Work Text:
first
Hyunjin was tired.
His body had been twisting to the most wrong ways, finding just the right angle to finally put the brush to touch. The paper rotating in three hundred and sixty degrees and Hyunjin just can't seem to stop when he decided to take out a small table to draw on the floor.
Look.
Hyunjin was more than determined to finish this painting by tonight, having to make a self deadline just for the sake of his own to not procrastinate even further, and he had other more important things to do, for fuck's sake.
Rather than getting a finish painting, all he got was a broken neck and a curving spine, and he was not one to crack all his bones by dance practice tomorrow proceeding to burden the whole team even more.
He stared at the unfinished petal though he knew how fast acrylic dries, he couldn't find it in himself to bother. A slight stretch rendering a crack that made Hyunjin cringe over the slightly loud noise. Looking up, looking down, neck turning and all of it made Hyunjin realize how long he had been sitting down, standing up felt like a torture for his lower body and he only had the energy to move his body to the floor.
So, he lay down on the floor, glasses perched on his nose, eyes piercing from the bright light on the ceiling.
"Hyunjin, Hanie asked if you wan— Hyunjin?"
"Hi, hyung." Hyunjin answered, no need to check, he had all the voices living in the dorm memorized. "What did Jisung ask for?"
He heard a huff. "He asked if you wanted coffee to-go from his way home and you weren't answering the messages."
"I was occupied." Hyunjin sat down, grimacing when his back couldn't handle the sudden move.
"Obviously." Minho sat down by his bed, side leaning on to his pillow. "So? Do you want something?"
Hyunjin hummed, Minho kicked his arm from the side to hurry the fuck up or he's not getting anything (who was he to order around when Jisung was the one buying, Hyunjin thought, mocking the way Minho spoke as he got another equally painful to a roundhouse kick. Hyunjin screamed, scooting over until the elder's feet didn't reach anywhere near him.)
He asked for ice americano, Minho hummed as a response, now fully laying his own body on Hyunjin's bed.
Minho didn't annoy him or pull a sudden attack, instead Hyunjin listened to the small giggles probably from the result of watching cat videos or teasing stays, he didn't want to know.
Hyunjin sighed, taking the brush into his hand again.
There was a line Hyunjin didn't want to cross when it came to hobbies—he didn't want to stress about it. Sometimes—sometimes meaning more often than not when it comes to Hyunjin—Hyunjin didn't even realize that he had crossed that line indefinitely.
Drawing was a new hobby he enjoyed, really, and he loved doing them. He loved learning and sharpening his skills, but mostly it was fun. He adorns the color he creates on the palette and the loved ones he had turned into a work of art. He really does.
Hyunjin didn't want that to get too much into his head that he had to stop and start to hate it—doing them only by the force of it.
"A sunflower?"
If Hyunjin wasn't fast enough to cut the connection to his endless overthinking, he would've dropped the brush and ruined the whole thing itself.
Oh, he wasn't fast enough.
Fortunately, Minho was.
"Hyunjin, I swear.." Minho exhaled, sitting down next to him, tucking the brush to the jar. Hyunjin could only chuckle, taking the brush back before it could even let it rest for two seconds at least.
"A sunflower?" Minho repeated, leaning closer to Hyunjin's side, heartbeat on his arm.
"Hopefully." Hyunjin answered. He hoped it'd end up as a sunflower, at least.
Minho only hummed, an acknowledging tone on its tongue, distance closing by the other rhythm of heartbeat by his arm.
The distance was too close for a Minho to a Hyunjin.
"Why?"
Hyunjin perked only to find Minho's face right beside his and Hyunjin quickly faced away. He distracted himself and changed the playlist course, something to stop Minho from whatever he was doing now.
"What do you mean why?" He chose a song, a smudge on his phone case as he forgot to wipe his hands. Oh well.
"Drawing a sunflower. Why?" The position of grammar was odd, Hyunjin didn't bother to point, Minho was just like that.
"Just because." Hyunjin answered, just to realize that even his answer wasn't satisfying himself or Minho, the elder proceeding to huff a laugh, warm breath on his neck.
Again, the distance was too close for a Minho to a Hyunjin—one's heartbeat was getting faster and he couldn't pinpoint who it belonged to.
"I don't know, I just like sunflowers."
"That means you do know why."
"I don't. That's not— that isn't a definite answer."
"It is."
Hyunjin shuddered a laugh, stopping himself from elbowing the latter. Arguments with Minho were a shortcut to physical violence (in the almighty Minho's way—tissues), he didn't want to deal with that when he needed those plies of tissues.
