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October 31st found Jeongin queuing up in the minimart nearest to his and Hyunjin’s apartment with a Hokkaido pumpkin cradled in his arms amongst the banana milk he had picked up upon Hyunjin’s heartfelt request in the form of a text message containing way too many heart emojis to be considered platonic. In all honesty, Jeongin hadn’t been planning on grabbing more than the banana milk and noodles, but when he had noticed the pumpkin on sale he had decided to grab it, pay for it with his hard-earned money, and quietly proclaimed that he was going to attempt carving it.
Small joys, Jeongin thought as he walked out of the minimart, the banana milk and noodles placed carefully in his tote bag and the pumpkin still cradled in his arms like a baby. After all, what else was he supposed to spend his evening doing? Hyunjin would be out till later and Jeongin didn’t feel like just sitting around staring at the walls.
Besides, Hyunjin would be really happy to come home to something fun. He had been a little sad lately and Jeongin just wanted him to smile. After all, Hyunjin had the prettiest smile in the world in Jeongin’s humble and completely unbiased opinion.
Jeongin looked down at the pumpkin, its orange skin and hard green stem looking bright and alive in the already darkening autumn afternoon. He thought of all the possible faces he could carve. He could make it scary, but knowing his knife skills that would probably be too dangerous with the number of triangular shapes he would have to cut. Minho would probably be able to do a wonderful job, but Jeongin didn’t feel like calling him up to help him make his little baby Hokkaido terrifying.
Perhaps, Jeongin should settle for something a bit more loveable rather than scary teeth and triangular eyes of doom. Something cute and endearing. Whatever that entailed. He could always ask Hyunjin when he came home later in the night. Hyunjin would probably have some sort of idea and by then Jeongin would already have carved out the insides of his pumpkin baby. Perhaps it would even become something they could bond over, a new roommate tradition if everything went well.
Jeongin couldn’t help but smile at the thought of doing something so domestic and wholesome with Hyunjin year after year.
Jeongin held his pumpkin baby a bit closer to his chest as he turned down the street, making his way home quickly through the cold October wind. He shivered as it tugged at his clothing and tried to sneak in between the gaps of his clothing. The first snow had fallen a week prior, much to Hyunjin’s joy and much to Jeongin’s despair. Thankfully it had thawed fairly quickly, but that also left it up to Jeongin to cheer Hyunjin up at the sight of the disappearing snow.
Jeongin, as the loveable and dear friend he was, had held Hyunjin while he loudly complained about Christmas being too far away and how the thawing snow was ridiculing him simply by ceasing to exist. Jeongin had maybe, perhaps, a tiny bit, enjoyed the closeness of holding his roommate tight for several minutes - a bit too much for what could be considered a platonic bromance, but he would take what he could get from Hyunjin.
It had made the pining after him a little better after all, if only for a brief moment.
Hyunjin, while claiming to be the best one in their world at spotting when people had feelings for each other, was seemingly blind when it came to Jeongin and himself. Jeongin knew where he stood in their relationship, that being, completely infatuated with everything Hyunjin did or said and ready to propose the moment Hyunjin realized that he did in fact also see Jeongin as more than a friend.
Jeongin even knew what kind of ring he would buy, the place they would go to on their first date, the name of their first joined pet - a dog because Hyunjin loved those - and where he would propose.
But, Hyunjin clearly wasn’t ready yet, and so Jeongin would continue to be the supportive roommate and console Hyunjin every time one of their friends got a partner, listen to Hyunjin every time he bemoaned the lack of romance in life, and reassure Hyunjin at least once a week that there was someone out there that loved him dearly and would love to spend their life reenacting romantic drama moments.
Was Jeongin prepared to run on the beach to meet Hyunjin’s open arms and twirl around while strangers looked on in awe? Yes. Was Jeongin willing to wake up hours before Hyunjin to serve him breakfast on the bed? Of course. Was Jeongin prepared to kiss Hyunjin silly in the rain? Absolutely.
Jeongin had even practiced the perfect spaghetti recipe just in case he ever got the chance to woo Hyunjin with his cooking skills, reenacting Hyunjin’s wish of becoming the lady to Jeongin’s tramp.
Sadly, they had never gotten a hold of the same strand of spaghetti, but it surely wasn’t for Jeongin’s lack of trying.
Hence, the infinity noodles in his tote bag. Jeongin was going to succeed one way or another.
When life gives you short spaghetti, search for longer noodles.
Jeongin sighed loudly as he shifted his pumpkin baby from one arm to the other, hastily pressed the code into the keypad, and successfully unlocked the door. He kicked the door closed behind him, toed off his shoes, and dashed to the kitchen where he placed his baby pumpkin on the counter, left the noodles in the tote bag, and shoved the banana milk into the fridge before he left the room to discard his winter coat on the coat hanger by the door.
“Okay,” Jeongin said, clapping his hands together, when he finally sat down in front of his baby pumpkin, a selection of knives and spoons placed surgically on each side of the Hokkaido pumpkin. The pumpkin just sat there, like a symbol of endless possibilities as Jeongin stared at it.
