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It was nearing midnight when Jeonghan's door creaked open without warning.
He doesn’t even flinch. He doesn't even lift his eyes from a worn copy of ‘Kafka on the Shore’ in his lap. The only people who enter without knocking are Seungcheol during existential dread, Seungkwan when he had too much caffeine, and—
Thud.
Jeonghan blinks slowly as a slim body flops unceremoniously on top of him, limbs cold from the hallway and hair still damp from a shower. The figure nuzzles into Jeonghan’s side like a determined cat.
“ Hyuuuuung~ ”
And there it is.
Jeonghan finally sets his book aside and glances down at the tangle of hoodie and limbs pressing against him like a body pillow.
“It’s that time already?”
“It’s Minghao o’clock.” Minghao confirms, muffled into Jeonghan’s shoulder. “And I had a terrible day. You’re my compensation.”
Jeonghan sighs, long-suffering and completely performative.
“What happened this time? Did Mingyu eat your pudding again?”
“No. Mingyu looked at my pudding. And then said—”
Minghao sits up dramatically, face twisted in betrayal, “ ‘You still eat banana-flavored ones?’ Like I’m some child. ”
Jeonghan snorts. “You are some child.”
“ Hyung~ .” Minghao flops down again with a whine, curling tighter around Jeonghan like a koala.
“I’m emotionally fragile. Don’t attack me when I’m defenseless.”
Jeonghan looks down at him— this boy who storms dance studios, argues with professors about aesthetics, and takes no shit from anyone except him.
And now here he is, snuggled into Jeonghan’s sweater, blinking up with wide, watery eyes like a kicked puppy.
“You know,” Jeonghan says, threading a hand through Minghao’s damp hair, “one of these days, you’ll come in here and actually melt my heart into pieces.”
“Isn’t that the goal?”
Jeonghan smiles.
He doesn’t say it aloud, but Minghao already has.
ᜊ♡ᜊ
The dorm kitchen was a sacred place for late-night snacks, and tonight was no exception. The boys were scattered around the dorm— some gaming, some finishing assignments, and a certain Minghao who was determined to make his Hannie Hyung a ‘perfectly aesthetic cup of hot chocolate’.
Sounds cute and adorable, right?
Except, not really.
Well, the thing is, Minghao had never actually made hot chocolate before.
Jeonghan was curled up on the living room couch with a blanket around his shoulders and his glasses sliding down his nose. He had just finished his last class and was basking in the rare moment of peace when a bang! came from the kitchen, followed by a cute voice.
“...Oops.”
Jeonghan sighed, already knowing the owner of the voice.
He walked into the kitchen to find Minghao standing with a sheepish smile, cocoa powder in his hair, a milk carton lying sideways on the counter, and an entire mug’s worth of marshmallows floating inside the microwave.
“Eisa…” Jeonghan began, rubbing his temple.
“It was for you!” Minghao chirped, eyes sparkling as if he wasn’t standing in the middle of culinary war crimes. “I wanted to make something nice because you looked tired, hyung.”
And Jeonghan, being the traitor to common sense (only when Minghao is involved, an important point to be noted.), protector of the number one chaos gremlin, let out a weak laugh.
“ Eisa , you’re lucky you’re cute.”
Minghao beamed. “So you’re not mad?”
“No, but you’re cleaning all this up.”
“…What if I act extra cute?”
“ Eisa .”
Minghao clutched his cheeks, tilted his head, and in his softest baby voice said, “ Hyuuung~ I just wanted to be sweet like cocoa.”
Jeonghan groaned. “Stop. I can’t take it. Fine. I’ll clean it with you.”
“Yaay! Team effort!”
They cleaned together. (Read— Jeonghan did most of it while Minghao clung to his arm and shared a new, actually drinkable cup of hot chocolate on the floor, back against the counter.)
Jeonghan let Minghao rest his head on his shoulder, both of them warm and giggly under the dim kitchen lights.
ᜊ♡ᜊ
It’s a slow Saturday morning. The dorm is quiet. Jeonghan was still in bed, buried under three blankets and living his best hermit life when it happened.
Knock knock knock.
Silence.
Then—
“Hyung?”
The door opens before Jeonghan can answer.
Minghao’s hair is a mess, sticking out in all directions, and there’s a faded red bruise on his knee.
“What happened to you?” Jeonghan asks, propping himself up on one elbow, his voice laced with worry.
“I tripped during practice,” Minghao says, walking over and crawling straight into Jeonghan’s bed like it’s his right. “And I had a nightmare.”
“You don’t even sleep during the day.”
“I do when I’m traumatized.”
Jeonghan sighs again. He thinks he does that more in Minghao’s presence than anyone else’s. “And what do you expect me to do about it?”
“Baby me.”
“I’m not your nanny.”
“You’re worse, ” Minghao accuses, settling under Jeonghan’s blanket. “You spoil me. It’s about time you admit it.”
“I do not —”
“You gave me your hoodie last week just because I looked cold. ”
“It was snowing.”
“You took the green M&Ms out of the trail mix before giving it to me.”
“You said they looked suspicious.”
“And now,” Minghao says, snuggling close, “you’re gonna cuddle me while I heal both emotionally and physically.”
“You’re impossible,” Jeonghan mutters, but he’s already shifting to make space, already curling his arms around the smaller figure.
Minghao makes a triumphant noise, forehead against Jeonghan’s chest.
“ Hyung~ ”
“Hmm?”
“Love you lots.” he mumbles.
Jeonghan freezes.
Then breathes out softly.
“Love you too, little menace.”