Coffee | sunki

10. bubbles

"It's so hot," Sunoo moaned, rolling his eyes. He picked up the hand fan next to him and vigorously waved it about his face in a desperate urge to cool off.

"I swear," Niki complained in agreement. Both of them resorted to minimal clothing as long as the power cut was on: a vest and shorts.

"Fuck global warming."

"Fuck global warming," the younger repeated.

"I really want to sit in a bucket of ice," the blonde grumbled, melting off the chair onto the floor and sprawling out.

"Stop, that sounds so enticing," Niki wailed.

"Wait," Sunoo gasped, perking up a little. "We can sit in the bathtub filled with cold water. We can even chuck in a couple of ice cubes. What do you say?" He looked up at Niki who now took even the vest off, unable to bear the heat and asked for an opinion.

"That sounds like heaven. Let's go," he smiled, hauling himself off the bed.

They took a bunch of little candles to illuminate the bathroom, considering the power was out. Sunoo even snuck in his favourite scented candle which matched the temple-tree fragranced bubble bath soap he had.

One thing Sunoo didn't consider was having to take his vest off... and he was hesitant to do so in front of Niki. Niki had fucking perfect six pack abs, and he had nothing. Sure, he loved his hourglass immensely — he wasn't one for self-hate. But what would Niki think?

He stood in the bathroom along with Niki who was filling the grey marble tub with water and the bubble liquid. Sunoo's hands rested at the hem of his vest, tugging only slightly at the end.

Somehow, Niki understood, and assured Sunoo, "love, you're beautiful." It wasn't like he was lying though. Sunoo was beautiful, and he just wanted to let him know that he thought so, too.

"O-okay." He turned around and exhaled sharply, preparing himself mentally.

"You don't have to if you don't want to... you could change into a dri-fit t-shirt instead—" but before Niki could finish, Sunoo had pulled the stretchy white fabric off his head and rushed to get into the bathtub full of soap suds to hide his body.

Niki chuckled and locked the door, getting inside the water as well. A sigh left both of their lips as the cold water cooled off their sweaty skin.

Both of them lay down in the icy water with eyes shut in just their underclothes, as seven-year-olds would. It gave them both a sense of weird nostalgia somehow, as they blew soap suds into each other's faces and tried tackling each other and pushing them underwater; all playful, of course.

Sunoo had gotten less conscious of his body too, as he didn't bother to hide his milky skin anymore. He was way too immersed in playing around with Niki that he didn't care about the world anymore. Time seemed to have stopped around them as the bathroom resonated with their giggles.

They played and played until their hands and feet had become paper-white and completely wrinkled up.

Sunoo heard footsteps approaching, and quickly reached over to clasp a hand around Niki's mouth.

Was that his mom?

"Sunoo?"

Phew.

Thankfully, it was his dad.

"Yeah, dad?"

"All okay? I heard screams from in here."

"All's okay, don't worry. We were just play—" he stopped in his tracks. He realised his dad didn't know they were together yet.

Luckily, his father ignored it. Imagine if he walked into the bathroom just then — he'd see his son, shirtless, bent over another boy, also shirtless, with one hand clasped over the other boy's mouth and the other on his chest.

Thank god they locked the door.

"Where's Niki?" His father asked, smiling a little. He knew what was going on in there and he found it extremely adorable.

"He's..." Sunoo bit his lip and glanced at Niki with an "SOS" sign in his eyes, thinking of a response. "He's gone home for a bit to collect his uh... schoolbook. Yeah."

His father laughed. "You don't have to lie to me, Sunoo. Anyway, carry on in there, have fun, you two."

"Dad!" Sunoo whined as he heard his father's heavy footsteps receding.

"Yeah?" the man chuckled.

"...don't tell mom?"

"Obviously. I wouldn't sell you out to her, ever. Also, the power is back on, in case you want to come out now."

"Thank you, dad."

"Dude," Niki gasped, "how the fuck is your dad so chill?"

"Thanks for dude-zoning me, but well, he's chill because his best friend is gay. And he's totally into supporting the community and all. He has a great gaydar; I've not even come out to him officially but he literally knows I have no straight bones in me."

"That's so sweet! And he approves of us?"

"Yeah," the older boy chuckled, running his fingers through his drenched hair. "He's secretly even come to me and told me that we look cute together when I brought you home."

"My heart is literally melting. I love your dad."

Both of them laughed between shivers and chattering teeth. Staying the water was getting a little tough now, and they decided to dry themselves off.

Niki decided to act cute by being a big baby and nagging Sunoo to dry his hair for him. And how could Sunoo refuse such an innocent request? He obliged, patting Niki's pastel purple hair with a towel and enjoying the way Niki rolled his eyes every time Sunoo turned his neck to try a different spot. At the end of it, the younger boy was extremely dizzy, and flopped down on the bed.

Playing in water was extremely tiring, if you think about it. Hence, Sunoo thought it was the perfect opportunity to wriggle between Niki's arms and fall asleep next to him, freshly bathed and both in fluffy bathrobes.

He checked with his dad beforehand and found that his mother had gone out with her friends, and wouldn't be back until late, so he and Niki had some time to express themselves for what they really were before they had to go back into hiding again.

They really hoped it wouldn't be too long before Sunoo could confidently wear his colourful identity on his sleeve and not live in fear of what his mom had to say anymore.

Niki's arms tightened around Sunoo's tiny waist which he appreciated even more now that he'd seen it in its raw beauty. He really found his boyfriend to be almost unreal, how he dressed, walked, talked, and sang. He was grateful to be the one whose arms Sunoo chose to lay in, whose lips he chose to kiss and whose love he chose to reciprocate.

With these thoughts leaving a smile on his lips, he pulled the duvet over him and Sunoo and drifted to sleep just like the boy in his arms.

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I love this chapter so much ;-; it's just so domestic and soft and nostalgic :") tell me what you think? <3