It was really orange. Eerily so.
Jeongin looked at the pumpkin for a moment, thinking about how he should go at it, and decided to just go at it and hope for the best. Cape diem and all that, or carve pumpkin in this case, Jeongin thought as he picked up the largest knife in his selection and got to work, sticking the blade into the top of the pumpkin.
The pumpkin made an odd ‘thwack ’ sound as the knife plunged into it, the hard skin and thick flesh trying to protect it to no avail. Jeongin huffed a little as the knife got stuck, trying to continue to cut so he at least could get the top off. As it rocked back and forth, Jeongin watched on with a frown on his face. The knife was maybe a tad overkill, he thought as he pulled it out with a wet sound before dropping it onto the counter, a bit of juice running down the blade in a somewhat morbid fashion.
“Sorry,” Jeongin muttered, patting the top of his baby pumpkin before he got to work with a smaller knife, somehow succeeding rather easily with cutting the top off and revealing the insides of the pumpkin. “There we go, much faster,” he added with a little grin. Jeongin peeled off the top, seeds and flesh following along, causing a wet ‘splosh’ to resonate in the kitchen when he dropped it on the kitchen counter.
Jeongin blinked for a couple of moments as he looked at the orange inside of his pumpkin baby.
“That was a lot more violent than expected,” Jeongin muttered as he picked up the top and cut off the little bit of leftover seeds and flesh, collecting it with his hands and dropping it into the bowl he had picked to carry the innards of his pumpkin baby.
Jeongin picked up a spoon and twirled it around between his fingers before he dug in. Cleaning out the inside was easier than Jeongin had expected, and while the flesh was a lot harder than he had imagined, it went fairly well, and soon enough the bowl beside him was full of seeds and orange flesh chunks.
With nimble fingers, Jeongin began to cut out two triangles on the outside, giving his pumpkin baby eyes. When he had cut through he stuck the knife into one of the triangles and began to wiggle it. It worked with one of the eyes, and for a short moment, Jeongin admired his handy work before he stuck the knife into the other eye and began wiggling back and forth vigorously.
Except this time, it didn’t work and the eye remained deeply seated within the face of Jeongin’s baby pumpkin.
He frowned, picking up a smaller spoon to try and push out the eyes of his baby pumpkin, sticking his entire hand inside the fruit - vegetable? - placing the head of the spoon against the eye, wiggling a bit so he had a better grip, and then started to push with all he had. He smiled victoriously as the triangle on the outside started to slowly edge out of the pumpkin, the trick of pushing the spoon against it from the inside doing the trick.
Until it didn’t.
“Fuck off,” Jeongin grumbled when the triangle eye stopped moving. “Just pop out,” he muttered, putting more force into his arm. He even got on his feet, standing on his tippy toes, doing his very best to push at the little offending triangle until he stumbled, his hand slipping on the spoon, wet with pumpkin juice. His hand twisted awkwardly and he hissed in annoyance. “Why are you fighting this so much? It’s just a simple cosmetic surgery, really. It’s not like I'm planning to eat you,” he grumbled at the pumpkin, wriggling his fingers around inside of it.
He frowned when he realized his fingers were stuck under the spoon now.
With a heavy sigh, Jeongin began to pull back, frowning a bit at the resistance and then the complete halt of motion when a loud squelching noise sounded from within the pumpkin, the blunt of the spoon lodging itself into the hard flesh on the inside. Jeongin yanked back his hand, finding himself unable to do just that.
“Erhm,” Jeongin muttered as he wiggled his hand, once again finding it impossible to move. He turned the pumpkin and tried to pull at his hand, a slight panic beginning to spread inside of him at the mere idea of his hand actually being stuck inside of a pumpkin.
Thankfully he didn’t have to panic for too long before he realized his hand truly was stuck, and he couldn’t get it out.
Well and truly stuck.
“Only me,” Jeongin sighed, leaning back in the chair and accidentally pushing his selection of knives off the table and onto the floor. He winced as one of the smaller ones got lodged directly into the wooden floorboards. At least it hadn’t hit his foot. The mere thought of having to be hospitalized with a knife in his foot and his hand in his pumpkin was enough to make him want to die of mortification. “Okay, Jeongin, you got yourself into this situation, now you need to solve it.”
Jeongin resorted to staring at the pumpkin as if that would somehow help him get unstuck, and it was only with the sound of the front door opening that he looked away from the pumpkin and towards the entrance to the kitchen, eyes wide.
Of course, he would be home early today of all days.
Jeongin could vaguely hear Hyunjin rustle around, untying his boots and placing them carefully next to Jeongin’s carelessly discarded sneakers. He was humming a song under his breath and Jeongin could already feel his heart flutter uselessly in his chest at the mere thought of seeing his intended in a few seconds.
