Work Text:
Eric knows he has it somewhere. It’s been a while since the last time he has needed it, but he knows he always keeps the spare key to his best friend Juyeon’s apartment in his bag for times like these. His fingers are freezing cold as he digs through it, standing on the sidewalk in front of Juyeon’s building. He angles his bag under the streetlight above him, and finally he hears the jingle of his second keychain. Rain is pouring all around him and falling down his eyes. It feels like he’s drowning.
He grabs the key before it can sink back into his bag and crosses the street without looking. He holds the hood of his jacket over his head, his feet kicking the puddles on his way. In his hurry, he struggles to fit the key into the lock, and drops it to the ground.
Instead of bending to pick it up, he stops and feels all strength leave his body at once. He leans his forehead onto the closed front door in pathetic despair. He can feel his bottom lip start to wobble and he grips it furiously between his teeth as tears roll down his cheek.
After a few seconds, he finally manages to retrieve the key and gets himself inside the building. His feet lead him to the staircase and he mechanically climbs up to the third floor. His wet shoes squeak on the stairs, water dripping from the ends of his jacket.
He finally finds the door to Juyeon’s apartment. This time, without the cold and the rain hitting his hands, he succeeds quickly in unlocking the door.
Despite his tipsy state, Eric knows the hour is quite late and he tries to be mindful of Juyeon’s roommates and neighbours, who are most likely asleep on this regular Tuesday night. The lights in the apartment are all out, but it doesn’t matter – he knows right where he’s going, and he kicks off his damp shoes in a hurry because he really has to get there before his tears start falling again.
He is halfway through the living room to Juyeon’s bedroom when the lights all over the apartment suddenly turn on. He stops dead in his tracks, nearly sliding because his socks are a soggy mess. He looks up like a deer in headlights, and is met with the scandalized gaze of a man who he has never seen before.
“Excuse me, who are you?” the man asks.
Eric’s brain struggles to form an answer; panic rises in his chest. His vision blurs, and before he can stop them the tears are flowing like rivers down his face. He loudly sobs, bringing his sleeves up to his face in an attempt at drying the tears off, but all he does is wipe snot on them and slap his face with rain water.
He hears a scoff in the distance. “Am I dreaming or am I getting robbed by a crybaby?”
He hiccups, cheeks burning in embarrassment. “I-I’m,” he tries, but he gets cut short by the other man.
“Hey, weirdo, why did you take off your shoes?” he yells.
In his panic, Eric can only shake his head, his hands trembling. His bag slips off his shoulder and drops to the floor with a thud.
“Dude, just get out!” the other man continues, making big gestures with his arms. “Seriously, get out, or I’m calling the police.”
Eric shakes his head again, swallowing the lump in his throat. “I’m- I’m not a robber!”
“Then what, are you homeless? Who told you to make a lake in the middle of my living room? Man, I really don’t have time for this.”
“Sorry,” Eric stutters, realizing the wooden floor beneath his feet is covered in tiny, dirty puddles. His breathing hitches, almost painfully now.
The other man sighs in annoyance. “What do you want?”
It takes all the strength left in Eric’s body to lift his arm and point at Juyeon’s closed bedroom door. He had been so close. Just a few feet away from his best friend, which, now that he was thinking about it, was either deaf or dead, the only logical explanations as to why he hadn’t already come out of his bedroom to save Eric from this embarrassment.
The man follows Eric’s pointing and immediately shakes his head. “Nope, can’t let you in there, that’s my roommate’s room.”
“Juyeon,” Eric’s voice rasps out.
“Y-yeah, Juyeon” the other man hesitates for the first time. “You know him?”
Eric nods. He sniffles and wipes his face again, then points to himself. “I-I’m Eric. A friend of Juyeon’s.”
“Oh!” A look of realization hits the other man’s face. “You’re Eric?”
He nods again.
“Then why- why didn’t you just say that?”
By now, Eric has mostly stopped crying, and he’s recovered enough to be able to let out a tired laugh, gesturing at himself: puffy eyes, tear-streaked face, clothes dripping all over the floor.
“Oh right, right,” the man agrees awkwardly.
They stare at each other in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. Eric takes in the appearance of the other man for the first time: the mop of brown, curly hair, big round eyes and thick, plump lips. Eric gulps.
He takes a step forward in the direction of Juyeon’s room. “I think I’ll just-”
“Uhm, hey-” the man hurriedly stops him. “Sorry about all of this, by the way. It’s just- well, we never met, and I thought- Juyeon’s not here right now. But you can totally use his room if, you know, if he’s okay with that, which I’m assuming he will be.”
