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Fuck. Something about staying up so late was getting to Myung-gi, his head was dizzy. Joint custody was the best for Jun-hee and him, but nights like these he wished he could make the baby magically grow up to where she didn’t keep him up all night. He rubbed his eyes, checking the time.
3:06am
It was only 3? Yet there she was, crying over something again. Myung-gi couldn’t blame her, she was a baby, and he stayed up later back in the day for crypto streams. He got himself up on his feet, barely getting a stretch to his arms before walking over to the crib where his daughter was. He picked her up and cradled her, rubbing her back.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Now his phone was going off? Myung-gi took a deep breath, his daughter only crying more. He picked up the phone and answered it, putting it against his ear as he went to get food for his daughter from the kitchen. It was Nam-gyu, who seemed to be excited. “Mggggggg, what’s up? I didn’t know you’d be awake at this time…” Nam-gyu spoke through the phone, Myung-gi letting out a sigh into the phone as he grabbed the baby formula. His eyes focused on making it perfect. “Yes, Nam-gyu. I’m up. What do you want?” He asked into the phone in a monotone voice as he put the formula into a bottle, before handing his daughter the bottle. She started to drink from the bottle, seeming better so Myung-gi made his way back to his bedroom.
His daughter was one year old at this point, so at least she had learned how to drink from a bottle on her own. Myung-gi remembered the day she held the bottle on her own for the first time, he had immediately texted Jun-hee despite them just being co-parents. He hadn’t seen her so happy in forever - well since she said eomma before appa. Jun-hee had happily earned bragging rights on that accord, which he was happy for her but also a little jealous. But regardless, the baby seemed to like them both equally after that.
“I want to come over- please? Are you alone?” Myung-gi heard Nam-gyu speak from the other line again, he ignored him as he made his way back to his room, rubbing the baby’s back as he did. Nam-gyu always called when he was drunk, for what reason? Well even Myung-gi wasn’t sure. Once the baby was done with the bottle, he gently took it from her and kissed her on the forehead before lying her back down. Myung-gi took a deep sigh and put the bottle down on his nightstand before walking outside of his room to see what Nam-gyu wanted.
“Why? Also my daughter is over, so I am not alone.” He replied in a more annoyed tone as he went to sit on the couch, finally taking the phone from his ear and holding onto it. “You’re drunk, Nam-gyu. I know you are.” Myung-gi then huffed, crossing his arm over his lap as the clock ticked. He didn’t want a drunk Nam-gyu to come over, especially with his daughter at the house. He tapped his foot, waiting for a response. He was so damn ready to hang up when Nam-gyu cleared his throat.
“Baby this- daughter that. When do you ever get a fucking break, Mg? You said she’s only over half the week. Plus- I am not that drunk! Mostly sober- in fact!” Nam-gyu hiccuped, slurring his previous words too. Myung-gi might have accidentally scammed himself and thousands of others, but he wasn’t that stupid. He leaned his head against the back of the couch, taking in a deep sigh.
“No you’re not. And she is, Jun-hee is picking her up in the morning. Do you need me to call you an Uber home?” Myung-gi, regardless of the chaos, still wanted to make sure Nam-gyu got home safe. He was a decent human being, and he did accidentally put him and his friend in debt. He owed it somehow- even if they were all out of debt now. “No-no- let me come over Mg. Pleaseeee? I won’t disrupt your daughterrr…” Nam-gyu slurred out, a whine also being able to be heard from his side of the line.
Myung-gi took a deep breath, not even knowing what to say anymore. Nam-gyu wasn’t going to get off his back, was he? He could feel the weight making his bones hurt. “Whatever, Nam-gyu. But you’re staying in the living room,” Myung-gi gave in to the other’s annoying ass whines and pleads, not able to stand it anymore. And like that the phone hung up, making him look at it. It was a white iPhone16 that he got himself for his birthday after finally saving money again, which honestly felt really good. He sighed for what probably felt like the millionth time that night before getting himself off the couch, going to the kitchen to get a cup of water. Good news is his daughter was definitely asleep again, or else he would have heard her crying and screaming again.
Around 20 minutes later Myung-gi heard a pathetic knock on his door, weak and unsteady. He knew who it was. He yawned, stretching his arms before making his way to the door and opening it. A drunk Nam-gyu stumbled his way inside, Myung-gi helping him stay up as he closed the door behind him. “Hey,” Myung-gi said with a somewhat firm tone before directing Nam-gyu to the couch and sitting him down. “There you go. I’m going to get you some water.”
Nam-gyu groaned, clinging onto Myung-gi like his life depended on it. “Don’t leave Mgggg… you need to stay,” he whined more, wrapping his arms around Myung-gi’s waist. Myung-gi blinked in shock from the sudden touch, looking over at Nam-gyu with furrowed eyebrows. “Nam-gyu, please let go. It’ll only be a few minutes,” he moved hair from his face as he got a clearer look at the other through the dim kitchen lights that were on. Nam-gyu looked like a mess, and he admittedly felt bad because of that fact. But it didn’t mean anything, of course. Myung-gi managed to pull the other’s arms from his waist, which was only not surprising since Nam-gyu’s body was weaker in his intoxicated state.
