Work Text:
9:39PM
hyung have you eaten?
yes
have you?
yes
okay i'm almost ready
hyung will head down now
Yeonjun inhales out a laugh at the sticker Soobin sends in response. It's a cat giving a thumbs up. There's something very un-Soobin-esque about it. But Yeonjun supposes the cat is for him. He shakes his head and pockets his phone. After checking he has everything for the night, he grabs his beanie and puts it on, stopping by his mirror to adjust it. His eyebrows have to stick out a little bit, or else Yeonjun feels like he looks like a little kid.
He pads into the hallway, seeing no signs of Kai or Taehyun. Toeing on his sneakers, he makes a few more minor adjustments to his outfits and then heads for the elevators.
Even though he knows the door code, he still knocks on Soobin and Beomgyu's dorm door and waits out in the hallway. It takes Soobin a second to open it, and he seems to be jamming his shoes on in the process, because he trips forward as he swings the door open.
"Hi," he says breathlessly, looking at Yeonjun with an easy smile.
Yeonjun raises an eyebrow at him. A gnawing nervousness is still sitting deep in his stomach and he inhales sharply, trying to expel it out of his body.
"Ready?" Yeonjun asks.
"No, gimme one sec." Soobin swings the door open as a means for Yeonjun to enter. He does and stands and waits while Soobin reaches over to grab his keys and wallet resting on their deteriorating shoe rack. All of five of them used to use it and Yeonjun snorts at the memory, not saying anything when Soobin looks over at him.
"Where's Beomgyu?"
"Asleep. Okay, let's go," Soobin says, pulling the door open for Yeonjun and herding him out.
10:01PM
"What do you want?"
"Soju," Soobin says, with much more pep than usual and that makes Yeonjun laugh. He's so cute.
"What?" Soobin asks, frowning.
"Nothing."
"What does hyung want?"
Yeonjun sighs and leans back in the chair. He honestly doesn't feel like drinking a whole lot. In fact, he was looking forward to the night in. But then Soobin had asked to go out for a drink, and Yeonjun couldn't say no. Especially not with what's being posted about them in the last few days. The weirdness Yeonjun now feels when he looks at Soobin. All the comments and theories are getting to him.
He thinks Soobin feels it too. The nervousness that's settled in between the two of them.
"I was just gonna get a beer."
Soobin pouts at him.
"Come on, share with me," Soobin wagers. He taps his phone on the table twice, like he's throwing a tantrum. Yeonjun rolls his eyes.
"I'm gonna order a beer, but I'll have some of your soju."
Soobin seems satisfied with that. Yeonjun wonders if they're on the same page. He wonders if they should go at the same pace. But they don't normally, so why change now?
10:30PM
Yeonjun shoves some more pajeon in his mouth as Soobin shows him another picture of Tori.
"Do you see how cute her cheeks are when she's asleep like this?" Soobin asks, zooming in with two fingers on the aforementioned cheeks. Yeonjun hums and smiles when Soobin looks up at him. He's slumped over on the table, phone angled so Yeonjun can see it too. They've been looking at Tori pictures for the past ten minutes.
"What?" Soobin deadpans, pulling up himself so he's sitting normally.
"Nothing," Yeonjun says quickly, holding his hands out in front of him to prove his innocence. It's not nothing, but he doesn't know how to explain to Soobin that he doesn't think they should be talking about dogs right now.
"No, no," Soobin urges, "Hyung can show me another Peanut picture. I don't mind. Sorry."
Yeonjun tips back in his chair, looking to the side. He's floundering, immediately looking for an escape out of this conversation.
"Don't—Ack, don't apologize, Soobin-ah. It's fine," Yeonjun reassures, shame washing over him.
Soobin leans onto the table again, resting his chin on the corner of his bent arm. He's halfway through his soju bottle. Yeonjun's a quarter of the way through his beer. He picks it up, taking a big slug and waits for Soobin to say something.
But Soobin just stays quiet.
11:13PM
"There's no way Taehyunnie said that," Yeonjun cries, slapping the table as he bursts out laughing.
Soobin gasps at him, eyes bright and cheeks pink. "I swear, hyung. He absolutely did. You can ask him about it tomorrow."
Yeonjun shakes his head. He lets Soobin pour him a shot of soju and gulps it down in one go. He watches as Soobin does the same. He stares, outwardly, at Soobin's neck as he swallows.
