Work Text:
Yunho was minding his business, legs bent over the couch with his favourite blanket covering him, keeping him warm and cozy. Licking slightly at the tip of his fingers he went on and picked the page to turn it on to read what came next.
It had been a lazy afternoon, no more sessions scheduled for the rest of the day and he was already done with taking care of his ropes. He lit his favourite scented candle, setting a mug of steaming black tea on the coffee table before the couch and cradled into it clad in his most comfortable sweatpants and his favourite hoodie.
He lost sense of his surroundings for a while since he set up his cozy station in the living room, so engrossed in his reading that he barely noticed the keys scraping frantically over the lock of his front door. Its hinges creaked as the person on the other side finally cracked it open and dragged themselves in. A loud thud broke him free of his daze and glanced towards the entrance, features lighting up at the sight of his favourite person. He had thrown his briefcase somewhere near the door and kicked out his neatly polished dress shoes to the side. Dragging his feet inside the warm lighted living room, the man took off the tie around his neck and shuffled out of his suit jacket in a tired manner, not saying a single word.
The more Yunho stared at him, the more something felt off. Before he could process what was going on, he was already on his feet and getting closer to the man struggling to unbutton the collar of his shirt.
“Mingi, hey, what’s wrong?” The rigger asked, worried, helping him out to unclasp the first buttons open.
His boyfriend finally looked up at him with an almost unreadable expression, but Yunho knew better, though, after all the time they had known each other he had learnt about his sub’s body language, every little movement, memorised every little gesture. He looked into his lover’s eyes and saw a silent question behind his irises, a little hint of a plea left unsaid. Mingi’s distress was almost palpable now that the rigger focused all his attention on him, his sub practically throwing himself at him the moment his eyes registered the man standing before him. His sub buried his nose in the crook of Yunho’s neck, basking in his grounding scent of fabric softener and baby powder. Immediately, he let out a pained whine, letting himself be crushed between the rigger’s arms as those circled his muscled frame. His hands flew up to fist at Yunho’s hoodie as he hid his face further in Yunho’s chest.
“Babe,” he sighed. Yunho hated to see his favourite person like that but he knew how to handle him in these situations. This was not the first time Mingi had entered their shared apartment in low spirits and in need of losing himself, desperate to hand over control and seek to be freed from the demanding fast pace of the world. The rigger was also painfully aware that it wouldn't be the last, either. Running soothing fingers up and down his spine, Yunho led them to their shared room.
“I’m gonna take good care of you,” he shushed the little whimpers that escaped his sub’s mouth tenderly.
They made it inside their bedroom, Yunho guided Mingi to sit on the edge of the mattress and he kneeled between his legs. Reaching out under the bed, he felt around until his hands laid on the box they stored there the moment Mingi moved in with him. In the meantime, Mingi played with his hair, running his fingernails through his scalp, longing for his touch as he waited for the rigger to pick the rope inside the box. As he always did, Yunho inspected its state before unfolding the natural hemp cord, feeling the rough bristles of the material with the pad of his fingertips in genuine contemplation.
He stood up, dropping the rope on the bed beside Mingi’s hips while he cradled the left side of his neck in his hand, his thumb caressing the hollow of his cheek and harrowing its tip dangerously close to the corner of his sub’s plump lips. Mingi tilted his head to the side, leaning into the touch as he dragged his eyebrows in a slight pained frown, looking up at his rigger with imploring eyes.
Yunho smiled fondly, leaving his cheek in favour of picking up the rope, moving fast to start his work.
He figured that a simple harness would do the trick for the time being so he positioned his sub cross legged in the middle of the bed while he got behind him, kneeling over the mattress and sitting on the ball of his heels as he passed the first loop around his torso, snatching his waist when he tied the first knot. Tonight he would focus on his back, working his way up knotting a single straight column over his spine. The rigger was forced to lean against his sub’s back every now and then, crossing the rope over the front of Mingi’s frame and consequently bringing their bodies flush together, feeling the calm echo of his lover’s breath on his own chest.
He was almost done with the harness, the rigger painted a straight cross on his sub’s upper back, placing a knot where both of the strands met in between his shoulder blades, straightening his posture in the process and scraping a soft grunt from his sub’s throat.
When he was happy with how it looked, Yunho moved on his limbs next. Bringing his arms to his back, he went around his upper arms with the rope, laying several straight lines one after the other, thickening the trace that hugged his sub’s muscles prettily over his black button up, the soft cream coloured rope looking dull and pale against the dark of the cloth. Yunho bent his elbows inwards then, placing his forearms one over the other in a parallel line resting on his lower back.
A few more knots and he would be done.
Mingi grabbed at his own elbows with sheer force, knuckles turning white as he kept tightening his fists over the fabric of his sleeves, nails threatening to tear the material covering his skin. The rigger noticed the subtle movement and shifted one of his hands to rub soothing circles on the back of Mingi’s hand, slowly coercing him to cease his strong hold. Yunho resumed his work then when he saw his sub’s muscles visibly relax, tying his wrists to the base of his elbows and pinning the whole structure of his forearms to the base of the knotted column.