He could hear the other’s continuous whines as he made it to the kitchen, fixing Nam-gyu a glass of ice water. Myung-gi came back less than 3 minutes later, sitting next to Nam-gyu who was lazily sitting on the couch with his arms crossed. His eyes perked up, taking the water. “You didn’t poison or drug the water, did you Mg?” Nam-gyu joked before taking a sip of the water, letting it into his system. Myung-gi rubbed his temple, shaking his head in response. “No, I did not do anything to it,” he leaned back, letting his head rest on the couch as Nam-gyu continued to drink the water- finally somewhat calm.
4:19am
Myung-gi read the clock on the phone, the time flashing on it. He blinked, analyzing it. His eye bags were beyond insane, he hadn’t slept nor ate properly since the baby was born which was slowly driving him crazy. But he didn’t let anyone know how much he was suffering, he helped create the baby after all. It was his responsibility to deal with the responsibilities. His eyes darted over to Nam-gyu, who might as well have been downing the water at this point like it would magically become soju. Myung-gi found himself almost laughing at the pathetic attempt but managed to keep his mouth shut, only a slight smile pudging from his lips. But something small enough Nam-gyu could notice.
“Hey- you’re smiling. What fucking possessed you Mg?” Nam-gyu immediately questioned, finishing his water before burping. “You’re acting like you saw something funny,” he added as he furrowed his brows, trying to piece together a puzzle. “You think this is funny, jerk?” He came to conclusions, giving Myung-gi a punch in the shoulder. “You look like absolute shit, so you can’t talk much.”
Myung-gi grunted, holding onto the shoulder Nam-gyu had punched before taking in a deep breath. “Okay… it was a little funny. You were chugging it like crazy,” he admitted with a light scoff, a small yet smug expression on his face. “Do you need more water? Damn you could just ask,” he got himself up, removing his hand from his shoulder before taking the empty glass and going back to the kitchen for more water. Nam-gyu had noticeably pouted, and Myung-gi could definitely feel his eyes stuck on him the whole time he was gone.
This time when Myung-gi returned to the couch, Nam-gyu clung onto him like a koala while snatching the glass of water from him. Myung-gi didn’t know he was this clingy, he had only seen him like this with Thanos. And he was nowhere near Thanos… almost an opposite to him in some ways. So why did Nam-gyu call him every time he was intoxicated? He wished he could know. Myung-gi slowly relaxed, just taking in the moment. Why was his stomach starting to grow butterflies?
Meanwhile Nam-gyu was sipping the water slowly, his mind a bit loopy still but he was used to the environment by now. Myung-gi’s couch was so warm and comfortable, yet the man he was clinging onto was cold as ice. It felt like the perfect temperature somehow. He wasn’t even sure himself why he called Myung-gi instead of Thanos, probably because the latter was too busy still at his set. He just wanted to relax somewhere safe, and he just had a feeling that this place would be safe. But it was the guy who scammed Thanos and him of anyone, and realistically Thanos would probably call him crazy if he found out about this. But Nam-gyu didn’t plan to tell him.
Time went slow, Nam-gyu’s head pounded and his body ached as he finally managed to finish his water. Instead of handing it to Myung-gi however, this time he put it on the floor. “Can we sleep?” He asked slowly, softness taking over his voice which was pretty unusual for him. It caught Myung-gi by surprise, who had just been dozing off or zoning out half the time. He blinked softly, processing what Nam-gyu said.
“Sleep? Sure, yeah. I can bring you a blanket and pillow,” Myung-gi nodded and got up, going to the living room closet before opening it and taking out a nice pillow and blanket for the other. He closed the door gently before walking back over to the couch, where Nam-gyu seemed to have already made home for the night. He hummed, placing the pillow down and handing the other the blanket. “Just let me know if you need anything, okay? I’ll be in my room. Just don’t be too loud if you can… I want the baby to sleep as long as I can get her too,” Myung-gi added with a soft sigh, ruffling his messed up hair.
However, something in Nam-gyu’s brain didn’t want to process this… he didn’t want Myung-gi to leave. “Nooo…Mg…my boy. Come here!” Nam-gyu whined, patting the empty space next to him on the couch. Myung-gi didn’t know how many times he was going to be surprised by Nam-gyu this morning, was it some sort of test? He was way too exhausted for stupid tests.
“Nam-gyu… what?” M-yunggi questioned him as he rubbed his eyes, his body begging him to sleep at this point. It’s probably been a full day or two since he actually let himself sleep, and if this was a chance for him to sleep then hey… he wouldn’t complain.