Eric’s mind goes blank the second the man drops the bomb on him: Juyeon’s not here. His best friend, his anchor, is not here, and Eric so desperately needs his presence, his warm hugs, his comforting words to help him through this night. He hasn’t realized he’d drifted off when he feels his bottom lip tremble again.
“Oh no, hey, Eric, I’m sorry,” the man stumbles on his words. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon, why don’t, huh, why don’t you take a warm shower in the meantime? You’re gonna get sick if you keep these clothes on. I’ll text Juyeon while you’re in there.”
It sounds like a great idea, in theory, but Eric’s mind is just exhausted, and all he really wants to do right now is curl up in bed with his best friend under his warm sheets. But of course he can’t, not like this, and definitely not with Juyeon mysteriously not being home on a Tuesday night.
“I’ll grab you some spare clothes, okay?” the other says. “Just stay right there.”
He disappears briefly into a room Eric had never been in, and comes back with a pair of joggers, a shirt and a pair of mismatched socks. He walks to Eric and before he can react, Eric grabs onto the front of his shirt and lets out all the tears he somehow hasn’t left out yet. The other man freezes, but Eric really couldn’t care less, his body slumping forward until the other has no choice but to catch him to avoid them both falling over.
His arms wrap around Eric’s back, colder than Juyeon’s would have been, but Eric feels so warm and safe he couldn’t care less. The other pats him gently, and it helps Eric focus on calming his breathing down. Slowly, the ugly sobs lessen and come to a stop. “Thank you,” he whispers.
“You’re welcome.”
He’s wearing one of Juyeon’s roommates’ pyjamas and he smells like another man’s body wash. The face that looks back at him in the mirror is puffy, eyes still red from the crying, lips cracked from the biting. He’s definitely seen better days.
Swallowing his pride, he gets out of the bathroom, ready to head straight for Juyeon’s bedroom when he notices all the lights are still on in the apartment, and Juyeon’s roommate is sitting on the couch. The other notices him too, jumping on his feet as if he had just been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to do.
“Hey, I texted Juyeon but he hasn’t responded yet.”
Eric gives a faint smile. “Thanks. For that, and for this,” he gestures at the oversized clothes he’s wearing. The socks are both different colours, but they are warm.
“It’s the least I could do,” the other says. “Hey, uh, I was hungry earlier so I was going to cook up some ramen, you want some?”
Eric nods before he can stop himself. The other man smiles, and walks to the kitchen. Eric follows, resting his arms onto the counter while the man gets the water boiling. Juyeon’s roommate is wearing joggers similar to the ones he lent Eric, and a big, cozy navy sweater. The clock on the oven indicates 2:31.
“So are you Jaehyun or Sunwoo?”
The other places the ramen in the pot before turning around. “Huh?”
“Juyeon told me he has two roommates named Jaehyun and Sunwoo.”
“Sunwoo. I’m Sunwoo.”
“Nice to meet you, Sunwoo. I mean, I wish it would have been under literally any other circumstances, but still, nice to meet you.”
Sunwoo sends a compassionate smile at him. “Don’t worry about it. It’s nice to meet you too. Juyeon talks about you a lot.”
A few minutes later, Sunwoo places two bowls of steaming hot ramen on the table and slides onto the chair in front of Eric. They both dive in, and Eric’s eyes roll to the back of his head.
“Oh my god,” he moans. “This is so good.”
Sunwoo chuckles. “It’s just ramen.”
“And it’s delicious.”
“Thank you.” The twinkle in Sunwoo’s eyes betrays a held-back laugh.
The ramen warms Eric up in ways the hot shower couldn’t. Ramen is good, he loves ramen, but ramen made by other people is even better. Definitely not always, but this time it is. His heart feels a little lighter as he slurps the hot noodles.
“How did you get in, by the way?” Sunwoo asks.
“Oh, Juyeon gave me his spare key,” Eric explains. “This is close to where I work, so I come by quite often.”
“Really?” Sunwoo tilts his head. “Because I’ve never seen you here.”
“I guess you’re usually asleep when I sneak in. Juyeon mentioned you’re a gamer, so it could be that too.”
“Oh, uh, I mean, I don’t… I don’t always play games late at night, so, it’s probably because I’m asleep,” Sunwoo stutters, visibly embarrassed.
Eric chuckles. “Sure.” Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thinks Sunwoo is quite cute like this.
Sunwoo clears his throat. “Yeah, so, uh, what do you like then?”
“I like doing sports. You know, being outside, with friends, spending energy- oh but I like games too!” Eric quickly adds, not wanting Sunwoo to think he’s making fun of him. “I think games are fun!”
The look on Sunwoo’s face tells him the other definitely thinks Eric’s making fun of him. “Do you really?”
