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The screen of his phone lit up again and he couldn't help a smile escaping, this being another failed attempt to be as nonchalant as possible. The room was almost dark, illuminated only by the dim light of the television, which was playing a movie he couldn't remember the name of. It was sibling night at the Aussie's family home and when Hannah and Lucas fought over what to do, he just let them choose without complaint, even if the youngest of the three was now fast asleep in a strange position on the floor and the middle child was too engrossed in the colourful, moving plot.
He unlocked his phone, logging into the chat with a simple click.
Lil Mong ʕ - ᴥ - ʔ
[image]
Hyung, who dared to say that doing puzzles was relaxing!?
I can't believe I lost a piece.
This is frustrating :(...
Channie Hyung ¬_¬
Failed masterpiece
That'll sure help you not to be such a perfectionist :p
also...who builds a puzzle at 2 am
?
Lil Mong ʕ - ᴥ - ʔ
those of us who aren't babies who fall asleep after the night bottle
and those of us who don't reach old age to have dinner at 5pm and get to our pillow 30 minutes later.
old man -.-
The elder couldn't help stifling a small laugh as he replied to the younger one. This had been the routine since finishing the tour, the group members parting ways for a short break. He communicated with the others, it was true, he felt the need and his overprotective soul wouldn't let him sleep if he didn't know what had been of the day of the seven boys he considered a second family, but he would be lying if he accepted that the conversations with Seungmin were the same as the others.
Chan felt that since that trip to Jeju, for some strange reason, his relationship with the younger boy had changed. Seungmin had always shown a different affection for him, making sure he ate his meals, he slept at least enough hours so he didn't look like a zombie, and making him laugh or showing sympathy when he was a little down, but now he was a little more affectionate, clinging to his side and initiating numerous phone calls or text conversations when they were apart.
It soon became routine to stay awake talking about such bizarre things as to what colour they would want to be if they were a whale in a fantasy world or whether they preferred to wear socks with designs of bananas or pineapples on them. They didn't know how or when it happened, but none of them complained.
It might have been the fact that Chan had always seen the puppy-eyed boy with special eyes, ignoring his silly crush, or simply because it felt like the right thing to do, but now he couldn't imagine his nights without him, whether it was sitting on his bed while he told him something his intellectual capacity didn't quite grasp or a simple set of telematic words that made him smile at a screen.
He looked up again, this time to find the end credits playing on the television and noticing that his siblings were asleep, he sat up to gently wake them up and put them to sleep in their comfortable beds.
Minutes later, as he cleaned up the small room, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, carefully pulling it out he walked to the small patio and took a seat before answering it.
"For a second there I thought you were already asleep, old man," Seungmin's voice came through as soon as he had the phone close enough.
"I still have a few minutes left before my bones give out," - he proceeded to joke playing along with the younger man - "I was just tidying up, Hannah and Lucas fell asleep."
"Did you see the movie at the end?" the voice on the other end of the line sounded genuinely interested.
The older one just made a sound of affirmation as he admired the moon, which was shining brightly in a completely dark sky, with no stars in sight.
"You know, I've been looking out the window for a while now. Ever since I gave up on the stupid puzzle. I'd love to see stars, or the moon, anything...but there's just darkness in the sky and lights all over the street" A heavy sigh was heard from the brown haired boy who proceeded to let out a frustrated little mutter.
"It's almost full moon, it's shining bright, maybe it'll be full by the time I get back in two days" Chan couldn't help but smile thinking about taking the younger one camping, somewhere nice where they could see thousands of stars while enjoying their simple but warm company.
"It'll be soon...are you going to be alone in the dorm? I talked to the guys but we didn't tell each other when we're coming back, although I'm coming back tomorrow, Minho hyung promised a get together."
"Probably, if Jisung doesn't start missing Minho and runs back, of course" The Australian let out a soft laugh, those two loved each other but tried not to show more than a simple brotherhood. "Do you think one day Jisung will realise how Minho looks at him and will finally come clean? Those two idiots..."
Seungmin, however, couldn't laugh, because where his hyung, the one with whom he engaged in little battles of jokes about his age, saw a funny situation, he found a situation hitting too close to home, wishing that one day the idiot he considered his leader would realise that he only had eyes for him and that his daily calls and messages were just a way of showing how in love he was. Because it was something he only did with him. The younger boy couldn't get his eldest's laughter out of his head, how his eyes formed little crinkles and he looked like a little boy. He had to admit that the cold-boy façade the younger boy wore whenever Chan hugged him broke down if Chan spoke to him closer than expected and that his need for the boy to be healthy and well stopped being friendly long ago, though it took him a while to realise that his hyung was no longer just a friend to him, but starred in his dreams and invaded his thoughts at all hours, causing him to blurt out little melodies throughout the day.