"Forget about tomorrow, I'm asking him about this the second I get home," Yeonjun giggles.
11:58PM
"Okay, hyung. Just say it," Soobin mumbles. He runs a hand through his hair and gives Yeonjun a look.
"Say what?"
"Say whatever's been on your mind."
"What." Yeonjun's heart is suddenly pounding in chest.
"Go. Just say it." Soobin's gotten chattier and touchier as the night's gone on. He keeps grabbing Yeonjun's hand across the table in excitement, as if pulling them closer together will somehow show Yeonjun just how happy he is. He doesn't do anything now. Both hands lying limp on the table and Yeonjun's are frozen in fists under the table.
"It's stupid," Yeonjun finally spits out.
Soobin looks at him for a second before his eyes slide closed.
"Just say it."
Soobin won't get it. He looks at comments that have been said about them online, they all do, but Soobin doesn't let it affect him as much as Yeonjun does. Yeonjun knows this because Soobin never brings up being bothered by any of it. He acts indifferent towards those who have negative opinions of him. Unlike Yeonjun, who'll let them eat him alive.
"You know how they posted our Dream Week interviews…?" Yeonjun says. Vague. He can start off vague.
"What?" Soobin sounds genuinely confused. His eyes are still closed and he's drawing a circle on the table with his finger.
"The Dream Week interviews," Yeonjun reiterates.
"The Dream Week interviews," Soobin repeats, words slurring slightly. He doesn't sound confident that he knows what they're talking about right now.
Yeonjun sighs and looks down at his phone.
And then, for the second time that evening, something seems to click with Soobin. He sits up abruptly, straightening his back and looks dead on at Yeonjun. It's as if he's suddenly sobered up.
"What about the Dream Week interviews, hyung?" Soobin now asks, in a way that makes Yeonjun feel like he knows exactly what he's talking about. He gulps.
"You know, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out for a drink," Yeonjun says honestly, "But you got to it first." Yeonjun was going to wait until tomorrow, because of how tired he'd felt this afternoon. But when Soobin had cornered him after their one schedule and Yeonjun felt like he couldn't say no. Again, in that moment, it was like Soobin knew exactly what Yeonjun was feeling. Like he wanted to fix the wall that had appeared in between the two of them.
Soobin studies him for a moment, and then leans back in his chair and crosses his arms.
"Why did you want to have with a drink with me, hyung?"
It's a challenge. He wants Yeonjun to admit it now.
With a groan, Yeonjun drags a hand down his face. He suddenly doesn't want to do this. He's too nervous, and now scared that that's going to impact how he says things. And he's growing more tired, more short tempered. More convinced they should head home soon.
But then Yeonjun looks back over at Soobin and sees the small smile on his face, his kind eye and the way he's waiting patiently for Yeonjun to speak. Yeonjun's excellent at pushing himself away from everyone and not opening up. Most of the time Soobin has to pry it out of him, making their conversations even more difficult.
Yeonjun takes a deep breath.
"You're so red," Yeonjun teases, reaching across the table as if he's going to grab at Soobin's cheek. He's sitting too far way, but Soobin still moves to the side to avoid Yeonjun's hand.
"Shh, no I'm not."
"Yes, you are. 'S cute," Yeonjun mutters, more to himself than to Soobin. He looks down at the floor and then back up. The leader of his idol group, the one who seems to understand the four of them better than anyone else, is staring back at him.
"I shouldn't have said we fought. In the interview," Yeonjun tacks on, to clarify exactly what he's talking about.
"What?" Soobin laughs awkwardly. Scratches the back of his neck and suddenly he won't look Yeonjun in the eye.
"Soobin-ah."
Yeonjun wants to launch himself across the table and shake Soobin as hard as he can. As if that'll make all his secrets tumble out. Yeonjun hates when he can tell Soobin's hiding something from him.
"You can't ask me to talk and then pretend you have no idea what I'm talking about once I say it," Yeonjun says, put out.
"Hyung," Soobin says helpless, and then he tries to stand. He does, before swaying dangerously forward.
Yeonjun does launch himself forward then, to make sure Soobin doesn't go face-planting into the table.
"Sit dow," Yeonjun hisses, "Oh my god, you're drunk."
