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Yunho has a lot of bad habits.
None of them are detrimental to his health, of course, but they are annoying. He bites at his nails, procrastinates on his essays, bends the pages of his books to keep his place–so, yeah, annoying, but not life-threatening in any way.
That is until he finally gets his own apartment and begins to forget his keys inside all the time. Which, okay, still not life-threatening, but this means he has to call his best friend, Mingi, who lives on the other side of town, and ask him if he can use the spare. It may as well be a death sentence. Particularly because, at this given moment, it is three in the morning. And they both have finals tomorrow.
Which is actually why Yunho had been awake in the first place. He had been cramming as much knowledge into his brain as possible before the onslaught of exams began the next day when he decided he needed a snack and an energy drink to keep him sated.
It was apparently the wrong choice to go for an ice cream sandwich, however, since he’s been standing outside his locked door like a kicked puppy for the last five minutes. It’s probably all melted by now.
Yunho sighs, thumping his forehead against the wood of his door like that will somehow make it magically open. It only takes a few more thumps for him to muster up the courage and dial Mingi’s cell. He’s holding onto a string of hope that Mingi was also cramming and is already awake.
However, luck does not seem to be on his side tonight.
Mingi answers with a gruff, “Yunho?” and Yunho immediately knows he’s in for it. “Are you okay? What time is it?”
Yunho sighs, bracing himself and squeezing his eyes shut. “Yeah, I’m–I’m okay, I just…” He clears his throat. “I locked myself out again.”
The silence that ensues afterward is enough to make Yunho tug at the collar of his shirt. He holds his breath as he waits for the inevitable.
“You’re serious?” Mingi finally says–groans more like. “Finals start tomorrow, Yunho, what could you have possibly been doing this late to get yourself locked out–God, I need to sleep, Yunnie, and you do too.”
Guilt swells in Yunho’s stomach listening to him, voice slurred and sleepy. He tries to swallow it down when he replies with a fast, “I know, I know, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean–”
“It was an accident, I know,” Mingi interrupts, sighing, and Yunho can hear the distant shuffling on the other end of the line, “But this is the third time in the past week –”
“I’m sorry,” Yunho whines, because he’s tired too and he doesn’t know what else to say that won’t make Mingi more upset with him. He doesn’t like it when Mingi is upset with him. It’s worse than when he disappoints his mother. “I’ll get another key made and hide it under the doormat or something.”
Mingi scoffs. “Or you could check your pockets before you leave.”
Yunho goes to respond, but figures he’s better off staying silent. He bites his tongue and gently sets the plastic bag from his gas station run onto the floor. After a bit more of the deafening quiet, Mingi continues.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Yunho furrows his brows, leaning his body weight onto the wall beside his door. “What question?”
“What were you doing out so late?”
And this, Yunho thinks, is only going to make the situation worse. But God knows Mingi can read him like a book so there’s no use lying. “Was cramming before my eight a.m. and needed a snack. The gas station across the street is open twenty-four hours.”
But it doesn’t make the situation worse. If anything, it cuts him some slack. Mingi sighs, and when he responds, he even sounds a little concerned. “Yunho…” he begins, “You’ve been studying nonstop for, like, two weeks. You need to stop doing this to yourself.”
“I know,” he replies, sliding down the wall to sit with his knees against his chest. “I’m just so nervous about this test, Mingi, I-I can’t fail–”
“Yeah, well, you’re gonna dig yourself into an early grave if you keep pulling shit like this–I mean, when was the last time you even slept?”
“Last night, God, can you stop worrying about it?” His response comes out a little harsher than intended. He doesn’t know why he’s getting frustrated too. He doesn’t have the right to when he just woke Mingi up in the dead of night to drive across town.
It doesn’t take long for him to realize, in the silence that follows, that that’s why he feels annoyed. His own actions have gotten under his skin.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to snap at you like that–”
“Yeah,” Mingi starts abruptly, “It’s whatever. Be there in twenty.”
And with that, the line goes dead. Yunho is left to stare at the empty wall across from his apartment door and rethink the entire call. The worst part is that he knows he is in the wrong. Mingi may be a little mad, but he still felt concerned enough to ask if Yunho had been sleeping. And Yunho had lied . And Mingi definitely knows he lied.
He doesn’t even want the snacks he purchased anymore. That call made him sick to his stomach, and the thought of eating or drinking anything isn’t doing anything to quell it. Picking up his discarded phone again, Yunho is shocked to see that time is passing at an alarming rate, the dread of seeing Mingi in person so soon speeding up every second that passes.
As a means of distraction, the only thing Yunho can find to do is look over old photos of notes he has stored away in his camera roll. This means he has to scroll past all the photos of Mingi, however, and it only makes his stomach twist itself into more knots.
