecstatic," he murmured, thumb swiping through the mess cooling on Nicholas' stomach, sticky proof of his triumph. Nicholas shivered at the touch but didn't pull away, his exhale shuddering against Euijoo's throat like a second confession.

+1.

Nicholas leaned against the kitchen counter, a half-peeled tangerine forgotten in his grip as his gaze snagged on Euijoo curled into the sofa, socks sliding off his heels, phone screen casting blue shadows across his cheekbones. The way his lips pursed in concentration at some stupid Twitter post, the unconscious wiggle of his toes against the cushion. God. Nicholas exhaled through his nose, thumb digging into the citrus peel until juice welled under his nail. He'd known this since trainee days: Euijoo's brand of pretty was lethal. Not the sharp-edged idol beauty fans usually see, but the domestic kind; the way his pajama sleeves swallowed his wrists whole, how his hair stuck up at the crown.

Nicholas wiped his sticky fingers on his sweatpants, debating whether to chuck the tangerine at Euijoo's head just to see him startle. But Nicholas abandoned the tangerine on the counter, padding across the dorm floor with sock-muffled steps, deliberately uneven to mask his approach. Euijoo's shoulders tensed a fraction before Nicholas even reached him, that damn sixth sense kicking in, but Nicholas leaned over the back of the sofa anyway, chin hooking onto Euijoo's shoulder. 

The phone screen flickered with rapid scrolling before Euijoo thumbed it off with practiced ease, tilting his head just enough to glare up at Nicholas through his lashes. "Nosy," he muttered, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

Nicholas' grin stretched wider at the sight of Euijoo's exaggerated eye-roll; the way his nose scrunched just slightly, lashes fluttering in that infuriatingly perfect arc. God, he lived for these moments. Euijoo's sass simmered beneath his leader-facade, all sharp edges and bitten-back retorts. Nicholas reached out before he could stop himself, fingers sinking into the soft mess of Euijoo's hair, ruffling it with deliberate chaos until strands stuck up in every direction. 

"Disaster," he murmured, thumb brushing Euijoo's ear. "Go shower." His voice dropped, lips brushing Euijoo's temple. "I'm taking you somewhere." 

Nicholas tossed the tangerine peel into the trash, wiping sticky fingers on his sweats before sauntering toward the hallway. K leaned against the doorframe of his room, arms crossed, eyebrows lifted so high they nearly disappeared into his bangs. Nicholas flashed him a smirk, all teeth and no shame, as he passed. 

"Don't look at me like that," he murmured, pitching his voice low enough that Euijoo wouldn't hear from the living room. "At least we're not fucking in the practice room closet like some people."  

K's expression didn't falter, but the way his fingers twitched against his biceps betrayed him. Nicholas chuckled, patting his shoulder roughly as he strode toward the bathroom. "Tell Fuma I said hi," he tossed over his shoulder, grin widening at the choked noise K made behind him.

Nicholas emerged from the shower with a towel draped low on his hips as he rifled through his wardrobe with precision. Winter demanded layers, and he assembled them like armor: dark wool trousers, a cashmere turtleneck the color of burnt caramel, and a tailored overcoat. As Nicholas exited his room, his step paused when he caught sight of Euijoo leaning against the hallway wall; one foot propped against it lazily, fingers tapping absently at his phone screen. 

The way the grey cardigan draped over his shoulders made something warm curl low in Nicholas’ gut. His cardigan, the one he’d bought Euijoo last winter after catching him stealing his cardigan from the wardrobe for the third time. The white sweater underneath peeked through where the buttons were left undone, framing the delicate jut of Euijoo’s collarbones perfectly. 

Nicholas’ lips quirked upward. “Showing off my gift?” he murmured, stepping close enough to hook a finger into the cardigan’s loose collar, tugging lightly.

Euijoo didn’t glance up, but Nicholas didn’t miss the way his thumb stuttered mid-scroll. “It’s cold,” he muttered, as if that explained everything. The pink tinge creeping up his ears betrayed him.  

Nicholas chuckled at Euijoo’s weak deflection. The cardigan was cold-weather appropriate, but the way it hung loose on Euijoo’s frame, sleeves swallowing his wrists whole, ignited something possessive in his chest. Without a word, Nicholas turned on his heel and stalked back to his room, fingers brushing past wool coats until they snagged on black cashmere.  

The scarf slithered between his fingers as he returned, its silk-soft weight whispering against his palm. Euijoo barely had time to glance up before Nicholas looped it around his throat, fabric draping heavy and warm against his collarbones. 

“Better,” Nicholas murmured, tucking the ends neatly beneath the cardigan’s lapel. His thumb lingered at the hollow of Euijoo’s throat, feeling the jump of his pulse. “Can’t have our leader catching a cold.”

Euijoo’s eyes narrowed, but his fingers rose instinctively to fiddle with the scarf’s edge, knuckles brushing Nicholas’ wrist in fleeting contact. “Smothering,” he muttered, though the way he nosed into the cashmere’s familiar scent betrayed him.

Nicholas' fingers laced through Euijoo's the moment they stepped into the hallway, thumb brushing over the delicate knuckles in silent reassurance. The dorm door clicked shut behind them, muffling Maki's knowing chuckle from the living room. Nicholas didn't turn around, but his lips twitched at the unspoken approval radiating from their youngest member. Maki had been shipping them since debut, dropping hints into group chats, "accidentally" leaving romance movies playing when they were alone, and right now, his smug energy was practically palpable through the walls.  

