#1: TFLN

[gunflowers]

Let's start with an easy one!



You know the drill!!

Comments

[cordiformed]

there is! i always kiss jin goodnight.

[strewn]

Every single night? That's nice.

[cordiformed]

you don't?

oh, well i guess there's some nights that you can't, huh?

[strewn]

I wish I could. If I were with him every night, I would.

[cordiformed]

hey. i have an idea. a way that you can give myung a kiss every night.

meet me in the kitchen!

[strewn]

Really? I'm on my way. [ Zero hesitation whatsoever. ]

[cordiformed]

[dal is waiting in the kitchen, probably eating something else that he's "allergic" to. but he puts it down when dal comes into the room.]

Hi!

[strewn]

[ Allergies work in mysterious ways...

Dal gives a little wave with his gloved hand when he enters the room. ] Hi there. Having a snack?

dal...sungki

[cordiformed]

[he laughs a little at the question, like he's been caught.]

My mother would say that I'm snacking a little too much know. I know it's not healthy, but it's so good!

[that's pushed aside for the moment though. sungki places his elbows on the table and laces his fingers together.]

Now. You want to give Myung a kiss every night but you can't always do that, right?

gotcha, gotcha

[strewn]

If you're hungry, you should eat. [ This is Dal's highly intuitive logic. It's absolutely sensible, right? ]

You don't have to stop on my account, either.

[ Just wanted to say that! ] Right, there are nights when I'm not out.

[cordiformed]

[sungki does pop another thing into his mouth, a small candy, which is totally related to his solution.

he sits a bag of chocolate kisses onto the table between them.]

Take these! You can leave one of them on his pillow for every night, and then he can give you the little paper for a kiss when you do see him again. It's double the kisses!

[strewn]

[ Dal's mouth forms a small o-shape as he looks at the candies. ]

These are, [ he begins slowly, still looking at the bag, ] kisses.

[ It says so, right there on the bag! Interesting. ] Sungki, this is really...

Cute. How did you get this idea?

[cordiformed]

You can give him a kiss every night and nothing can stop you!

[he giggles a little at the play on words. he's also pleased to see that dal doesn't immediately dismiss the idea as something silly.]

I wanted to think of something sweet and creative for Jin's birthday. So I bought a bunch of these and pulled out the little flags, so he can trade them for a kiss any time he wants! From there it was easy to think of how it could work for you.

[strewn]

[ Be prepared, Sungki. The rare Dal smile is about to show itself. It's like a unicorn to everyone but Myung, honestly.

And... there it is. A smile. ]

That is a really sweet idea. [ A beat. ] No pun intended. Jin's going to have a really good birthday, I think. It's a nice idea for Myung and me, too. Thank you for sharing.

[ Reaching over, he grabs one of the kisses and inspects it. ] It's pure chocolate, right?

[cordiformed]

[HE'S A PIRATE KING, HE FOUND THE TREASURE.

dal looks so cute when he smiles though, young and innocent, and it makes sungki happy.

being so...old and jaded himself. right.]

You're welcome! [he doesn't think jin will mind him sharing a variation of the idea. it's probably what he would expect from his boyfriend, always bright and happy and willing to share it.] This one is! They also have ones with almonds in them, and cookies and cream, and some other flavors too.

[strewn]

[ You did it, Sungki. The final achievement is yours. Wear this badge of honor forevermore!

It will make your grizzled old self seem truly youthful and innocent again. Yes. Totally. ]

I wonder which Myung would like... is Jin's favorite the plain ones? [ He is so curious about absolutely everything in existence, this one. ]

[cordiformed]

You know, I'm not sure. I don't think Jin likes sweets much in general. He's not a big eater.

[in fact, he hasn't seen him super enjoying any kind of food, which is kind of curious (and worrying) now that sungki thinks about it.]

I definitely like the chocolates ones the best though. Especially if you hold it on your tongue for awhile.

[strewn]

He's not? [ Dal cocks his head to the side. He's not disputing that fact, it's just he's never noticed. Eating habits other than Myung's aren't really on his radar. Not even his own, since eating is only just recently becoming a thing he knows he's allowed to enjoy, rather than just do because he needs to eat to survive.

Minsu can credit himself for that one. Also, other... private incidents... ]

I've never tried that, to be honest. Maybe I should.

[cordiformed]

No. I'm a little worried about it for when he meets my mother.

[she will probably see a weak appetite as a flaw, looking for little things to fault. even if she ultimately was the one who chose his match. even if sungki has found happiness with him. he is still the one who shines brightest in her only child's eyes now.]

You definitely should! [the smile on sungki's lips fades a little.] Can I ask you something? I don't mean to be insulting, but is there still many things that you haven't tried?

[strewn]

Your mother won't like that?

[ This confuses Dal. Doesn't eating less mean you save more food and money? Oh, wait. Sustenance. That's a thing human-type bodies require. Is Jin skinny?

Dal can't remember. He doesn't even know how he categorizes skinny. ]

It's not insulting. You're right, there's a lot I haven't tried. I don't even know how to make a list. I think I'd be adding things to it faster than I could cross them off.

[cordiformed]

Healthy appetites are desirable! It's associated with being strong and healthy.

[which sungki knows isn't actually the case. jin is plenty strong and healthy.]

It could also be taken as an insult to my mother's cooking, but Jin would never do that.

[he'll be far more likely to force himself for the sake of politeness, which sungki worries about just as much.]

I'm sort of the same. I feel like I've done so much these past months! But I know that compared to most others, it's not as much.

[strewn]

Oh, I didn't realize. [ It's not something that would've occurred to him, but now that he's thinking about it, he has enough information to give the thought some context.

Also, that second part. He only has context for that because of Minsu, in all likelihood. ]

People enjoy it when their cooking is well-received, right?

[ Sungki is a nice person. This is Dal's official assessment, not that it's required for anything. ]

Do you think it makes you want to do more things? I mean, do you feel like you want to catch up? If that makes sense.

[cordiformed]

Oh yes! Sometimes I wouldn't eat much lunch at school just so I would be extra hungry at dinner. It made her so happy.

[sungki swallows hard and glances down for a moment. he's happy here, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't miss his mother almost every day. but he smiles for dal when he looks up again.]

It does. I want to go slow and enjoy everything, but sometimes I feel too excited to wait.

[strewn]

Minsu doesn't let you skip meals here, [ Dal says solemnly. ] I know, because I'm always working with him to be sure Myung eats well.

[ He notices the way Sungki reacts and his brow knits together a little. ] Is that hard to talk about? We don't have to.

[ He'd like to be sensitive to these things. It's hard to know what merits it, but he does want to try. ]

I feel that way, too. A lot. It can be hard to tell myself ot slow down.

[cordiformed]

Is Myung the same way?

[maybe it's a boyfriend thing, except they're boyfriends too. sungki smiles at dal's concern, but shakes his head.]

I just miss my mother sometimes. I'll get to see her soon though!

[and he's certainly not unhappy in the meantime.]

Maybe we could help each other somehow! Like be each other's support somehow.