Work Text:
“Pick up.” Baekhyun held the phone to his ear and said that out loud, blandly, while staring at the door to Kyungsoo’s apartment. He wasn’t sure he even knew what he was saying at this point. It was too late to be awake and his brain knew it. Fuzzy and blank—that’s how he felt. Again, he said, “Pick up.”
Five rings. That’s how long it took for Kyungsoo to answer. His speech was slurred. “Baekhyun?”
“Can you open the door? I’m outside.”
No answer. For a moment, Baekhyun thought he’d gone back to sleep. Then, a confused, “... Huh?”
He gave Kyungsoo a moment.
“You’re outside?” The sound of rustling on the other end was the only hint he got that Kyungsoo was getting up. “Are you okay? Why are you here so late?”
“I can’t sleep.”
Click. The lock on the door turned, and it opened to reveal a groggy Kyungsoo, hair sticking up in crazy directions and eyes squinting against the light. They hung up. Kyungsoo looked him over.
“Come,” Kyungsoo said after a beat, taking his hand. Baekhyun followed his shuffling to the kitchen and sat when directed. “Did you take your medicine?”
“It’s not working.”
It never worked. Not recently, anyway. Baekhyun rested his cheek on the counter and closed his tired eyes, listening to the comforting sounds of Kyungsoo’s kitchen at work. No food this time; only the clicking of the stove turning on and water boiling, followed later by the sound of pouring and the subtle scent of fruit. Ceramic clinked in front of him after a while. Baekhyun lifted his head to watch Kyungsoo pour the tea.
It was decaf, of course. Warm and nice for his sensitive stomach. Baekhyun felt the need to cry but it was gone as soon as it came as he brought the mug to his lips.
“Hungry?” Kyungsoo asked. Baekhyun shook his head. “What do you want to do?”
“Sleep.”
“Okay. We’ll go to bed after you finish.”
“I want to throw up,” Baekhyun said. “That’s how tired I am. But I can’t fall asleep.”
“I’m sorry, Baekhyun.”
“Hug me,” he said. He stared expressionless at the imitation marble in front of him and felt, with a distant sort of relief, Kyungsoo come and wrap his arms around him.
“We’ll sleep soon.”
“Soon...”
“Yes. Soon.”
Baekhyun breathed. He closed his eyes and leaned against Kyungsoo’s chest, letting him support the entirety of his weight. It felt like he could drift at any moment, but he knew that was an illusion. No matter how tired he was, falling asleep was never that easy. It was a truth he had come to accept by now.
Kyungsoo guided him to the bedroom. They settled in his bed together, and Baekhyun closed his eyes again.
“It’s not good for you to drive when you’re tired,” Kyungsoo said.
“Does it bother you when I come so late at night?”
“That’s not my point. It’s dangerous if you drive like that. Let me go to your place instead.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not.”
“When will you get tired of this?” Baekhyun wondered aloud, though he said it as neutrally as he said everything else, so bogged down with exhaustion. “Don’t you get sick of me keeping you up so much?”
“I don’t.”
“But will you?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Would you believe me if I said, ‘Because it’s you?’”
Baekhyun thought about it. “No.”
“I want to be there for you when you need me. Even if it’s every night. I want to be the person you come to when you’re awake and can’t sleep. So I won’t get sick of you coming to me. Ever.”
“But what do you get out of it?”
“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo said plainly. “I just want to take care of you.”
How strange. Baekhyun couldn’t understand altruism like that. Even with the way that they were, together, he couldn’t understand it. “I’m so tired.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I want to tell you,” Baekhyun said, “that I think about you every time I can’t sleep and don’t call you.”
Kyungsoo hummed. Baekhyun opened his eyes to see that Kyungsoo had closed his. He seemed to be falling asleep.
“Even if I can’t sleep, it’s better with you.”
“I’m glad,” Kyungsoo murmured.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
It was funny how easily they said it. They were such rare words for the two of them, but they said it without weight, like an undeniable statement they’d already established, which maybe they had. Baekhyun watched Kyungsoo fall asleep. He wished he could do the same.
Still, it felt better like this. Reaching out, he brushed Kyungsoo’s hair to the side and leaned in to kiss his forehead.
“Good night,” he whispered, though it would be a while before he followed that restful slumber.