"No, 'm not," Soobin grumbles as he does not sit down and actually shuffles over to Yeonjun's side of the table.
"What are you doi—sit down, Soobin-ah!" Yeonjun scolds, grabbing onto Soobin's arms.
It's futile. Soobin seems dead set on pulling Yeonjun into a hug in the back of this restaurant. With a huff, Yeonjun concedes, resting his cheek against Soobin's jacket.
"I'm sorry," Soobin mumbles.
"It's okay," Yeonjun reassures him. "I wasn't blaming you."
Soobin pulls back and looks at him, then steps back to his seat.
"I'm not apologizing about the interview," Soobin clarifies as he plops back down. His bangs are frizzy as he tries unsuccessfully to fan them over his forehead.
"What?"
"I'm apologizing for, you know-" And then Soobin flaps his right hand around in the air for a few seconds. As if Yeonjun is supposed to have any idea what that means.
He won't press, though. Soobin's clearly not in the right state of mind to talk about this.
"Got it?" Soobin asks.
Yeonjun shakes his head and threads his fingers together in his lap. "No, but it's okay."
That's how it is with them sometimes. Things aren't okay between the two of them and that's okay.
12:45AM
"But that's always how it's like with you, hyung," Soobin teases, a grin pulling his lips wide apart.
Yeonjun blushes, scratching at his ears under his beanie. He feels giddy.
"I'm being diligent, Soobin-ah. It's my job," Yeonjun emphasizes with a laugh. The buzz from his beer is nice. Everything about this is nice.
Soobin exhales loudly, snorting. His smile dips for a second and that scares Yeonjun. He reaches out, not thinking anything of it, and grabs onto Soobin's wrist. He can feel Soobin's pulse in his hold.
"Hey, we're going to do a great job. MOA will love it."
Soobin nods, seemingly convinced.
1:58AM
"Okay, you wait here while hyung pays," Yeonjun says, drumming on the table a few times before he stands.
Soobin looks at him, lost.
"No, no I'll pay," he says abruptly, also standing.
Yeonjun scoffs and shakes his head. "You invited me. So I'll pay."
"No, I should—"
"Soobin-ah. Sit down."
Soobin doesn't sit down.
2:05AM
"It's not fair," Soobin whines into Yeonjun's shoulder. He's tugging at Yeonjun's sleeve, fingers hot against Yeonjun's wrist.
Yeonjun gives the middle-aged server an understanding smile and thanks him as he drags Soobin towards the door. But then suddenly Soobin stops walking and Yeonjun is yanked to a halt.
"Wah, hyung, there's a photobooth."
There is, directly to the left of them. The bitterness of not getting to pay for the drinks has clearly disappeared from Soobin's mind. Yeonjun checks the time.
"Do you wanna do it?"
Soobin nods enthusiastically, already stepping towards it.
"Okay. And you can pay for it," Yeonjun says with a giggle.
2:07AM
"Ah, which one should we do? What should we do?"
"What should we do?" Yeonjun echoes. They should've talked about this before pressing the start button.
"Let’s try wearing our hoods," Soobin suggests. "Wait what what should we do?"
Drunk Soobin, Yeonjun finds, isn't very creative.
"I'll do fox, you do bunny," Yeonjun decides.
Yeonjun's heart thrums when Soobin hands him his copy of the four photos.
2:22AM
Soobin's quiet in the back of the taxi. He's slumped against Yeonjun, hand pressed up against Yeonjun's thigh. Yeonjun leans forward a bit, trying to catch a glimpse of Soobin's face. He smiles when he sees his eyes are closed.
"Don't fall asleep on me, Soobin-ah." Yeonjun nudges him.
Soobin lets out a garbled string of syllables and just shifts closer. Yeonjun laughs softly, watching out the window as the the storefronts push by.
2:37AM
Yeonjun doesn't think he's ever seen someone go up the stairs slower than the pace that Soobin is moving at now. He has to physically pull him into the elevator and then make sure he doesn't bang his head on the wall as he tries to lean over.
"Hyung, 'm tired."
"Yeah," Yeonjun agrees with a huff of laughter. And then he takes a picture of Soobin huddled in the corner of the elevator. This will be the perfect embarrassing moment he can bring up to Soobin any time he needs blackmail material.
