#artemvyn

The bell rang, pulling Vyn out of his sleepy trance. 

Seemed he had dozed off during class. He sighed, taking his glasses off to rub at his eyes, hoping to chase away some of the sleepiness. 

He hadn’t slept much the previous night. He had an assignment due for the day, and it ended up taking him much longer than he had expected, forcing him to stay up way too late. 

Which might be the reason why Vyn was fighting to stay awake the entire morning.

Thankfully, it was lunch time; hopefully getting something to eat would recharge his energy, and he wouldn’t be as sleepy. 

He packed his belongings in his bag, pulled it up and left the classroom. Still spaced out, he headed to the library where he usually ate lunch — the warmth of the sun shining through the windows as he walked through the halls only served to further his tiredness. 

As he arrived at the library, he headed straight for the secluded table at the far end of the library, hidden in between shelves. He always sat there; it was calmer there and he was often on his own. 

He set his bag down on the chair next to him. Reaching his hand in it to pull out his lunchbox, Vyn pulled out…

Nothing?

He rummaged through it again. 

Still nothing. 

Vyn frowned. He pulled his bag in front of him to properly look through it — his lunchbox was nowhere in sight. 

Vyn sighed in defeat, wondering how he could have forgotten to grab his lunchbox this morning. Of course, he figured it was probably due to his fatigue. 

Still, whatever the reason, the only thing that mattered right now was the fact that Vyn was lunchless, and didn’t know what he was going to do. He didn’t usually bring lunch money with him, and besides, from what he had seen before, it was too late anyway for him to be able to grab something and eat before class started again. 

So he was doomed to go on the rest of his day without lunch. Very well. It wasn’t an ideal situation, a rather unhealthy one, actually, but he didn’t have a choice either way. 

Or at least he didn’t until he heard a voice call out to him, and the chair across from him was pulled back by someone. 

He raised his head and met the eyes of one of his classmates — Artem. 

“Is this seat taken?”

Vyn blinked at him. There go his hopes of being alone. With a sigh, he shook his head. 

“No, it isn’t.”

Artem hummed in thanks and sat down across him, pulling out his own lunch and beginning to eat in silence. Vyn tried to ignore his presence as he waited, until he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. He looked back up, irritated, only to meet the confusion and concern in Artem’s eyes. 

“Are you not eating lunch?”

Vyn looked away, feeling heat creep up his neck in embarrassment. Accepting that he had forgotten his lunch was one thing; admitting it out loud, and to someone else, was another. 

He cleared his throat, responding in a strained voice. 

“I… don’t have one.”

He braced himself for a snarky comment, mockery, or anything, really, but what Artem ended up doing. 

He heard a hum and looked back, seeing Artem’s own lunchbox pushed towards him, its owner urging him to take some. 

“Here. You shouldn’t go hungry.”

His eyes flitted between the offered lunchbox and Artem in disbelief. Part of him immediately wanted to refuse; but just as he opened his mouth to, his stomach growled with hunger, effectively shutting up any refusal he could’ve come up with. 

With a sigh, Vyn reached for the spare chopsticks Artem had placed next to the lunchbox, eating small bites from it while avoiding his classmate’s gaze. 

An awkward silence settled between them. Vyn raised his eyes to glance at Artem, the sight of his classmate’s flushed cheeks and bashful face causing his heart to beat faster. 

Perhaps staring at Artem distracted him too much, for in the next second he felt their hands brush against each other, the two of them gasping in surprise and pulling their hands back to themselves. 

Vyn muttered an apology and focused his eyes back on the lunchbox, willing himself to avoid any further distractions. 

…But Artem just seemed to be naturally distracting, Vyn thought as he caught himself staring once more between bites. 

Soon enough, the lunchbox was empty, the two of them most likely red-faced and flustered. The silence between them stretched, neither of them knowing how to break it, until Vyn sighed and decided to speak up. 

“You’re good at cooking.”

He stood up, dusting himself off and grabbing his bag. 

“Thank you.”

Artem mirrored his actions, and they found themselves standing next to the table, just staring at each other. Artem looked away, seemingly thinking about saying something, so Vyn waited. 

“If you’d like…”

He waited longer. 

“I wouldn’t mind bringing you lunch more often. You shouldn’t go hungry.”

