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Wonwoo really didn't expect to come home after a long day to have his boyfriend rugby-tackling him to the ground.
"Soonyoung, wha-" Wonwoo groans when Soonyoung's knee manages to get him right in the gut. "I'm holding grocery bags!"
"Oh yeah? What are they filled with? Fucking firearms and ninja stars?" Soonyoung seethes, pressing down on Wonwoo's throat which has Wonwoo seeing stars for a second, and he has to let go of the bags. Both him and Soonyoung watch as apples slowly roll out of one of them.
"You said we ran out of fruit," Wonwoo manages to get out before grimacing when Soonyoung rests his entire weight on top of him and pins Wonwoo's arms to the ground. Wonwoo isn't a stranger to these kinds of situations but he is when it comes to Soonyoung, his Soonyoung who always lights up at the sight of him and kisses him everytime he comes home if Wonwoo doesn't do it first - but right now, Soonyoung's eyes are filled with fire and some sort of betrayal, truly tiger-like as they burn Wonwoo into the ground.
Wonwoo is terrified, and also terrified of the fact that he thinks it's pretty hot, but he always thinks Soonyoung is hot.
"Why aren't you fighting back?" Soonyoung asks him, voice as sharp as knives. "Why the fuck are you just letting me do this?"
Wonwoo stares up at him, dizzy and losing air by the second. "Because...I'm confused and I love you?"
Soonyoung falters, his grip on Wonwoo's throat loosening for a moment. Wonwoo gulps in a breath but that's all he can do before Soonyoung growls under his breath and getssomething out of his pocket.
"Close your fucking mouth," Soonyoung hisses. Wonwoo isn't quite sure why he obeys but he does, and before he knows it, Soonyoung tears off a piece from a roll of duct tape with his teeth and slaps it over Wonwoo's mouth.
Oh no, Wonwoo thinks hazily. I hate when people do that. It never does wonders for my skin.
In no time, Soonyoung has him tied to a chair at the kitchen counter, lights dimmed except for the bright flashlight on Soonyoung's phone that Soonyoung keeps shoving in Wonwoo's face. Wonwoo distantly realises that Soonyoung is trying to recreate a police interrogation, but his head still hurts from when Soonyoung slammed him to the floor and he doesn't want to think too hard.
"Tell me what your game is, Jeon," Soonyoung says, eyes narrowed to slits. All Wonwoo can think is 'Jeon'? What happened to 'babe'? Or, like, anything else? "How long did you think you could keep this up, huh?"
I don't think this is how an interrogation works, Soonyoung, Wonwoo tries to telepathically tell him. I can't speak.
He blinks when Soonyoung slams his hand down on the table and leans down to stare Wonwoo right in the eyes. "Stop acting confused. You're making me sick."
"That's mean," Wonwoo tries to say, though it just comes out as an indignant grunt. Soonyoung shakes his head before he picks up a file on the counter that Wonwoo didn't even notice and takes out a piece of paper that he slides in front of Wonwoo. Wonwoo peeks down at it, eyebrows furrowed as he wonders what he's looking at, but then he spots it.
Suddenly, it all clicks.
"You know, I even thought I saw you there," Soonyoung says, and his voice is shaking a little now. "At the raid last week. I thought I ran past you, but I didn't have time to do a double-take, and I thought that it must be my eyes playing up or just someone who looks like you because there could be no way. Then we get word that the raid had doubled in size because our rival agency had received the same intel that we did. Then we get our hands on this fucking photo-"
Soonyoung recoils for a moment when Wonwoo suddenly strips off the duct tape over his mouth (and tries not to wince because it's not like this is his first time). "Soonyoung, let me explain-"
"H-How did you get your hands free...?" Soonyoung asks with wide eyes, slowly stepping back. "That was the most secure knot I know-"
"You find out I'm an assassin and you think I don't know how to untie knots?" Wonwoo asks, trying not to get frustrated. "Soonyoung, listen - I'm sorry. I get it if you're scared and I'm so sorry you had to find out this way and if you want to break-"
Wonwoo pauses then. "Wait. You were there. Rival agency. Intel."