"It is an answer, Hyunjin." Minho pinched his stomach and Hyunjin demanded for him to stop in a groan, reluctant when he thought oh. Oh. That— that was the wrong thing to do .
But Minho stopped completely, resting his chin on Hyunjin's shoulder. He shuddered at both the unseen distance and Minho's comply.
"You don't need to prove a point." Minho said as his arms were circling on Hyunjin's waist. Hyunjin could only hope he didn't feel the shiver. "You like it. Isn't that enough?"
Hyunjin tensed at the words spoken and the slight touch of lips on his neck before he froze completely when Minho nuzzled his head to the crook of his neck.
He exhaled.
(Hyunjin was warm, even if his slight movements bothered Minho's slowly closing eyes, and he was more than comfortable with the hold he was giving.)
second
Hyunjin finished the painting past midnight. Minho stuck on his waist, the elder's soft snores filling the room as his arms wrapped around him finally loosened up. Hyunjin took the chance to take a picture, chuckling as he put the phone back by his bed.
(Hyunjin had Seungmin's help to carry Minho back to his bed, one by his arms and the others by his leg, and they might have thrown his body to the bed. Minho didn't wake up, Hyunjin and Seungmin exchanged high fives before tucking themselves in their respective beds.)
And just somehow the next morning Minho woke up before him (as always) and Seungmin already off to the company (as usual) and Hyunjin was shaken up from slumber by a certain Han Jisung who decided to squish both his body and face (it worked).
"Morning, Jinnie." Hyunjin was first attacked by Changbin once he stepped out from his room, forcing him more to accept the morning sun peeking in from the unfixed curtain.
Mornings were a dilemma—sometimes, when Hyunjin doesn't feel like waking up, but he had to or he was a burden to someone, he doesn't know who, but someone would be burdened by how he was living. Another day to stay alive, he thought.
He murmured back a reply before waving Changbin off that he needed to go. Uh huh, okay, yeah, Hyunjin could understand that.
"You're drowsy."
No, he wasn't. Hyunjin glared at the member who had the courage to call him drowsy at, what, ten in the morning.
"No, I'm not." Because that's the truth he knew, though the morning breath was a bad takeaway from the whole thing and he was still sleepy more than anything. Hyunjin took the glass of water from the table, not caring who used it previously.
Does it really matter when eight adults live in the same place, all on the verge of running havoc from it all? Exactly.
"That's mine." Minho said, Hyunjin could feel the roll of his eyes from a mile away.
"Ours now." Hyunjin chugged the glass, bottoms up.
"Hyunjin, I swear.." Was that Minho's favorite phrase now? The water slipped out from his lips, falling down, and Hyunjin wiped them with the sleeves of his shirt.
"You're disgusting."
Hyunjin didn't reply, either not wanting to make an issue out of something small or he was accepting the remark or he didn't care as a whole—it didn't matter when another scent struck his senses.
And Hyunjin didn't have to look twice to notice the meal already served on the table, that all of it looked wonderfully delicious either way in his eyes.
Minho cut the meal by half, putting them on two plates. (Hyunjin didn't know what's the name of the meal was. He decided to ask later—for now, it was time to satisfy one's hunger.)
"Is that for me, hyung?"
Minho didn't answer, putting the plate in front of Hyunjin.
"Changbin and Seungmin already left."
Hyunjin nodded, cleaning up the water he spilled.
"Jeongin and Felix are having breakfast outside."
Hyunjin hummed, taking the fork and spoon into his hand.
"Chan hyung is asleep. Jisung is going to join Jeongin."
Hyunjin made a noise of agreement.
What was this about again?
"Okay?"
Hyunjin saw the roll of Minho's eyes and he pouted because all the things mentioned didn't seem to have a connection from one to another—he didn't understand.
Minho filled the water with the stolen glass, also washed his hands by the sink. Coming back to splash the remaining liquid on his hand.
"Good morning, Hyunjin. Are you awake now?"
Hyunjin shook his head, wiping them away with his sleeves—he really needs to go shower after this.
"Reply that, you brat."
He tilted his head, what's with the direction of this morning's conversation?
He replied in a mumble.
"Enjoy the food for now, yeah?" And Minho finally smiled for the first time that morning.
(Hyunjin's eyes widened when he finally tasted the food, exclaiming how delicious it was in his own dramatic and exaggerated way. The younger had already called his leader in a zombie-like trance to try even when Minho shot a glare, Chan was still able to take a bite off of Hyunjin's plate.
