Work Text:
Eden sighed after a long time looking at the empty screen in front of him, it was something rare that his mind went blank but every single melody that his mind came up with was empty, empty of feeling; empty of meaning. For him, it usually was about doing the music the people enjoyed, but from time to time he felt the impulse to sit down and let his heart do the music it desired, even though it wasn't something common as he usually had loads of work from all the artists he was working with.
He laid back on the chair and cracked his knuckles sighing again, he couldn't even get frustrated, he was too tired to do so. He let his hand wander the desk until it reached the first drawer of it, pulling from it a cigar package. Not smoking in his studio was something he followed as a strict rule but it seemed as if all his energy left his body, so there was no way he would go out to just smoke and freeze his ass off. He would deal later with his probably bad decision and smell that would linger around for a few days. He was lucky it was his day off so he could at least spend it just reflecting on everything and at the same time in nothing.
Lighting a cigarette shouldn't be as mesmerizing as he found it and the first puff was always as if he was touching heaven. It was his guilty pleasure and had no intentions of letting it go anytime soon, not even for the tasty flavourful new vapes that overtook the market. Whenever his coworkers and friends laughed at him for being from the old school, he only smiled and said that the different format of nicotine was something that he could sense and that he didn't want to replace it even by getting new flavors.
Closing his eyes, he blew slowly the smoke out of his mouth, feeling all the tension leaving his body and his lungs getting the attention they needed. He wasn't a fast smoker, he liked to take his time to appreciate every bit of it, getting the most out of the experience every single time. A little smile spread on his lips, if anyone could hear his thoughts probably they would think he was insane.
A little "ping" caused by a notification on his phone made him burst out of his bubble and look at the offending device that broke his little moment of peace, he was going to ignore it until a second message popped up showing the name of the person trying to contact him: Hongjoong. He knew that he could ignore it for today, and he knew too that probably Hongjoong wasn't expecting an answer but he was curious about what would make the other text him so early in the morning.
He stretched his arm to reach his phone with the hand he was holding the cigarette and without thinking it twice he entered their chat going through the last messages. There were a bunch of tracklists that the boy sent him through the week, but the most recent message was about if he could come to the studio just to chill around. He shook his head with a smile threatening to come out, it was obvious for all that their relationship was far from strictly professional and teacher-student, they cared for each other deeply and he knew that Hongjoong asking him to come to his studio was because it was a common knowledge that even on his rest days Eden worked hard.
He sent the poor boy an affirmative answer and he quickly replied saying that he was going to bring his favorite take-out, the faint smile in his face before becoming a big grin was just another sign of how whipped he was for Hongjoong. That brat really knew how to take care of him and he liked to be spoiled so it was the best of the dynamics for them. It wasn't like he didn't spoil Hongjoong too, but it seemed that the younger one knew all his weak points.
He still remembered the first time they talked and how Hongjoong proved himself worthy of every challenge he gave him. He wasn't ashamed of making Hongjoong remember that he wasn't only proud of him, but that he deeply admired him for his resilience. It took the younger one a while to get used to getting complimented by someone who he held in high esteem but he realised that Eden wasn't going to stop praising him anytime soon so he just accepted it. For Eden was even funny to see how flustered and giggly his mentee would become whenever he said he liked a song of his, it made him realise that the special connection they had was really deep.
He would never admit it but it was obvious to everyone that he had a soft spot for the younger composer, and even if he was the hardest with him he always met his expectations, both knowing that he only wanted the best for ATEEZ.
He put his phone on the desk and cleaned it a little from all the ash he let fall on it, he should invest in an ashtray so he wouldn't need to deal with the mess after smoking. The clock in front of him ticked 10 o'clock and he knew that it would take Joong at least 20 min to arrive there (40 if he went to buy the take-out on his way to the studio), so he had a while to smoke another cigarette without bothering the other one—and to not get scolded by him either.
After a while, he lost the perception of time while being on social media for a while, he heard a faint knock followed by someone putting the code digits of his studio and then a bright pink beanie that covered half of the head of the one wearing it appeared in his sight. "Hi, hyung!" The smile could be seen in Joong's eyes as he made himself a place on Yonghwan's couch.
"Little brat, aren't you going to ask for permission before entering a place that is not yours?" Eden raised a brow with amusement.
"Why would I? You already let me before when I asked you through message." Hongjoong lay on the couch dramatically then got up and take his shoes off to put them on the right side of his seat. "Have you smoked here?"