Wonwoo stares at Soonyoung. "You're an assassin. You're part of the Tigers?"
"And you're part of the Foxes," Soonyoung spits like it's the most disgusting thing he's ever had to say. "You even look like a fox!"
Wonwoo drops his head into his hands. "Oh my God-"
"You know, I tried to look past it," Soonyoung sniffles, actually sounding near tears. "Because I hate the Foxes so fucking much and then when we were first hanging out I thought this cute guy who genuinely seems interested in me just happens to look like a fox but it's okay because he also looks like a cat so maybe I can just think of him as a cat instead but then this-"
"Soonyoung, this is not what we should be talking about right now!" Wonwoo yells, but that's defnitely the wrong thing to do because in the next second, Soonyoung slams his head down onto the table and hisses in his ear, "Don't yell at me."
"O-Okay, sorry, I'm sorry," Wonwoo concedes, those stars beginning to come back. "So this is why you attacked me? Because you hate me now that you know I'm a Fox?"
"No, I could never-" Soonyoung cuts himself off there for some reason before sucking in a breath. "Don't turn this on me. You're the one in the wrong. You steal my heart and worm your way into my life and take my trust all for what, Wonwoo? What is it, you want intel? Or do the Foxes want me gone? Makes sense that they knew the only way to take me down was by playing the long game..."
"What?" Wonwoo says into the table, before he raises his head and Soonyoung lets him. "Soonyoung. Shut up. You know I'm in love with you. I record all the episodes of the dramas you like when you miss them. I watch said dramas with you. Our first kiss was when I was pretty concussed after a job believing I was going to die and all I could think about was kissing you - that's why I came and left so fast then."
Wonwoo hears Soonyoung's breath hitch.
'I've been thinking about asking you to marry me soon and we haven't even been dating for a whole year' would definitely be a good point for Wonwoo to make, but he's a bit worried that it might scare Soonyoung away even more than all this assassin stuff. So he just settles for, "I also laugh at all your jokes."
"An assassin could find me funny," Soonyoung says, even though Wonwoo can tell that he's softened up tenfold, his voice weak.
"No, it's a me thing. It's also a love thing because I think you're the funniest person ever but I've got no clue why."
Soonyoung sniffs, wiping at his eyes. "I think you're the funniest person ever."
Wonwoo grins. "See? A love thing."
Soonyoung shakes his head, an appropriate laugh bubbling out of him now as he finally turns off the flashlight and takes a heavy seat next to Wonwoo. "This is so crazy. No, you're crazy, Jeon Wonwoo. You have to be careful, why wasn't your face covered in this?"
"Lost my masking somehow," Wonwoo says, trying to think back but either the memory's hazy or he's hazy. Makes sense that the only thing he can think clearly about through a probable-concussion is how much he loves Soonyoung. "Um. Hey. Love that we cleared this up, but I'm. Sort of blacking out a bit."
"Oh fuck, right!" Soonyoung yelps, jumping onto his feet. "I hit your head so many times, shit, I'm sorry, it's just because I thought you were trying to kill me and- fuck, I'll take you to the hospital?"
"Can you carry me there?" Wonwoo asks, words slurring a little so he doesn't even expect Soonyoung to catch them. It's a nice surprise when Soonyoung lifts him up into his arms immediately.
"Babe, where are your car keys?" Soonyoung asks, hurrying towards the front door frantically, and Wonwoo is very happy that they're back on 'babe' terms. "Never mind, found them - I'll get you help, don't worry!"
I wonder if he'll carry me like this on our wedding day, Wonwoo thinks right before he passes out.
It's strange, now that the cat's out of the bag. During their whole time knowing each other, Wonwoo's been working his ass off to make sure Soonyoung's safe, by checking the house for spyware daily, never going outside with him the day after a job, and immediately eliminating anyone who looks suspicious when they're out together.
Turns out, Soonyoung's been doing the exact same thing.
"So we've been doing all this without us knowing that we can protect ourselves," Soonyoung laughs one morning, swinging his legs over Wonwoo's waist. Wonwoo thinks Soonyoung's beautiful like this - happy, clingy, face having that just-woken-up glow, hair messy and smiles lazily sweet. "Don't tell me you've got a tracker on me, too."
