"What is it?" Mary asked curiously, and Mu Gyul looked up at her, shaking his head. He ruffled his fingers through Jung In's hair absently even as he looked away.
Mary narrowed her eyes at him poutily, and Mu Gyul hid a laugh. "Nothing, puppy." he assured her teasingly, and she meowed obnoxiously and then stuck her tongue out at him.
She felt happy and amused though, if distracted as she bustled around his apartment, tidying things that didn't really need tidying. Mu Gyul had mostly given up on trying to get her to stop; she seemed to do it without thinking, and other than the scolding that he should make less of a mess in the first place, it was . . . nice.
She cared about - and for - his space in much the same way she did for him. Without being asked, nosily, and determined that she either knew what to do or would figure it out as she went, My Gyul thought, swallowing a fond laugh.
Mu Gyul bit his lip, watching Mary from beneath his fringe. Once she was between tasks he would see if he could divert her and bring her back to bed with them.
A moment later Mary paused and turned to fix him with an almost suspicious look, her lips pursed. "You're thinking something." she said, wagging her finger at him.
"Maybe." Mu Gyul said playfully. He was always thinking something, perhaps almost as often thinking something of which Mary might not necessarily approve - or might go adorably blushy at, which was not quite the same thing.
Jung In shifted in his sleep, and Mu Gyul hummed a few bars of the first song to spring to mind as he trailed his fingers over his lover's brow. He went blushy too, sometimes - to Mu Gyul's utter delight - but mostly when embarrassed or on edge he only got spluttery and incredibly, adorably awkward in a way no one who knew him professionally would believe.
Jung In rolled towards him a little more and stilled again with one sharp cheekbone resting on Mu Gyul's shoulder.
He felt warm and content, through the fog of sleep. Mu Gyul snuggled down a little more beside him, flexing his arm beneath Jung In's head and shoulders. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, breath warm across Mu Gyul's skin.
The pressure of his cheekbone would probably grow uncomfortable after a few minutes, but it was fine for the moment - and Mu Gyul was used to it, in any case. Mary's hair tangled around his fingers or sometimes even into his own hair, and Jung In's bony angles - he was made entirely of bony angles - dug into him uncomfortably. Familiar.
Mary stopped by the end of his desk, dropping a crumpled piece of paper onto the surface as she covered a yawn. Mu Gyul's brows rose, and then he realised he could feel it as well, the lazy pull in their bond to relax and drift . . . to slip back into sleep. It was affecting him less, he thought, because he was actually lounging comfortably. He might not be sleeping, but he was certainly content to relax here.
Probably his own lazy mood wasn't helping Mary fight it off either. On the other hand, with their bond already at a low-level nudge to rest, slow down, relax, it ought to be easier to sway her further. "Merry Christmas. . ." Mu Gyul coaxed, and Mary turned to pout at him.
"Mu Gyul-ah!" Mary protested, propping her hands on her hips.
"Come back to bed." Mu Gyul coaxed, waggling his fingers at her. "It's cosy." he wheedled, and Mary laughed at him, a fond burst of warmth through their bond - the amusement softer this time, affection outstripping it.
"Tell me what you're thinking." Mary countered, but she was drifting back towards the bed and had put down the basket she'd been carrying.
Mu Gyul made a low sound in his throat. "Come here." he said again, and Mary came closer, but stopped at the edge of the bed - far enough away that he couldn't reach her. Or, he could have, but not with Jung In there, a heavy and comfortable dead weight draped over his shoulder and resting against his hip.
He lightly rubbed Jung In's side just above his own hip, hand splaying over Jung In's skin, warm and soft. A shiver ran through Jung In and he melted onto My Gyul in a way no one so lanky and angular should have been able to manage. He shook his head slightly and shifted to allow the nearly-smothering cuddle to continue.
Mu Gyul hid a grin against his lover's temple as the other side of the bed shifted and Mary crawled under the blankets again, making a little contented noise in her throat. He glanced at her, and she glared, then smiled at him, giving him a soft peck on one bare shoulder and cuddling under the blankets at his side.
My Gyul shifted a little away from Jung In - he didn't let go, so what Mu Gyul actually accomplished was sprawling flat with Jung In draped over him, but he was more open to Mary cuddling close, which had been the goal. Mary stroked Jung In's shoulder and down his arm, leaning against Mu Gyul's other side.
"I wouldn't have thought." Mu Gyul said contemplatively, curling a lock of Mary's hair around his fingers.
"Hmm?" Mary asked, propping her chin on one fist and her elbow on the bed right against Mu Gyul's ribs.
"You wanted to know what I was thinking." Mu Gyul reminded, and Mary looked surprised, then nodded rapidly, pleased.
"Yes!" Mary settled in pointedly, watching him.
Mu Gyul huffed a laugh, tugging at the lock her hair her shifting had yet to pull free of his grip. She made a face, her nose wrinkling up like the puppy he'd teasingly called her on the night they met.
"I was thinking about you." Mu Gyul murmured, snuggling deeper into the warm space between his soulmates, giving a soft, contented purr. "Both of you. And you know, I never would have guessed," he trailed his fingers lightly along Jung In's neck, "even after I began getting to know him," he squeezed Jung In's nape, "what he would be like."
"What?" Mary said, looking startled.
"You," he added lightly, lips quirking into a crooked smirk, "of course. You're a fluffy bundle of sweetness and pushy concern and determination, Merry Christmas. It's obvious to anyone who even looks at you, I think." he teased. "But Jung In. . ." He shook his head. "He's so," he paused, "collected and- No one would think, but he's . . . sweet." he said, holding back a laugh because . . . he was.
A little clumsily so at times, but it was only all the more endearing. Particularly when he developed that little lost look in his eyes, even if he usually tried to hide it.
This is part of my multi-fandom soulmate AU challenge; story #8 of 10, and written for the prompt 'Sweet'.