“I’m home!” Hyunjin announced loudly, sauntering into the kitchen, not even sparing Jeongin a glance as he went about emptying his bag. “Felix made some spooky cookies for us, and I tell you, they are the tastiest in the world. He is so talented. I think he put some orange zest in them, and honestly, you know my opinions on sugar cookies, but these are to die for, and - Oh my god, why is your hand inside a pumpkin!?”
Jeongin smiled at Hyunjin, for a moment completely forgetting the matter at hand; his hand being stuck inside a pumpkin. As always Hyunjin’s presence made his head blank, his mind focusing on the serenity and calm Hyunjin always seemed to bring into a room.
Really, with his soft brown hair that fell around his shoulders, long and silky, framing his beautiful face that reminded Jeongin of every single good moment the two of them had shared. The little mole under Hyunjin’s eye that Jeongin has more than once dreamt of kissing and caressing, to feel Hyunjin’s immaculate skin beneath his lips, to map out every single crevice of Hyunjin, to make him Jeongin’s once and for all.
Jeongin wanted nothing more but to reach out and pull Hyunjin closer, to lessen the distance between them, to watch the stars and galaxies found only in the reflection of Hyunjin’s dazzling eyes. Jeongin wished to taste the sweetness of honey from Hyunjin’s lips and revel in the closeness of them, to experience being the apple of Hyunjin’s eyes, the love of his life, and the most precious thing in the world.
Jeongin’s smile quickly grew a bit dazed.
“Jeongin, don’t zone out on me,” Hyunjin said, snapping his fingers in front of Jeongin who shook his head and refocused his eyes on Hyunjin once again, his cheeks hurting a bit from the sudden rush of blood that colored them pink.
Jeongin would be eternally grateful to live on a plane of existence where Hyunjin didn’t possess the ability to read minds. Jeongin would have been fucked if Hyunjin knew exactly what Jeongin was daydreaming about.
“Oh sorry,” Jeongin said sheepishly, using his free hand to scratch the back of his neck.
“Your hand,” Hyunjin said, gesturing towards the pumpkin that had swallowed Jeongin’s entire hand. “Pull it out. It looks creepy that your hand is just engulfed in that ginormous pumpkin,” he huffed, his long graceful finger pointing accusingly at the pumpkin. “Where in the world did you even get that thing? Is it GMO?” He muttered, poking the pumpkin carefully like he was afraid it might try and growl at him.
“Well, I would, but I can’t,” Jeongin said with a shrug that jostled the pumpkin, making it rock a bit and somehow managing to pull Jeongin’s hand further in under the spoon. He looked at it betrayed. What was up with that thing, did it really intend to eat his hand or something?
“What do you mean you can’t?” Hyunjin asked, a tinge of alarm making its way into his words. “Just pull your hand out, you idiot,” he said, worry and panic filling his voice as he looked at Jeongin, then at the pumpkin, and then back at Jeongin again.
“I mean that I literally can’t. My hand stuck inside of it,” Jeongin said, making a point out of lifting his hand. The pumpkin followed happily along like a puppy biting its owner’s fingers.
“Like stuck stuck?” Hyunjin asked, his voice now carrying something with a semblance of hysteria as he looked wide-eyed at Jeongin who put his pumpkin-munched hand back down on the counter. “Cannot get out at all kind of stuck?” He added, eyes on the pumpkin like it had somehow caused a second round of the Bubonic Plague.
Jeongin rubbed his arm a bit, the weight of the pumpkin a bit too much on his poor muscles. He really should stop going to the gym with Changbin. The muscles he was gaining weren’t even pulling Hyunjin in like he had hoped and all he got was a sore body.
“How did you manage that?” Hyunjin slumped down on the chair beside Jeongin, rubbing his temples as he kept on staring exasperatedly between Jeongin and the pumpkin.
“I wanted to make a jack-o-lantern,” Jeongin said matter of factly. “It’s not going well.”
“I can see that,” Hyunjin said, hiding his face in his hands for a moment before peeking up at Jeongin through his fingers. “Is it really stuck? Like, you ‘can’t physically pull it out’ stuck?”
“I’ve tried, and with the limited knowledge I possess about getting stuck inside things, then yes, it is as stuck as can be,” Jeongin replied, looking sadly at his baby pumpkin. “It’s a shame. I just wanted to carve it all prettily for you since you got so sad about the thawing snow.”
“For me?” Hyunjin asked, his hand falling to his lap as he stared at Jeongin.
“Now we’ll probably have to cut it in half to get me out,” Jeongin sighed heavily, slumping back in the chair, and glancing up at Hyunjin. “It’ll be ruined. If I could just get that damned spoon to move a little I might be able to get my hand out,” Jeongin sighed sadly. Now his little baby would just become soup. “I’m so clumsy and useless sometimes.”
Truly, Jeongin had just wanted to attempt to cheer Hyunjin up, if just for a moment. He knew how hard of a time Hyunjin was having at university, how his professors were haunting him, and how half of his classmates seemed to be there to waste time and not actively try to help with group assignments. It was so dumb because Jeongin should have known this wouldn’t work. That it would somehow fuck up anyway. It always did for Jeongin. Why was he even surprised that this had gone wrong as well?
