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Contrary to popular belief, the two eldest spend quite a lot of time with each other. When out in public, they could pass as regular acquaintances, so it’s obvious why everyone thinks they’re nothing more than coworkers and nothing more. But they’re no strangers to mundane physical intimacies, either. No matter how one of them would act repulsed by touches.
It started as a joke at first. Minho being one to tease Chan at any chance he can get, and obviously, Chan’s reactions are enough to gratify Minho. Like the first few weeks after they met, Chan went for a hug but Minho ran away acting disgusted. No hard feelings. Just Minho enjoying the feeling of Chan giving him attention.
It was not like they avoided each other or skirt around. It only brought them closer.
The small banters continued for years and it was sort of becoming their brand, which makes it surprising if anyone sees them together huddled up with no jabs and no resistance from one of them. There was that time the group went for a karaoke party after a month of working straight. The two sat next to each other while they watched the others play around and yell-sing trot songs.
Minho leaned next to Chan’s side and the latter opened up his arm to pull them both closer.
Jeongin was the first to notice it. He was gonna poke fun - really, he was about to sit himself in between them - if not for the fact that Chan also leaned against Minho and started to close his eyes. The same went for the younger.
Jeongin decided against it and switched the songs for mellower genres. If anyone asked about it he just explained that it was fitting to end their night with ballads and acoustics.
The two leaders - exhausted - fell asleep huddled next to each other in their corner.
Aside from that, Minho spends a lot of time in Chan’s studio. When Minho would stay behind after practice to tweak his details in the choreography, Chan would do the same but working on their music. They’d bring food in and sometimes, joke around and write a song together. Serious or not.
But most of the time though, they would spend their evenings together quietly. Basking in the comfort of the other’s presence in silence. Pretty mundane stuff.
And that’s what makes it the leaders’ thing. No one to tease them and easily let down their guards for the other.
The little acts of lingers formed threads of stronger ribbons that tied them together. It became quite hard to pull it apart.
That’s why it’s not surprising to see Minho on the studio couch with Chan’s head on his lap while the leader rests after hours of staring at the blaring screens of the computers.
Minho’s hand is running through a head of curls while the owner of the said head lounges and revels in the touch.
“Can I call your mom and ask for her lamb chop recipe? Jisung’s craving it lately,” Minho said.
“She’d appreciate that. Mom’s lamb chop is the best. If you make it, then I can eat it anytime, too,” Chan grins up.
“I am not gonna cook for you,”
“But what if I peel the garlic?”
“You need to do more than that,” Minho puts down his phone to look at Chan properly, hands stopped carding through hair.
“How about a kiss, then?”
Chan grabbed at the hand to force it back on his hair.
“Why would I want that?”
“Because you like me,” Chan exaggerates a frown.
Minho rolled his eyes and went back to typing a reply to Jisung while his hand danced in Chan’s hair.
“ When I get your mom’s recipe,” he mutters a little bit later. “I wasn’t sure if I got the exact taste last time we cooked it.”
Chan grins and pulls his hoodie closer to himself to control the subtle excitement in his tummy.
“Go get some sleep,” Minho gently taps Chan’s face.
“I can’t. I have to get that,” Chan nodded his head in his laptop’s direction, “finished,”
“I’ll wake you up after fifteen minutes,”
“Too risky,”
“You look like your eyelids are too heavy for you,” Minho’s eyes focused on the person on his lap, fingers roaming around the boy’s cheeks, coaxing Chan to do what he wants. “Come on, get some sleep.”
“Fifteen minutes,”
“Fifteen minutes,” Minho assures.
Chan spent a second longer looking at Minho, but he eventually turned on his side, face staring at Minho’s torso and snuggling his nose on the sweatshirt in front of him. The hand that was previously on his face resumed its routine on his hair. Short strokes, slow strokes, absentminded paths. Only relying on familiarity.
Just like them.
“Wake me up, okay? Or else I’ll be mad,” Chan mumbles against the cloth.
“Yeah, I know.”
Soft sighs, gentle phone screen tappings, and the light ruffles of the couch fill the space in the small room as Chan settles in.
Opposed to the bustling life of Seoul at sundown, the night for the two of them was quiet.
“You get a kiss when you wake up,”
“You promise!”
“Mhm,” Minho smiles.
With the possibility of getting a kiss, Chan dozes off with tender delight in his heart.
Minho would never admit it to anybody else but he’s very fond of his leader. Maybe it's the way they both have a lot in common. Like when the two of them would always be the maknae in their groups and only now being the eldest in their team. Minho especially used to always have a hyung. He can take care of himself but it was nice and assuring to know someone also looks out for you. Right now, Chan is his only hyung.
His hyung, who ended up being taken care of by Minho. But he doesn’t mind. Chan always takes care of everyone and forgets about himself. He always makes sure Minho is good but would forget to eat his own meals.
Minho smiles at the thought. It was only right Minho would do the same for Chan.
So he keeps lulling Chan to sleep even if the leader was softly snoring on his tummy.
Minutes pass by and Minho thought he was gonna fall asleep too.
Until the door abruptly opened and Changbin walked in. Minho threw a small couch pillow with Deadpool’s face on it at the visitor. The intruder of their night glared and was gonna throw it back till he saw them on the couch.
“Get out,” Minho hissed as quietly as he could.
“No, I have to get something from Chan’s laptop,” Changbin argued.
“Do it when he wakes up,”
“Oh, so you can just keep being lovey-dovey while my career is at stake? You know what, I should keep a memento of this and show it to the kids so they can see what their leaders actually do so you can never have privacy,” he smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.
“God, you’re so dramatic. You’re literally just in the next room,”
Changbin did not like that eye roll he received so he pulled out his phone.
“Do it and I’ll make you dance an extra fifty minutes tomorrow. Straight.”
Changbin stopped. He knew Minho wasn’t lying. Jisung received that punishment before for getting on Minho’s nerves and their dance instructor let them be because: “it’s to build up stamina because his consistency is bad,” Minho reasoned with the teacher.
“Fine! Whatever! Do your business then,” he put his phone back and turned around, “I was just trying to work.”
Changbin left with the door closing softly behind him.
No more disturbances after that, Chan’s soft breaths counted down the time until his nap was over.
Minho prodded him awake. Chan stirred. He blinked up at Minho as if trying to piece together what happened.
“If you want to sleep longer, you can,” Minho said.
Chan pushed his face further in Minho’s tummy.
Then he pulled away and sat up. Minho watched as he stretched his limbs, then slumped back to him. Nestled in Minho’s warm affections.
“You’re going back to work?” Minho asked.
“Yeah, just give me two minutes,” Chan mumbled against his neck, breath tickling his skin.
“I’ll go home in a bit. I’m getting sleepy, too”
“Mhm,”
Minho kissed the top of Chan’s head.
“Where’s my kiss?” Chan asked, still not moving from his spot.
“Only if you move,”
The leader groaned but pulled away before puckering up his lips.
“Gross, don’t do that,” Minho held Chan’s face and his thumbs pulled at the cheeks to make the older’s lips back to being flat - to unpucker . Chan grinned, forcing the dimples to come out.
Minho smiled and gave Chan what he wanted. Easy, soft, and familiar like the night.
No teasing, no biting, nothing further. Only pure feelings, heart open for the other to see.
Chan pulled away a few bits later.
“I love you,”
“Me, too,” Minho pecked him on the lips again before his arms found their path around Chan, and his nose buried itself against the leader’s shoulder.
And that was how Minho and Chan spent most of their nights together.