"Hmmm, I didn't feel like going out," the younger one nodded and took a paper bag out of his tote bag.
"I brought breakfast because you probably just had two coffees and those cigarettes." He could see how he was rummaging trying to catch something from the bottom. "I brought a Happy Meal too because I think you probably haven't had something funny in ages."
Eden squinted his eyes at him trying to not laugh. "Did you buy me a kid's menu just for a useless toy?"
"It's not useless if you use it as a decoration." Hongjoong joked knowing how even something so small would ruin his mentor's aesthetic in his studio. "But yup, it's cute!"
"Why don't you say you just wanted the toy instead of all this blabbering?" Eden made his way to the other side of the table, seeing displayed all the food the other one brought.
"Because there's no fun in that, hyung," Hongjoong stuffed his mouth with a muffin and while he was munching it, he looked at him with round big eyes, making his heart skip a little. "Are you not going to eat?" He said while biting another piece of muffin.
"Thank you for the food, Hongjoong," the silence surrounded them for a while, and they only could hear eating sounds.
A little smile came to Eden's lip when he saw how after a few bites, Joong laid back caressing his belly. The younger was no good for him, his cuteness could get under his skin really quick—and Joong knew that judging the stare he gave Eden. "Hyung, stop staring at me..."
"Why? Is not that I've not seen you like this before," he muttered, dipping some fries in the sauce.
"I know, but your eyes are staring at my soul as we speak." The thought made him giggle and Eden couldn't help but look at him fondly. "Hyung, if you're going to look at me like that, come here and cuddle me, please..."
And who was Eden to deny such a sweet offer? "Lay down on the couch."
Hongjoong obeyed his request and made a place for the older one to lie beside him. Eden fit just right in Joong's arms and he could argue that it was probably the best place to simply exist. They usually didn't have time to just rest but whenever they could do it they just cuddled together until they both fell asleep exhausted.
It was unthinkable for them to get this cozy normally but it reached a point in which it didn't matter anymore when one day everyone in the studio—before it was equipped with the facilities to let them all sleep there—had to sleep together. That was the first night Eden and Hongjoong shared a couch, and after that, both just looked for an excuse to just lay together whenever they had a little time. They weren't dumb, both knew there were feelings involved between them but they knew better than act upon them and decided to leave them unspoken for the sake of their hectic lives—it wasn't like any of them was interested in someone else anyways.
This didn't mean that their hands didn't usually find each other whenever they were close, or their eyes didn't find their way across the room looking for their other piece. It also didn't mean that their hearts didn't beat when the other one was smiling at them and if you asked them, it definitely didn't mean that everyone was aware that their relationship was something else than what they tried to show. But they wouldn't change anything, even if it was for their own benefit, because this was perfect for them; even if they couldn't label it.
Hongjoong nuzzled his face on Eden's neck, trying to be as close as he could to the older. "I'm cold, hyung." Eden as quiet as always just wrapped his arm around the lean body, he could feel the other's breath tickling him, which caused the typical warmth that appeared when Hongjoong was around to grow in his chest knowing that he was the younger's safe space. "Hyung, you smell nice despite the smoke smell in the room." Eden played with the little hairs in the other's nape.
"I need to smell nice for my baby, don't I?" He felt Joong moving a little making his head peak out of his neck.
"I'm no baby, but you're right. You need to smell nice for me." His fingers got lost in the colorful buttons on Eden's shirt and Eden even if he couldn't see him completely, could hear the happiness in the other's voice. Hongjoong indeed was his baby, even if they didn't do pet names or couple things—which was questionable because sometimes they became extremely sweet when people were around.
"Joong-ah, promise me something," he muttered almost as a whisper and continued after hearing a faint "hmm" from Joong. "Promise me that when you get tired of this you will tell me." Hongjoong groaned.
"We were so cozy, why did you need to say that?" Eden pecked his forehead.
"Because I think it's important that you know you're free and I don't want you to feel obligated to anything," the statement was a reminder of their reality, which was always the bitter take to reflect on.
"I will, I promise, but we both know I'm not obligated to be here and that I enjoy this as much as you do," Hongjoong looked at him with a faint blush on his cheeks. "Hyung, you're so special to me and even if this was bound to fail, it wouldn't change anything." With gathered courage, Joong pushed himself up a little and pecked Eden's lips. "I'm happy when I'm with you, hyungie, so you better grasp your mind around this soon 'cause I'm not moving from your side."
"I hope you don't, Joongie," he hugged him tightly making him groan and giggle really loud. "I hope you don't, baby."