That night, the call was longer than usual and when they both said goodbye, they continued to watch the sky in its full darkness, imagining themselves in each other's arms, counting the hours until they would see each other again.
Three days later, what Seungmin least expected was to find Chan chatting animatedly in the kitchen with Minho, who seemed to be ready to leave, causing the poor boy to stamp his foot as he jumped in fright. Well, yeah, he knew the Aussie had returned to Korea the day before, but in his mind they wouldn't see each other for a couple of days as the older boy wanted to rest, or so he assumed after his video call the night before. Now, the younger one was a little taken aback by his presence, as he admired the older one smiling as he recounted his outing with Felix in Australia, his messy hair falling across his forehead as he wore comfortable clothes, as if he had just stepped out of the shower. The pain in his foot and a mocking voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Do I look that bad? You look like you've seen a ghost." Chan watched him with a fascinated smile at his show of awkwardness, Minho just tried not to laugh as he turned to say goodbye and headed for the front door. But not before whispering a sarcastic "well pretended" in a mocking tone. Damn blonde, he'd pay for that.
"It's not funny..." Seungmin sighed internally, heading into the living room and sitting down on the couch, Chan followed suit, positioning himself so close he could almost feel his heartbeat.
"I've missed you, Seungminnie" Seungminnie felt his heart explode as he looked at him, that smile making him melt. Fuck, he wouldn't get that out of his head after that moment.
"I didn't, old man" And though his words were so harsh, the smile on his face said otherwise.
They did as usual, ate dinner, watched a series they weren't paying attention to while they cuddled and talked about everything and nothing at the same time. After, when they were on the younger one's balcony, looking up at the sky like nights before, Seungmin closed his eyes, appreciating the small night breeze and the older one's arm around him. He wished he could stay there forever, just as he wished the elder would look at him like he looked at the sky and bring him as close as possible.
"Sometimes I feel like the sky, alone and eclipsed by the brightest lights in the city" the younger whispered, more to himself than to the rest of the world, being heard anyway by the Australian, who turned his head to look at him, his eyes shining with the reflection of the mentioned lights. He could have sworn that in the overwhelming silence he could hear his own heart, beating erratically as his head thought of only one thing. Or rather one person. That boy sitting next to him, in the most innocent, day-to-day position they knew, but that managed to cloud his thoughts of all logic.
For a second he wished he belonged to one of those series that Jisung used to watch, where the main character was involved in the most clichéd cliché of the universe as she got her crush to confess after days of finally noticing her and getting the kiss with a happy ending like a fairy tale. He wanted to belong to a fairy tale, but he had nothing but the sad and bittersweet reality, where Chan was just his leader and he was considered just another friend.
Chan's breathing seemed to falter suddenly, his lower lip being attacked in nervous bites and his hands opened and closed into slight fists, as if debating what to say next. Seungmin would have been worried if he wasn't lost in his own mind full of thoughts of an Australian who wouldn't reciprocate.
"If you really were the dark sky, I would do anything to be the moon that shines on you and never leaves you alone," Chan uttered each word, admiring the face of the other boy, who turned to look back at him. He could feel his heart beating faster when the older boy smiled at him. He merely refused with a slight shake of his head, the nervous hand of his opposite distributing light caresses on his arm.
"Don't do that" another whisper left his lips, and he began to be disappointed in himself as he watched the other's smile fade as his hand became still. He hated himself for being the reason it disappeared when it was the thing he loved the most.
Chan scowled at him, "Seungminnie...?" but Seungmin just denied again, feeling the tears coming. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-...I, I'm sorry Minnie, I misread the signs, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I'm really sorry."
The air had become uncomfortable, the younger boy didn't know how to get out of this situation, not without hurting himself or their precious friendship, but there was nothing else left to do so he made the decision and catching his breath proceeded to mutter, "I don't want you to do that, don't get my hopes up, I...fuck, Chan, I never thought I'd have to tell you this but I-...I-I'm in love with you and I don't know at what point it happened, or maybe I do and I just didn't realize it but-"
Chan reconnected their gazes, cutting off his words, hands on his cheeks as he slowly moved closer until their lips met. They could have sworn the sensation was the closest to touching the sky, dropping from a cloud and flying aimlessly, feeling only the ecstasy of the night. It was a sweet, short kiss, followed by knowing glances and silly smiles.
"I love you too Seungminnie, more than I could ever describe" his smile grew bigger and bigger and Seungmin made a mental promise to himself to do his best from now on so that it would never disappear.
That night, the daily conversation until the early hours of the morning was not a normal one, but one full of kisses, affection, confessions and smiles that never seemed to disappear from their faces. A moment witnessed by a dark sky and bright lights that failed to overshadow the brightest feeling between them.