Euijoo huffed, kicking at Nicholas' ankle lightly as they headed down the stairs. "Stop preening," he muttered, though the blush creeping down his neck ruined the scolding. Nicholas just squeezed his hand tighter, leaning in to press a kiss and relishing the way Euijoo's breath hitched.

The cold slapped Nicholas across the face the instant they stepped outside; December air was sharp as a blade, stealing his breath in a white puff. Snowflakes clung to Euijoo’s eyelashes instantly, melting into tiny droplets that caught the neon glow of storefronts already draped in premature Christmas garlands. 

Nicholas smirked, watching Euijoo shiver despite the scarf tucked snugly around his throat. “Should’ve worn my gloves too,” he murmured, catching Euijoo’s freezing fingers between his own palms, rubbing warmth back into them with deliberate slowness.  

Euijoo’s nose scrunched, pink from the cold, but he didn’t pull away. “Smug,” he muttered, breath curling between them like a secret. Nicholas just grinned, pressing their joined hands into his coat pocket, where his thumb traced idle circles against Euijoo’s pulse point; a silent apology for the winter’s bite.

The bustling street swallowed them whole, shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers under garish holiday lights, snowflakes dissolving against wool coats, laughter from nearby couples blending into white noise. Nicholas exhaled, watching his breath mist between them before vanishing into the winter haze. This was the magic: no cameras, no choreography, just Euijoo’s fingers interlaced with his in the depths of his coat pocket, their strides syncing effortlessly as they wove through the crowd. He squeezed once, safe and yours, and Euijoo’s thumb brushed back, a silent I know. 

Euijoo’s fingers tightened around Nicholas’ in their shared coat pocket, snowflakes catching in his lashes as he tilted his head up. “Why’d you suddenly drag me out here?” The question curled between them in a puff of winter breath, his nose pink from the cold.

Nicholas smirked, breath cold as he tugged Euijoo closer against his side. "Reward," he murmured, lips grazing Euijoo's wind-chilled ear. "For surviving comeback hell and being an MC." His thumb pressed into the soft dip between Euijoo's knuckles; a silent apology for every early morning call, every reshoot demand, every time he'd caught Euijoo slumped over his script backstage. 

"And because," he added, quieter now, "we deserve one night before HYBE works us to death with holiday events."  

Euijoo's scoff was undercut by the way his fingers tightened around Nicholas'. Nicholas didn't miss the flicker of relief in his expression; the unspoken thank you in the way his shoulders relaxed minutely beneath the cardigan.

Nicholas nudged open the restaurant's wooden door with his shoulder, warmth and the rich scent of miso broth enveloping them instantly. The hostess blinked at their snow-dusted shoulders before recognition flickered; Nicholas had tipped her extra weeks ago to secure this booth tucked behind a privacy screen. "Reservation under Wang," he murmured, squeezing Euijoo's waist when he stiffened at the public display. The low hum of conversations and clinking chopsticks filled the space, but their corner remained blissfully secluded, just as planned.  

Euijoo's breath hitched when he spotted the single candle flickering between two steaming bowls of oden already waiting. Nicholas smirked at his widened eyes, guiding him into the booth with a hand lingering too long on his thigh. "Told you," he whispered, inhaling the lingering scent of his shampoo. "Worth braving the cold for."

Euijoo's chopsticks hovered over the oden bowl, fingers flexing in disbelief as steam floated between them. "Who are you," he deadpaned, "and what have you done with Nicholas?" The flickering candlelight caught the smirk playing at his lips, sharp enough to cut through the winter chill still clinging to their coats. 

"Last Christmas, you microwaved cup ramen at 3AM and called it a feast." His nose scrunched at the memory, chopsticks clinking against porcelain as he nudged a slice of daikon toward Nicholas' bowl. "Now you're feeding me," he gestured grandly at the spread, "actual food."  

Nicholas' laugh rumbled low in his chest, fingers darting out to steal a piece of fishcake from Euijoo's bowl just to watch him swat halfheartedly at his wrist. "Special occasion," he murmured.

The last sliver of smoked duck vanished between Nicholas’ chopsticks, swift and efficient, before Euijoo could even blink. He watched, amused, as Nicholas popped it into his mouth with a smirk, licking stray glaze off his thumb. The sushi platter had been decimated within minutes, their chopsticks crossing in quiet competition over the final scallop piece. Euijoo won, barely, but the victory tasted sweeter when Nicholas huffed and stole the last sip of his green tea anyway, steam stayed on his lips as he swallowed.  

Nicholas leaned back against the booth, fingertips drumming the tabletop. “Still prefer abura soba,” he muttered, though the way his gaze lingered on the empty plates betrayed him. Euijoo snorted, nudging his ankle beneath the table. 

“You inhaled that duck like it insulted your ancestors.” The candlelight caught the gold flecks in Nicholas’ eyes when he laughed, warm and full-throated, and Euijoo’s chest tightened at the sound.