“Lie down here,” Nam-gyu clarified, sitting up to look at Myung-gi with a hum, head tilting almost like it was natural. Myung-gi bit his lip softly, taking in the millionth sigh of the night as he crossed his arms. “There’s not enough room, plus I need to be with my daughter in case she wakes up,” Myung-gi replied simply and started to make his way back to his room.
Well, he had made it to his room. He left his bedroom door cracked in case he was asleep when Jun-hee came over so it wasn’t too awkward, finally lying down in his bed again with an almost completely silent groan. Myung-gi covered himself with the warm blanket, as he let it devour his freezing body. His eyes closed, and he probably almost fell asleep instead of overthinking everything he did that day- but he showed up. Nam-gyu, with nothing in hand.
Myung-gi didn’t even get a chance to realize Nam-gyu was there until he was in the same bed as him. He felt the presence in the bed and his eyes shot open, looking over beside him to just see Nam-gyu look at him with some sort of… cat expression on his lips. Myung-gi’s eyebrows furrowed for a second, before deciding to let it go and closing his eyes again. “…Good night, Nam-gyu,” he spoke softly, turning to face the opposite of him so he didn’t have to think much of it. But once again, Nam-gyu wasn’t going to stop surprising him.
Nam-gyu was like a black cat, but also somehow the most clingy person on planet earth. He clung onto Myung-gi the moment he turned away, arms around his stomach and all. His own eyes were closed like this was nothing, like in the end none of this actually mattered. They were technically cuddling at this point, and Myung-gi had decided to not move or push Nam-gyu off of him. He was too tired… and oddly comfortable to do that. They both fell asleep this way, and neither of them questioned a thing.
9:34am
Jun-hee sighed as she fumbled the extra keys Myung-gi gave her, deciding not to bother with knocking. He was often out cold when she came to pick up her daughter, understandably so. She hummed, finding the keys on her keychain before putting it in the door and unlocking it. Walking in always felt weird, even if they weren’t dating anymore and everything got resolved in a long and annoying process.
Months of court to sue the person who scammed Myung-gi, who scammed everyone else. Everyone got reimbursed. It was a dream come true- especially with the baby. She could be raised in a decent home, two of them actually. Jun-hee was independent, but honestly the happiest she had been in years. She smiled softly at the thought as she closed the door behind her and made her way to Myung-gi’s room, where the baby’s crib was.
Jun-hee almost had to have a double take when she walked through the doorway, seeing Nam-gyu and Myung-gi cuddling like that. Jun-hee blinked, analyzing it before thinking to herself ’that kind of makes sense.‘ However she couldn’t help but take a photo with her phone to blackmail Myung-gi before carefully and quietly picking up her daughter who seemed peacefully asleep. Jun-hee smiled, taking a double look at her ex boyfriend before looking back at her daughter and rubbing her back as she exited the room, and then the house. She didn’t need to worry about it anymore, but it was kind of funny to her.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t much later when Myung-gi woke up, his eyes fluttering open as he felt the invasion of his space. He was honestly so tired last night that he didn’t even process it until now. Nam-gyu coming over, bothering the fuck out of him, and now cuddling him still. He never took himself for the receiving end of something like this, but he let himself soak it in. It was comforting. After a year of going and not stopping from taking care of his daughter with nothing new added to his life, this felt like a breath of fresh air. Like he could almost cry. But the moment he felt Nam-gyu’s eyes open as well he knew he wasn’t letting himself do that.
“Huh?” Nam-gyu questioned, looking at Myung-gi sleepily. His memories of the night prior were foggy, all he remembered was calling Myung-gi. He guessed this is where that led him, with the other in his arms. Nam-gyu didn’t expect it, but all he knew was that he had the worst headache ever. “Well… morning,” he added as he retracted his arms, sitting up and stretching. “Sorry Mg… I’m just going to take some painkillers and get out your hair,” he spoke quietly as he got himself up from the bed and stretched. He yawned, taking a double look at Myung-gi who still looked half asleep.
Nam-gyu looked at the crib before looking back at the other male. “Also Jun-hee already has the baby, you can go back to sleep. I’ll lock the door behind me,” he added as he waved before starting to make his way out. “See ya,” he hummed, trying to not overthink this moment as he went to the kitchen and snatched a few painkillers. He couldn’t blame the alcohol, but he really wanted to. He wanted to point at the alcohol 100 times when asked the blame of why he decided to call Myung-gi at 3am then come over and cuddle with him. But deep down, he knew he couldn’t. And Nam-gyu knew he’d be back.
Myung-gi lied there half awake for a bit, his mind circulating and processing more. Nam-gyu was a corruption in his brain. He always saw himself as straight, nothing ever fought that. But right now, it felt like a punch to the gut that he couldn’t fight back. He groaned more loudly this time, pulling the blanket over his face. He was a tired mess, he needed more sleep to process his sudden growth in feelings for someone he found annoying before. Therefore Myung-gi let himself sleep, but not before he got a text from Nam-gyu.
“See you next time, hyung!”