"...I got a nano one injected in you when you had a blood test last year," Wonwoo says sheepishly, wincing preparing for Soonyoung to rain hell down on him about how messed up that is - but instead Soonyoung makes a noise of delight.
"I got yours injected in you when you had a blood test! Matching trackers...that's so assassin-couply of us, babe."
Soonyoung giggles when Wonwoo knocks him back onto the bed and kisses him like his life depends on it.
Despite being aware of each other's true identities now, Wonwoo knows that they still have to be just as careful. Maybe even more careful, because now Soonyoung's enemies are his enemies, as well as vice versa, and that's a lot of enemies. They end up having to spend time educating each other a bit on who to look out for, who are personal enemies for each organisation, and who are allies, too. Wonwoo thinks it's a pretty neat idea for date nights because it's easy, it's planned, and he usually gets to cuddle up with Soonyoung in bed during.
"Wait, that's it?" Soonyoung asks in surprise when Wonwoo closes his foe file. "You don't have a lot of enemies. Wow, even in this kinda profession, everyone likes you?"
"What do you mean 'even'?" Wonwoo asks, confused. "And yeah, I'll get to the enemies of the whole organisation another time - these are only the people who I'm sure actively know of me and it's not a lot because fieldwork isn't my main job."
"Really? Woah, I just assumed because it's mine...wait. Oh, hold on, you're totally one of those coders or the people who feed information into an in-ear."
"You got me. I remember back in training, it ended up that my best set of skills were code-breaking and running fast. It's a weird mix."
"So if we were a duo," Soonyoung hypothesises, "you'd be in my ear telling me all the important stuff and dewiring security systems so I can break in and if I need a quick getaway, you come down, pick me up, and run me out?"
Being an assassin duo with Soonyoung is a dream that Wonwoo never thought he'd have. "...I don't think I'm fast enough for that."
"Liar. I've seen you run into a store to buy me kimchi minutes before it closes," Soonyoung dotes, pressing a sweet kiss to Wonwoo's lips. "You'd definitely be able to save me."
Wonwoo is too busy blushing and adjusting his glasses to notice straight away that Soonyoung drags out a binder as thick as Wonwoo's bicep from under the bed. "Right. Time for my enemies!"
The downside to all this is that Wonwoo knows he needs to tell his boss about his situation. He's breaking all kinds of codes already by duplicating information to show Soonyoung and telling him all these things, even if it's just about people and not proper intel, but Wonwoo still feels deliriously guilty.
He's not looking forward to it in the slightest. That's why he's very confused when he's sitting in Jeonghan's office just having told him that he's dating someone, and Jeonghan's gaping at him with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Really?" Jeonghan asks, leaning forward like a teenage girl looking for more gossip. "Excuse me? How long?"
"A...almost a year?"
Jeonghan throws a file in the air just for the dramatics, pieces of paper and photos flying out of it that cover the room. "A YEAR?!"
"Um," Wonwoo says, picking off a photo that had landed over his head. He blinks when he's faced with a gruesome crime scene. "Was that file important?"
"Oh no, don't worry. Just the latest in the murder that Mingyu almost got accused of," Jeonghan says, calm now as he waves a dismissive hand. Then he slips on some reading glasses and wheels his chair over to his computer, suddenly looking all business. "Now, what is this fine young man's name?"
"Why?" Wonwoo asks shakily, dread churning inside of him. "What...what are you going to do to him?"
Jeonghan pauses his typing to shoot him a look. "Are you trying to ask if I'll assassinate a man that my dear subordinate must be enamoured with if they've been dating for almost a year?"
Damn it. Wonwoo's not above begging when it comes to Soonyoung. "Look, boss, I'll do anything. I can quit-"
"Oh darling, that's a big no with all the information you have."
"Then, I can cut him out of my life-"
"And make you miserable and therefore bad at your job as you get everyone's spirits down? Please."
