Freedom Like This (Ateez)

T'was The Day Before Christmas

The sound of an old, nostalgic Christmas film hums throughout Seonghwa's small, cluttered apartment, your fingertips brush over the spiky bristles of his Christmas tree as you admire it, it's decorated with silver tinsel and dark ornaments and looks like a fucking mess but it's perfect to you. You're sick of seeing bland and neatly decorated trees with baubles that cost more than a car hanging off them. 

You hadn't pegged Seonghwa as someone who would decorate for Christmas. He dresses exclusively in black and leather, he's rough, his edges jagged and ruthless and if you hadn't gotten so close to him over the last few months you'd call him cold hearted. The truth is Seonghwa is more warm hearted than you anticipated and his warmth only seems to grow with every interaction, it keeps you running back to him even when you swear you won't. It was never supposed to last this long.

Sighing, you pull the thick blanket around your naked body tighter, your legs are weak from Seonghwa bending you to his will for the last hour so you sink back down to the sofa, resting your head back on the squishy cushions and becoming entranced by the twinkling lights on the tree. Outside is entirely grey, stormy clouds haven't budged from the sky in nearly two days and the ground is covered in a layer of glistening white, which is not ideal when you're trying to sneak around, your footprints lingering for much longer than you'd like.

You shift your attention to the slender man pottering about the kitchen, his normally slicked back hair is down today, the dark strands slightly wavy and tumbling around his cheekbones. His movements gentle and soft, your heart flutters and then sinks at the thought of having to back home. Being apart from him has become unbearable, your body calls out for him as though it's controlled by an unbreakable spell, the sense of freedom he offers is too big to give up even though you know nothing good will come of it. Your heart skips a beat at every look he gives you, every touch sets your skin alight, but you're from two very different worlds, worlds that do not go together and will never go together. Your parents would never allow you to be with someone like him and he'd never want to be with someone like you, the thought stings your heart a little and the only remedy is his body against yours.

Your gaze slips lower, his abs are still slick with sweat from pounding into you ruthlessly not 15 minutes ago, black joggers hanging incredibly low on his hips as if to tease you. Heat flashes across your face and you look away, curling your legs into yourself and wrapping your arms around them, attempting to focus on the Christmas movie playing to stop the familiar feeling of electricity from settling between your thighs. You don't understand in the slightest how a simple glance at him can set you alight, no matter what you do no amount of Seonghwa will ever be enough, he knows how to play your body like he's spent his entire life perfecting it.

You smile up at him shyly as he rounds the kitchen counter, his dark eyes are often so intense you feel like he's looking directly into your soul, it leaves you feeling exposed and timid. He holds two mugs of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream and a garnishing of chocolate flakes, you take your drink happily with a thank you, the warmth of the mug in your hands reminds you of how comforting Seonghwa's hands feel in yours.

You swipe your tongue across the cream before taking a sip, it's what you would expect liquid happiness to taste like. An arm snakes around shoulders and Seonghwa pulls you closer to him, you happily let your body melt into his. You peek up at him, his face is flushed a beautiful tone of pink and he's practically glowing with serenity. His almond shaped eyes find yours, glistening under the lights, the way he looks at you is unlike anything you've ever experienced before. He looks at you with raw emotions, desire always burning in them, it's dangerous. He's dangerous, in more ways than one. It's addicting, you're hooked on him and there's no coming down from the highs he supplies you.

"Does my hot chocolate live up to your standards?" he asks softly.

You nod. "You've set the new standard. You'll be making these for me all winter now I hope you know."