“I’ll fix it!” Hyunjin blurted, making Jeongin look up in shock. “We just need the spoon trapping your hand and you’ll be free right?” he asked, giving the pumpkin a challenging look.
“You’ll fix it?” Jeongin echoed, puzzled as Hyunjin pulled up the sleeves of his peach-colored sweater, rolling them up to his elbow before he stood up and peered down at the pumpkin as if it posed some imminent threat to both of their well-being.
With a whispered ‘you can do it’, Hyunjin plunged his hand into the opening of the pumpkin, making Jeongin jump from the sudden skin contact. The opening Jeongin had made wasn’t all that wide so Hyunjin had to use some force to even get into the pumpkin, his skin soft and warm as it slid along Jeongin’s sensitive wrist.
“Hyun, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Jeongin warned when Hyunjin’s hand entwined with his trying to get a grasp of the stuck spoon, Hyunjin giving it a hard tug to loosen it. To no one’s surprise except Hyunjin’s, Jeongin’s hand didn’t become free, but something did happen, going by the way Hyunjin’s eyes slowly flickered down to Jeongin’s.
“In,” Hyunjin whispered, his eyes wide, and mouth open.
“Please don’t say what I think you’re gonna say,” Jeongin begged, closing his eyes and covering his face with his free hand. “I don’t want to hear it if it isn’t good news.”
“I’m stuck,” Hyunjin admitted, at least having the decency to look a little forlorn. He pulled his hand back, but only managed to move a few millimeters, and just closer to Jeongin’s hand so their hands were locked together, the spoon Jeongin had gotten lodged on the inside of the pumpkin stuck between their fingers.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Jeongin whined, wishing he could cover his face with both hands, but due to the situation, would have to deal with only one palm to squash his face with. “This is so fucking stupid.”
“There are stupider things,” Hyunjin weakly protested, carefully sitting down on the chair again, hunching his shoulders. “Though right now I'm not sure I can think of any,” he continued with a thin voice.
“There isn’t, don’t delude yourself,” Jeongin groaned, a thick silence falling between the two of them as they allowed the situation to sink in. “I can’t believe both of us are stuck inside a pumpkin,” he said, not sure if he wanted to laugh or cry as he spoke the words out loud.
Yes, Jeongin was delighted to be holding hands with Hyunjin, but he had dreamed of it being in a more romantic setting and not inside the moist cave of this cursed pumpkin. It didn’t even deserve to be his baby pumpkin anymore. This thing could burn in hell for ruining any chance Jeongin had of looking cool in front of Hyunjin ever again.
From now on, Hyunjin would probably only be able to see Jeongin as the guy who got his hand stuck inside a pumpkin.
But then again, Jeongin now finally had some time to spend together where no one could interrupt them. With a slight smile, Jeongin looked up at Hyunjin who was staring at the Hokkaido pumpkin as if it would somehow answer all of his questions.
“Jeongin,” Hyunjin whispered, their hands locked tightly inside the pumpkin. Jeongin wiggled his index finger against Hyunjin’s. “I don’t think Hokkaido pumpkins are the ones you’re supposed to carve.”
“Yeah,” Jeongin said, but the orange monstrosity around their hands sure did look like the ones Jeongin had spotted here and there. And really, wasn’t a pumpkin just a pumpkin? Surely if you can carve one, you can carve the others as well. “I realized that. I thought you could carve them if they were big enough.”
“It is quite a large Hokkaido pumpkin, though,” Hyunjin mused, turning their trapped hands a bit so he could see the pumpkin in its entirety. “Is it even a Hokkaido pumpkin?” He added, the cute little frown between his eyebrows almost making Jeongin burst into flames. He was happy that he at least was stuck in this situation with Hyunjin and not someone else.
Then again, no one else would have been stupid enough to end up in this situation with him. Perhaps Jisung, but he would have screamed at the sight of Jeongin’s hand being swallowed by a pumpkin and most likely would have run away to get Minho, and Minho would have just glared at the pumpkin, and Jeongin’s hand would have slipped out easily by the sheer force of Minho's evil stare.
“It was the biggest in the store,” Jeongin explained weakly. He had gone through all of the pumpkins, selecting the prettiest and biggest one for his grand plans of creating a jack-o-lantern. “It was on sale for some reason."
“It is terrifyingly huge for a Hokkaido,” Hyunjin continued, his eyes growing wider under his frown. “You sure it wasn’t GMO? Did some mad scientist fuck with its genes to make it this big? Like, Innie, look at it. It’s huge!” He exclaimed a tint of hysteria back in his voice.
“You might have a point there,” Jeongin agreed with a nod. It was perhaps in the top two of the biggest Hokkaido pumpkins he had ever seen in real life. The first place went to the pumpkin his grandmother had once gifted his mom and told her to make soup from it. Jeongin and his family had lived off of Hokkaido pumpkin soup for almost a whole week from just that one pumpkin. “Though I do think it was organic,” Jeongin muttered trying to think back to what the big bright yellow sign had actually said.
