In His Arms - Wonheon ( Wonho x Jooheon )

Chapter 45 : Backyard

Wonho walks the perimeter of the fence, looking up at how high it stands in the air. From his angle on the ground, it looks like the stone wall stretches endlessly into the sky, with the trees and sun towering above. Even with his arm outstretched above his head, he can’t reach the top, and if he were to pull up a chair, he still wouldn’t be anywhere close.  

It’s perfect. It’s just how he wanted it.

He turns to look over his shoulder at Jooheon, who’s sitting at the table beneath the canopy, the dark grey curtains flapping gently in the autumn breeze. The younger man’s legs are pulled up to his chest as his fingers play with the condensation of his glass of iced sweet tea. Jooheon may be fiddling about, but his brown gaze is sharp as he watches Wonho finish up his inspection of the fence before making his way toward the table.

“It looks good, right?” he asks once he approaches. Wonho sits down in the seat across from the brunet and let’s his hands trail over the top of the table. It’s still all so brand new and honestly, Wonho loves it. He can’t believe that he hadn’t decided upon giving the backyard a makeover years ago. Then again, it’s not like he envisioned himself outside while at home. Not until Jooheon came into the picture. Not until Jooheon became the picture.

Jooheon nods, still silent as he draws his finger through the droplets that have clustered along the outside of his glass. It’s technically fall, but the summer heat can still be at a high during the afternoons, enough to make Wonho bring out an entire iced pitcher of fluids so that neither he or Jooheon can go dehydrated.  

Wonho raises up his own cup to his lips, taking a drink before continuing on. “I’ll take the locks off the back door so that you can come out here whenever you want. But I’ll also need to put up some cameras just to be precautious.”

Jooheon looks at him in confusion, his head tilting slightly to the side. “Cameras for what? Nothing is going to get over that fence, Wonho, myself included.”

“I just want to be able to see you, Jooheon, even when you’re outside,” Wonho frowns. Surely Jooheon understands by now, after all this time. Wonho can’t make it anymore obvious just how dedicated he is to the younger man, how he has literally done everything he could for Jooheon and Jooheon only. He made their house safe. He made their backyard safe. He made Jooheon safe. How much more could he do to show his love for Jooheon that would allow the younger man to physically see and feel it?

Wonho lowers his gaze, staring at his own glass and tracing the falling droplets with his eyes. “Can you really hold that against me?” he asks, quietly.

One minute of silence passes, then two, and neither of them say a thing. The quiet makes Wonho focus on the birds in the distance, how he can hear them in the trees, living their simple little lives. Wonho turns his head to the side and peaks up at one of the tall Sycamore trees that he put a birdhouse in. The small red and white house hangs from one of the limbs and even though it’s only been up for three days, Wonho can spot the two birds that have taken residence in it. They’re eastern bluebirds; a female that rarely leaves from the perch and a male with bright blue plumage that leaves every few hours and comes back with twigs in its beak, never gone for too long.

Jooheon gives out a soft sigh and Wonho’s gaze finds its way back onto the brunet. “I can hold a lot of things against you, Wonho, but this…” Jooheon shrugs, dropping his gaze. “I expect it of you.”

Wonho leans forward slightly, never taking his eyes off of the brunet. “Is that a good or bad thing?”

Again, Jooheon shrugs. “It’s a ‘I know you already’ thing.”

“That really doesn’t answer the question though,” Wonho points out. Jooheon may have said the words casually, like they were simple, but hearing Jooheon admit that he’s figured out who Wonho is-- something that no one else has ever done before-- makes Wonho’s grip tighten around his glass, his pulse spiking.

Jooheon looks up at him. There’s something in Jooheon’s eyes that Wonho finds enticing, something that he wants to consume. Wonho doesn’t look away as Jooheon pulls his arms towards himself, resting them on top of his knees and using one of his hands to prop up his head. He’s shoots Wonho a fake look of innocence, raising his dark brows. “Doesn’t it though?”

Wonho keeps staring. Oddly enough, Jooheon doesn’t look away either and somehow, they have a staring contest right then and there, neither breaking from each other. But then, when it becomes too much and Wonho’s eyes start to burn, he blinks. “I guess it does,” he finally answers, grinning at the brunet.

He reaches down and picks up his glass again, bringing it to his lips. He doesn’t say anything and Jooheon doesn’t either, but when Wonho takes in Jooheon’s features, he would swear that Jooheon wanted to smile too, his pink lips twitching.