Vyn shook his head, a bashful laugh leaving him. 

“That’s nice, but I do have lunch usually. I just… happened to forget it today.”

Artem nodded at him, and if Vyn read into it any more, he could almost see disappointment in his classmate’s expression. He spoke up once more. 

“Still… We could eat together again.”

Artem’s face lit up, looking at Vyn with a small smile. 

“That would be nice, yes.”

The two of them walked back to class side by side, Vyn’s tiredness all gone thanks to how fast his heart was beating. 

The next day, Vyn happened to forget his lunchbox again. 

Artem should have been in bed by now. He had been working late, and perhaps if he hadn’t, this never would’ve happened. 

Or maybe it would have either way. He knew Vyn’s messages had a way to catch his attention no matter what the time was. 

Either way, when his phone vibrated and lit up with a notification, Artem absentmindedly glanced at it. He told himself he’d check it out later, until it chimed again with more notifications. 

His eyebrow raised. Why was Vyn messaging him so late?

A quick raise of his eyes informed him that it was past two in the morning. He frowned. Was Vyn in some sort of trouble? Why else would he message the senior attorney at all, and especially this late?

He grabbed his phone and opened the messaging app. Artem was greeted with several messages, lacking Vyn’s usual formal and precise typing. Instead, his texts were littered with typos, improper punctuation, and contents that made Artem’s eyes widen. 

And his heart beat faster, although he’d never admit it.

From Vyn, 2:03am: Artem

From Vyn, 2:03am: Artem…

From Vyn, 2:04am: Yuore so incredibly annoynig, yoy know

From Vyn, 2:04am: Uts so ynfair 

From Vyn, 2:05am: How csn you be si handsome yet so annoying

…

From Artem, 2:06am: …Are you drunk, Vyn?

Artem stared at his phone in disbelief. Vyn wasn’t the type to get drunk ever, or to even drink alcohol, if he didn’t need to. Let alone to message Artem saying such… things. 

He didn’t notice he had been in a daze until his phone chimed again with a new message. 

From Vyn, 2:06am: Im not durnk

Right. Of course. 

From Artem, 2:07am: Go to bed, Vyn. It’s late anyway. 

The response was almost immediate. 

From Vyn, 2:07am: No

From Vyn, 2:07am: Youre not here

Artem ignored the way his face heated up as he read the message. 

He let out a sigh as he shook his head. Perhaps if he tried long enough, he would manage to convince Vyn to go to sleep. 

From Artem, 2:08am: We have a meeting tomorrow anyway, we’ll see each other then. 

From Artem, 2:08am: Just go to sleep. 

Once again, the response was almost instantaneous (was Vyn actively waiting for them?).

From Vyn, 2:08am: In ttoo long 

Another sigh left Artem’s lips. Why was he so stubborn? Vyn had always been stubborn, but it had been working the bounds of reason, and he never went too far in his stubbornness. So why now?

Sometime during his thinking, Artem had closed his work computer and folders, and gotten up. At least he was still relatively dressed; he grabbed his keys and headed outside.

He had forgotten he had left Vyn on seen until his phone chimed again as he walked to his building’s parking. 

From Vyn, 2:11am: Artem

He stopped in his tracks momentarily to respond. 

From Artem, 2:11am: Yes?

…

No response. 

He shrugged and shoved his phone inside his pocket, walking - albeit a bit faster, no, not out of concern or anything, of course not - to his car and getting into the driver seat. 

He saw his phone light up a few times from its place on the center console, but Artem was a responsible man, he didn’t use his phone at all when driving. He was going to see Vyn anyway; there shouldn’t be any harm in checking once he’d arrived. 

Artem drove as fast as the speed limit allowed, not wanting to arrive too late in case Vyn had gotten injured or worse. 

A little voice in the back of his mind also wishes to see him as soon as possible. 

Soon enough, Artem could see Vyn’s house appear and get closer. He parked in his usual spot in the street, right next to the entrance (Marius and Luke both had complained about having to park further from the house - Artem had told them to simply arrive earlier.).

Once he was right in front of the door, Artem pulled his phone out to text Vyn to open the door. He still tried to open the door first; unsurprisingly, the door was locked. Vyn may have been acting weird, but he wasn’t one to compromise his oh so important safety and privacy. 