“It’s a fucking mutant,” Hyunjin yelped, pointing at the pumpkin with his free hand accusingly. “Something has to be wrong with it. It’s evil!”
“That’s a bit harsh,” Jeongin glared at Hyunjin as he caressed the cold side of his pumpkin baby. It might have put him in a tricky situation, but once a pumpkin baby, always a pumpkin baby. “Just because it doesn't fit into the social construction about how big a pumpkin needs to be doesn’t mean it's evil. It’s just a pumpkin.”
“It’s cursed,” Hyunjin suddenly said, the lamp hanging over their heads flickering. Hyunjin shrieked and ducked down as if he was afraid something was gonna come flying over his head pulling Jeongin along awkwardly. “You should have known it was cursed, it'll probably eat our hands!” He whisper-yelled at Jeongin, shaking their hands vigorously.
“It’s a Hokkaido pumpkin,” Jeongin huffed. “It will not eat us. I sincerely doubt it has the ability to do anything remotely violent,” Jeongin said, trying to sound calm.
Going by the look Hyunjin sent him, he wasn’t succeeding.
“You don’t know that,” Hyunjin said quietly, sticking out his lower lip. “What if it really does eat us? You’ve seen Minho’s movies. This is how it starts. First, the cursed object looks innocent and tricks you, then you take it home and suddenly you’re stuck and before you know it you’ve been devoured and left in a puddle on the floor,” Hyunjin said, voice getting concerningly deranged towards the end.
“If it helps,” Jeongin said, twisting his hand inside the pumpkin so his and Hyunjin’s hands were held tighter together than before. “I’ll protect you. I’ll even let the pumpkin eat my hand first.”
Hyunjin nodded seemingly calmed by Jeongin’s offer to be the first one ‘devoured’, but his pout remained, and Jeongin had to fight his treacherous daydreaming from attacking him at full force once again.
Thankfully he didn’t have to keep at bay for too long before Hyunjin drew his attention back again.
“Hey, In?” Hyunjin asked, an ill-hidden giggle following from behind his hand as he tried to physically hold back his laughter.
“Yeah?” Jeongin sighed, looking at Hyunjin through his fringe.
“Do you know what we are?” He asked, biting his lip as he tried to hold in his giggles.
“What?” Jeongin asked, keeping his voice calm even if all he wanted to do was squeal about how cute Hyunjin looked. He really just wanted to lean in and kiss the suppressed smile right off his face.
“Idiot pumpkins,” Hyunjin snickered, his eyes becoming small crescents as he threw back his head and laughed loudly. “We’re idiot pumpkins,” he giggled, rocking the pumpkin between them.
“More like idiots in pumpkin,” Jeongin muttered, not repeating it louder when Hyunjin asked him to. “Anyways, we should probably text someone to come and help us out,” he added, trying hard to ignore the - very moist - feeling of Hyunjin’s finger intertwined with his own.
“Who should we text?” Hyunjin asked, seemingly having finally forgotten about his panic of being eaten by an extraordinarily large Hokkaido pumpkin. His fingers tightened slightly around Jeongin, the spoon warming between their hands. “And how do you plan on getting us a phone? Mine is still in my jacket,” he added, twisting oddly to point out to the narrow hallway.
“So is mine,” Jeongin said with a sigh. He wasn’t even sure what he was supposed to say to anyone. How did you even explain this situation in a few short sentences without sounding like they were indeed idiots stuck in a pumpkin? “So we’ll probably need to get to the hangers, get a phone, and text someone. I propose that I carry the pumpkin and you get in contact with the outside world.”
“Good idea,” Hyunjin said, practically jumping up from the chair, barely even waiting for Jeongin to pick up the pumpkin with his free hand.
Hand in hand via pumpkin, Hyunjin and Jeongin slowly made their way to the front door, the pumpkin cradled in Jeongin’s arms like it had been barely an hour and a half before. The walk to the hangers was more of an awkward shuffle of feet, a waddle in its final stage, as they had to battle both a door frame and Hyunjin’s sweater getting caught in the kitchen door handle, but eventually, they made it and Hyunjin fished out his phone from the pocket.
“Victory!” Hyunjin cheered, waving his phone triumphantly and smiling so blindly at Jeongin that the young man was afraid his heart might stop from pure bliss. “Someone should come and help us soon,” he said as he typed quickly and swiftly with only one hand free. Jeongin was half impressed and half scared with how well Hyunjin could perform the task. Jeongin knew for sure it would have taken him several minutes to text with only one thumb available.
It might be that his brain was doped up on love, but he swore Hyunjin had never looked sexier… and that was despite him having one hand stuck in a pumpkin.
“There we go,” Hyunjin announced. “I sent a text to Chan, so he doesn’t wait for me,” Hyunjin said, his eyes thankfully on his phone so he didn’t get to see how Jeongin’s whole face fell at the mention of the other man. Hyunjin was pretty, there was no denying that, and the downside to that was that as long as Hyunjin refused to see how perfect he and Jeongin were for each other, there were a lot of other people who fell for Hyunjin.