Minho grumble quietly until Hyunjin said a small thank you and a smile that had Minho's heart screaming in a loud blaring siren.)
third
Dance practice wasn't a surprise. An imprinted activity into their daily routine and Hyunjin was fine with it per se.
Though sometimes it wasn't like that—a running thought of feeling not good enough, that the camera's attention was solely on his face, nothing more or less.
"Break." Minho raised one of his hands and Felix immediately collapsed to the floor, face down. The air conditioner worked on bare minimum, their t-shirts drenched and stuck to their skin. It was disgusting and Hyunjin could feel himself met into a puddle.
Even with the tune changed into a summer song that screamed everything sunny and breezy, it didn't help that Hyunjin could only feel the heat torture him more because, god, was it disgusting to be drenched in sweat and how his own head was betraying all rational things and decided that it was a great time to doubt all the skills he had.
"Hyunjin." Minho called.
"Yeah?" And Hyunjin only stared back through the reflection, Minho wasn't sweating much—not a surprise too actually.
"You could work on some moves again, especially this—" He stood up and proceeded to show one of the movements from the choreography. Hyunjin nodded, at least Minho was paying attention to his moves because Minho sees what the camera doesn't, for once. And he respected Minho, knowing that his intentions were far from any mischief.
It felt.. nice.
"Ah, okay." Hyunjin raised a thumbs up. Felix changed the song in the background again, another summer song, though it felt more like a night summer breeze rather than the previous one. Hyunjin lied down on the floor as one does.
"And Hyunjin?" Minho called again, Hyunjin didn't feel like moving, his back sticking to the cold floor.
"Yeah?"
"You've done well today." Hyunjin looked to the mirror, curling his body smaller, and he peered at Minho who had a fond smile on his face (or that was what he assumed). Hyunjin smiled back though Minho quickly looked away, repeating the same thing to Felix. Hyunjin just chuckled. His hyung is just so cute.
(Hyunjin, of course, reached to hold Minho's ears just like he always does when he sees the change of shades. It didn't make anything better, probably a bit worse, by how Hyunjin was slumped towards him, fingers wandering by his knee and thigh.
Minho bit the insides of his cheek.)
another
Hyunjin was on Minho's bed—without its owner by his side.
He didn't know where Minho went. Time was near 11 PM and usually he wasn't this late for their cuddle session (that Hyunjin had forced into both of their schedules albeit the groan Minho let out when he said the statement.)
Hyunjin grumbled, pulling up the covers to his head, a silent tantrum that no one would see.
Sometimes, sometimes, there was this irrational fear of him being left alone. It doesn't make sense really, not when he was living under the same roof with seven people. Hyunjin knew that. He shouldn't be thinking about it.
"Now, what the hell are you doing, you brat." It wasn't a question because Hyunjin knew that Minho knew. Minho always understood Hyunjin in the way Hyunjin couldn't.
Hyunjin silenced, still scooting over to make a space for Minho to lay on.
“Tired?” Minho’s fingers started to comb out his splayed and wet hair, forgetting the weird placement of his head and overall body whose feet were still hanging over the bed. Hyunjin shifted, letting his head fall to Minho’s chest.
The lack of response irked Minho to sighed loudly, pulling on Hyunjin's hair a little harder, but Hyunjin wasn't the one to lose this—he's not that weak.
Maybe it was working that Minho had stopped his movements altogether.
Hyunjin regretted that. Still with the pout, trying to pull Minho's hand back to his head. Minho chuckled, was Hyunjin that eager?
"You baby." Minho said, laughter still hanging in the air. "You don't need to go out tomorrow, right?" He asked, and Hyunjin looked up to see the elder was staring at him intently. His expression wasn't anything different and Minho's gaze never left him—not even when Hyunjin answered by nuzzling his face onto the crook of Minho's neck, fingers holding onto the other's hand.
Minho relaxed under his touch. He didn't expect the other to let him stay like this, but there was no use in asking, anyways.
"Then stay for a while." Minho said. "You can always tell me if you're lonely, you know that right? Felix told me before—about you."
Hyunjin scoffed, there was no need in bringing up Felix to this conversation even if he noticed the rush of heat into his cheeks. "Sure."
And it was the end scene despite both of them were still awake. Neither of them spoke up. There was a creak on the floor, probably Seungmin, but he didn't need to know about his cuddling session with Minho.
It was hard to understand Minho. And it was probably not even worth trying to comprehend.
Minho never failed to make him smile softly. He closed his eyes.
"Good night, Jinnie."
(Minho nuzzled his head to Hyunjin's head, tickling his nose slightly. Hyunjin whined at the movement and Minho could only smile, hoping a nice rest to the younger in his arms.)