He was greeted with several messages he hadn’t yet seen, as he had been driving when Vyn sent them. 

From Vyn, 2:14am: Are you askeep

From Vyn, 2:14am: You probabbly are 

From Vyn, 2:15am: I hate you somych

From Vyn, 2:15am: Artem

From Vyn, 2:15am: Even justy our name infuruiates me

From Vyn, 2:16am: Such  a perfect name

From Vyn, 2:16am: For osmoene like you

From Vyn, 2:16am: I gues sit kinda fits

A sigh left Artem’s lips. He really needed to get Vyn to bed, lest the Svartian man say something he’d most definitely regret tomorrow.

He would probably regret what he already said, but still. Artem wanted to do some damage control.

From Artem, 2:17am: Can you come open the door?

His message was left on seen, and a few minutes later he heard the door being unlocked. Artem’s eyes widened as he saw Vyn behind the doorway, his heartbeat unwillingly accelerating at the sight. Vyn was wearing one of his night robes, loosely tied around his waist. One of the sleeves was sliding off from his shoulder, revealing not only the aforementioned shoulder, but also his collarbones and his oh so alluring chest- Artem snapped his eyes back up. However, that didn’t help his case; somehow, the sight of Vyn’s face made his heart beat even faster. His hair was uncharacteristically messy and tangled, his face was flushed a light red color, coloring his cheeks in a way that Artem found probably more attractive than he should. Vyn’s eyes were glazed over, his glasses were crooked, and he leaned on the door for support.

After a murmur of his name from Vyn, Artem realized he’d been staring, and stepped inside after clearing his throat. He made sure the door was locked, before taking one of Vyn’s arms and wrapping it around his shoulder. His own arm wrapped around Vyn’s waist, supporting the pale man up. Vyn immediately leant into Artem, putting his weight on him and letting himself be led.

Thankfully, Artem already knew the way to Vyn’s room - after all, the NXX team had met up here every so often for meetings, and Vyn’s house was as organized as he was -, so the walk there wasn’t that long. 

Although a part of him deep inside his heart did wish it was longer, when he finally let go of Vyn’s waist and had him sit in his bed.

Vyn held onto Artem still, his grip strong despite his intoxicated state. Artem tugged his arm away a few times, to no avail as Vyn still wouldn’t let go. 

He eventually gave in with a sigh, and proceeded to help Vyn get under the covers to the best of his ability. Once that was done, Artem spoke up in a hushed tone, not wanting to disturb the silence that had settled between them. 

“I’m going to bring you a cup of water.”

Only then did Vyn, although reluctantly, let go of Artem’s sleeve, allowing the senior attorney to walk to the kitchen and fill a cup with water to bring it to him. 

When Artem walked back into the room, he saw Vyn staring intensely at the door through half lidded eyes, his gaze lighting up as soon as Artem walked into the room. 

Artem found it odd. Vyn usually had such a strong hold on his emotions, he never let anything past his facade that he didn’t want others to see. And he had a feeling Vyn definitely wouldn’t have wanted him to see this. 

Nonetheless, he walked back to the bed and sat next to Vyn, placing the glass on his bedside table to help the pale man sit up comfortably. He then held the glass to Vyn’s mouth and helped him drink it, and Artem had to consciously stop himself from becoming all but too aware of Vyn’s soft-looking lips so close to his hand. 

Some of the water dripped down Vyn’s chin, prompting Artem to take one of the tissues on the bedside table and wipe it. He placed the now empty glass back down and gently wiped the water on Vyn’s chin, neck, and he paused at his collarbone, wondering if he should keep going. 

His face felt hot as he quickly wiped the few water drops on Vyn’s chest, soon looking away and clearing his throat to clear some of the embarrassment. 

“Alright… You should get some sleep now. I’ll get going then.”

Artem moved to stand up and leave, only to be stopped by his wrist being held. He turned his face to look at Vyn, his eyes slightly wider in surprise. 

Vyn stared at him with such longing in his eyes that Artem couldn’t help but blush, his mouth parted to whisper:

“Can’t you stay?”

——

Artem had been lucky to have a day off the following day. 

His eyes fluttered open later than he usually woke up at; it must’ve been around 9 in the morning. 

