Work Text:
tmmp, tmmp, tmmp.
the bedroom door creaked open. the room was dark, taehyun’s face illuminated by his phone screen.
“can’t sleep.” an earthy scent filled his senses, grounding. safe.
taehyun’s eyes flicked up. he put his phone on his nightstand and pulled back the covers, a wordless invite to join him. kai thudded in, quietly shutting the door behind him. he quickly snuggled up to taehyun, pulling up the covers and wrapping his arms around his waist. pine filled his nose as he nuzzled his neck.
“wanna talk about it?” taehyun offered. kai shook his head, muttered “later”. he was worried about how much he should open up, how he’d overthought himself into a panic and if taehyun would think he was weird after talking about his recent struggles.
taehyun shifted, running a hand through his hair. kai hummed (“tickles,” taehyun chuckled) and scooted back a bit to look at him properly.
“hold me?” kai whispered, tentative.
taehyun nodded. “turn around.” kai turned over, trying to make himself as small as possible. he felt taehyun’s arm snake around his side and start thumbing over his tummy.
he scooted back some more, wanting to be as close as possible. he felt tense, hands prickling with sweat and heart pounding as taehyun’s breathing started to even out.
“tyun?” he saw spots. his arms itched. everything was heavy.
taehyun hummed, curious, hand still rubbing comforting little circles.
he shuddered. “i- uh. i think. well- i don’t think i’m a boy .”
the hand stopped moving for a split second, then kept going. “that’s fine with me,” he whispered back.
“i’m- i’m not a girl, either,” he whispered, his eyes wide, staring at a mark on the wall.
“that’s fine too, i don’t mind. thanks for telling me. you want me to use different pronouns?”
“um. ye-yeah. please.” his voice was wobbling a bit, and his gaze blurred.
taehyun held him closer and kai sniffed. “it must’ve been a lot to come to terms with. i’m proud of you for finding yourself, kai.”
a quiet sob was heard. his shoulders shook, his body filled with overwhelming emotion. safety. love. he whipped around and buried his face into taehyun’s shoulder, holding him close as he cried. his head pounded, his ears rang, his nose was plugged up.
“you’re safe.” kai nodded frantically. god, his shoulder was soaked. he would do the laundry tomorrow as payback. “always safe here.”
kai sat up all of a sudden. his face was red and tear-streaked, hair wild and messy, chest heaving. “was-“ SNIFF “s’ scared- so scared you- that-“ hiccup “that- you would-“ he swiped at his eyes messily- “you’d leave me or- or like-“ SNIFF “think ‘m- ‘m gross.”
taehyun’s eyes were shiny when kai finished, hand rubbing his knee. “never. i’m here for you always. i- i wanna be around you, cuz you’re so precious to- ah! “ kai tackled him in another hug, now laying on top of him. “you’re one of my favorite people in the world. i’ll stick by you for as long as you’ll let me.”
kai nodded, his sobs slowing down gradually. “thanks. wanna- i wanna- use ‘he’ like i always did but- um. can you use ‘they’ too?” he sniffled, muffled by the pillow.
taehyun combed through his hair with his fingers, making kai nuzzle his cheek. “of course. i’ll use whichever ones you want. what about descriptors? have you figured those out yet?”
kai settled into his embrace, and shook their head. “that’s okay, you don’t have to know right now,” taehyun reassured them. “just correct me if i say something wrong.” kai nodded. they felt like a bobblehead.
“wanna stay in here for the night?” another nod. “okay. lemme grab one of your plushies. stay here, okay?” he slipped out from under kai and grabbed one of their myriad plushies from their room. when he came back, kai was on his side, playing with their hoodie strings. his eyes lit up when taehyun hopped back in the bed to spoon him. he cuddled the plushie, and turned around to give him a grateful smile.
“thanks tyun. love you.”
taehyun melted against their back, so grateful to have them in his arms, safe and sound. “love you more ‘ning.”