“Y-yeah! I mean, whenever I do play games, I find them fun.”
Sunwoo laughs. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna force you to play games with me.”
“If I were ever going to be in the mood for video games, it would not be a day like today,” Eric tries to joke, but it only has the effect of getting Sunwoo to freeze up awkwardly, his fork stuck halfway between his bowl and his mouth.
“I-I, that wasn’t what- I know that you-”
“Sunwoo it’s okay,” Eric tries to explain. “I just got fired and even that didn’t go really well, then I tried to go clubbing and get laid but I guess I’m not even hot enough for that anymore, so I went to drink to forget but I lost my card yesterday and forgot to get a new one so I used all the cash I had on me and that got me nowhere, now I have nothing and nobody wants me.”
Saying it out loud like this sounds so silly, and pathetic, Eric wishes he could cry again. Or disappear entirely from the face of the Earth.
“Sounds like quite the day,” Sunwoo agrees with a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault. Also you’re the person who has been the nicest to me today.”
“I also yelled at you.”
“Well I sneaked into your apartment and made a mess in your living room. Can’t really blame you.”
Sunwoo laughs and looks down at his now empty bowl.
“For what it’s worth, I totally would have hit on you if I had seen you- I mean, wow, sorry, that’s really inappropriate.”
Eric grins. “It’s okay, I’ll take it as a compliment.” He pauses. “And I would have gone home with you too, I mean not just because I was desperate but any day, really- no, that doesn’t make me sound any less desperate, I just mean, objectively you’re a very attractive guy.”
Sunwoo visibly blushes, cheeks turning a cute shade of pink. He stands up and takes both empty bowls, taking them to the kitchen without a word. Eric finds it funny, and frankly quite amusing, how flustered the other man is.
Somehow, they find themselves on the couch, with a pack of chips and cans of sweet soda. Eric is cuddling with Sunwoo, the other’s arm around his shoulders like they’ve known each other for years, and he’s midway through the retelling of one of the most tragic eras of his life: high school.
“Somehow being on the baseball team cancelled out the being short thing so I was doing pretty well on the dating scene.”
“Is it really called a dating scene if we’re talking about high school?” Sunwoo very insightfully asks.
“Stop, that’s not the point. Anyway, there was this older guy who asked me out and you know, I did find him cute, but I was actually very intimidated by him, so I said no, and my whole team made fun of me for it for an entire week.”
“A week sure is very long when you’re 14,” Sunwoo agrees.
“Right?” Eric laughs. “I thought my life was over. What about you? Any stupid high school traumas?”
Sunwoo stretches a little and readjusts himself. “Oh yeah. My last year, a friend of mine threw this huge party on a random Wednesday and my parents stopped me from going. The next day, I found out about everything I had missed and I was suddenly out of all the inside jokes. You never forget that feeling.”
“Oh, I feel that,” Eric chuckles. “Being left out of a big party really shapes a person.”
Suddenly, Eric’s phone buzzes in his pocket. He takes it out, and sees a text from Juyeon, apologizing a billion times for not being home and explaining that he had gone out with Jaehyun and both their phones had been out of battery. If Eric finds it slightly suspicious, he doesn’t really care, discarding his phone and cuddling back against his new best friend.
‘Best friend’ that he really wants to kiss, but that is beside the point.
“Was that Juyeon?” Sunwoo asks.
Eric hums. “Him and Jaehyun went out, on a Tuesday, and both their phones are out of battery.” He makes a face as he says it.
Sunwoo laughs. “Well, there has been some weird tension between them for a while, so I’m glad they’re doing something about it, whatever that is.”
Eric squints suspiciously. “Really? He never mentioned anything about it.”
Sunwoo shrugs. “You know Juyeon, not the wordiest man in the world. I’m not sure he knows about this tension, but Jaehyun is literally insufferable. You’ve never met Jaehyun either?”
“Juyeon showed me a picture of him like, once, but I don’t remember what he looks like- oh my god, why did he show me a picture of him? Was it because…?”
“That’s what I’m saying!”
Eric shakes his head and lifts himself off, looking at Sunwoo. “I’m just glad he picked the other roommate to have a crush on.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’m not good enough for him or something?”
Eric rolls his eyes. “I think you’re very hot, idiot.”
Sunwoo’s cheeks redden faster than Eric’s fingers in the freezing rain. The other’s mouth is open but he cannot say a word.
“And you gave me your clothes to wear,” Eric continues. “Very slick of you.”
“I-I didn’t-” Sunwoo stutters. “You look very good in them.”
Eric sees Sunwoo gulp, his adam’s apple bobbing up and down his throat. He glances down at Eric’s lips once, fleetingly, but Eric catches it and barely holds back a giggle.