And yet, at such an early hour of the morning, he felt as if he’d been attacked by the view in front of him: Vyn was laying on Artem’s chest, his arms resting a bit higher. His eyes were shut, showing off even further his long lashes, and god Artem could’ve sworn that he looked just angelic. 

Artem couldn’t move. His heart was beating unnaturally fast, and he didn’t want to wake up Vyn either way. 

(God knows that waking up Vyn earlier than he’d like could result in terrible consequences. 

And Artem didn’t exactly want this moment to end.)

He closed his eyes again. It couldn’t hurt to get some more sleep, he supposed. 

He stirred awake again two hours later, when Vyn himself woke up. He stretched and blinked at Artem a few times, still evidently processing the situation through his hungover and sleep clouded mind. 

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, glaring at Artem. 

“What are you doing here?”

His words were spoken slowly, the anger behind them quite obvious. 

“You didn’t let me go home.”

Vyn’s eyes widened, and he looked down at his position, straddling Artem’s waist. He quickly moved off, sitting on the bed and allowing Artem to sit up. 

“What are you even talking about?”

Artem stayed quiet a few moments, trying to figure out how to answer. Seems Vyn didn’t remember what happened last night. How was he even supposed to recount that?

“You messaged me while you were inebriated. You wouldn’t go to sleep, so I came here to do that. And then you asked me to stay.”

“And you did?” 

“Am I not here right now?”

Vyn sighed, his hand coming to pinch the bridge of his nose. 

“Whatever… Just go. Get out of my house.”

Artem moved out of the bed, stretching his limbs as he did so. He could feel Vyn’s glare on his back as he moved, quickly getting out of the house. Once he was in his car, he noticed how disheveled he looked. Grabbing his phone to check the time, he also noticed he wouldn’t have the time to go back to his apartment and change, then come back for the meeting. With a sigh, Artem settled on just waiting in his car, and trying to fix his appearance as much as he could. 

Vyn grasped his head and walked to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen. 

“God, I have such a headache…”

——

It had been about three weeks since Artem half willingly spent the night at Vyn’s house. 

He wished he could say it hadn’t been that important, but unfortunately it plagued his mind ever since. 

He still remembered Marius’ comment that same day, wondering why Artem looked so unusually disheveled, and even making a joke about him having had “fun activities before coming here”. Needless to say, Artem couldn’t wait for that meeting to finish. 

But every night since, Artem would glance at his phone, and some part of him wished that Vyn would message him like he did that day. Of course, it hadn’t happened yet, which maybe was for the best, and-

“What’s up with you recently?”

Artem was brought out of his daze by Rosa’s voice, his work partner placing the documents in her arms on his desk. He blinked at her. 

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been spacing out a lot, and you always seem to have something on your mind?” She paused. “Did something happen?”

Artem sighed in thought. Perhaps it would be a good idea to tell someone about it? Besides, Rosa was relatively trustworthy - relatively, because she was dating Luke and Marius, who definitely weren’t -, and she probably would give good advice. 

“It’s.. a bit of a long story. Something happened between Vyn and I, and it's been on my mind ever since.” 

He could see her stifle back a laugh at his words, before she coughed and recomposed herself. She took a seat next to Artem on his office couch, nodding to prompt him to continue. 

And so he told her what happened - omitting, of course, the strange feelings seeing Vyn like that caused in him. 

Rosa seemed deep in thought as he finished recounting the events of that night. 

“Have you considered that Vyn likes you?”

“…What?”

His eyes widened as he looked at her in disbelief. She gave a laugh at his reaction, before elaborating. 

“I mean, I’d say those messages are pretty telling by themselves, but considering the way he acted too? That seems like the only logical option to me.”

Artem stared at her in silence, before shaking his head no. 

“No. There’s no way. It’s Vyn we’re talking about, Rosa.”

She raised her eyebrow and sighed. 

“If you don’t believe me, so be it. But that’s the only explanation I see.”

She shrugged. The two of them soon went back to their work, the previous conversation topic forgotten. 

Once they were done and ready to head out, Artem turned to ask her. 

“Should I come pick you up for tonight?”

Rosa gave a bright grin as she answered. 

“No, there’s no need. Marius is picking Luke and I up, so you only need to drive Vyn.”