Nicholas squeezed Euijoo's hand as the taxi pulled away from the curb, snowflakes dissolving against the windshield like sugar in hot tea. The torn receipt from the restaurant still crinkled in his pocket; he'd slipped an extra beneath the bill while Euijoo was shrugging into his coat, the hostess' hushed thank you swallowed by the clatter of kitchen noise. Now, tucked into the taxi's warmth with Euijoo's thigh pressing against his own, Nicholas let his fingers trail higher, before texting an address to the driver. "Trust me," he murmured to Euijoo, grinning at the way his nose scrunched in suspicion.  

The city blurred past in streaks of gold and red, holiday banners snapping against storefronts, couples huddled beneath shared umbrellas, but Nicholas kept his gaze on Euijoo. The way the passing streetlights caught the curve of his jaw, the snow melting in his hair like scattered stars. His thumb rubbed absent circles against Euijoo's inner thigh, savoring the minute shiver it drew.

The taxi slowed to a stop at the edge of a winding mountain path, snow crunching under the tires. Nicholas squeezed Euijoo’s hand as he paid the driver, nodding toward the distant glow of light strung between cedar trees

Euijoo followed, breath misting in the crisp air as he took in the secluded onsen village nestled between frosted pines, steam rising from hidden pools, the faint chime of wind bells. Nicholas smirked at his wide-eyed expression, tugging him closer by the scarf. “Told you can trust me.”

Nicholas exhaled sharply through his nose, half-laugh and half-wonder, as the gaslights flickered against fresh snowfall, casting long shadows across the wooden bridge ahead. The village sprawled before them like something out of a Ghibli film: steep rooftops piled high with snow, steam coming out from hidden onsen pools between cedar beams, wind chimes tinkling softly in the icy breeze. He squeezed Euijoo’s wrist, tugging him toward a lit path where their footsteps crunched in perfect sync.

Euijoo’s gasp was barely audible, but Nicholas felt it in the way his fingers tightened around his own, knuckles pressing tight as he took in the arched torii gate dusted with frost, the hot spring’s milky blue water glowing beneath it. 

“How’d you even find this place?” Euijoo muttered, but the awe in his voice was unmistakable. Nicholas just grinned, swiping a snowflake off Euijoo’s lashes with his thumb. 

“Secret,” he lied, though the truth was simpler: buying Fuma the new Pokémon game. Worth every yen.

Nicholas’ fingers lingered on the wooden check-in counter, tracing the worn grooves as the elderly innkeeper bowed and shuffled away with their key. The entire place was theirs; every tatami mat, every steaming pool, every hushed hallway draped in shadow. Snowfall muffled the world beyond the sliding shoji doors, sealing them in amber-lit privacy. Euijoo’s socked feet padded softly behind him, the scent of cedar and roasted sweet potatoes clinging to his borrowed scarf. Nicholas exhaled, slow and satisfied, as he turned to catch Euijoo’s wrist mid-yawn. Every grueling practice, every sleepless flight, every time he’d bitten his tongue backstage when all he wanted was to drag Euijoo into the nearest closet, this was the payoff.  

“Juju,” he murmured, thumb pressing into the delicate pulse beneath Euijoo’s sleeve. The nickname tasted like stolen honey on his tongue; the inn’s warmth had already painted Euijoo’s cheeks pink. Outside, the private onsen shimmered beneath snowfall, steam rising. Nicholas nosed along Euijoo’s jaw, inhaling the lingering scent of miso broth and winter wind. “Told you I’d spoil you.”

Euijoo pouted, his fingers twisting the hem of Nicholas’ coat between them, snowflakes catching in his lashes. “You should’ve told me,” he muttered, breath white between them. “I wanted to spoil you too.” 

The words came out softer than he intended, barely audible over the distant chime of wind bells. His thumb brushed along the inside of Nicholas’ wrist; a silent plea for reciprocity, for the chance to map devotion onto skin the way Nicholas always did for him.  

Nicholas’ smirk softened at the edges, his free hand coming up to cup Euijoo’s cheek, rough fingers tracing the blush there. “You already do,” he murmured, leaning close enough that his breath warmed Euijoo’s lips. Then, with a wink that sent heat pooling low in Euijoo’s stomach: “But if you’re feeling generous… there’s other ways.”  

The inn’s lanterns cast gold across the snow between them, but Euijoo’s pulse roared louder; a staccato rhythm of anticipation as Nicholas’ thumb slid down to press against his bottom lip, teasing.

Euijoo rushed ahead to their room, flushed, socked feet slipping slightly on the polished wooden floor, his ears still burning from Nicholas’ whispered promise. Nicholas followed from behind, unhurried, savoring the way Euijoo’s borrowed scarf swayed with each impatient step, the way his fingers fumbled with the sliding door before finally wrenching it open. The room was bathed in amber light from paper lanterns, their futon already laid out near the engawa overlooking the private onsen. Nicholas smirked as Euijoo turned, cheeks pink, breath slightly uneven, caught between defiance and anticipation. 

Nicholas’ thumb stilled against Euijoo’s lip, the tease freezing mid-motion as Euijoo caught his wrist. His pulse jumped under Euijoo’s fingers, hot and insistent, but the smirk didn’t falter, even as Euijoo pushed him back with a stubborn tilt of his chin. 

“Rules,” Euijoo murmured, though his voice wavered when Nicholas’ gaze dropped to his mouth. “No touching.” 