"Okay, then- I won't tell him anything. I promise. Swear with my life, or we can do a blood oath if that's what people in these organisations do, and I hope you know that you killing him will also make me pretty miserable so I don't think that's-"
Wonwoo freezes, eyes growing wide as he hears a barely audible whistle of metal flying through the air. It just about nicks the tip of his ear before he hears the tell-tale smash of the knife cutting into the wall at the back of the room.
"Wonwoo, honey," Jeonghan says, voice sickly sweet. "Shut the fuck up."
Wonwoo swallows and nods, trying not to cower in his seat. He shouldn't be alarmed, he's seen Jeonghan do that to other people, but he also knows what Jeonghan is fully capable of and that always leaves him feeling a little terrified around him.
But that almost completely starts melting away when Jeonghan looks back at his computer and says, "Though we discourage significant others for our employees by code, we're well aware that disallowing it completely would cause problems. That's why we extend the protection that you have to them - it will be seen to that your boyfriend won't come to harm for as long as you two are together and that you are working under this organisation."
"Wait," Wonwoo breathes, unable to believe his ears. "So you're saying...you'll help protect him?"
Jeonghan nods, smiling again. "Yep. I call it the love package, do you like it? I first thought of it when Minhyun's girlfriend got shot that one time a few years ago and he was absolutely distraught, poor guy. It extends to a family deal if you have kids, too, or if you live with your mother or grandparents or whatever. Or pets if you really want. I do have one subordinate who makes sure we installed alarm-triggering surveillance around his apartment so that his hedgehog doesn't get hurt."
Wonwoo's speechless at this point. It's not clicking in his brain right now that he probably has the nicest boss in the world when it comes to this kind of occupation.
"Just one thing, though," Wonwoo has to say eventually, grimacing because he hates that he has to ruin the good vibe (he thinks it's good...?) that's going right now. "He...he's also an assassin."
Jeonghan raises his eyebrows. "Is that so? Is this a work relationship, Wonwoo? My support might not be as unyielding if that's the case..."
"Well. Not quite? Because I only just found out he was an assassin, and he's not in the Foxes. He's a part of...the Tigers."
Jeonghan's jaw practically drops to the floor. "The- what? Joshua's agency?! Ew, Wonwoo, ew, you are literally the peak of handsomeness and loveliness in my whole organisation - and mind you, we do NOT get a lot of that here! - and you just had to end up with the worst taste in men, what the fuck is wrong with you?"
See, whenever Jeonghan speaks about the Tigers like this, Wonwoo's very compelled to tell him 'but you're married to their leader' - he's been warned that kind of remark could get his tongue cut out of his mouth, though. Besides, he knows that the rivalry is very much real; their employees steal each other's jobs, they get in the way of each other, and in particular bad times, they've been tasked to kill each other on sight.
He's also heard rumours that Jeonghan and Joshua poison each other's food for fun at home, so there's probably a lot to unwrap there.
Then Wonwoo notices something that sticks out in Jeonghan's words. "I'm the peak of what?"
Jeonghan composes himself, smoothing out his shirt. "Nothing. It's okay. Just tell me his name and we'll still do our best but just know, when it comes to his jobs, we will not help."
That's still better than Wonwoo ever thought he'd get. "Thank you, boss. His name's Kwon Soonyoung."
Jeonghan throws up a second file, almost all the papers falling over Wonwoo now. "You're dating HOSHI?!"
"What? I didn't say that," Wonwoo denies, eyebrows furrowed as he brushes himself off. He asks gently, knowing that Jeonghan's eardrum burst in one of the worst events known to their organisation, "Do you have your hearing aid in?"
Jeonghan sniffs, reaching over the desk to pat Wonwoo's hand. "You're the only one who worries about me. Once, I set up a lovely fireplace just in time for Christmas and when I turned it on, Joshua threw my hearing aid in it."
"Jesus Christ."
"I know...it was devilish. I love him. Anyway - no, Wonwoo, I heard you right. Kwon Soonyoung, that little talented bastard, we just found out that was his real name not a long while ago. Hoshi's real name."
"Are you messing with me?" Wonwoo asks, genuinely wondering because Jeonghan would, but Jeonghan shakes his head.
"I'm not."