“Just so you know, I’m in a better mood now,” Eric says. “And it’s all thanks to you.”
Sunwoo blinks. “I’m glad to hear it. A-about your mood, I mean.”
They stare at each other in silence for a few seconds.
“Can I kiss you?” Sunwoo blurts out.
Eric doesn’t waste a second. He barely takes the time to nod at Sunwoo’s question before closing the gap between them himself, his lips meeting Sunwoo’s shiny plump ones. Sunwoo wraps his arm around him again, but this time he holds him a bit more securely. Eric stabilizes himself with a hand on Sunwoo’s shoulder, and his other hand snakes around the back of Sunwoo’s neck. His fingers caress the short hair at the base of the other man’s nape, and Sunwoo leans into the kiss as a response.
“What now?” Sunwoo asks when they break off. “It’s late already, don’t you have to go back home?”
“I don’t have a job anymore, don’t really care,” he shrugs. “I could stay the night, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh! Y-yeah, of course, I was just making sure that you wanted to,” Sunwoo says. “If you don’t mind, I don’t mind.”
Eric smiles. “Great.”
He kisses Sunwoo again, harder this time. He is reminded that he’s got no underwear on when he leans a bit more forward and the fabric of Sunwoo’s joggers on him rubs on his (currently very) most alert body part.
He leans in to whisper into his ear. “By the way, you were too prude to lend me underwear and mine were soaked so I’ve got nothing underneath.”
Sunwoo’s breath hitches for a second. “I also don’t have any underwear on but it’s just because I don’t wear them in the house.”
Eric both laughs and blushes at the picture this sentence creates in his mind.
It’s probably an hour later; Eric is laying in bed with Sunwoo, his heart and mind finally at ease. They’re snuggling under the sheets, Sunwoo draws circles on Eric’s back like they’ve been married twenty years. The truth is, Eric barely met Sunwoo two hours ago, and yet he feels comfortable and safe, and for a moment he’s managed to forget about everything that had driven him here in the first place.
They’re in the middle of exchanging some not so restrained kisses when they hear noise in the apartment and two pairs of feet walking around, making the floorboards creak.
“Eric?” he hears in the distance, instantly recognizing his best friend’s voice.
“Looks like they finally made it back,” Sunwoo snorts. He is looking right at Eric, their heads resting on the same pillow.
“Sunwoo?” There is a knock on the door, Juyeon’s muffled voice calling from outside. “Is Eric still here?” The door swings open and in walks Juyeon, who freezes at the sight in front of him.
“Hi Juyeon,” Eric waves.
“Oh, hi Eric,” Juyeon clears his throat awkwardly. “You’re doing better?”
“As you can see,” Eric replies smugly.
“Good.” His gaze moves onto Sunwoo. “Really, Sunwoo?”
“Not sure what that’s supposed to mean but everyone involved was consenting. Don’t worry. You two can talk about me in the morning.”
Eric giggles. “He’s right, I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.”
Juyeon squints. “You better. Goodnight.”
He leaves without another word. Eric and Sunwoo look at each other and start laughing.
“Will you really talk about me?” Sunwoo asks.
“Why do you ask? Do you have things to hide?”
“N-no,” he stutters. “But he’s your best friend, he might try to paint me as this horrible romantic interest and as a bad boyfriend so that you definitely won’t want to go out with me.”
“Why would he not want me to go out with you?”
“I don’t know, maybe he thinks I’m not mature enough for you or something.”
Eric shrugs. “He thinks I’m immature too so that wouldn’t be it. You’re worrying over nothing. If I want to go out with you, nothing Juyeon says or does is going to change that.”
“If? So you would, maybe…?”
“Maybe what?”
“You would, maybe, go out with me.”
“Well, yeah.”
A few seconds pass.
“Would you?” Eric asks.
“Y-yeah! Yeah, I would. If you would.”
Eric blinks. Sunwoo bites his bottom lip nervously.
“Okay, shhh, less talking.” Sunwoo mumbles, leaning forward to kiss Eric. He throws a leg over Eric’s under the sheets, and Eric pushes them so that he’s over Sunwoo, pinning the curly-haired man to the mattress. Sunwoo looks at him with this lustful gaze that Eric cannot seem to get enough of.
“Don’t you have stuff tomorrow?” Eric asks, his rational side mindful of the fact that the sun is close to its rising time and they haven’t slept a wink.
He twirls a finger in Sunwoo’s hair. The other man moans softly.
“I don’t care,” he mumbles, sliding one hand up behind Eric’s head to pull him closer. “Tomorrow can wait.”