Work Text:
“We’re going away.” Chan’s words cut through the voices that were arguing over how they would be spending their downtime.
Seven pairs of eyes turned to him, curious in the way that a pet would want to listen to its owner.
Seungmin spoke up first. “You mean you managed to book something without the company knowing?”
Chan had to give him credit, he was always good at reading between the lines, their curious eyes turning understanding as he smiled.
“Can’t book something when you own it.” That caught their attention, and Minho and Changbin shared a grin. If there was one thing Chan was grateful for, it was listening to his own hyungs who had encouraged him to find somewhere secluded from the world where they had a safe place to hide, especially after their team had debuted.
It was his best kept secret.
“The company knows that we’re going away and we’re taking a full week. I’ve specifically cleared all of our schedules so that we also have a day off when we get back to get things organised. For now, pack a bag. Where we’re going does have electricity and can probably handle charging a laptop and switches, but anything bigger is out.” That seemed to catch all of them by surprise, including Minho and Changbin.
There were playful arguments as bags were packed and repacked, clothes swapped and toiletries collected. By the time they were split between cars, he shared a sympathetic look with Minho, who grinned in return.
There was some surprise when they first showed up at Chan’s parents’, but he made everyone stay put before heading into the house.
His mum greeted him with a kiss. “Your appa will get the cars parked safely. Enjoy your trip away.”
He took the bags of food that she pushed into his hands, a small grin on his face before heading back and motioning everyone to get out.
“Get your things. We’re not driving up in these cars, the terrain would kill the tires faster than Minho-yah kills spiders for Sung-ah.” There was a collective laugh at the latter's whine, but no one argued as they traded into a couple of Jeeps. Chan passed through some bags of food to Minho to be packed in his trunk before doing the same with the rest of them.
The drive was comparatively easy, even with Jeongin, Changbin, and Felix starting various games to keep themselves entertained - or in Jeongin’s case, turning the music up and starting a karaoke session.
“Lix-ah?” The music had long since been turned down, and Chan glanced at the blonde in the rearview mirror.
“Yeah, hyung?”
“The road is going to get a bit harsh. I need you to tell me if something hurts so we can stop, okay?”
“Are we about to get shaken around like maracas?” This earned a small smile as Chan snorted.
“Hopefully not, but I don’t want to risk it and rattle your bones too badly.”
The road wasn’t as bad as he’d anticipated, but there were still a few holes as they followed the beaten down track. Chan knew they were close when the signal became too spotty for him to comfortably use the map on his phone.
When they finally reached the house resting on the mountainside, there were confused murmurs from Felix and Jeongin as they began to get out and Minho pulled up beside them.
“Hyung, what is this?” Jisung asked once they were all out, bags slung over shoulders and the food shared out between them all. Chan could only grin.
“A couple of years ago, Minho-yah and Changbin-ah came with me when we went on that break in the summer. Originally, this place was being rented out by a halmeoni. Whilst we couldn’t come as often as we wanted, we tried to come when we could. Before she passed, she wanted to give me the chance to buy it before it could go on the market, so I did. I had to be sneaky about it, especially with people desperate to get something on us, but now it’s ours.”
It was chaos as they all got inside, making beelines for the rooms. He took some of the abandoned food shopping bags, Minho copying him and bringing the food into the kitchen.
“How is it so...” Minho trailed off, eyeing the sink that seemed to no longer spring a leak should they so much as look at it. Chan hummed as he opened the fridge and began to put things away.
“My parents come out here to keep on top of the cleaning. They’ve helped update it, so there’s wifi and heated water as well as a few more appliances. We’re not connected to any electrical grid, so we do need to be careful, but it’s nothing like the first time you and Bin-ah came with me.”
“Shame, it would’ve been fun to watch the others struggle with a cold shower.” Minho’s response was dry, making him laugh loudly as they worked in tandem. Minho set aside some of the food that was clearly for their dinner that evening, Chan passing the food that he asked for without complaint as the sounds of everyone else filtered through to them.
“There’s a lake!” Jisung’s voice burst out from one of the rooms towards the back, prompting a mad dash from the others as they passed through the kitchen to the back of the house and headed outdoors..
Within seconds Felix and Jisung had returned, racing back through to presumably get towels for themselves.
Chan could feel Minho staring at him.“Hyung, how did you manage this?” He finally asked once the self proclaimed sunshine twins had sped back out with towels in their arms. There were immediate shrieks followed by loud splashes.
“My parents helped a lot. They were the intermediaries on my behalf, using a shell company to protect us.” Finally spilling the secret gave him a sense of relief that someone now knew how hard he’d struggled keeping this hidden from everyone.
“The company?”