He nodded, and they went their separate ways. Him and Rosa had been invited on behalf of Themis Law Firm to a formal event, and the other members of the NXX ended up revealing their own invitations afterwards (how did this keep happening?). So they would all be meeting up at the event. 

Artem headed to the underground parking and got into his car. He first drove to his apartment to get dressed and fix his hair to look more appropriate for an event. One side of his hair was pinned back, and he put on one of his better quality suits. 

Once he was dressed, he headed back to his car and typed a quick message to let Vyn know he would be on his way, before turning the car on and starting to drive towards the Svartian’s house. 

He couldn’t help the way his face flushed as he came closer to the house, memories of that night flooding his brain again. He shook his head to try and stop thinking about them. 

Thankfully, Vyn was standing on the porch of his house, immediately walking up to Artem’s car as it stopped and getting in the passenger seat. He didn’t seem to enjoy having to be driven by Artem, but he had to go along with it either way. 

The drive to the venue was mostly quiet, only a few words shared between the two men. They went their separate ways almost immediately after arriving. 

Artem found Rosa, Luke and Marius soon enough, and after a short time spent with them as well, it seemed he would spend the majority of the evening on his own. He didn’t necessarily mind, and either way, guests soon started coming up to him themselves. 

He spent the evening exchanging with people who wanted connections with Themis Law Firm, and specifically with this one woman who seemed to follow him around, from how many times they’d bumped into each other. 

She was... very touchy with him. More than he liked. He had told her to stop touching him quite a few times, yet she kept doing it, which was slowly getting on his nerves, if he were to be honest. 

Artem didn’t see Vyn at all the entire night, almost as if Vyn was avoiding him. It saddened him, for some reason. 

The woman was still standing near him, rambling off about whatever. Artem usually tried to pay attention to whatever was being told to him, but this woman had been talking to him for so long, he had stopped listening a while ago. He just hoped for this event to come to an end soon. 

After what felt like an eternity, Rosa walked up to him, followed by the other men of the team, to tell him they would be taking their leave. He bid farewell to the woman, and left the venue as quickly as possible. 

Once they were out and ready to go their separate ways, he noticed the way Vyn was holding onto Luke to stand. Marius sent him a quip, but he didn’t listen, his gaze trained on Vyn. 

They had a short talk before Vyn started holding onto Artem and they walked to his car, waving goodbye to the other three. 

Vyn was stumbling, his face was flushed and most of all, he smelled of alcohol; it didn’t take a genius to figure out Vyn had drunk quite a large amount of alcohol. 

Artem sighed as he helped Vyn get into the passenger seat again. If the ride to the venue was quiet, the ride back was even quieter. Vyn seemed upset, or rather angry, and kept glaring at Artem. Although he was focusing on the road, Artem kept sending concerned glances at Vyn. 

Perhaps not only concerned, as Vyn did look even more beautiful than usual. Not that Artem typically thought about his beauty, of course. It was simply an objective fact. Obviously. 

As Artem drove into Vyn’s neighborhood, he noticed the man beside him shift ever so slightly, most likely only moving to be more comfortable. He parked into his usual spot, getting out of the car and circling around it to open the passenger door. 

Vyn stumbled out of the car, Artem rushing to hold him up. He wrapped an arm around his waist, and reached to place Vyn’s arm around his own shoulders. 

His touch felt burning. But Artem couldn’t deny how much he had craved it. 

They stumbled together to the door, Artem muttering an apology before reaching into Vyn’s pockets to grab the keys to the house. He had seen before Vyn open the front door, so he had a subtle idea of which key was the one. Once he had opened the door, he walked inside, Vyn still clinging onto him. 

He made sure to first place Vyn onto the closest couch, taking care to lay him down comfortably, before walking back to the front door and closing it. As he turned back to face Vyn, he saw the younger man trying to sit up and reach for Artem, incoherent words spilling out of his lips. 

Artem frowned in concern. He made his way to Vyn, checking for his temperature first. It was higher than it should be, especially considering Vyn’s usual cold body temperature, but he blamed it on the alcohol for now. If it kept up, Vyn would surely be able to take care of himself. 

Vyn was… lighter than he had imagined. As Artem carried him in his arms, the Svartian curled into him, his face buried in Artem’s neck and deeply inhaling his scent. Artem’s face was most likely a deep red by now, trying to ignore Vyn’s oddly affectionate touches as he carried him to his room. 