That was the last detail. The final stroke of his latest artwork.
He felt at peace with his creation as he stared at it briefly. Humming in approval, he dragged his hands over Mingi’s arms tenderly, paying attention to the way the short hairs at the base of his sub’s nape bristled at the soft touch. Swiftly, he moved his arms around his frame, pressing his chest against his sub’s back once again to add another layer of restraint as he tightened his hold around Mingi in what he hoped conveyed all the emotions of care and undying love he felt for his favourite person in the world.
Yunho hooked his chin over Mingi’s shoulder and waited. The rigger sensed the younger’s body melting against his own, extending his neck slightly until his head was resting on his clavicle. Trying to maintain his breath at bay, his sub inhaled through his nose and let all the air out through his mouth in a very entrancing way, chest rising and falling in a cryptically hypnotic rhythm.
Unconsciously, Yunho matched his own breathing to his sub’s.
How long did they stay just like that doing nothing else other than bask in each other's closeness and breathing, Yunho didn’t know. He didn’t even care because he felt very satisfied, getting to be in this exact position with the most beautiful, most amazing man he had ever had the pleasure to meet, it surely was a privilege he would never take for granted. Mingi stirred a bit in his arms and turned his head to his side, planting a plush but almost feather like kiss in the fair patch of skin where Yunho’s jaw met his neck, right under his ear.
“Thank you,” he whispered sweetly like saccharin.
“Anytime, my princess.”
Mingi kept his head on Yunho’s shoulder for a few more fleeting moments but, when the time felt right, no words were needed between the both of them, only a mere delicate headbutt from Mingi against his neck necessary to ask his rigger to untie him. His sub slowly straightened, separating his back from where it rested on his rigger’s front.
The rigger moved swiftly and concisely, untying every knot with the most delicacy and massaging the sore muscles underneath as he went on with his task. Moving from his forearms to his triceps, untangling the cord bit by bit, dragging the time until his precious sub was finally fully released. Carefully, he removed himself from behind Mingi’s body and went to fetch his boyfriend’s favourite pyjamas while the man waited for him to return.
Unbuttoning his shirt with practised movements, Yunho removed the now wrinkled garment and threw it off to the side of the bed, his future self would deal with that later. He unbuckled Mingi’s belt and it followed the same destiny as his sub’s shirt. Next, the rigger moved to open his pantsuit’s fly to pull those off too, yanking his socks in the process and leaving him in only his underwear until Yunho put him in his fluffy pajamas. With newfound strength and contentment, Mingi slid under the covers and let out a small breath of relief when the weighted blankets put some pressure over his body.
“How’re you feeling babe?” Yunho asked, bringing back a glass of water.
Taking the cold container in both his hands, he neared it into his mouth, drawing a big gulp from it.
“Much better already,” he answered with a smile tugging at his lips. Yunho got inside the blankets too, hugging his boyfriend from behind and tightening his arms around his small waist.
“I’m glad, princess,” he whispered against his nape. “Wanna order take out?”
“Please.”
“Fried chicken from the place around the corner?”
“You’re the fucking best,” Mingi said, chuckling slightly against Yunho’s body. Without letting go of him, the rigger retrieved his phone from the nightstand and ordered their usual, making time until someone materialized at their door with a steaming box of sweet yet savoury chicken.
Mingi sighed under him as seconds dragged by.
“What happened, love?” He couldn’t see his face from his position behind him, but he knew Mingi was frowning. He groaned exhausted, surely done with adult life.
“Well, one of our main partners just told us that she will be retiring anytime this year, this only means that if I don’t get another investor by the time she intends to withdraw all her money we might have to close some of our branch offices and relocate, or even lay off, some of the employees… Yunho, I hate this, I hate being the bad guy.”
“Oh, Mingi, I’m so sorry,” he petted his hair trying to ease the burden in Mingi’s heart. “But you know what? You’re the most capable and charismatic person I know, you have a way with words that I’m envious of, you know I could spend all day just listening to you yapping about economics even if I don’t get anything of what you're saying.”
“You’re smart and charming. You’re strong and competent, the best at what you do. You got investors once and you’ll get them again Mingi, I believe in you.”
Mingi squirmed in his hold, turning his body to face him.
“Yunho-”
“I mean it, princess,” he cut the younger one before he could say anything else. “I’m so proud of you.”
Those words had seemingly triggered something inside his sub because suddenly he pushed their lips together, kissing him passionately like nothing else mattered more than them this precise moment, shutting up the world’s cruelty and focusing on the precious gift that they were for each other.
Mingi’s hands snaked around his rigger, tilting his head and deepening the kiss further, taking all the time he deemed necessary tasting his mouth like it was still the first time. After a while, he broke the seal of their lips, a fine string of saliva still connecting them briefly before parting between the two, leaving space for air to fill their lungs and resting their foreheads together. With a playful last press against his head, his sub moved back a bit, looking intently into his eyes.
“I love you, Yunho.”
“I love you too, princess, more than anything.”