And when Jeonghan speaks in short clipped sentences like that, that's when Wonwoo knows that he's speaking the truth.
Holy shit, I'm dating Hoshi.
He thinks about it the entire way home. Wonwoo's just some guy at the end of the day. Yeah, alright, maybe he's maimed a few people and also led other people to do the maiming, but he's nothing special. He only got dragged into the organisation because they found out he was good with computers and they had a shortage of code-breakers. He wakes up in the morning to look at cat videos on Twitter wishing he could have one. He makes tea every day and it's not very good but he drinks it anyway. He makes his and Soonyoung's bed whenever he remembers to, which can sometimes be right before they're going to sleep but neither of them care.
There's no way he can be dating someone who's been unofficially dubbed one of the best assassins of the decade among criminal organisations around the world.
When he gets home, Soonyoung's sitting on the couch watching something on his phone. Wonwoo stares at the back of his head for a second, not sure where to go from here. So he just decides to confirm things, because a big part of it still doesn't believe it.
"Hoshi?"
"Yeah, babe, I'm in the living room!" Soonyoung calls back, unfazed. Wonwoo almost crumples to the ground then and there.
"Soonyoung. Please. You're not Hoshi. Don't do this to me," Wonwoo pleads after he goes over to the sofa and Soonyoung blinks at him, putting his phone down.
"What do you mean? Yeah, I'm Hoshi. I thought you'd find out sooner or later."
Wonwoo almost whimpers and Soonyoung, still looking confused, holds out his arms. Wonwoo instantly falls into them and wonders how someone so squishy can be so good at crime.
"Did you really conspire with a cat burglar to steal not only one but three of the most precious artifacts in the world?"
"I'm light on my feet too, Wonwoo, I can't just be caged to one job!"
"Did you really kill one of the richest people in the world and leave evidence that he had conned people out of billions in plain sight?"
"Sometimes crime and justice overlap, right?"
"Did you really take out eight men all by yourself because your team got dispatched to the wrong place?"
Soonyoung scratches his cheek, finally shy. "I still have no idea how people know about that. Did I miss someone who lived to tell the story?"
Oh God. Wonwoo's head is spinning and he flops his face into Soonyoung's chest, whispering, "You're so hot."
"You know, I think this is really saving our relationship," Soonyoung says happily. "Who knew you could find out so many new things about a person one year in?"
"But this is more than just a new thing, you're Hoshi. Like, the best assassin in the world, which is a crazy title because assassins are meant to be unknown and silent, you know that?" Wonwoo insists, lifting his head to show Soonyoung his face which he hopes is just as insistent. But for some reason, Soonyoung's smiling at him. Sort of gentle, sort of prideful, sort of like he's finding Wonwoo cute, and he reaches out to brush Wonwoo's hair out of his face when he says, "You know, I'd heard a bit about you, too."
Wonwoo blinks. "Huh?"
"Yeah, obviously. Game Boy. Where did the name come from or is it just you letting everyone know that you're a gamey boy?"
Wonwoo's face slowly starts burning. "...It's...it's a type of gaming console that I was obsessed with as a kid..."
Soonyoung laughs so hard for so fucking long that Wonwoo shoves him off the sofa and ends up falling with him.
"Okay, okay, I'm serious, though! The guy who headlines all the teching and hacking needed in your organisation, hello? Boss hates that the Foxes will always one-up us in technology because they have you, and I kid you not, he was so mad when he found out you can fight, too."
"Oh sure, I'm a treasure trove of skills," Wonwoo snorts, more than sarcastic because he's been trained just like everyone else and he's no better than them. But he starts changing his mind a little bit when Soonyoung kisses his cheek and whispers in his ear, "You are."
Soonyoung rolls over so he's on top of Wonwoo, grinning down at him. "If I'm the best assassin in the world - which is a pretty neat title, I'm liking it - then I bet you could be the best hacker in the world if you were a bit more ambitious. Then we'd be a power couple for real!"
Wonwoo frowns. "I've always thought we were a power couple. Ever since that time I threw a crumpled up piece of paper in the air and you headbutted it into the bin and we cheered so loud that someone next door came to see what was going on."