For the second time, Artem made sure that Vyn was in bed, and brought him a glass of water, preparing to leave. 

And for the second time, Vyn asked him to stay. 

And perhaps, when Vyn glared at Artem while laying on his chest, muttering insults at him, Artem couldn’t deny how fast his heart was beating. 

So much so that he found himself barely paying attention to what Vyn was saying, too focused on his face. 

“And I can’t believe you’re so oblivious that you can’t even tell I like you.”

Artem’s heart skipped a beat. 

His eyes widened, and his mouth opened with a gasp. Had he heard him right? No. There was no way. Besides, Vyn was drunk. He wasn’t thinking clearly. 

Still, some part of Artem’s mind wished he was telling the truth. 

“…What??”

“Did you not hear me? I like you, you absolutely exasperating idiot.”

…Vyn was speaking oddly clearly for a drunk man. Artem cleared his throat, looking away. He was sure that his face reflected his flustered state, as much as he tried to cover it. 

This would be a problem for when Vyn wasn’t drunk. 

…

This time, Vyn hadn’t kicked Artem out immediately. He had half-heartedly thanked Artem for taking care of him - in his own way, of course -, and insisted on treating him for breakfast, at the very least. 

Artem was stiff. His mind replayed the events of the last night on loop, not wanting to leave him alone. He tried his best to keep his gaze off Vyn, yet he still found himself staring more than once. Each and every time, he forced himself to look away, a blush creeping up his neck. 

Vyn must have noticed - of course he did, that’s his job -, because he eventually turned back to Artem, glaring at him with an eyebrow raised. 

“What is it?”

A beat passed. They stared at each other, Artem debating whether or not to say it. 

“You confessed to me last night.”

Another beat. Vyn swiveled around quickly, and if Artem looked closely, he could swear there was a touch of red blossoming on the Svartian’s neck. He heard him sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose before looking back at Artem. 

“I hadn’t expected to tell you so soon… Or ever, as a matter of fact.”

Vyn fully turned, his usual gaze shining with only the tiniest bit of vulnerability. Really, Artem couldn’t have noticed it unless he knew what Vyn’s look was like, and-

Oh. 

Oh. 

Perhaps now wasn’t exactly the time to be realizing how much Vyn made his heart flutter, how much he craved and longed for him. Or maybe it was. After all, Vyn was confessing to him. 

“I do have feelings for you. I’m not expecting you to reciprocate, so let’s stop talking about this.”

Vyn was about to turn back around when Artem spoke up. 

“What if… I do reciprocate?”

He froze in his steps. 

“I beg your pardon?”

Artem found himself at a loss for words. How was he to explain what he was feeling to Vyn when he had realized exactly 30 seconds ago and couldn’t understand what he felt anyway?

“I… I’m not entirely sure yet, but I believe I may have… feelings… for you as well.”

His words were slow, and Artem was sure his face was a bright red by now. Vyn scoffed. 

“You believe? Goodness, Artem… What am I going to do with you.”

Despite his words, when Artem snuck a glance at Vyn through his embarrassment, he could see a fond smile on the man’s face. He gave a smile of his own, watching Vyn step closer to him. 

“We’re out of garlic.”

Artem had remarked one evening, as he rummaged through the cabinets of their shared kitchen. A frown etched itself on his face, and he glared deeply at each spice bottle, none of them looking like the ones he was looking for.

“Of pepper too.”

He stood back up from his crouching position, dusting off his clothes and turning back to face Vyn, a helpless look on his face. The latter hummed in thought, nodding as he stirred the pot in front of him.

“Ah, right. We’re out of quite a few things, actually.”

Artem sighed, his hand rested on the counter.

“We’ve been too busy lately. I should’ve noticed earlier.”

Vyn took a look at the pot in front of him, checking for its state before placing the lid on top of it. He walked over to Artem, placing his hands on the lawyer’s shoulders and grabbing his attention. Vyn smiled.

“Don’t worry about it. We can always go grocery shopping tomorrow. It’s not the end of the world.”

Artem shook his head at him helplessly, smiling as he felt a hand move to hold his cheek. He pressed a gentle kiss to it and smiled back.