“Doesn’t know about the house. They know that I’ve gone somewhere my parents own, and I let them assume. I never went as a trainee, and this was long after they’d put more trust in me.” He explained as they finished putting groceries away and Minho pointed at the seat at the kitchen island.
“Why didn’t you tell us, hyung?” Chan knew he didn’t mean the group as a whole, but more so him and Changbin.
“I couldn’t risk the company finding out. It was a time where everything was up in the air and we were still finding our feet again. If they took this piece of tranquillity away for the sake of knowing everything, I think something might’ve snapped in me long ago.”
There was a look of understanding in Minho’s eyes then, an understanding that they shared as two people who’d been burned too many times with promises that wouldn’t be kept, with the knowledge that they wouldn’t be safe to be themselves without consequences to their actions.
Jeongin appeared in the kitchen then, a bright grin on his face. “Come swim! We can worry about food later.”
Chan could see that Minho was about to protest, his dislike for water well known and documented both privately and publicly.
“Minho-yah.” He watched as Minho chose acceptance, placing down the utensils and allowing their maknae to pull them both out to the lake. The kids were in varying states of undress, the majority paddling in the shallows. Jisung and Felix were waist deep, seemingly attempting to drown each other, with Seungmin egging them on.
The evening was filled with a roaring fire and warm bellies, everyone more relaxed than they’d been in months.
-
When Chan woke up, he was wrapped around Jisung whilst Minho curled behind him, his face pressed into Chan’s shoulder blades and arm slung over his waist. It took him a moment to understand why he’d woken up, searching for the usual anxiety that accompanied nights like these where they were never sure where one body ended and another body began.
There was none.
The rapid beating of his heart that often woke him was slow and steady. There was no pinched feeling in his chest that had him double checking everything before he even left someone’s dorm if he’d stayed the night or searching for eyes in the streets if they left his own.
“You’re thinking too much Chan-ah, go back to sleep.” Minho muttered, pressing soft kisses against his skin. Chan pulled Jisung closer, a small happy noise of contentment escaping the younger as he unconsciously snuggled closer - like he was trying to get under Chan’s skin and into his bones - and Chan let his eyes fall shut in the steady calm of their first morning.
When he next woke up, Jisung was awake, his face soft with morning sleepiness, and he greeted Chan with a kiss. He could feel that Minho had already left the bed, but it was still warm enough to tell him that he hadn’t been gone long.
“Hyung is making breakfast. He heard Ayennie moving around I think, and said something about actual edible breakfasts.” Jisung wiggled around, pushing Chan onto his back and pressing into his side.
Chan laughed, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “As much as I would like to stay in bed all morning, I think if we stay any longer, there might be assumptions. And whilst yes, I intend to take full advantage of this,” Chan pressed on, stopping Jisung from whining his complaint, “I want to enjoy our first morning together where there’s no worry about what people might think.”
He knew Jisung wouldn’t argue with that, both of them having witnessed the toll it had taken on all of them before they became adept at hiding their relationships and learning how to manage their time together.
It was with a token pout of protest that Jisung reluctantly got out of bed, Chan’s laughter following him. The smile that broke across his face as their fingers tangled together, making their way out to the main living area, was certainly worth it as the others greeted them both.
Jisung wasted no time in throwing himself on Felix and Seungmin, the latter immediately protesting but accepting the morning kiss whilst Felix didn’t hesitate to pepper Jisung in kisses.
Jeongin was tucked against Hyunjin, both laughing and accepting Chan’s own kiss in greeting despite the youngest squirming - much to their amusement.
“Yah! Seo Changbin if you touch the meat one more time I will take your hands and I will fry them! Out!” Changbin’s laugh reached them before he did, cheeky grin on his face as he kissed Chan’s cheek in greeting before falling next to Hyunjin, who rolled his eyes.
“Minho-hyung is in top form today,” was all that he said, earning various giggles and eye rolls from the others. Chan gave him a fond look of exasperation before making his way to the kitchen.
“Would you like help, Minho-yah?” He didn’t pause as he pointed the knife towards the vegetables, so Chan got to work and they worked quietly together.
The sun was well and truly up when they assembled around the table for breakfast, that feeling of ease returning tenfold as plates were passed around and soft touches were shared between each other.
“It hasn’t felt like this for a while.” Hyunjin’s recognition led to the others agreeing more softly, the quiet sounds of eating filling the air.
“Are we gonna do this often?” Seungmin’s voice broke through that quiet, the question causing seven pairs of eyes to turn to Chan as he shrugged in easy response.
“This is our home too, now. We might not be able to live here publicly, but when we get time off, this can be our little piece of tranquility.”
He watched their tension drain away completely at his answer, his heart feeling at ease for the first time in a very long time.
A little piece of home, just for them.