Soonyoung takes one of Wonwoo's hands and rests it over his heart, eyes shining. "Babe. That was like, before we even started dating."
"I've told you before," Wonwoo says softly. "I've liked you for a long time. A lot longer than a year."
It's probably not very hygienic to kiss on the floor, but Wonwoo doesn't really have the heart to mention it, not to the superstar of the crime world. And especially not to his boyfriend who makes Wonwoo feel like he's drowning in love no matter where they are.
It's minutes before it hits midnight to mark the day of their one-year anniversary, and Wonwoo is lying awake, trying not to feel too down about how empty the bed feels without Soonyoung in it. Especially tonight.
He doesn't know if they're going to celebrate it or not. They haven't talked about it, never really told each other whether they're the type to. That's why Wonwoo didn't say anything when Soonyoung told him that he had a job that would probably go into the morning so Wonwoo didn't need to wait up for him. That's why he stayed silent when Soonyoung kissed him goodbye before heading off into danger.
Wonwoo gets scared. He can't lie. Every time Soonyoung isn't home, now Wonwoo knows where he is, what he's really doing, and with how many close deaths he's come to himself, it terrifies him that any day he could wake up to the news that Soonyoung's gone.
And wouldn't it just be amazing if that day ended up being their anniversary?
Wonwoo turns on his phone and stares at it, stares down the 23:59 like it's one of his targets. The world feels too quiet when it finally ticks over. 00:00.
"Woo," Wonwoo mumbles. "Happy one year to us-"
Wonwoo drops the phone on his face when it suddenly buzzes. He winces, peeling it off his cheek to check who on earth is texting at this time, but his eyes widen when he finds out.
Soonyoung sent him a voice message.
"Wonwoo!" Soonyoung's voice bursts out, breathless and jagged like he's running and Wonwoo can hear the background noises of the city loud and clear. "I don't have much time but I- fuck- it's midnight and yeah, I love the rush of these jobs but I still wish I was in your arms right now but- YES, HAO, I'LL GET OFF IN A SECOND, I'M LETTING MY BOYFRIEND KNOW I LOVE HIM SO HE DOESN'T BREAK UP WITH ME!"
Wonwoo bites down on a smile so big.
(Like he'd ever break up with Soonyoung.)
"Anyway - happy anniversary, baby, I really do love you, I'll be home in a few hours, maybe, hopefully, I'm sorry I'm not there now but-"
The recording ends abruptly there. Wonwoo's worried for a second until he gets a text of 'IN OKP 💖' and he immediately relaxes.
It's easier to go to sleep now. He might still be scared but he trusts Soonyoung, and he's now warmed head-to-toe with love. That always helps.
It's a bit more than a few hours later when Soonyoung comes home. Wonwoo's up early at six making breakfast for both him and Soonyoung, hoping it doesn't have to get too cold before Soonyoung comes back, when he hears a slam on the door. Wonwoo feels his heart flutter.
He tries not to run - doesn't want to look too desperate - but his pace is quicker than usual when he goes over to the front door and opens it up without even asking who it is (which in hindsight, considering his and Soonyoung's professions, is pretty stupid of him) but it turns out okay. Because there Soonyoung is standing on their doorstep, out of breath, clothes ripped, cheek bruising blue, while holding a gorgeous bouquet of purple asters and a pristine clear box of chocolate dipped strawberries in scratched-up hands.
Despite how tired he looks, Soonyoung lights up at the sight of Wonwoo, eyes sparkling. "Happy anniver-"
Wonwoo doesn't even wait for him to finish before he's tugging Soonyoung inside by his collar and kissing him. Soonyoung makes a happy dreamy noise, kicking the door closed behind him and Wonwoo hears the sound of the flowers and strawberries dropping to the floor before Soonyoung's resting his hands on Wonwoo's sides and pulling him closer.
Or he tries to, but it's clear he doesn't have a lot of strength left after whatever he must've spent all night doing, so Wonwoo steps closer himself and presses Soonyoung up against the door.