He stepped away, feet silent on the tatami, but the flush creeping down his neck betrayed him. “Not until after the hot spring.” The unspoken then you can do whatever you want to me hung between them, louder than the wind chimes outside.

Nicholas exhaled before nodding once. “Fine.” His fingers flexed at his sides, already missing the heat of Euijoo’s skin. “But you’re paying for that later.” 

The promise dripped from his tongue like honey, as he turned toward the folded yukatas waiting on the low table. He made a show of loosening his coat, watching Euijoo’s throat bob from the corner of his eye. “Better hurry, Juju. Water’s waiting.”

Nicholas shed his coat slowly, fingers lingering on each button as he watched Euijoo wrestle with his yukata ties, his tongue peeking out in concentration, the fabric slipping off one pale shoulder before he tugged it back up. The flickering lantern light caught the delicate curve of his collarbones, still damp from melted snowflakes, and Nicholas bit back a laugh. “Need help?” he teased, already stepping closer despite their agreement, breath hitching when Euijoo shot him a glare that lacked any real heat.  

Euijoo’s blush deepened as Nicholas reached out to fix the clothes himself, fingers brushing the sensitive skin beneath his jaw, before stepping away with a smirk. 

“Rules,” Nicholas conceded, though his gaze trailed shamelessly down Euijoo’s body as he tied his own yukata. The fabric clung to his broad shoulders, loose enough to reveal the hint of toned chest beneath. Slippers scuffed against tatami as they finally headed toward the small shower room.

Nicholas leaned against the cedar-paneled wall, arms crossed. His gaze traced the elegant slope of Euijoo’s spine as the yukata slid off his shoulders, fabric pooling at his feet like melted snow. Every movement seemed calculated: the twist of his wrists as he untied the sash, the way his hips shifted when stepping out of the fallen robe, the shuddering inhale when cold air kissed his bare skin. Nicholas bit his lips, fingers twitching at his sides as Euijoo glanced over his shoulder, caught red-handed, and arched a brow. 

“Enjoying the view?” Euijoo taunted, though the tremor in his voice betrayed him.  

Nicholas smirked, pushing off the wall with a slow roll of his shoulders. “Mm.” He dragged the sound out, throaty and unrepentant, as he kicked his own slippers aside. “Just memorizing.” 

His yukata gaped open at the collar, revealing the dip between his pecs, but he made no move to undress further, content to let Euijoo squirm beneath the weight of his stare. “Take your time, Juju. I’ll wait.”

Euijoo exhaled sharply as he sat under the showerhead; his back turned but shoulders taut with awareness. Water slid down the curve of his spine, catching the lantern light like liquid gold as it traced the dip of his waist, the swell of his… Nicholas bit his tongue. Later, he reminded himself, knuckles whitening against the cedar paneling. But it didn’t stop him from memorizing the way Euijoo’s fingers trembled slightly as they carded through wet hair, how his breath hitched when the water hit a sensitive spot beneath his shoulder blade. 

Nicholas smirked when Euijoo peeked over his shoulder, lashes clumped with moisture. “Cold?” he taunted, though the heat in his own voice betrayed him.  

Euijoo’s scoff was lost in the steam as he snatched up the small towel, wrapping it hastily around his hips, barely covering anything, before tossing a glare over his shoulder. “Your turn,” he muttered, sidestepping Nicholas with exaggerated caution, though the brush of their bare arms sent a visible shiver down his spine. 

Nicholas waited until the sliding door clicked shut behind Euijoo before stripping off his yukata in one fluid motion, the cold spray doing little to cool the hot ache coiled low in his stomach. He showered with military efficiency, teeth gritted against the urge to rush, to chase after Euijoo’s retreating footsteps, to pin him against the mist-slicked rocks of the onsen and lick the water from his throat. But patience had its rewards. And judging by the way Euijoo’s towel had clung to his thighs? Worth the wait.

Nicholas slid into the onsen with barely a ripple, hissing as the scalding water lapped at his waist. Euijoo barely cracked an eyelid, serene as a Buddha statue despite the way Nicholas immediately pressed their thighs together beneath the surface, skin slick with minerals and heat. Nicholas leaned back against the rocks, sighing contentedly while his fingers traced idle patterns on Euijoo’s knee beneath the water.

The silence stretched, broken only by the distant drip of water from the cedar eaves and the occasional sigh from Euijoo as the heat seeped into his muscles. Nicholas watched the way his lashes fluttered shut, the tension melting from his shoulders, until he couldn’t resist brushing his thumb over the delicate inside of Euijoo’s wrist. Euijoo’s eyes snapped open, dark and liquid in the lantern light, but he didn’t pull away. Nicholas smirked, shifting closer until their knees bumped. “You look like some retired yakuza boss,” he teased, voice low. “All you’re missing is the cigar.”  

Euijoo snorted, finally turning to face him, eyes crinkling at the corners, and Nicholas’ breath caught at the sight. Water beaded on his collarbones, his lips parted slightly, his cheeks flushed pink from the heat. Beautiful. Nicholas reached out without thinking, tucking a damp strand of hair behind Euijoo’s ear, his fingers lingering just a heartbeat too long. “Juju,” he breathed, the name barely audible over the gentle lap of water.

