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Sehun knows what he wants. He knows what he came here for and plans to leave in the next half an hour with it.
His cousin’s birthday is coming up and having just missed her house-warming party a month ago due to busy schedules, he plans to buy a new plate set as a gift. Hitting two birds with one stone, he thinks to himself.
After browsing through IKEA’s online catalogue last night, he decides on the FÄRGKLAR dinnerware set as a present and mentally marks it down as his agenda for today. So he knows what he wants, and he tells Jongin as such.
Which is why he’s confused as to why he’s now staring at the bold, black arrows on the floor and a whiny Jongin next to him, insisting that they go through all the showrooms.
‘..but what if there’s a good deal on storage boxes, Sehun-ah?’ Jongin whines.
‘Do you even need those storage boxes right now?’, he raises an eyebrow at the other.
The other defaults to a pout and hesitantly shakes his head.
‘Exactly, so we should just get those plates and leave or we’ll be late for the party.’
Being together for the last three years and knowing each other even longer than that, he knows why his partner would rather take the long route. Though they have been friends since they were teenagers, practically attached at the hip, they are complete opposites.
Sehun is the straightforward type, doesn’t beat around the bush, always direct and sometimes too blunt for his own liking. Which is why they make a great pair, he thinks. Because Jongin balances him out, softens all his sharp edges and soothes all the rough parts he keeps as a front.
And eventually they worked a rhythm together, now that they’re slightly older. Routines molded to fit each other in the spaces of their everyday lives, no longer knowing where one ended and the other began. But Sehun loved every bit of it.
He’s known Jongin for more than half of his life, been by his side for as long as he can remember. A constant among the many changes.
Everybody can see how perfect they are for each other. So it came as no surprise when they announced that they were together, to their family and their friends. ‘Been a long time coming,’ his mom said.
Sehun doesn’t give it much thought because there really has been no change. Being together just seemed like it was inevitable. Jongin still looks at him the same way, his laugh managing to make his heart flutter still the same and his touch always feels like home.
His thoughts are cut off when he almost bumps into a child, watching as he wobbles back to the parent that’s apologizing to him in their child’s stead. He looks up suddenly and that’s when he notices the missing warmth from his side, which is when he realizes his boyfriend was no longer by his side.
He tries to retrace his steps, knowing he took a right turn from Bedrooms to cut into the Kid’s Area, a shortcut that allows you to skip the whole showroom and make a straight beeline for their restaurant. He could already smell the meatballs through the air but frowns in worry as he looks for his boyfriend.
Sehun has to awkwardly duck through other people, going the opposite direction as them as he retraces the arrows backward to the last location he remembered seeing Jongin in.
His eyes scan the area, trying to spot the red flannel the other was sporting today. A gift from Sehun on his 17th birthday, many years ago. The said clothing is a little faded, a little tattered at the seams and he wonders why Jongin still holds onto it.
But he thanks his partner for holding onto it because the red flannel is easier to spot among the sea of black and white shirts.
‘Of course, there you are,’ he thinks as he sees the said man sitting, no, lounging, on a sofa. Both of his lean arms are hanging on the top of the backrest and one of his legs is crossed on top of the other, leaning back way too comfortably for someone that’s in the middle of an IKEA showroom, as if he’s just at home.
Sehun lets out a sigh, smiling to himself as he takes in the endearing sight before he starts walking over and decides to save his boyfriend from the long-suffering stare of the IKEA employee who looks like she wants to tell Jongin off but doesn’t know how to.
‘A Kivik, huh?’ He lets out a chuckle as he reads the product tag of the sofa Jongin’s sitting on. ‘Are you taking this home now?’ He teases his boyfriend as the other startles a little at his voice.
Jongin looks up to him with a large grin and just pats the seat next to him, moving over to make space, though Sehun thinks he doesn’t need to as the couch is big enough for at least 4 people.
‘Feel it, Hun-ah. It’s so soft and perfect for movie nights when we’re cuddling under the blanket.’ Jongin exclaims with a slight giddy lilt to his voice.
Sehun snorts as he lowers himself down to sit next to his boyfriend, an arm being slung around his shoulder as Jongin leans in a little closer to whisper into his ear. ‘..and maybe it’s perfect for other things that I have in mind.’
