Work Text:
Hyunjoon can hold his alcohol well. Usually.
Not tonight.
Alcohol takes over him the moment he realises and regrets drinking too much. It pounds on his chest. His sight is blurry. His head is splitting. All parts of his body are just screaming in agony, just like his mind.
The dorm was empty when he entered, so he might as well take a few sips of beer.
He drank to forget about the mental pain at first. The thoughts of never being enough. The insecurity of becoming the wrong replacement of Zeus: the only perfect toplaner for T1. The second Zeus who cannot be Zeus. The blame that shifts to him whenever T1 fails to make the cut. Fails to succeed. Fails to achieve victory.
Now he’s just a bum.
“Hyunjoonie hyung.”
He hears Hyeonjun’s voice cutting through the ringing in his ears. Then a warm hand at the back of his neck, grounding him, reminding him where he is. His head is on the table, cans of beer surrounded his body, like a ritual.
He’s being pulled upwards, the impact causing his body to fall limp just a little. He opens his eyes in curiosity. Hyeonjun’s small smile comes into sight before he feels his own body being lifted, his legs in front of him. Strong hands support his back and knees as he’s being brought into his room.
Hyeonjun is gentle. He always is. Hyunjoon knows. Hyeonjun has paid special attention to him ever since he joined the team, afraid that the pressure will get to him. Afraid that he will break. Like he is someone fragile.
Sometimes, Hyunjoon hates it. Hates feeling so vulnerable. Hates letting people, especially fans, see his devastating exterior.
‘It must be exhausting being a Doran fan’ is something that echoes stubbornly in his mind; whenever he does something stupid in the game. His multiple disastrous plays, all broadcasted for everyone to see. It is absolutely humiliating. No matter how much the fans console him, he knows that he still disappoints them.
But Hyeonjun makes feeling miserable a bit better. Like a reliable friend. Maybe something more that he has been dreading to name. He doesn’t want to. For now.
Hyeonjun lays him down on the bed like he does to a child, someone precious—or maybe weak, before tucking him in. The blanket feels warm against his skin in contrast to the temperature of the air-conditioner blowing the usual coldness. Hyunjoon just stares up at him, mostly amazed by the younger’s beauty in the dark room. His glasses are perched on his nose, allowing light from the lamp to glaze through it as a soft yellow glow sticks on his cheek.
Hyeonjun’s eyes are warm too, tinged with slight concern that will prompt questions the next morning.
“Goodnight, hyung.”
He swears he catches Hyeonjun leaning down, closer, his lips almost almost brushing against his temple. But he pulls away, as if regaining his consciousness. It happens for a split second, and Hyunjoon wonders if it is the alcohol messing with his mind.
As Hyeonjun turns away, Hyunjoon is unsure why he reaches out to grab onto his wrist, preventing him from leaving. His grip is tight. He doesn’t want him to go. Not yet. Not when his presence is so warm. So grounding. So comforting.
His breath hitches when Hyeonjun stops, turns around, and then holds his hand just as tight. He feels the edge of the bed dip from his weight. He can see Hyeonjun’s eyes again when he looks up, ones that fill him with so much warmth and happiness. His hand tugs on Hyeonjun’s sleeves, his mouth moving before he knows it.
“Stay.”
He can hear Hyeonjun stop breathing while his shoulders tense. And for a moment, Hyunjoon thinks he overstepped. Until Hyeonjun lets out an endearing laugh before he’s shifting over onto the bed beside him.
“Just make sure you don’t regret it in the morning, hyung.”
Hyunjoon knows he will. He knows how annoying his teammates will be in the morning. Always teasing about them. Like they are some married couple who cannot go a day without each other. Like they are people who actually liked each other. Romantically. But that is tomorrow’s problem. He shall worry about it later.
He decides to ignore Hyeonjun’s mischievous words for now as he naturally melts into the bigger body on his bed. His head snugs Hyeonjun’s chest like he is meant to be there.
Everything about Hyeonjun being here is just so peaceful. The calming breathing. His legs that tangle with his own lazily. His chest rising up and down. His long arms that soon rest along his waist and below his neck. The soothing circle of his fingers on his hip.
Hyunjoon’s eyes flutter close in an instant. He nestles in Hyeonjun’s arms like he belongs there, slowly drifting to sleep with the press of Hyeonjun’s skin against his.
Hyunjoon wakes up with a throbbing headache.
Regret starts to sink in. The late night drinking, clingy statements and requests, his miserable state for Hyeonjun to see.
His eyes shoot open, ignoring the pain in his head as he shifts uncomfortably on the bed, slightly stretching.
It hits him later that there is someone else on the bed, long arms across his waist and beneath his neck, engulfing him protectively. His long limps are tangled with another pair of legs, a sight that raises questions about the initial form. He can hear Hyeonjun’s soft snores and breathing. It puts him at ease somehow, scaringily.
He hears a low groan when he moves out of habit, his head banging on Hyeonjun’s forearm when he readjusts himself. He mumbles a quick apology, making himself look smaller than he actually is.