Nicholas let his head drop onto Euijoo's shoulder with a sigh, temple pressing against the damp curve of skin where steam still clung. His fingers traced idle patterns on Euijoo's thigh beneath the water, slow and reverent circles that had nothing to do with teasing and everything to do with memorizing the way muscle tensed under his touch. 

"Juju," he breathed again, voice thick with something softer than desire. The lantern light gilded Euijoo's profile when he turned, catchlight in his lashes and water beading on his parted lips, and Nicholas swallowed against the sudden weight in his chest. 

"You know I'd do it all again," he admitted, thumb brushing the inside of Euijoo's knee. "The trainee hell, the debut stress, the stupid arguments—just to end up here." His exhale ghosted warmly over Euijoo's collarbone. "With you."  

Euijoo's breath hitched, a tiny and vulnerable sound, before he tilted his head to rest against Nicholas'. The onsen's mineral scent mingled with the cedar walls; the simple warmth of skin pressed to skin. Nicholas closed his eyes, counting the pulse under his lips where they'd settled against Euijoo's shoulder. No grand gestures. Just this: the quiet certainty of being exactly where he was meant to be.

Euijoo turned his head slightly, lips brushing Nicholas’ temple in a featherlight kiss before he spoke. “Never thought we’d end up like this,” he admitted, voice barely above a whisper. “Back then, I was sure we’d just keep clashing forever—me pushing, you pulling.” 

His fingers found Nicholas’ beneath the water, lacing them together with quiet certainty. “But here we are.” The words hung in the humid air, simple and profound, as Euijoo squeezed his hand, gratitude and wonder tangled in the gesture.  

Nicholas felt something warm and unnameable swelling in his chest. He brought their joined hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to Euijoo’s knuckles, each one mapped in memory, each scar and callus cherished. “Fate’s a bitch,” he murmured against skin, grinning when Euijoo huffed a laugh. “But they got this one right.”  

The wind chimes outside sang faintly, snowflakes dissolving into the hot spring’s surface as they leaned into each other, no more words needed.

Nicholas let his eyelids grow heavy, the warmth of the onsen and the weight of Euijoo’s head against his shoulder pulling him toward drowsiness. The last thing he saw before his lashes fluttered shut was Euijoo’s profile, tilted up toward the night sky, snowflakes catching in his damp hair like scattered constellations. The stars reflected in his eyes, bright and endless, mirroring the same quiet wonder Nicholas felt humming beneath his ribs. Five minutes passed in silence, measured only by the steady rise and fall of Euijoo’s chest, the occasional shift of their joined hands beneath the water. Nicholas didn’t need to look to know Euijoo was smiling; he could feel it in the way his fingers tightened around his own, a silent I’m here.  

Nicholas surrendered to the moment, content to drift like this, half-asleep, with Euijoo’s heartbeat thudding steady against his cheek. No keeping secrets, no hiding from cameras, no stolen glances backstage. Just this: the two of them, and the stars bearing witness.

Nicholas jolted awake to Euijoo’s fingers carding through his damp hair; his own cheek still pressed hot against Euijoo’s shoulder. Blinking blearily, he registered the pruned state of his fingertips, the way Euijoo’s skin had gone pink beneath the water’s surface. 

“Boiled eggs,” Euijoo murmured, smiling as he tapped Nicholas’ forehead lightly. “We’ll turn into them if we stay.” 

The protest died in Nicholas’ throat when Euijoo stood, water cascading off his hips in glistening sheets, his silhouette backlit by lantern light. Nicholas groaned, dragging a hand down his face before following, legs unsteady from sleep and heat, already missing the weight of Euijoo against him.

The shower room’s cedar planks were slick beneath their feet as Euijoo tossed him a fresh towel, the fabric snapping against Nicholas’ chest playfully. He caught it with a grumble, watching through half-lidded eyes as Euijoo wrung water from his hair, the motion sending droplets skittering across the tiles like scattered mercury.

Nicholas collapsed onto the futon with a contented sigh, his limbs heavy from the onsen’s heat and drowsiness tugging at his eyelids. The yukata hung loosely off one shoulder as he stretched out, toes brushing against the folded blankets Euijoo had neatly arranged earlier. A yawn cracked his jaw as he blinked up at the ceiling, the paper lanterns casting a honeyed glow across the tatami.

Nicholas peeked through half-closed eyes, the honeyed glow of lanterns painting lazy stripes across his vision. Euijoo stood at the foot of the futon, arms crossed tight over his chest, the fabric of his yukata pulling taut around his biceps with the motion. His lips were pressed into that familiar pout Nicholas adored, the one that always made him want to bite. 

"What?" Nicholas yawned, stretching like a cat, deliberately letting his yukata gape further open. "You look like I forgot our anniversary." 

Euijoo’s brows pinched together, a droplet from his damp hair splashing onto the tatami as he leaned forward, eyeing Nicholas like he’d grown a second head. 

“Did you hit your skull on the rocks back there?” His fingers twitched toward Nicholas’ temple, halfway between concern and exasperation. “Or are you just stupid?” The insult lacked venom, softened by the way his gaze flickered over Nicholas’ face.  