One of them was perfect, amazingly talented Chan who somehow made Jeongin as much of a dating option as the pumpkin that was keeping them trapped. It wasn’t that Jeongin was jealous, no, he was perhaps just a little sad that no matter how much he worked out, his shoulders didn’t get wider or more dependable.
And he was pretty sure Chan would never get stuck in a pumpkin either, so there was that as well.
“Oh, yeah, you were supposed to go out with Chan today,” Jeongin grumbled, trying not to grip Hyunjin’s now very sweaty fingers tighter. It wasn’t like Jeongin could hold on to Hyunjin if he wanted to leave.
The pumpkin wouldn’t be able to unite them forever.
“You’re making it sound like it was a date,” Hyunjin rolled his eyes, somewhat fondly as he typed around a bit more on his phone.
“Well, wasn’t it?” Jeongin asked, trying very hard not to pout. He hadn’t missed how much time Hyunjin had spent with Chan lately. He couldn't even deny that they wouldn't look good together.
“Not with the way Chan has been sending heart eyes at Minho, no,” Hyunjin scoffed, eyes flickering to Jeongin shyly. “I’m not dating Chan. I have someone else in mind,” he added in an ominous voice as he stared at Jeongin.
Jeongin didn’t reply to that, his heart feeling a bit too heavy to indulge in his curiosity. He kept his eyes on the pumpkin instead, knowing that that at least wouldn’t leave him for an average-sized dark and handsome stranger. It was holding on to him way too tightly for that. Hyunjin seemingly didn’t want to disclose who his love interest was, so Jeongin didn’t even get an answer.
“Who did you text to come and help us?” Jeongin asked after a moment of silence not wanting to talk more about Hyunjin’s chosen one. Jeongin could quite literally feel his heart shrivel up inside of his chest. He didn't know Hyunjin was in love with anyone. Not after he had stopped seeing that idiot a couple of months ago. Jeongin had spent weeks consoling Hyunjin, eating ice cream, ordering takeout, and being the most supportive friend he could possibly be while Hyunjin mended his broken heart.
And while Jeongin himself tried not to seem a bit too delighted about his best friend's breakup.
“Changbin,” Hyunjin said with a cheeky smile that made Jeongin feel even worse. Didn’t he pride himself on being Hyunjin’s best friend, and here he was, not knowing Hyunjin was in love with someone and secondly bemoaning the fact that Hyunjin was happy?
What a shitty friend he was.
Perhaps he did deserve to be stuck in a pumpkin.
“Why Changbin?” Jeongin asked, trying to keep his voice steady even if he was feeling a little weak. If Hyunjin asked he was just going to lie and say it was leg day yesterday, so he was overall a bit weak. With a gentle tug, he got Hyunjin to follow him back to the kitchen, this time avoiding getting stuck in the door handle.
“He always comes whenever I ask him to,” Hyunjin shrugged with a smile as they maneuvered through the door carefully, moving in perfect unity. “It’s part of his insider joke at the moment. That's why he keeps trying to propose to me,” he said with an eye roll.
“He’s been trying to propose to you?” Jeongin frowned, settling the pumpkin back on the tabletop with a grunt. “Have you said yes?” Jeongin blurted, trying to pretend he didn’t sound as betrayed as he felt. If Changbin had the hots for Hyunjin then why the heck had he been talking about nothing but Felix every time he and Jeongin met up to work out?
“No?” Hyunjin said, sitting down elegantly on his chair, looking at Jeongin like he had just swallowed a frog. “It’s a joke, he doesn’t actually want to marry me,” he laughed, shaking his head like he thought Jeongin was being silly.
Jeongin thought he was quite reasonable.
“How do you know that?” He asked, eyes narrowed in confusion. After all, if Hyunjin asked him to marry him, even for fun, he would have accepted on the spot. And really, who proposed as a joke, to Hwang ‘The Hair’ Hyunjin of all people?
“Does it matter? I wouldn’t accept anyways,” Hyunjins shrugged, eyes suddenly flickering away. “I already told you, I’m interested in someone else.”
The way Hyunjin spoke those words made it sound like Jeongin should know what he was implying, but he didn’t.
Hyunjin had never mentioned liking anyone else. Not for the last few months at least. And if it wasn’t Perfect Bang Chan, then who the hell else would it be? It couldn’t be Changbin - and if it was, Jeongin was going to throttle him. Jisung was so lost in Seungmin that he couldn’t possibly have eyes for others, and Seungmin was too invested in Felix’s love life to have any interest in Hyunjin’s. Minho fed Hyunjin tissues on the regular, and, well, in Jeongin’s world that wasn’t romantic at all. And regardless of all that, Jeongin didn’t know who Hyunjin spent time with besides himself.