"Did you get my voice message?" Soonyoung breathes, and Wonwoo nods, shushing Soonyoung with another kiss because he doesn't want to talk yet. Soonyoung seems to get the memo so he doesn't break away the next time, instead whispering into Wonwoo's mouth, "I'm sorry."
No, Wonwoo tries to tell him without words, lips persistent. I loved it. I loved it so much and I love the flowers and I love the strawberries and I love you.
The way Soonyoung kisses back sounds like he understands.
"You look like shit," Wonwoo tells him, pressing his lips against Soonyoung's newest bruise, and Soonyoung rolls his eyes.
"Oh really? And here I was thinking I never looked better."
The thing is, Soonyoung's not exactly wrong. He's glowing now that he's got Wonwoo in his arms, love in his eyes that could rival Cupid's arrow and Wonwoo thinks he definitely hasn't got enough sleep because he's ready to wax poetry about the way Soonyoung's smiling at him.
Well. He would do that even if he was wide awake.
"Someone could've seen you like this, Soonyoung."
"It's okay," Soonyoung murmurs, closing his eyes when Wonwoo raises a hand to gently touch his bruised cheek. "I'm very stealthy. I'm an assassin, you know?"
"I know. And you're a great one since you always end up coming back home to me," Wonwoo says, and Soonyoung preens, pecking Wonwoo's lips loudly.
"Same goes to you, babe. Now can I get cleaned up and feed you chocolate strawberries?"
"I do like strawberries," Wonwoo agrees. There must be something in his face, something embarrassing and lovelorn and smitten, because Soonyoung's eyes soften looking at him and he sweeps Wonwoo into another kiss, gentler than the first and longer than the last. Wonwoo melts because there's never anything else he can do.
They stay there wrapped up and lost in each other at the front door until Wonwoo whispers, "You kinda stink," and barely dodges Soonyoung's knee slamming into his stomach.
It's been three nights since Soonyoung came home after a job, grinning and bloody and littered with cuts. Wonwoo spent the whole night patching him up in the comfort of their apartment, gentler than he would be with any of his co-workers because this is Soonyoung, his Soonyoung and Wonwoo would rather die than hurt him. Still, Wonwoo knows that he can be as gentle as possible and any treatment will still sting, but Soonyoung never winces at all.
It makes Wonwoo feel numb, thinking about how used to this Soonyoung must be. How used to this they both are.
It's been a whole 72 hours since then and none of them were too deep cuts, so Soonyoung's shed the plasters. Now they just leave more scars, adding to the constellation already mapping out Soonyoung's whole body.
"You know the one thing I'm not a big fan of since we both found out we're assassins," Wonwoo says, shuffling closer to rest a hand on Soonyoung's shoulder and trace his other over the scars on his back. It's already a year in, but Wonwoo's heart still flutters when Soonyoung does things like turn his head to press a casual kiss to his hand without even looking.
"How you have to see me shirtless and you can't fawn over my abs because I need medical attention?" Soonyoung teases, flexing his arms before yelping when that makes a tear in his skin stretch out. Wonwoo rolls his eyes, squeezing Soonyoung's sides as a silent 'stay still'.
"You're gross, but you're not completely wrong. I don't think I like seeing you come home all busted up. I just don't like seeing you hurt."
Soonyoung bristles, and he has his back to Wonwoo so he can't see his face, but he sure hears the panic in Soonyoung's voice when he says, "Wait, you don't like it? I can stop, I can totally stop, it's just that I used to go back to headquarters to clean myself up but they never really liked that in case someone might have followed me there but I said I couldn't go home and let my boyfriend see all the scars and that was actually how everyone found out I had a boyfriend and they were like ooooh who's the lucky guy and I was like I'm the lucky guy because he's super hot and sweet and cute and-"
"You're going off on a tangent."
"Yeah, I'm going off on a tangent," Soonyoung exhales, deflating like a balloon. "I just...I just thought now that we both know, it would be okay. 'Cause then we could help each other out, and you have the same job as me so I knew you wouldn't be all queasy about blood and stuff."
"That's true, I don't get queasy," Wonwoo says gently. "But I still get sad, since you're the one getting all bloodied and stuff."