Once they reach Soobin and Beomgyu's floor, Yeonjun takes him by the waist and leads Soobin over, typing in their door code and making sure Soobin's all the way in before shutting the door soundly.
Soobin immediately collapses onto his knees.
"C'mon, Bin-ah, we gotta get your shoes off," Yeonjun chides softly. He runs a hand through Soobin's hair when Soobin looks up at him. He doesn't look like he's heard a word of what Yeonjun's just said. He stares blankly up at Yeonjun, eyes still half lidded, neck and ears still red.
It's a strenuous process, but Yeonjun eventually gets Soobin's shoes and coat off. He has Soobin sat on their storage bench by the door, with Yeonjun kneeling in front of him. It's at this exact moment that Beomgyu decides to appear.
"Yo," Yeonjun says turning towards him, blank faced.
Beomgyu looks the two of them up and down and then moves past them towards the kitchen.
"Soobin-ah's drunk," Yeonjun explains as Beomgyu opens the fridge. "Can I trust you to get him to bed?"
Yeonjun hears Beomgyu burst out laughing.
"Noo," Soobin whines, "Hyung has to help."
Beomgyu reappears with a bottle of barley tea in hand. He's still giggling at Soobin. Yeonjun narrows his eyes at him.
"C'mon, Beomgyu-ah. I'm tired."
"Absolutely not. I'm no part of this," Beomgyu says with a shake of his head.
"Hyung."
Yeonjun focuses his attention back onto Soobin, turning his head to look back at him. Soobin reaches out, pulling gently at Yeonjun's hoodie, apparently wanting him closer.
"What?" Yeonjun asks softly, leaning forward just a bit. He's expecting Soobin wants another hug, so his eyes grows wide as Soobin closes his eyes and leans in.
Beomgyu bursts out laughing again.
"Jesus, Soobin-ah, come on." Yeonjun stands, patting Soobin's cheek. He's absolutely not doing this here in front of Beomgyu.
"No, hyung, it's fine," Soobin mumbles, completely misunderstanding the situation. He stands too, and pulls Yeonjun into another hug.
"Aw, hyung, come on. Soobinnie wants a kiss," Beomgyu says, voice sickly sweet.
"Soobin hyung," Soobin mumbles into Yeonjun's hoodie.
Yeonjun sighs, brain too muddled to properly process this. He knows why he's still here, but he doesn't want to admit it to himself. Fleeing the scene and letting Beomgyu deal with Soobin would be so much easier than the emotional labour he's about to endure.
The urge to take care of Soobin, to make sure he gets into bed safe, is clawing its way up Yeonjun's throat, threatening to spill out in the form of a sloppy confession. Or worse, a kiss.
"Yah, okay, Soobin-ah, let's go," Yeonjun commands. Surprisingly, Soobin listens to him immediately, pulling back from hug.
"Wanna kiss," Soobin whispers to him. He says it so quietly Yeonjun's sure Beomgyu doesn't hear it.
"What about Beomgyu?" Yeonjun wagers. He can't. He can't just let Soobin do it.
"Yeah, hyung," Beomgyu goads. Yeonjun turns to see Beomgyu puckering his lips and posing with his hip jutted out. He rolls his eyes. A post-drinking headache is starting to form in the front of his head.
"Yeonjun hyung first," Soobin says defiantly, and he clutches tighter to Yeonjun's hoodie.
Beomgyu just laughs and then spins on his heels, disappearing down the hallway. He wishes them a good night as Yeonjun hears his bedroom door open. Once it's closed, he turns towards Soobin.
"I'm going to put you to bed and then I'm leaving, okay?" Yeonjun asks, holding Soobin's face with one hand. He wants to really get his point across. Staring at Soobin's lips might put him slightly off course, but at least it gets Soobin to snap to attention. He nods feebly. Yeonjun releases him and tugs his beanie off, shoving it in the pocket of his hoodie.
Soobin then starts wandering towards the couch, but Yeonjun catches his hand and steers him towards the hallway. Soobin's room is warm when Yeonjun enters it, flicking on the light. It's been a while since he's been in here. He takes a second to look around, amused at all the various messes.
"Hyung," Soobin calls glumly, and Yeonjun turns to see Soobin sitting on the edge of his bed, feet tucked under his bed and hands in his lap.
"Let's get you changed, okay?"
