Honeymoon
" Swept Away "
“Hello there, handsome stranger.”
Joonmyun looks up from the SkyMall catalog on his lap. “How can I help you?” he asks with a teasing grin, brushing his auburn hair out of his eyes.
“Is this seat taken?” Yifan asks, gesturing towards the empty seat to Joonmyun’s right.
“No,” Joonmyun replies, playing along. “But it’ll cost you.”
“I’ll pay anything.”
“A kiss, then.”
Yifan glances around to check that nobody else is watching, and then he leans down to give his husband a quick peck. He settles down next to Joonmyun, who has the faintest trace of a pout in his brow and lips.
“That was a disappointing kiss,” Joonmyun whines. “I demand a refund.”
“We’re in public,” his husband chuckles. “Just be patient a little while longer, and you’ll have me all to yourself for a week.”
“You still haven’t told me where we’re going yet,” Joonmyun grumps.
“It won’t be a surprise if I tell you!” Yifan replies in a sing-song voice. “For now, just relax and get some rest. You’ve had a long day, now let me take care of everything from here on out.”
Joonmyun reluctantly rests his head against his husband’s shoulders, and Yifan holds onto Joonmyun’s hand while the smaller husband drifts off to sleep.
When they reach their destination, the air is hotter, and the sun shines brighter than what he remembers from Gangnam. All throughout the airport, people are speaking a rapid, musical-sounding language unfamiliar to Joonmyun’s ears. Yifan hails a taxi in the foreign tongue, and the words sound even more alluring in Yifan’s mouth.
“Do you know where we are now?” Yifan asks, and Joonmyun nods.
“I think I have an idea.”
Joonmyun’s eyes widen in amazement as the taxi pulls up to the beachfront resort, a warm paradise with soft sand, crisp waves, and fruity drinks. He rubs his thumb against the cool metal of the golden band encircling his ring finger. Everything feels so surreal, would he really be spending a week here with the man whom he can now call his husband?
“Come on, let me show you our honeymoon suite,” Yifan laughs, amused by the look of quiet wonder on his husband’s face. “We can play in the ocean later, we need to get unpacked now!”
He links their fingers and leads Joonmyun across the sand to their beach hotel. It’s a slow trip as they sink into the sand with each step they take. Joonmyun peels his shoes off so he can feel the sand between his toes, but the sand is so hot that it burns the soles of his feet, and he scampers towards a palm tree to stand in its shade.
“Do you want me to carry you?” Yifan calls out, continuing to slowly drag their suitcase through the viscous sand.
“No thank you!”
“Suit yourself.”
A few moments later, Yifan grunts in surprise when Joonmyun sprints towards him and jumps on his back.
“I changed my mind,” Joonmyun whispers, and Yifan pretends to grumble as he carries Joonmyun to their honeymoon suite.
Their suite is spacious and modern looking, featuring a large bed swathed in ivory linens in the middle of the room. Joonmyun pounces onto the bed as soon as he enters the room, and he bounces up and down on the mattress as Yifan starts unzipping their suitcase.
“What are you doing?” Joonmyun giggles breathlessly. “Come jump on the bed with me.”
“We’re grown men,” Yifan mutters as he searches for their swimming suits.
“What kind of excuse is that?” He picks up a giant, fluffy pillow and whacks Yifan on the back with it. “I challenge you to a duel!”
Yifan drops the bottle of sunscreen that he had been holding in shock and turns around to stare at Joonmyun, who is wearing a wide grin full of mirth and mischief.
“Challenge accepted,” Yifan growls as he springs onto the mattress to grab Joonmyun’s ankle.
Joonmyun shrieks and flails around for a pillow to defend himself with as Yifan tries to tickle his belly. They tussle around on the bed until they are tangled in a disarray of sheets and pillows, and Joonmyun is sitting on top of Yifan’s chest, pinning his wrists down onto the mattress.
“Okay, okay, I forfeit!” Yifan concedes, and Joonmyun smiles triumphantly. He leans down until the tips of their noses are touching, and then he tilts his head to kiss Yifan’s mouth.
“Thank you,” Joonmyun whispers. “For everything.”
ʚɞ
“Yifan, it’s too dark now to wear sunglasses. You look so dumb.”
Joonmyun kneels next to his husband, who had spent the entire afternoon lazing on a lounger and soaking in sunshine. But now, the blue sky is saturated with saccharine reds, purples, and oranges as the sun begins to set. Joonmyun had spent the afternoon splashing around in the ocean and building sandcastles, fantasizing that he and Yifan were living in them as princes. When he needed a break from his shamelessly childlike activities, Joonmyun would curl up against Yifan and press his cheek to his husband’s back, breathing in Yifan’s distinctive scent mingled with the smell of sunscreen.
Yifan obediently pulls his sunglasses off, and Joonmyun snickers when he sees the faint, pale outline of where Yifan’s sunglasses had been.
“What are you laughing at?” Yifan mumbles sleepily.
“Nothing,” Joonmyun says innocently. “Did you just take naps the whole afternoon?”
“O-of course not.”
“Sure.” Joonmyun hums absently, as he runs his fingers through Yifan’s hair. “Hey, Yifan. The beach is clearing out. Do you want to go in the ocean with me for one last dip tonight?”
“I don’t know...maybe tomorrow…”
Joonmyun turns to pout at Yifan with the saddest, most disappointed looking eyes he can manage. “But what if the waves wash me away?”
He squeaks when Yifan suddenly scoops him into his arms in a bear hug. “Nobody takes my Joonmyun away from me,” he whispers fiercely. “Not even the ocean.”
They wade into the water together, holding hands, until the water is up to Joonmyun’s neck. His toes brush the ocean floor, and he bobs up and down, trying to keep his head above water.
“Can you hold me, Yifan?” he asks.
“Is that even a question?”
Yifan’s palms brace Joonmyun’s waist, and he lifts him into his arms. Joonmyun circles his arms and wraps his legs around Yifan’s torso, resting his chin on Yifan’s shoulder. Yifan angles his head to kiss him, tasting the salt on Joonmyun’s velvety plush lips. He watches the sunset as Joonmyun rests his cheek on Yifan’s shoulder with a sigh. A few minutes later, Yifan feels warm droplets on his skin.
“Hey, Joonmyun, are you okay?” he asks gently. “Are you crying?”
“N-no,” Joonmyun sniffles. “It’s just ocean water.”
“Baby, why are you crying?” He rubs Joonmyun’s back soothingly as the ocean waves caress their bodies.
“Everything is so perfect. Our wedding, our honeymoon, our marriage. You. I can’t believe this is real life,” Joonmyun sighs. “It feels like a dream that I never want to end.”
“Today is only the first day,” Yifan assures him, tenderly pressing his lips to his husband’s forehead.