Work Text:
Two. Weeks.
Two weeks of Minho watching Changbin flirt with Hyunjin, who flirted with Felix, who flirted with Chan, who flirted with everybody, and trying to figure out what was acceptable among the group and what was not. Two weeks of not-so-accidentally locking gazes with Jisung across campfires or guild hall tables and noticing the ranger blush and pointedly find something else to look at instead. Two weeks of that fucking squirrel becoming more and more attached to him like it was its job to force Minho and Jisung together.
Although, he couldn't be too mad about that last one.
At this point, it would have been stupid of him to deny that he liked Jisung. Not that he'd ever said as much out loud, but only because no one had bothered to ask him about it. If they did, Minho wasn't going to lie, but he also wasn't going to be the first one to bring it up.
He felt reasonably comfortable assuming that Jisung probably liked him too, based on the evidence he'd seen. Really, it seemed to just be turning into a game of which one of them was going to eventually cave and end up confessing first.
And honestly, Minho kind of wanted it to be Jisung, if only to satisfy his curiosity as to how it would happen.
He didn't know how many of the others had caught on to what was going on between the two of them. No one said anything, but he thought he saw a couple of eye rolls from time to time. For his part, he wasn't being particularly subtle. Maybe it was only Jisung that wasn't getting the hint? Maybe he should step his game up.
Not too much, mind. He still wanted Jisung to confess first, after all. But he could probably manage to get a little more obvious without directly saying anything.
Or, at least, he hoped. Unless Jisung really was that oblivious and wasn't going to realize it unless Minho threw him up against a wall and kissed him or something. Which wasn't the worst plan he'd ever had, if it really came down to it.
They were approaching the end of week three of this weird dance of theirs when Acorn once again decided to get involved in the proceedings. This time, Minho had found the squirrel cozied up inside his own bedroll, and no matter how he tried to coax it out (or even physically attempted to remove it), it screeched at him and refused to be moved. Even Jisung wasn't able to convince Acorn to leave Minho's bedroll and come over to his own.
"Yah! After everything we've been through together, you would abandon me like this?!" Jisung was being overdramatic on purpose, Minho knew, but there did seem to be a low level of actual concern filtering through his voice.
The others were in various stages of amusement at watching the show: Felix couldn't stop smiling; Hyunjin was laughing like it was the funniest thing he'd seen in ages; Seungmin kept rolling his eyes but Minho definitely overheard him snicker at least once when he thought no one would notice. Chan didn't even seem inclined to step in and help, just sat there with a fond look on his face.
"Maybe he just likes my bedroll better?" Minho suggested. "We could just switch, if that's what you're worried about."
Jisung blinked like the idea hadn't occurred to him until that moment. "Oh, yea, that might work," he finally said, and tried to climb into Minho's bedroll. Acorn squeaked and vacated it immediately, diving headfirst into Jisung's abandoned bedroll. Jisung flopped over onto the ground with a frustrated sigh.
Even Minho could tell that this was exceedingly unusual behavior from the squirrel. "Can't you, like, talk to him or something? Ask him what he's doing?"
"Tried that," Jisung mumbled. "He's being very uncooperative."
"Why don't you just share, then?" Changbin piped up. "One big happy bed for all three of you."
Minho didn't hate the idea, nor did he hate how Jisung's face got red after it was brought up. Maybe this was exactly the sort of catalyst needed for Jisung to finally open up about his feelings (and if it actually did work, Minho would buy so many nuts for the fucking squirrel).
"Fine by me," Minho said. He began setting up the bedrolls right next to each other, touching but not overlapping. "You'll still be close to him even if he wants to sleep with me. But if he chews my hair or something in my sleep, I can't guarantee his safety." This last part was a joke, mostly, but he privately enjoyed the scandalized look Jisung gave him.
Jisung was muttering something about Acorn being a honorable squirrel who would never do such a thing, even if he was cheating on him with another adventurer. Crisis seemingly averted, and with no more entertainment to be gleaned from it, the rest of the party drifted off to their own beds and eventually fell asleep.
Minho and Jisung laid down, too. Jisung was still quietly trying to convince Acorn to "come home", to no avail. Minho cracked open one eye to realize Jisung looked like he might actually start crying soon.
"Hey," he whispered, and reached over to grab the other's hand with his own, to comfort him. "You know I'm not trying to steal your friend from you, right?"
Jisung nodded and absentmindedly laced their fingers together. "I just don't know why he seems to like you more than me lately."
"I have no idea." Which was true, to some extent, but he also suspected that the squirrel was much craftier than any of them gave it credit and was pulling some sort of matchmaker shenanigans. "But he's still right here, ok? So stop worrying and go to sleep."
Jisung nodded again and closed his eyes without another word. He continued holding Minho's hand until he eventually dozed off.
Minho watched him for a few minutes, then directed his gaze to where Acorn was snuggled up near his shoulder. "You're a little shit, you know that?" he said quietly. The squirrel just burrowed closer.
Minho hadn't been needed for a watch shift, so he'd gotten to sleep through the whole night. When he awoke, it was to the very immediate observation that he was spooning Jisung. He didn't know how or when it had happened. Jisung didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest; he was still peacefully sleeping.
There was a muffled snort above them, and Minho looked up to see Chan grinning widely.
"Shut up," Minho said.
"I didn't say anything," Chan replied. "But now that you mention it, you two look awful cozy."
"Piss off." Minho buried his face into the back of Jisung's neck and tried to pretend that he was going back to sleep. Maybe he could buy himself a few more minutes of this before Jisung woke up and got awkward about it.
The others started waking up as well, getting increasingly louder, and it was surprising to Minho that Jisung hadn't woken up from all the noise. He finally made himself let go so he could get up and start helping to pack up the camp.
Jisung stirred the moment Minho wasn't holding him anymore, like he had registered the loss of warmth. Acorn had, at some point in the night, left his spot by Minho's shoulder and migrated somewhere else that Minho didn't immediately see.
They both eventually got up and readied themselves for the day. Neither of them said a word about their sleeping arrangements or about how Chan had found them that morning, including Chan (though he did keep sneaking knowing looks and occasional winks in Minho's direction).
This waiting was going to kill him.