Nicholas merely arched a brow, the lantern light catching the lazy curve of his smirk. Nicholas stretched leisurely on the futon, yukata slipping further down his chest as he propped himself up. His gaze traced the way Euijoo’s fingers clenched and unclenched at his sides, the flush creeping up his neck, his patience about to snap. 

"You’re staring," Nicholas murmured, voice rough with sleep and something else. He let his eyes drift shut again, lips curving when Euijoo made an exasperated noise. "Something you want, Juju?" 

The question hung between them, weighted with promises Nicholas had no intention of voicing first. He could wait. He would wait. Until Euijoo cracked and climbed into his lap with that delicious mix of defiance and need.  

Euijoo’s breath hitched, audible in the quiet room. Nicholas didn’t need to look to know his jaw was clenched, his pulse rabbiting at his throat. The futon dipped slightly as Euijoo shifted his weight, close enough that Nicholas could feel the heat radiating off him, but still holding back. Almost there. Nicholas bit back a smirk, flexing his fingers against the mattress instead of reaching out. Let him come undone on his own terms.

Euijoo's fingers fisted in the front of Nicholas' yukata with sudden violence, his breath ragged against the words "I hate you" before crashing their mouths together, no finesse, just teeth and desperate pressure. The fabric slid off his shoulder entirely as he sat onto Nicholas' lap, the heat between them rivaling the onsen's scalding waters. Nicholas groaned into the kiss, hands flying up to grip Euijoo's waist as their bodies pressed flush, every panting breath between them a contradiction. Hate this, need this, can't stop this, the words dissolving into the slick slide of tongues and bitten-off whimpers.

Nicholas knew it viscerally; the way his palm eclipsed Euijoo’s when they tangled fingers backstage, how his shoulders framed Euijoo’s slender frame in stolen embraces. Even now, his grip spanned the width of Euijoo’s waist effortlessly, fingers digging into soft flesh as their kiss broke into panting gasps.

Nicholas grinned into the kiss as Euijoo's hips stuttered against his own. He'd orchestrated this moment for hours: the teasing, the delay, the way Euijoo's patience had frayed like worn silk. But here was the delicious truth Nicholas hoarded like a secret: Euijoo's hunger always burned hotter than his own. Those trembling fingers clawing at his shoulders? The broken moan when Nicholas bit his lower lip? Proof that no matter how confidently Nicholas played the game, Euijoo wanted to lose.  

Nicholas let him. Let him take charge, let him rut against him with desperate, clumsy friction. Because watching Euijoo unravel was sweeter than any victory. He arched up into the heat of him, hands sliding down to grip Euijoo's ass, squeezing hard enough to draw a gasp. "Juju," he taunted between kisses, voice wrecked. "Thought you hated me?"  

Euijoo's answering growl vibrated against his throat before he sealed their mouths together again, all teeth and tongue and yes, yes, yes.

Euijoo's fingers dug into Nicholas' shoulders, his breathing ragged against his lips. "Shut up," he hissed, hips grinding down with desperate friction. "Just—fuck me already." The plea was molten, edged with frustration, but Nicholas only grinned, tilting his head back against the futon to savor the sight of Euijoo unraveling above him. 

His grip tightened on Euijoo's waist, holding him still just long enough to whisper against his jaw: "Make yourself come first." The command was velvet-wrapped steel. "Let me watch." 

Euijoo’s fingers trembled against the sash of his yukata; the fabric parted like a surrender as he shoved it off in one sharp motion. The silk pooled around his knees, baring the lean lines of his body to the lantern light: the flush spreading down his chest, the way his cock twitched against his stomach already half-hard. Nicholas’ exhale came ragged, fingers digging into the futon as he watched, ravenously patient, while Euijoo’s palm slid down his own torso with deliberate slowness. His hips rolled forward, ass grinding against the straining outline of Nicholas’ cock through thin fabric, the friction drawing a choked groan from them both. 

"Look at you," Nicholas murmured, voice thick with want. "So fucking pretty when you’re desperate." Euijoo’s fingers circling his own length with teasing strokes, each one a taunt, an offering.

Euijoo dragged his palm up the length of his cock, thumb brushing over the slick head just to watch Nicholas’ eyes darken further. “You look better when you shut your mouth,” he muttered, grinding down hard enough to make Nicholas’ hips jerk upward. 

The words were barely coherent between his own moans, voice cracking as his fingers tightened around himself, stroking faster now, spurred on by the way Nicholas’ grip on his thighs turned bruising. Nicholas obeyed, lips pressed into a tight line, but his throat worked with swallowed curses as Euijoo arched into his own touch, thighs trembling with the effort of holding himself upright.  

The room smelled of cedar and sweat, the lanterns flickering as Euijoo’s rhythm grew erratic; his free hand braced against Nicholas’ chest, nails digging into skin. Nicholas could only watch, breath ragged, as Euijoo’s back bowed beautifully; a silent plea for more, for everything, all at once.

Nicholas reached for Euijoo’s hips, his fingers still tingling from restraint, only for Euijoo to slap his hand away with startling force. The sharp crack echoed in the lantern-lit room, followed by Nicholas’ incredulous blink. Before he could protest, Euijoo snatched the discarded scarf from the tatami, the same one Nicholas had wrapped around his neck hours earlier in tenderness, and looped it around his wrists with efficiency. Nicholas’ laugh died in his throat as Euijoo yanked the silk tight, the fabric biting into skin with poetic irony. 