The hand across his waist twitches before it slides through his lower abdomen, giving his heart a hard time to regulate its rate. Hyeonjun’s hand goes back to its original position as he sighs softly, his eyes opening gradually then lighting up upon seeing Hyunjoon’s nervous expression.
“Morning,” Hyeonjun casually greets with his low voice, tightening the grip on Hyunjoon’s hip, pulling him closer.
Hyunjoon’s breath hitches, his body instinctively pulling away from getting too close. He can smell his shampoo, some natural scent that is very much like Hyeonjun. Still, he cannot take his eyes away from his teammate’s face.
Handsome. Ravishing, just like a male lead from a romcom movie. Hyeonjun is no longer wearing his glasses, his hair a bit curly from the shower last night. Even without the usual makeup he has on, he is stunning.
Hyunjoon forces himself to avert his eyes, looking elsewhere as he takes a deep breath, his arms still curled up to his chest.
“Good morning,” he replies, slowly unraveling himself from the large body beside him.
But Hyeonjun has other plans.
Hyunjoon feels a strong tug on his waist, subconsciously releasing a soft gasp as he is met with Hyeonjun’s intense gaze once more, a little nearer than before. He stares again, this time in surprise from the younger’s earlier actions.
“What are you… doing?” He asks, voice so soft that he wonders if Hyeonjun caught that.
Hyeonjun smiles charmingly in return, moving closer as he adjusts his forearm to support Hyunjoon’s back, securing his grip more.
“Stay.”
Hyunjoon just blinks, unsure. He listens anyway, relaxing his muscles against the younger’s touch, still holding eye contact as he catches the way Hyeonjun’s lips break into a small smile upon noticing that everything is going according to his wish.
“Why drink?” Hyeonjun asks, releasing Hyunjoon a bit so that the older man can switch his position around freely on the bed if he wants to.
Hyunjoon is speechless at first, not expecting the other to be so straightforward with his question. But he remains in his hold as if he isn’t the one who wanted to escape from it in the first place. He shifts to lay on his back, facing the ceiling, letting the big warm hands on his waist follow suit.
The sun shines through the window, brightening the ceiling with a light shade of yellow, just like the way the lamp did to Hyeonjun last night.
Silence fills the room as Hyunjoon hesitates and Hyeonjun waits patiently.
After a while, Hyunjoon sighs while closing his eyes, licking his lips. He starts slowly, pouring his unfiltered feelings and insecurities. How he feels so stuck; how he wishes to improve for the team and himself; how he feels bad whenever they lose; how the internet is so imminent on him being replaceable and a bad Toplaner especially after Zeus, and how much he wants to prove all of them wrong.
Hyeonjun listens. Really listens.
Hyunjoon doesn’t dare to look at him, but he knows that Hyeonjun will always put him first, and sometimes it scares him to be loved and treasured this much. How much of this tenderness does he deserve?
“Hyung.”
He opens his eyes upon hearing the younger’s deep voice, turning to him in an instant, his expression curious.
“You’re enough. You brought us to MSI,” Hyeonjun reaches to take his hand in his, his thumb rubbing circles to get himself distracted from the embarrassment over the words that he is about to say.
Hyunjoon knows that about him anyway, it is what makes him adorable. He focuses on the slight pink colour on Hyeonjun’s cheeks as he concentrates on him.
“We never expected you to replace Wooje. Hell, we don’t want you to be his shadow,” his voice cracks at the last word, “You are not the second Zeus, hyung.”
Hyunjoon’s breath hitches, now looking at him in awe.
Another surprise from Hyeonjun. How does he keep doing that? But apparently, he isn’t done.
“To us, you will always be the first Doran,” comes the final sentence from Hyeonjun, impactful and unyielding.
Hyunjoon wants to explode. Everything Hyeonjun spoke is against his belief in himself. He stops thinking, mind shortcircuiting until nothing makes sense. Emotions overflow in him, and then, it tips.
He surges forward, caressing Hyeonjun’s crimson cheeks as he places a quick peck on his lips. Light brush, not much action, but so many words within. ‘Thank you’ is one of them.
It is too late by the time he realises what he did, but before he can panic, Hyeonjun smirks. Attractively. Then said, “If I knew this would earn me a kiss, I would’ve done this long ago.”
The joke also earns Hyeonjun a smack on his shoulder, but they are both laughing now. The tension becomes light as they lie by each other with newfound feelings and messages communicated.
Everything else can wait.
Bonus:
Sanghyeok stands at the doorway after his stream, staring hard at the dining table in disbelief. A defeated sigh slips past his lips as he goes over and picks up the cans of beer surrounding it, gathering them one by one in his arm.
After that, he throws them away safely in the kitchen bin, before marching towards Hyeonjun’s room first.
Both Minhyung and Minseok are still in the headquarters, so the culprit should be either Hyeonjun or Hyunjoon.
When he finds it empty, he goes over to Hyunjoon’s room, ready to give a reprimanding speech.
Until he hears Hyeonjun’s voice, a gentle goodnight. Then Hyunjoon’s whiny voice. He sees the intimate scene unfold before him. He blinks in surprise, steps away, then turns around to walk to his room as if nothing happens. He breaks into a smile upon registering it, shaking his head. Lovingly.
Youngsters these days.