Yunho puts his phone down and chooses to bite at his nails for the remainder of the time instead. When he hears distant footsteps echoing in the stairwell at the end of the hallway, he’s bitten the scabs off his bottom lip too.
It doesn’t take long for a sleepy Mingi to appear soon after Yunho’s hauled himself off the floor, looking very exhausted and very over it, still clad in his pajamas but with a puffy white coat on and a huge beanie pulled over his ears.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Yunho immediately says. Even if he’s still a little on edge that Mingi may just want to argue some more, tension bleeds from his shoulders as the other gets closer. “You’re a lifesaver.”
Mingi fishes the key out of his pocket and dangles it tauntingly as he walks closer. “What would you do without me, Jeong Yunho?”
It’s teasing, but there is still a layer of frustration hidden in his voice, eyes dim and tired as well. “Probably be dead in a ditch somewhere,” Yunho answers honestly.
It’s when Mingi finally gets to the door that he pauses for a second and sees the Monster Energy can on the floor, sighing as he flicks his eyes between it and Yunho. Before Mingi can say anything, though, Yunho beats him to it.
“I’m… I’m sorry for being a dick,” he says, “Really. I was frustrated with myself and took it out on you.”
Mingi hums softly, putting the key in the lock, and, for a moment that had built up so much suspense, the door finally swinging open almost feels anticlimactic. “Are you gonna drink that?” he asks him.
Yunho doesn’t know. Probably. Maybe. “No,” he settles on, even if he’s unsure.
Wrong answer. He doesn’t even know why he tried.
Because Mingi tsks, frowning up at him through his big hat, and looks right through him. “You’re a shit liar, Yunho.”
Yunho sputters. “I’m not lying!”
Mingi then scoffs and immediately sees himself to Yunho’s living room, leaving Yunho in the hallway to hastily pick up his grocery bag. “Mingi-yah, I’m fine–you don’t have to babysit me.”
Mingi flops down on his couch as Yunho closes the door behind him.
“I’m not babysitting you, Yun.”
“Yes, you are,” Yunho groans, walking over to his dining table where his books and notes are scattered messily. It looks like a warzone. “You don’t need to stay here–I can take care of myself.”
Mingi looks up at him with tired eyes from where he is slouched on the couch. “Can you? You can’t even remember your keys.”
Yunho presses the heel of his palms into his eyes, the stress and guilt beginning to consume him. He deserves it, the snarky remark, but all it does right now is make anxiety flare in his chest and a lump form in the back of his throat. “I said I’m sorry,” he starts, trying to keep his voice steady, “I don’t get why you’re still here if you’re so mad at me.”
Several tense seconds pass until Yunho hears more than sees Mingi get up and pad gently over to him. Slow hands circle his wrists and pull them away from his face. There’s a sting in his eyes when they meet the cold air of his apartment, but the last thing that would help his case right now is crying, so he blinks some tears away. Still, looking at Mingi, who is so tired, who came all the way here because Yunho sucks at adulting, does nothing to ease that lump growing. By the time he feels his bottom lip quiver, Mingi is already pulling him into a wordless hug.
Mingi has always been good at hugs. Yunho has always been good at overworking himself. He finally sobs into Mingi’s neck when the other cards a hand through his hair because, even when frustrated, he’s so gentle.
“It’s okay, Yunho,” he whispers. “It’s alright.”
Yunho sniffles, voice cracking when he blurts, “No.”
Mingi laughs. “Yeah, it is.”
“No–no it’s not,” Yunho cries, “I made you come all the way here because I’m an idiot and–and I was so mean– ”
“Hey,” Mingi interrupts, swatting lightly at the back of Yunho’s head. “You’re not an idiot.” He pulls away. “You’re too tired to remember to do basic things.”
Yunho lets another tear fall and Mingi catches it with the tip of his thumb. “You’re mad at me,” he whispers.
“I’m irritated because I’m sleepy. Stressed, too,” Mingi says, thumbing at Yunho’s cheekbone. “I don’t think I could ever seriously be mad at you, though. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“I’m still sorry,” Yunho squeaks.
“It's okay. I was being a dick, too. I think we’re even”
He leans into the cusp of Mingi’s hand with a sad smile and closes his eyes, letting the warmth soothe him. Mingi is silent for a moment before continuing.
“But… Yunho, I–even if I was mad at you, that doesn’t mean I can’t worry,” Mingi whispers, and now his voice is uneven too. Yunho looks up in alarm and it makes Mingi smile. Just as fast, he drops it, however. “I worry about you so much.”
Yunho feels his eyes well up with more tears. “I’m sorry, I don’t want you to worry about me.”
