Chapter Text
Dylan stood on the porch long enough for the cold to settle into his bones.
The party behind the door had shifted into that late-night phase where everything was louder and sloppier. Someone had switched the music again, and now the bass thudded in slow, heavy pulses through the wall. People kept stepping outside to smoke, laughing too loudly before disappearing again.
Dylan barely noticed any of it.
His head felt thick and slow, the alcohol sitting heavily behind his eyes now that the adrenaline from the earlier embarrassment had worn off.
He fumbled his phone out of his pocket.
“Okay,” he muttered to himself. “Ride home. Easy.”
The screen lit up too bright.
Dylan squinted at it.
His thumb moved clumsily across it while he tried to open the rideshare app. The icons swam slightly, shifting places every time he blinked.
“Why are there… so many apps,” he mumbled.
After a moment he gave up on the app idea entirely.
Calling someone felt easier.
He scrolled through his contacts, eyes half-lidded and unfocused. The list slid past his thumb in jerky stops until he saw a familiar name near the top.
Jun.
Dylan stared at it for a second.
His brain tried to process something important about that name, but the thought slid away before it could form properly.
“Right,” he said to no one.
Then he pressed call.
—
The soft buzzing of Jun’s phone on the nightstand slowly pulled him from sleep. He reached out across the table without opening his eyes, fingers fumbling until they closed around it.
He squinted at the screen, still half buried in his pillow.
3:47 AM.
He blinked once.
Then his eyes shifted down to the name on the screen.
Dylan.
Jun pushed himself upright immediately, sleep dropping away in an instant as he grabbed the phone.
“Hello?”
There was a quiet rustle on the other end.
Then Dylan’s voice came through, slow and unmistakably drunk.
“Jun?”
Jun’s chest loosened a little just hearing him.
“Yeah, I’m here. Are you okay?”
Another pause.
“I might have a situation,” Dylan’s voice trailed off.
Jun swung his legs off the bed.
“What kind of situation?”
“I’m at a party,” Dylan whispered carefully, like he was concentrating very hard on each word. “And I was trying to… uh…”
A long pause followed.
Jun waited.
“…get home,” Dylan finished.
Jun sighed quietly, though there was no irritation in it.
“Do you need a ride?”
“Yes,” Dylan admitted immediately.
Then, after a moment,
“Also I think I lost my dignity somewhere tonight.”
Jun huffed out a small laugh.
“Send me the address.”
—
The party house was easy enough to find. Even from half a block away Jun could see the lights glowing through the windows and hear the faint vibration of music bleeding into the street.
Jun parked along the curb and stepped out.
The night had that pre-dawn chill that crept through clothes and made everything feel a little softer and quieter than usual.
Dylan was sitting on the porch steps.
His elbows rested on his knees and his head hung forward like gravity had suddenly become too much work to fight.
Jun approached slowly.
“Hey.”
Dylan lifted his head slowly.
It took a second for his eyes to focus, but when they did his whole expression softened in immediate recognition.
“Jun,” he said, relief slipping into his voice like it had been waiting there.
Jun felt something warm bloom quietly in his chest.
“Yeah,” he responded softly.
He crouched down slightly in front of him.
“You doing alright?”
Dylan considered this very seriously.
“I tried to order a ride,” he muttered.
Jun nodded slowly.
“And then I think I accidentally ordered you.”
Jun smiled faintly.
“That sounds about right.”
Dylan swayed slightly where he sat, and without thinking, Jun reached out and steadied him by the shoulder.
Up close, the signs of alcohol were obvious. Dylan’s eyes were heavy, his movements slow and uncoordinated, and his hair had fallen messily across his forehead like he’d run his hands through it too many times.
He looked exhausted.
And incredibly endearing.
“Alright,” Jun said gently. “Let’s get you home.”
When Dylan tried to stand, it quickly became clear that was an overly ambitious plan.
Jun caught his arm before he could tip sideways.
“Easy,” he murmured, sliding an arm carefully around Dylan’s back to steady him.
Dylan hummed, leaning into Jun automatically, his balance nonexistent.
He let Jun guide him down the steps and across the lawn towards the car, moving slowly so Dylan wouldn’t lose his footing.
Every few steps Dylan drifted a little closer until most of his weight rested against Jun’s side.
Jun didn’t mind.
At the car, he opened the passenger door.
“Watch your head,” Jun warned as he slowly guided Dylan into the passenger seat.
Dylan, unable to hold himself up, collapsed into the seat with a quiet groan.
Jun leaned in slightly, pulling the seatbelt across his chest.
Dylan watched him with heavy, half-lidded eyes.
“You’re very responsible,” he mumbled.
Jun clicked the buckle into place.
“Someone has to be.”
Before closing the door, Jun reached into the back seat and grabbed a bottle of water he’d brought.
“Drink this.”
Dylan accepted it obediently, though he squinted at the bottle, assessing it, before taking a slow sip.
Jun waited until he’d taken another before closing the door.
When he got into the driver’s seat, Dylan was already slumped slightly sideways, staring vaguely out the window.
The car was quiet once Jun started the engine.
Streetlights slid across the windshield as they pulled away from the curb.
For a while Dylan didn’t say anything.
Then, softly,
“Thanks for coming.”
Jun glanced over.
“Of course.”
Dylan nodded slowly, like this confirmed something important.
Then he sank deeper into the seat. Within ten minutes, his head had tipped sideways against the window.
Jun kept glancing over at him during the drive.