“I guess there are worse people to get stuck inside a pumpkin with,” Hyunjin said quietly, his cheeks slightly pink as he glanced up at Jeongin through his eyelashes. “I mean, not that I ever imagined this would happen, but if it were to happen I’m glad it was with you,” he said, fingers tightening a little around Jeongin’s, by now, very clammy fingers and one very slippery spoon.
“Bet there also are better people,” Jeongin muttered sullenly thinking about his secret competition. He couldn’t believe Hyunjin hadn’t told him he had met someone. Weren’t they best friends?
“Hmm, like who?” Hyunjin asked, his eyes glimmering with something Jeongin couldn’t quite identify. “You’re like the best person I know,” Hyunjin added, his voice oddly honest for a conversation had while being trapped in a pumpkin.
“Well, your love interest for one,” Jeongin replied, wincing at how passive-aggressive the words ended up sounding. “I guess if you were trapped with him this would be romantic instead of just stupid,” he huffed looking down at his pumpkin, it would soon be the only friend Jeongin had.
“Hmm, sure, if you say so, but he’s otherwise occupied at the moment,” Hyunjin said with a smile. “One might say he’s a bit stuck in life at the moment,” he added with a dry laugh, smiling a little as he looked rather imploringly at Jeongin.
Jeongin was too busy looking at their joined hand stuffed inside a pumpkin to notice.
“Stuck?” Jeongin glanced at Hyunjin, then back to the pumpkin. “Stuck how?” he asked, a soft bubbling feeling erupting inside his chest. It was silly, Hyunjin had just said that the other dude was occupied, and Jeongin was very much not occupied at all right now. But he was stuck. Literally.
“He’s in a pinch,” Hyunjin said with an ill-hidden smile, eyes never quite leaving Jeongin’s. Inside the pumpkin his fingers twitched, gently caressing Jeongin’s very dewy fingers. “And he thinks I don’t know about his feelings for me, and it’s cute that he doesn’t try to force himself onto me. He respects me, and makes me happy,” Hyunjin said softly, gripping Jeongin's fingers harder around the slick spoon, keeping them trapped.
“And if he likes you that much, why haven’t you told him you like him back?” He asked, heart beating wildly inside of his chest. “And you said he was stuck?” Jeongin said hoarsely, not daring to believe anything his own delusional head was trying to convince him.
“For the same reason, he hasn’t said he likes me I suspect,” Hyunjin said calmly with a voice like honey. “It’s scary liking someone so much. Scarier when you know them and have so much to lose. And he is indeed stuck in quite an awkward situation,” Hyunjin smiled, making an army of butterflies break free inside Jeongin’s rib cage. “But at least I’m here with him so it’s alright.”
“Yeah?” Jeongin said, trying to keep his voice from cracking. “And this guy, you really like him back? Like, really like him as he likes you?” Jeongin asked, trying not to look away as he finally met Hyunjin’s eyes.
“I might even like him more than he likes me. I’ve kinda been in love with him for a while.” Hyunjin said with a mischievous smile that made Jeongin feel very warm all of the sudden. “And I think that if I lean forward,” Hyunjin said hushedly, leaning forward, his free hand on the kitchen counter keeping him from falling as he moved closer to Jeongin. “And kiss him, then I hope he won't pull away. Am I right?”
Jeongin’s eyes grew wide with realization at Hyunjin’s words, a shy blush spreading over his cheeks as he nodded. “You’re right,” Jeongin whispered, drawn closer by the look in Hyunjin’s eyes.
“You’re sure?” Hyunjin asked, his voice a shy whisper when he and Jeongin suddenly came face to face. His eyes flickered over Jeongin’s face, as if looking for something. “Because I really like him, and I'm terrified that it won’t work out, because I can’t lose him. I love him far too much… but being friends isn't enough anymore,” he said, eyes dark as they dug into Jeongin’s soul finding the space he had carved out just for Hyunjin.
“I’m sure, Hyun,” Jeongin whispered, shivering when Hyunjin’s fingers gently trailed over his cheek, his index finger running along the sharp line of his jaw. “Very, very sure,” he added breathlessly.
Inside the pumpkin, their hand squeezed each other, holding on tightly.
“No regrets, then,” Hyunjin breathed, eyes flickering between Jeongin’s. He seemed to find what he was looking for as his shoulders suddenly relaxed and he shortened the distance between them and connected their lips together in a soft kiss. Their lips fit together in ways Jeongin hadn't even dared to imagine. It felt right, perfect, and like everything Jeongin had daydreamed about, and then some.
It was almost worth getting stuck in a pumpkin for. Almost.
It didn’t take long before Jeongin’s free hand awkwardly found Hyunjin’s shoulder, swiftly moving up to play with the strands at the nape of Hyunjin’s head, the hairs soft against his fingers. Jeongin experimentally threaded his fingers through the hairs, tugging lightly at it. He smiled into the kiss when Hyunjin gasped, allowing Jeongin to dig deeper, to taste more of what he had desired for so long.
Reality was so much better than dreams, Jeongin thought as he permitted himself to get lost in the closeness of Hyunjin, the rightness of it all. Hyunjin met him every step of the way, tilting his head so Jeongin could dive deeper, the softest moan escaping him as Jeongin tugged softly at his hair.