Yeonjun bends down and tugs at one of Soobin's socks. But Soobin keeps his foot planted firmly on the ground and reaches up, threading his fingers through Yeonjun's hair. His hand lands and stays on the back of Yeonjun's head.
Yeonjun freezes.
"Hyung, come on," Soobin whispers.
2:48AM
Yeonjun doesn't know if he drank more than he thought, but he lets Soobin kiss him. It's gentle and slow. He can tell Soobin struggling to stay awake and Yeonjun giggles when Soobin stops to take a break by leaning into the crook of Yeonjun's neck. That's how Yeonjun gets both his socks off. And then he lets Soobin pepper more kisses onto his jaw and cheek, while he shimmys Soobin's pants off. Soobin has to stand up for a moment, but Soobin guides Yeonjun through it, never not touching him.
Yeonjun feels like he's so out of his depth. And he's still trying to figure out if that's a good thing or not.
2:56AM
Finally, Soobin is lying on his back on his bed, ready to sleep. With a t-shirt and boxers on, he's scrolling idly on his phone while Yeonjun stands over him, surveying his hard work. He thinks this is good enough. This seems to be what Soobin wants to be wearing, deciphered by the grunts and mumbles he was making at Yeonjun.
"What are you doing? Get off your phone," Yeonjun scolds, reaching down to try and swipe it from Soobin's hand. But even in his inebriated state, Soobin moves quickly and lets it drop down beside him, grabbing onto Yeonjun's hand instead.
He catches Yeonjun by surprise, with how hard he pulls him, and Yeonjun goes tumbling onto Soobin with a gasp. Yeonjun freezes only for a second.
"You need to go to bed," Yeonjun states, eyes narrowed. He's not quite sure what tricks Soobin has up his sleeve.
Soobin frowns and shakes his head, stubborn like a child. Then he tries thrusting his hips up, before attempting to flip Yeonjun onto onto his back. This is where Soobin's fatigue seems to really get to him, because Yeonjun doesn't have to try very hard to stop him, and then straddle Soobin's waist and pin both of his wrists by his head. Soobin whines.
"I need to go back," Yeonjun tries again.
"No. Come on," Soobin urges. Yeonjun knows this is his way of asking. Mind you, without even a please.
"You're crazy," Yeonjun whispers, leaning down until their noses are a millimetre away from touching. A high pitched noise escapes the back of Soobin's throat. He wants this so bad right now, yet Yeonjun doesn't know where he'll stand on it tomorrow. In a week. In a month. In a year.
Although all of those thoughts are slammed out of Yeonjun's brain when Soobin lets his mouth drop open and his tongue darts out, wetting his bottom lip.
After that, Yeonjun doesn't stand a chance. This time when he leans it, it seems more urgent than earlier. He's pressing into Soobin more, letting Soobin take and take and take.
But Soobin starts to slow, kisses becoming more undefined until he's basically just dragging his lips across Yeonjun's cheek.
"Mm, Soobin-ah, are you still with me?" Yeonjun opens his eyes to see a Soobin who looks very much like he's asleep.
"Nng."
Yeonjun smiles into Soobins' jaw and watches as his eyes flutter open. His heavy breathing has calmed down and he looks completely dazed.
"I'm gonna go now," Yeonjun whispers.
No," Soobin whispers back.
"You're really serious about this."
"I am really serious."
"The protocol team's gonna be picking us up for rehearsals tomorrow."
"Don't start talking about work," Soobin groans. He tries to move his arm, but Yeonjun still has him pinned down.
"I need to start talking about work because I don't think you're listening to me," Yeonjun says, sterner than he means to.
"Stay. Just stay." Soobin's pleading makes Yeonjun stomach feel like he just finished a roller coaster.
So Yeonjun stays.
4:08AM
Yeonjun wakes up and precariously extracts himself from Soobin's hold. Pressing on last barely-there kiss to the tip of his nose, he leaves Soobin's room quietly.
"Thank you," Yeonjun whispers.
His dorm is dark when he enters it, pausing to hear any noises. It's late, even for Taehyun and Kai.
Pulling the blankets back in his own bed, Yeonjun rucks off his hoodie, throwing it to the floor. Once he's in bed, he realizes just how hot his body feels. Yeonjun smiles to himself. He always feels spoiled whenever Soobin displays this much warmth towards him.