Mingi sniffles. “Stop apologizing,” he says, and a tear of his own slides down his face. “Just… let me stay here. Please. If not for your sake, then for mine.” Yunho is frowning as he nods, and before he knows it, Mingi is there to pull him into another hug, whispering unnecessary thank you ’s into his ear. “I shouldn’t have been so short with you,” he then goes on to say, “I know it was an accident.”
Yunho laughs sadly. “I deserved it.”
Mingi laughs too, and Yunho squeezes him a little tighter. A beat, and he says, “I love you, you know. But I wish you would give yourself time to rest every now and then.”
“I will,” Yunho says. “Christmas break is soon. Can you… give me until then?”
Mingi doesn’t answer, instead just pulls away and pouts at him again. And goddammit, that pout is always enough to get whatever he wants anyway, but the big beanie still swallowing his head whole is just unfair.
“Stop,” Yunho whines. “This isn’t fair.” They’re still so close that he can feel the heat coming from Mingi’s body. Probably because he’s still in his coat. Either way, he can’t lie that the warmth is effective in making him a little tired, despite himself.
“Let’s go to bed instead,” Mingi says. “You’ll do better on your exams with some sleep.”
Just the thought of Mingi cuddles makes Yunho want to abandon the notes piled on his dining table. He shakes the thought off. “I would love to, Mingi, but I–”
“Yunho.” It’s stern–almost alarming. Yunho is kind of amazed at how fast Mingi’s innocent pout turns into something akin to threatening.
“Okay, okay…” Yunho laughs nervously, a chill running down his spine. “Can I just–let me clean this up first, yeah?”
Mingi then aims a pout at the table instead of Yunho. He almost sighs in relief when those eyes aren’t on him anymore. “Fine,” he mumbles, “but be quick. Seriously, it’s getting late.”
And with that, he backs away from Yunho’s bubble to turn and walk to his bedroom. He shuffles out of his coat as he goes, and Yunho watches with a fondness he knows is written all over his face.
Looking down at his textbooks, he realizes he’s the biggest sucker on the planet. It makes him smile though, grabbing his notebooks and pens and anything alike and shoving it all unceremoniously into his bag on the floor. Within no time, it’s cleaned off, and under all the rubble remain his keys. He chuckles at them and makes sure to shove them into his backpack ahead of time to ensure he doesn’t leave them tomorrow morning.
The lights are flipped off soon after, and Yunho is finally able to join Mingi in his bedroom. He’s made himself comfortable on his bed, but something looks a little off.
“You gonna sleep in that hat?” Yunho asks, not because he minds, but because Yunho’s never been able to sleep in them. They get itchy and he can always feel his hair too much if that makes sense.
Mingi smiles. “You seem to like it.”
Yunho just smiles, toeing off the shoes he had worn to the gas station earlier. “It’s a cute hat,” is his defense. Not a good one, because Mingi laughs and holds his arms out for Yunho to join him in bed. Yunho takes the invitation promptly.
“Mm. I’ll buy more, then,” Mingi whispers once Yunho is back in his arms.
Yunho hums, closing his eyes and taking the time to breathe in Mingi’s scent. He smells like the laundry detergent Mingi’s mother has used since they were kids. Yunho hopes he always smells like this. So familiar.
“Go to sleep, Yunnie.”
Yunho opens an eye. “You too.”
Mingi giggles sleepily. “I will. But I want to make sure you go to sleep first.” Yunho opens his mouth to respond, frowning, but Mingi beats him to it. “No. Sleep.”
Yunho makes a show of jutting his bottom lip out, but Mingi just smiles and puts a loving hand on his jaw. Before his tired brain can process what’s happening, he leans in to place a kiss on Yunho’s cheek. And it’s not like they’ve never kissed before, but this one feels different. Or maybe he’s just tired. His eyelids are too heavy to keep up and everything feels a little fuzzy, so he lets them close again and basks in the feeling of Mingi pressing another feather-light kiss to the dried tear tracks just below his eye.
“I forgive you, alright?” Mingi makes sure to say before he can fall asleep, pressing the words into Yunho’s skin with another kiss. “If you can forgive me.”
Yunho hums with a weak nod, too tired to do anything more than whisper a quiet okay .
And maybe he realizes something about himself as he drifts off, with the warmth of Mingi’s lips leaving invisible trails all around his face, and a bit past his neck.
It’s been in plain sight, he thinks. And he’s pretty sure Mingi feels the same way. No, he knows. They’ve always been like this, since they were kids–a little too codependent. Always relying on each other.
But for some reason, Yunho is just now able to see it, through the sleep haze.
He tells Mingi he loves him as he eventually succumbs to sleep.
Mingi kisses his brow bone and says it back, and the stress from finals and money and everything in between melts away. Everything he needs is right here. He’ll always have Mingi, even if he does flunk every exam he has tomorrow.
And if locking himself out of his apartment ends up like this, he may have to do it a few more times.