It was only when Jeongin heard a deep exasperated sigh that he pulled away, his eyes darting to the entrance of their kitchen where Changbin was standing, cheeks red from the cold, hands on his hips as he looked at them in mild shock and slight annoyance.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Changbin swore, stomping over to the cabinet, and forcefully pulling out a bottle of olive oil which he placed on the table. “I drop everything I have in my hands to come over and help you in what you,” he pointed at Hyunjin, “Called a life or death situation. And then I walk in on you two fucking snogging?!” He hissed, glaring at them.
“Fucking idiots have been madly in love for months and now you’re fucking kissing while stuck in a shitty oversized pumpkin,” he hissed, aggressively pulling the knife free from the floor, dropping it back on the counter with a glare directed at Jeongin and Hyunjin. “Fix it yourselves,” he added, pushing the oil closer to them, before escaping back out of the front door, allowing it to slam closed behind him.
Jeongin stared after him, mouth open before Hyunjin’s hand on his cheeks guided his eyes back to him. For a moment they looked at each other before breaking into high-pitched laughter.
“I love you, Hyun,” Jeongin said, his cheeks hurting. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, In,” Hyunjin said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I pumpkin’ love you.”
“Oh my god,” Jeongin groaned, slapping Hyunjin’s shoulder before he slumped against him, Hyunjin’s free arm coming around to hold him close. “We should probably do something about the pumpkin situation.”
“Seems like we won’t have to cut him open now, at least,” Hyunjin muttered against the top of Jeongin’s head. “We could make soup out of it.”
“We’re not eating my pumpkin baby,” Jeongin grumbled, allowing his hand to tug at Hyunjin’s sweater. “I think we should carve it. Properly.”
“We’ll need to get out first though,” Hyunjin said, squeezing Jeongin’s hand once more.
“I know that, but when we do, we should carve it,” Jeongin said with a soft smile. “Together, you know,” he added dreamily. Oh, to sit on the couch and kiss in the light of the jack-o-lantern that brought them together. Now that was a romantic scene worthy of a drama. Fuck being trapped in the rain, this was true love.
“But it’s missing an eye,” Hyunjin said, looking down at the pumpkin uniting them. “And a mouth,” he added with a frown. “Why is he also so meaty? Are you sure it was organic?”
“Hyun?” Jeongin said with a fond smile.
“Yes?” Hyunjin replied, his beautiful eyes meeting Jeongin’s again.
“I’m trying to do something romantic, you know, something sappy and cheesy,” Jeongin said, leaning back to glower up at Hyunjin whose eyes grew wide with realization. “Please play along,” Jeongin said, softening the words with a kiss placed on Hyunjin's cheek.
“Oh, yes, right,” Hyunjin said, cheeks pink. “Let's carve him then. We can put him in the window when we’re done,” he added with a shy smile.
“I love you,” Jeongin said, pressing a kiss onto Hyunjin’s plump lips. “Now, please pass me that oil so I can get out of this damn thing and hold you close,” he said with a hint of desperation.
As it was, all it took to get them free was plenty of lubrication and some good tugs and they were finally released.
“I’ll be reeking of pumpkin all evening,” Hyunjin muttered as he washed his hands trying to get rid of all the oil he was covered in. “Will you still love me if I always smell of pumpkin?” He asked Jeongin, who was busy trying to wipe excess oil off his pumpkin baby.
“I will love you even if you turn into a pumpkin,” Jeongin grinned over his shoulder. “There we go,” he said, presenting Hyunjin with the literal fruit - or vegetable? - of their labor. “He looks amazing,” Jeongin said proudly as he held up the unusually large Hokkaido pumpkin.
It grinned back at him lopsided, eyes off center and one much bigger than the other.
It was beautiful.
“Well, it’s not too bad,” Hyunjin said, coming over to wrap his arms around Jeongin and kissing his shoulder. “It’s actually kind of cute.”
“I love you,” Jeongin said, turning in Hyunjin’s arms so he could look at his roommate-turned-boyfriend. “Will you be my pumpkin-mate forever?”
“Sure,” Hyunjin laughed, kissing Jeongin again. “Just promise me that next year we get a normal one, okay.”
“Promise,” Jeongin said with a grin, slipping out of Hyunjin’s arms so he could put the pumpkin in the window. He pulled out an electric light and stuck inside of it, almost losing his grip on the top that had somehow also gotten covered in oil.
“This is actually really nice,” Hyunjin said once more wrapping Jeongin up in his long arms as they stared at their little joint pumpkin baby as its eyes lit up from within, grinning crookedly back at them. “I owe that little guy a lot,” he added, resting his head against Jeongin’s.
“By the way,” Jeongin said suddenly, remembering why he had gone to the store in the first palace. “Would you like noodles instead of spaghetti tonight?” He asked, a plan already forming inside of his head.
From the window sill, the pumpkin simply grinned at them.