Soonyoung manages to droop even more. "I get it...I mean, you only came home with a wound once and it made me want to burn the whole world to the ground. But why don't you get hurt as much as me? Are you a better assassin than me..."
"I don't think anyone's a better assassin than Hoshi," Wonwoo says, leaning down to press his lips against the scar at the base of Soonyoung's neck. "I just don't do as much fieldwork, remember. Besides, you don't get hurt that much because you're good at your job so it's okay. I hate seeing you hurt, but I do like fixing you up."
"I like that, too," Soonyoung hums, shivering a little when Wonwoo keeps kissing down his back. "Because I trust you."
"Do you think one day I can kiss all your scars," Wonwoo mumbles into the dip of Soonyoung's spine, "even if you never stop getting them? Like I'm kissing you for infinity."
"Baby," Soonyoung laughs softly, a rare nickname that Soonyoung saves for times that Wonwoo's trying to find a pattern for. He finally turns around to face Wonwoo with pink in his cheeks, smile equally teasing and shy as he reaches out. They fall back onto the bed together, arms finding each other like puzzle pieces, and Wonwoo will never get over how easy it's become to just love Soonyoung. "I love you and your words but I don't really think I'm still gonna be an assassin when I'm like seventy."
"You could still get scars in a more normal way. Like cat scratches. Shaving. Accidentally holding your keys too tight. Making a mistake while cutting onions for dinner."
"Okay," Soonyoung says, smile so big that it fills the entire room. "When we're seventy and retired, we'll get a very temperamental cat who hates me and loves you and you'll spend the rest of your life kissing the scratches it gives me."
"You're joking but that sounds so perfect, I could cry."
Soonyoung giggles, shaking his head before he's the one kissing one of Wonwoo's scars now, a pale one sluicing across his jaw. Wonwoo actually does tell people that he got that shaving, but now Soonyoung knows the truth, and the way he cradles Wonwoo's face with his fingers when he peppers gentle pecks along it has Wonwoo closing his eyes and sighing.
"Baby?" Soonyoung whispers into Wonwoo's ear, warm and soft and everything good, at least to Wonwoo.
"Mm."
"I love you."
That's it, Wonwoo realises. Soonyoung calls me baby when he's about to tell me he loves me.
Thanks to Jeonghan's family deal that extends to pets, they don't end up waiting until they're seventy to get a cat. Soonyoung takes Wonwoo to a cat shelter for his birthday and Wonwoo doesn't know if he's ever been so excited in his life. He doesn't choose a scratchy cat, but he does pick one that's a little scruffy, a little wary of the new eyes peeking in at her. Wonwoo thinks she's beautiful.
Jeonghan gives him a few days off to get acquainted with her (seriously, is his murderous boss actually an angel?), so Soonyoung ends up coming home to Wonwoo dozing off on the sofa a lot with their new little cat curled up on his chest.
"How's my favourite boy and my favourite girl?" Soonyoung coos at them when Wonwoo's just about hanging onto consciousness at one am. Soonyoung crouches down to pet both Wonwoo's and the cat's head and they both lean into it, except the cat leans into it too much and falls off of Wonwoo with a yap.
"She's a bit silly. I adore her," Wonwoo tells Soonyoung sleepily, and Soonyoung giggles, clambering into the barely-space beside Wonwoo so they can curl up together. "Thank you."
Soonyoung shakes his head. "We would've got a cat soon even if I didn't take you to that shelter, it was inevitable."
"Shut up," Wonwoo says, pecking Soonyoung's lips between each word. "And accept the thank you."
Soonyoung's grinning wildly now, ears pink. "You're welcome, babe."
The cat mewls before stalking off to inspect the mantelpiece, so Soonyoung and Wonwoo get a little time to themselves, sharing kisses and smiles and silly words like, "You never said hello,", "Hello, then,", "Hi." Wonwoo really doesn't want to fall asleep while Soonyoung's kissing his neck just right, but he feels calm, he feels safe, he feels loved. It's a perfect recipe for slumber, really.
The last thing Wonwoo says is a dreamy, mumbled, "Marry me," before Soonyoung goes stock still against him and Wonwoo falls asleep.