“You don’t deserve to touch me,” Euijoo hissed, chest heaving as he loomed over Nicholas, tying the final knot with a jerk that pulled a ragged gasp from them both. Nicholas’ cock twitched against his thigh, betrayal and arousal twisting together at the way Euijoo’s nails dragged down his sternum, claiming without permission, just as Nicholas had done to him.

Nicholas groaned as Euijoo finally stripped the yukata off his shoulders, the silk pooling around his hips like water, revealing every inch of his flushed skin to the lantern light. His wrists strained against the scarf binding them, muscles flexing as Euijoo leaned down to bite his collarbone, teeth scraping just hard enough to draw a ragged gasp. 

"Juju," he panted, voice wrecked, not teasing now, just raw need as Euijoo's hands mapped his chest with possessive intent.  

Euijoo ignored him, fingers dragging down Nicholas' torso with deliberate slowness, nails leaving faint pink trails in their wake. When he finally palmed Nicholas' cock, the touch was torturously light, just enough to make Nicholas buck his hips upward with a choked whimper. 

"Still smug?" Euijoo murmured against his throat, breath hot on damp skin. Nicholas could only shake his head, lips parted around unspoken pleas; every ounce of his earlier dominance crumbles beneath Euijoo's calculated cruelty.

Euijoo knelt between Nicholas' thighs, eyes locked on the thick length straining against his abdomen, already glistening at the tip. His fingers trembled as they wrapped around the base, swallowing hard at the sheer size comparison. 

"Fuck," he whispered, tongue darting out to trace the vein running along the underside before pressing a kiss to the leaking head. The stretch burned as he took Nicholas inch by inch, tears pricking at his lashes when he couldn't quite manage the full length. Pulling back with a wet gasp, he swiped his thumb over Nicholas' slit, smearing precum across his own swollen lips, before diving back down with reckless determination.

Nicholas' bound wrists flexed against the scarf restraints, his hips twitching upward instinctively as Euijoo's throat constricted around him. "Juju—ah—" The words dissolved into a groan when Euijoo hollowed his cheeks, the obscene slurping sounds punctuated by his own ragged breaths. Euijoo's fingers dug into Nicholas' thighs for balance, tears finally spilling over when he forced himself deeper. Nicholas could only watch, pupils blown wide, as his cock disappeared into that perfect, stubborn mouth; Euijoo's nose brushed his pelvis with each desperate bob.

Euijoo pulled off with a wet pop just as Nicholas’ hips jerked upward; his throat convulsed around a cry when the pleasure was abruptly denied. Nicholas’ wrists strained against the scarf, muscles corded with tension as Euijoo wiped his swollen lips with the back of his hand, eyes glinting with wicked amusement. 

"Already?" he murmured, thumb stroking the leaking tip of Nicholas’ cock in slow circles. "I thought you liked being in control." The taunt hung between them, thick with challenge, as Euijoo leaned down to blow a teasing breath across the sensitive head, watching Nicholas shudder beneath him with dark satisfaction.  

Nicholas’ cock twitched against Euijoo’s palm. "Juju—" he choked out, voice cracking around the plea. But Euijoo only smirked, shifting back on his heels, his own arousal ignored for the sake of savoring Nicholas’ desperation. 

"Tell me," he whispered, fingers trailing up Nicholas’ inner thigh. "Do you like it better when I’m the one who's in control?"

The question dripped with honeyed venom, and Nicholas could only groan, back arching off the futon, as Euijoo’s nails bit into his skin.

Nicholas’ answer died in his throat as Euijoo rose up, lantern light gilding the shiny curve of his spine, and sank down onto him in one fluid motion. The breath punched from Nicholas’ lungs at the obscene ease of it, Euijoo’s body swallowing him whole like they were carved from the same reckless desire. Silk restraints bit into Nicholas’ wrists as he arched off the futon with a strangled groan, every nerve alight at the way Euijoo’s thighs trembled around him, stretched so perfectly it bordered on divine cruelty.

“Again,” Euijoo panted, fingers digging into Nicholas’ chest for leverage as he rolled his hips slow and deep, dragging a broken moan from them both. His lips curled in triumph at the wrecked sound Nicholas made, nails scraping down his chest. 

“Do you—” A gasp punched out of him as he angled himself just right, heat flaring behind his eyelids. “—like watching me take what I want?” Each syllable punctuated by the slick snap of their bodies meeting, Euijoo’s control fraying at the edges but holding fast, his rhythm punishing.  

Nicholas could only nod, his vision whiting out at the edges when Euijoo clenched around him, tight as a vice, his own hips jerking helplessly against the restraints. The scarf had gone damp where his sweat soaked into the fabric. 

“Fuck—Juju—” His voice shattered on the name, throat bared to the ceiling as Euijoo rode him with single-minded ruthlessness; each downward thrust stole another ragged confession from Nicholas’ lips.

The admission tore from Euijoo’s lips between ragged thrusts; his fingers scrabbled at Nicholas’ chest for purchase as he rode him with bruising intensity. 