Sehun can’t help but blush at that, knowing what the other is insinuating. ‘I don’t think your mother would like that..’, he interjects.
The next thing he knows is Jongin’s peppering soft kisses along his cheek and he shrinks under the curious glances they’re getting from people passing by, giving them a slightly apologetic awkward smile.
‘Thought I lost you, you know..’ he mumbles as he fiddles with his fingers. The other just squeezes his shoulder three times in response. Sehun knows exactly what it means. Three taps to the back of his hand, three squeezes on his arm, three kisses on his cheeks. He doesn’t need an explanation, a silent language they’ve made up over the years to let the other know they’re still there.
‘Jongin..’ he whines but he isn’t exactly pushing the other away. ‘We have to go before the lady staring daggers into your head actually reports us.’
Jongin leans in further to give him one more kiss, this time on the lips. ‘Okay, baby. Did you manage to get your plates yet?’
Sehun just gives an exasperated flail of his arms, ‘I couldn’t because someone decided he wanted to try out couches!’
He’s ushered off the couch by Jongin, an arm still around his waist with fingers soothingly rubbing at his waist. ‘Okay, okay. Let’s go get your plates. You know, sometimes I think you’re even whinier than I am!’
Sehun just raises an eyebrow with a slight smirk dancing on his lips, ‘Sure, babe. Whatever helps you sleep at night.’ He plants a peck on Jongin’s lips before he laces their fingers together, navigating the showrooms to find his desired dinnerware set. Sehun doesn’t let go of Jongin’s hand throughout.
As they grabbed what Sehun initially came for, they headed to the check-out area and went through the self check-out process. Sehun carefully scans the barcode as Jongin excuses himself to head over to the Bistro area where they sell hotdogs and other snacks.
He finishes up quickly and looks up to see Jongin already waiting under the big ‘EXIT’ sign to head over to the parking lot. In his hands are two ice cream cones, one Vanilla and one Chocolate, while he has a big grin on his face.
Sehun can’t help but return the infectious grin as they begin their walk back to his car. The walk isn’t too long but the silence is comfortable, no longer having the need to fill it with words over years of familiarity.
After he loads the dinnerware set carefully in the back of the trunk, he gets in the driver’s seat and is immediately handed his chocolate ice cream cone that had already started to melt around the edges.
He quickly dives in and tries to salvage as much of the ice cream as he can while Jongin just laughs on the passenger seat. He turns to fix his boyfriend a glare but stops as he sees the smudge of white next to the other’s mouth.
He can’t help but smile as he reaches forward and swipes his thumb against Jongin’s lower lip, wiping away the cream as he takes in the sight before him.
‘Move in with me.’
The words were out of his mouth before a single thought could even occur. Not an order, but not a question, either. His hand lingered near the other’s chin, eventually finding its place cupped against Jongin’s cheek.
Silence is all that can be heard in the car for the next few seconds, although it feels like hours for Sehun. Jongin is stuck staring at him with his mouth slightly agape, not quite in shock but more in wonder.
Sehun isn’t worried. He knows what Jongin’s answer will be. Has always known if he really thinks about it. Because he doesn’t know where Jongin ends and Sehun begins. Because they’ve always been attached at the hip, spending every moment, every milestone together and he knows they always will.
He can’t even bring himself to picture a future where the other isn’t in it. Simply because it doesn’t exist. Where Jongin is, there Sehun will be.
He still can’t help the slight pull on his brows as he frowns a little when Jongin takes a while to answer.
He’s about to pull his hand back, feeling a little unsure as the seconds go by when Jongin grasps tightly onto it, securely. As if he’s never letting go. And he slowly turns his head to place a soft, gentle kiss onto Sehun’s palm before looking back into his eyes.
‘Of course..’
As if the answer would have ever been anything other than ‘Yes.’
And there isn’t a ‘click’. No spark. Nothing to symbolize the change that just happened, will happen, to their dynamic.
Because just like every other moment in their lives, this, too, is inevitable. As if it was the obvious next step to the rest of their lives together.
And he finds that he could ask for nothing else, if not to spend the rest of his life with the man sitting next to him. To wake up every morning to the sight of his face. To hear his laughter and his voice to comfort him. To have his arms around him, embraced in warmth.
Sehun’s always known what he wants. It’s always been Jongin.