“You’re right. Let’s go tomorrow after work. I just wish I had noticed before being caught off guard.”

Vyn chuckled and pulled Artem in for a kiss, effectively melting all his worries away. They might have gotten carried away - Artem only pulling apart once he noticed the pot about to burn. The two glanced between the pot and each other as Vyn rushed to turn the stove off, soon laughing at the situation.

***

Right after leaving work, Artem drove back to their house. Vyn had finished much earlier than he had, already home and waiting for his husband to arrive. He parked in front – texting Vyn that he was here, and watching as only a moment later the psychiatrist walked up to the car and got in the passenger seat.

He offered him a smile, reaching a hand to grab Vyn’s and press a kiss to the back of it, relishing in the way his face colored with a light flush. Vyn huffed out a chuckle, intertwining his fingers with Artem’s and looking over to him with a fond gaze as the attorney started his car up again.

“Someone missed me, hm?”

Artem glanced at him again, a soft smile spreading through his face.

“Of course I did. When do I not miss you?”

And Vyn sighed, his face flushing even deeper.

The ride was mostly quiet. Aside from short comments about each of their days, the two men didn’t say much, simply appreciating the other’s presence, occasionally brushing a thumb over their linked hands.

And when they pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store, Artem almost felt disappointed that they had to leave their intimate bubble.

Still – they were here for a reason, and they really needed to get the groceries done.

Thankfully, as Vyn had been home early, he had had the time to take a look around their kitchen and make a list of everything that they were out of – that would make their task easier, and would hopefully keep them from spending money unnecessarily.

They soon fell into their usual rhythm – Vyn grabbed a cart and started pushing it lazily, Artem walked around the aisles and grabbed whatever they needed. He wasn’t sure when they had gotten used to grocery shopping like this, but it felt so natural now that he couldn’t recall another way they had ever done it.

(He vaguely remembered Vyn sneering at him and telling him that “You’re taller, so it’s only natural you should be the one grabbing the groceries” while leaning on the cart. The memory made him chuckle.)

“What’s so funny?”

A voice behind him said, and he turned around to look at Vyn, leaning on his cart the very same way he remembered. He only shook his head and smiled.

“I’m just reminiscing.”

Vyn tilted his head, a smirk spreading through his face at the comment. Pushing his cart closer to Artem, he kept on.

“Is that so? What are you reminiscing about?”

He saw Vyn’s smirk widen as he felt his face heat up, looking away to avoid Vyn’s scrutinizing eyes.

“Nothing much, really. Just thinking about our routine.”

Vyn hummed in what seemed like understanding, stepping closer to Artem.

“Ah, I see.”

Still, the teasing glint in his eyes didn’t subside, especially not as he placed his hands on Artem’s chest.

“Though I’d rather you not yearn when I am right here.”

Artem’s face felt like it was on fire. He was sure he looked like it as well, standing frozen at the same spot as Vyn walked back behind the cart. With a chuckle, he addressed Artem again.

“Don’t forget to grab the pepper, Artem.”

“…Right, of course.”

Artem mumbled as he shook himself out of his stupor, sighing at the sound of his husband laughing at his misery. He grabbed a pack of ground pepper from the shelves and placed it in the cart, seeing from the corner of his eye Vyn following him with his eyes.

Still, the rest of their shopping trip went off without much distraction (despite Vyn more than clearly staring at Artem for longer than he should’ve), and they managed to find everything they needed. The two of them drove back home and brought their grocery bags to the kitchen, beginning to work on putting everything where it belonged.

It didn’t take all that long, as they worked together and really didn’t buy that many things to begin with. Soon enough they were preparing dinner once more, Artem happy that he could finally prepare the dinner he had planned to make the previous night.

Vyn talked to him about something as he chopped up vegetables – quite frankly, Artem had long since tuned out, staring at Vyn instead and smiling. He liked listening to Vyn’s voice, looking at his face, watching the way his hair danced with each of his movements, glancing at the ring on his finger that matched his and looking back at Vyn’s face and oh— their eyes met.

“Are you even listening to me?”

Artem blinked a few times and felt his cheeks warm up.

“...No?”

He heard Vyn sigh and put the knife he was holding down, wiping his hands for a second before pulling him closer.

“I would appreciate it if you paid attention to what I tell you instead of staring at me. Honestly…”