"I prepared—ah—for you," he gasped, hips stuttering when Nicholas’ cock grazed that perfect spot inside him. "In the shower. While you were—fuck—busy smirking at your own reflection." The words dripped with vindication, punctuated by the slick slap of skin meeting skin. Light caught the sweat beading along Euijoo’s collarbones as he leaned down, breath hot against Nicholas’ parted lips. 

"Three fingers," he whispered, dragging a bitten-off groan from Nicholas’ throat. "Thinking about your—shit—stupid big dick."

Nicholas' breath caught in his throat as Euijoo arched above him; lantern light painted golden streaks along the planes of his back, his thighs trembling with the effort of each punishing thrust. This wasn't just hot; this was euphoric. The way Euijoo's teeth scraped his lower lip raw, the way his nails carved into Nicholas' chest; every ragged gasp and bruising grip screamed mine in a language only Nicholas understood. He'd seen Euijoo flustered, seen him desperate, but never like this: a storm of control and surrender, his usual composure shattered into something far more intoxicating. 

Nicholas' pulse thundered in his ears as Euijoo clenched around him deliberately, dragging a choked moan from his throat. The irony wasn't lost on him; bound wrists strained against silk, his own teasing turned against him lethally. Fuck. He'd dreamed of this, hadn't he? Of Euijoo unraveling him thread by thread, reducing him to a writhing, pleading mess. Nicholas tipped his head back, lips curling into a grin despite the ache in his jaw. 

"Juju," he rasped, voice shredded. "You're beautiful like this." The admission spilled out unbidden, raw and reverent, as Euijoo's hips stuttered, his rhythm faltering for just a heartbeat.

Nicholas' wrists jerked against the scarf restraints, silk digging deeper into his skin, as his hips arched helplessly off the futon. "Euijoo—please—" 

The plea cracked in Nicholas'throat, raw and jagged, but Euijoo only smiled triumphantly, fingers tightening on Nicholas' thighs as he fucked himself down harder, faster. Their moans tangled in the steam-thick air, sweat dripping from Euijoo's collarbone onto Nicholas' heaving chest, their bodies moving in a frenzied rhythm that blurred the line between pleasure and punishment.

Their climax hit like a collapsing star: simultaneous, devastating, perfect. Nicholas' back arched off the futon with a helpless groan as he spilled deep inside Euijoo, hips jerking helplessly against the restraints. Euijoo's release painted hot stripes across Nicholas' stomach, his thighs trembling violently as pleasure wrenched a broken cry from his throat. For one suspended moment, they existed only in the aftershocks; Euijoo's forehead pressed to Nicholas' heaving chest, Nicholas' bound hands twitching toward him instinctively before gravity took hold. Euijoo slumped forward, breath ragged against Nicholas' collarbone, their sweat-slicked bodies still joined where Nicholas' cock pulsed weakly inside him. The silence between them thrummed with something deeper than satisfaction; a surrender so complete it felt like rebirth.

Nicholas exhaled a shaky laugh, more breath than sound, as he flexed his wrists against the restraints, the silk now damp with sweat. "Juju," he murmured, voice rough with exhaustion and awe. His lips curled into a lazy smirk despite the way his muscles trembled from overstimulation. 

"You did so fucking good. Now let me—" He tugged lightly at the knots, hips shifting beneath Euijoo’s weight. But Euijoo’s fingers tightened around the scarf instantly, halting his movement with a sharp glare.  

Nicholas stilled, watching the way Euijoo’s throat worked around a swallow; the way his lashes fluttered as he gathered his thoughts. When Euijoo finally spoke, his voice was low, hoarse from overuse but edged with something dangerous. "Did I say," he began, fingers tracing the red marks left by the silk, "that we were done?"  

Nicholas’ breath stopped.

The dorm’s front door clicked shut behind them; Euijoo’s cheerful greeting sliced through the morning stillness like a blade. The living room froze mid-activity: Jo’s coffee cup halted halfway to his lips, Harua’s game controller slipping from his fingers as Yuma paused the game, Taki’s spoon clattering into his cereal bowl. Every eye locked onto Nicholas: pale, hollow-eyed, limping slightly as he leaned against the wall for support. Then they flicked to Euijoo, who bounced on his toes with radiant energy, snowflakes still melting in his hair. The contrast was bizarre.  

K broke the silence first, voice cracking. “Nicholas… did you die?”  

Nicholas opened his mouth, then slumped further against the doorframe with a groan, his turtleneck failed to hide a constellation of bite marks. Euijoo beamed, ruffling Maki’s hair as he breezed past. “The hot springs were great.”

Nicholas collapsed onto the couch next to Maki with a groan that sounded more like a death rattle than human speech. His limbs sprawled bonelessly across the cushions, turtleneck stretched taut over the visible outline of fresh bite marks along his collarbone. When Maki glanced over taking in Nicholas’ hollow-eyed exhaustion, Nicholas mustered a grin that looked more like a grimace. "Four times," he croaked, voice wrecked beyond recognition.  

Maki’s chopsticks froze halfway to his mouth, rice tumbling back into the bowl as his eyes widened almost impossibly. "Nico—what?"  

Nicholas rolled his head toward him with Herculean effort. "He rode me." 

His lips twitched like a broken toy. "Four. Fucking. Times." 

The pause between words made it worse, each syllable dripping with horrifying implication. Maki made a strangled noise, ears flushing crimson as Fuma choked on his coffee across the room.