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When Ryan got them a motel room with just one bed, Min hadn’t questioned it. Ryan had been on the road for longer than he had, so he probably knew what he was doing. Ryan still seemed antsy after telling the woman behind the desk what room they were getting. On the way to their room, Ryan explained further.
“It’s like, waaaaaay more expensive to get two beds, practically a scam really. And we’ve known each other since we were kids so it’s not like weird or anything”
Min rolled his eyes and ruffled the shorter boy’s hair
“Ry, it’s alright, I get it and you are the road-trip expert here”
Ryan laughed, even though a blush was still spreading across his face and his expression was bashful
“I wouldn’t say expert, more so, messed up enough to have learned the basics”
Min smirked again
“A brownie expert and a road trip expect, not bad for such a simple man-”
Ryan started giggling uncontrollably and covered his mouth with one hand, using the other to playfully push Min.
“Bro, it’s like almost midnight you can’t make me laugh so much!”
Ryan finally turned the key in the lock and opened the door to the room. It was small, mostly taken up by one bed in the center. The window on the back wall opened to a view of the highway, there was nothing too interesting to look at where they were.
Ryan unceremoniously dropped his bag and guitar case under the window before kicking off his shoes, socks, and shrugging off his jacket. Without bothering to change into his pajamas or, well anything, he flopped onto the bed.
“Dude, aren’t you gonna brush your teeth at least?”
Ryan groaned and mumbled something into the pillow before waving Min off. Finally picking up his head.
“I’ll do that in the morning, I’m Tired”
Min rolled his eyes
“If highschool homeroom is anything to go off of, you’ll be even more tired tomorrow morning”
Ryan flopped onto his back with a groan. Min could barely believe that his giggling friend had gotten so exhausted looking so quickly, it was like Ryan had been holding a happy face the whole time they were talking, and had now relaxed it into a more natural tiredness. Min sighed,
“Fine, fine I won’t needle you or anything… why don’t you just get some sleep?”
Ryan blinked, clearly surprised, and shut his eyes
“Thanks… Min”
Min went about changing into his pajamas, brushing his teeth and hair as quietly as possible. By the time he left the bathroom the room was dim and he could hear the soft whistle of Ryan’s breath, indicating he was asleep. Ryan’s red glasses were folded up neatly.
Ryan had always taken better care of his glasses than anything else but his guitar. Min vaguely remembered a summer when they were in elementary school where Ryan broke his glasses and it took over a month for his parents to get him new ones. It was a mix of them being expensive and eventually his parents just forgetting they were supposed to buy him new ones a couple times. He barely got a new pair before school started.
Had Ryan’s parents called to check up on him at all?
Min had reached an agreement with his parents that he’d call them at least once a week to let them know he was ok, but they’d been on the road for over a month now and Ryan hadn’t mentioned calling his family once.
Min looked at Ryan’s sleeping face, it was as tense as it was when he was awake.
Min circled around the bed going to the side not occupied by Ryan. He tried to be as subtle as possible getting on the mattress but Ryan still let out a soft groan. It was kinda… cute…
“Sorry…”
Min whispered still as quietly as possible, it didn’t change much, could even be a trick of the light (or lack thereof) but Ryan’s face seemed to soften slightly at Min’s voice.
Min couldn’t get that out of his head as he drifted to sleep.
______________________________________________________________________________
Min expected to wake up early, he had always been an early riser. What he was not expecting was the dark brown hair in his mouth and over the bottom half of his face.
Sure enough, Ryan had ended up sleeping curled around him, with his head nuzzled against Min’s chest.
Min’s heartrate sped up exponentially, his face flushed as well. There was something about Ryan’s weight against his chest that felt so nice in a way he did not want to unpack. Ryan was just very warm and his hair was soft, that was all there was to it!
Min slowly, carefully, tried to get up. Untangling Ryan’s arms that had been firmly around his neck and upper chest and trying to sit up. Min paused, looking down at the still sleeping boy. Ryan’s face looked so much more content and unbothered now than it did the night before, but lines of tension were quickly returning as Min tried to free himself.
Min had a quick mental battle of wills, before sighing and letting himself sink back onto the mattress. As much as he would prefer getting an early start to the day, the thought of being the reason that content smile left his friend’s face was too much to bear. Ryan snuggled back into Min with a content sigh, and Min’s heart felt lighter by just a little.
Min had the news playing on a low volume. It was much easier to absentmindedly comb his fingers through Ryan’s hair and weave braids with stray strands than do anything else and worry about the smaller boy waking up. Ryan’s hair was softer than Min remembered, and if he got the chance Min knew he could play with it for hours.
Even better, he hadn’t seen Ryan look this unburdened in ages. Both the natural calm of sleep, and he supposed the natural comfort of knowing someone else was with him. Ryan had never done well alone. Ryan had mentioned when they were kids that he didn’t even know if he’d be able to sleep in a room alone, because he’d always shared a room with two of his brothers.
Ryan mumbled something in his sleep, and curled up onto Min even more. Min couldn’t help but chuckle a little, is this what it’s like to have a cat? Ryan’s eyes fluttered for a second and he mumbled something else, still half asleep, tightening his grip on Min’s shirt.
It took a few minutes for Ryan to wake up enough to loosen his grip and wipe at his eyes, clearly still disoriented for being asleep. He sat up a little and blinked a few times.
“You finally awake Ry?”
Min had a small smile on his face, really it had been a nice morning, all things considered. He found he wouldn’t mind waking up like this again. He wasn’t sure what to do with that information, but he assumed he would figure it out in time.
Ryan blinked one more time, clearly putting more focus into it, and when his eyes opened again then were clear and more aware of his surroundings. He slowly looked around, and Min could tell the exact moment Ryan realized he was practically on top of Min.
Ryan froze for just a moment, before scrambling off of Min
“Aw man, dude I am so sorry! I had no idea I swear I didn’t mean to really I-”
“Ry, man, It’s totally fine. You were asleep after all, not your fault you're clingy. Plus, if I really needed you to get off me, you’re tiny enough that I probably wouldn’t have to struggle. I just didn’t want to wake you up”
Despite Min trying to calm him down, Ryan was still blushing a lot and crouched on the bed in a way that made him look like he was trying to be smaller than he already is.
Ryan turned away, a mix of emotions that Min couldn’t read on his face,
“I am really, really sorry… I can make sure we get separate beds next time. It’s a little more expensive but it’s not that much more”
Min reached over and ruffled Ryan’s hair
“Really, dude, it’s fine. I didn’t care at all ok?”
Min couldn’t place the exact feeling, but something made him want to sleep next to Ryan again. Of course, if Ryan was serious about not wanting to Min wouldn’t throw a fit. But, still, this had been nice.
Ryan turned back towards him, still looking bashful but with a small smile this time.
“You can shower first, Min, I’ll just watch TV or something while you get ready”
Min considered suggesting Ryan call his parents, but decided that would be better conversation for later. For now, he was going to get ready for the day, and remember how nice it felt to play with Ryan’s hair.