He noted the soft rise and fall of Dylan’s breathing and the faint crease between his brows that appeared whenever the car hit a bump.
Jun couldn’t help the small smile that kept tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He turned the heater up slightly.
—
The sky was beginning to pale when Jun finally pulled into the parking lot outside Dylan’s apartment.
Though the sun had not risen yet, the darkness had started thinning out. The streetlights washed the empty pavement in dull gold, and the air carried that deep, early-morning quiet before the city woke up.
Jun turned off the engine and looked over.
Dylan was fast asleep.
His head was tilted towards the window, cheek pressed lightly against the glass. The faint condensation from his breath fogged the corner of it. One hand rested loosely in his lap where he’d dropped it, fingers curled like he’d simply run out of energy mid-thought.
Jun sat there for a second, watching him.
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen Dylan drunk, but tonight he seemed a lot softer.
Jun leaned over slightly and nudged his shoulder.
“Hey,” he called out, barely above a whisper.
Dylan stirred with a small noise.
“We’re home,” Jun added.
Dylan blinked slowly, eyes unfocused for a moment before recognition settled in.
“Oh,” he murmured.
Jun stepped out and came around to the passenger side.
The moment Dylan tried to stand, his balance betrayed him completely.
Jun caught him easily, hands steady on his arms.
“Alright,” Jun chuckled. “New plan.”
He slipped Dylan’s arm over his shoulders.
“Lean on me,” Jun urged, steadying him as he shifted their balance.
Dylan quickly obliged, leaning into him like it was the most natural thing in the world.
They walked slowly towards the building.
Dylan was warm and heavy against Jun, leaning more of his weight onto him with every few steps. By the time they reached the door, Jun was doing most of the work holding him upright.
Jun didn’t mind.
If anything, there was something quietly comforting about it.
Inside, the hallway lights hummed softly overhead.
Dylan leaned against the wall while Jun fished his keys from his pocket.
“Almost there,” Jun murmured.
Dylan nodded, though his eyes had already drifted half shut again.
The apartment door opened with a soft click. Jun slowly guided him inside.
The space was dim and quiet, the familiar smell of Dylan’s apartment settling around them.
Dylan kicked his shoes off immediately in the middle of the living room, nearly losing his balance again in the process.
Jun caught him with a quick hand to his back.
“Easy.”
“Sorry,” Dylan mumbled.
“You’re fine.”
Jun steered him gently towards the bedroom.
Dylan sat down on the edge of the bed and immediately slumped forward like gravity had finally claimed him.
Jun crouched in front of him.
“Dyl,” he said softly.
Dylan blinked down at him.
“Arms up, please.”
It took a moment for the instruction to process, but eventually Dylan lifted his arms. Jun carefully tugged the hoodie up and over his head. Underneath, his T-shirt had ridden up slightly, rumpled from the night. Dylan swayed a little once it was off, hair falling messily across his forehead.
Jun immediately steadied him with a hand on his shoulder.
“Okay. Lie down.”
Dylan didn’t argue. He tipped sideways and landed face-first into the pillow with a muffled noise.
Jun laughed quietly, “Very graceful.”
Dylan rolled onto his side with the slow determination of someone who had exactly one remaining task before passing out.
Jun pulled the blanket over him.
Almost immediately, Dylan curled into it, tucking his hands under the pillow.
Jun stood there for a moment, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Then he stepped back into the kitchen.
The apartment was silent except for the soft hum of the refrigerator.
Jun grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and opened the cabinet above the counter until he found a small bottle of painkillers.
When he returned to the bedroom, Dylan hadn’t moved. He was already fast asleep.
Jun set the water bottle and two tablets on the bedside table where they’d be easy to see in the morning.
He hesitated, then reached over and gently brushed a strand of hair away from Dylan’s face.
Dylan made a small sleepy sound but didn’t wake.
Jun smiled faintly.
“You’re going to hate yourself in the morning,” he sighed under his breath.
He pulled the blanket up a little higher around Dylan’s shoulder, tucking it slightly so he wouldn’t get cold.
For a second he just stood there.
Dylan looked ridiculously comfortable curled up under the blanket, breathing slow and steady, and completely unaware of the world.
Jun shook his head softly, like he couldn’t quite believe how fond the sight made him feel.
Eventually, he turned the bedroom light off and slipped out of the room, closing the door halfway.
The living room couch looks inviting enough. Jun reasoned internally.
He kicked his shoes off, grabbed one of the throw blankets draped over the back of the couch, and collapsed onto it.
The exhaustion hit him immediately.
His body felt heavy from the late hour and the quiet adrenaline of making sure Dylan got home safely.
He pulled the blanket up over his chest and rested his arm over his eyes.
But sleep didn’t come right away.
The apartment was far too quiet.
Jun found himself listening.
Every small sound carried through the apartment. The refrigerator hummed quietly in the kitchen, and the building gave the occasional faint creak as it settled for the night. Somewhere outside, a car passed along the empty street.
From down the short hallway came the soft sound of Dylan shifting in bed, steady and slow.
Jun exhaled slowly.
Knowing Dylan was in the next room, warm and wrapped up in blankets, made something in Jun’s chest settle.
Jun pulled the throw blanket a little higher over himself and let his head sink deeper into the couch cushion.
“Goodnight, Dyl,” he murmured quietly towards the hallway.
A few minutes later, sometime as the sky outside finally began to lighten with the first hints of sunrise, Jun drifted off to sleep on the couch.