Work Text:
⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆ ✧ ⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆
The night air was cool, the kind that made the city feel softer. The sky was full of stars and the moon casted a soft, silver glow on the streets. Minho walked with his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat while Jisung walked beside him, talking enthusiastically like he always did when a new idea got stuck in his head.
“Did you know some sharks have been around longer than trees?” Jisung said, waving his hands as he spoke.
Minho glanced at him, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. The idea of teasing Jisung clear in his mind.
“That sounds fake.”
“It’s not fake!” Jisung protested immediately. “It’s real. I spent the whole day doing research about sharks. Sharks existed like four hundred million years ago. Trees came later. Shark’s came even before Saturn’s rings!”
Minho hummed thoughtfully.
“Sounds suspicious.”
Jisung gasped like he’d been personally offended.
“Why would I lie about sharks?”
“You get weird when you find a new hyperfixation.”
“This isn’t weird,” Jisung insisted. “It’s educational.”
Minho gave him an amused look.
“Yesterday you spent two hours explaining different shark teeth to Chan and Changbin.”
“Because they asked!”
“You know damn well they did not.”
“They asked what I was up to these days.” Jisung said defensive.
Minho huffed a quiet laugh under his breath.
They kept walking, their footsteps echoing softly along the pavement. Most of the streets were calm this late at night. Just the distant sound of traffic and a few people passing by.
These were Minho’s favourite type of nights. Quiet nights. When he and Jisung had free time and the end of the day, and they could go on a walk together. When Minho could stay silent all the time if he wanted, and Jisung would never shut up.
“And there’s this one called a goblin shark,” Jisung continued excitedly. “It looks terrifying and kind of funny-looking, I have to say. But it’s actually kind of cool. Its jaw literally shoots forward to grab food-”
When they turned the corner the atmosphere changed instantly. The street ahead was packed. A bar must have just closed, or a celebration must have ended. People filled the sidewalk and spilled into the road, laughing loudly, talking over each other. Loud music could be heard somewhere nearby. Someone shouted across the street. This wasn’t normal. Minho and Jisung always did the same route, and they had never seen this street full of people. Minho didn’t like this. He wasn’t prepared for this change. If he had known that the street would be packed, he would have asked Jisung to pass through another street.
Jisung barely registered it at first, but Minho did. The noise had hit him all at once. Too many voices layered together and shoes scraping the pavement. The bright neon lights flickering over him that he usually didn’t pay attention made his skin crawl. People moving too close. Someone’s jacket brushing his arm. A sudden burst of laughter right beside him.
Jisung kept talking for another few seconds before realizing.
“Minho?”
Minho’s shoulders were tense now. His breathing had gone shallow, uneven. His eyes darted around the crowded street like he was searching for an exit but couldn’t find one fast enough. Someone bumped his shoulder as they passed. Minho flinched and Jisung immediately stepped close to him.
“Oh. Hey. Hey.”
He gently reached for Minho’s hand, sliding their fingers together.
“Just hold my hand, okay?” he said softly, hoping that Minho had heard him.
Jisung began to make his way among the people, pulling Minho behind him. People kept brushing past them. Too many voices, too many lights, too many different sounds at the same time. The sound of a motorcycle revving somewhere too loud made Minho stop walking completely. His breathing hitched, sharp and uneven, like he couldn’t get enough air. Tears began to appear in his eyes. His fingers dug into Jisung’s hand as everything around him became too much at once.
“Okay, okay,” Jisung murmured quickly, turning toward him. “We’re leaving. Come on.”
He guided him toward a quieter side street, one hand firmly holding Minho’s while the other rested lightly on his arm.
“Just a little further,” Jisung said gently. “We’re almost out.”
They turned the corner and the noise dropped instantly. The side street was nearly empty, just the distant hum of the city and the faint glow of streetlights.
Minho sank down onto the low curb, hands pressed over his ears, breathing uneven and shaky and tears running down his face. His whole body felt tight with the feeling of everything that had hit him at once. Jisung crouched down in front of him. He didn’t touch him right away.
“Hey,” he said quietly. “You’re okay. We’re out of the crowd.”
Minho kept his eyes shut, focusing on trying to breathe again. Jisung sat there beside him patiently. After a moment, he slowly held his hand out again. Minho took it, looking for the comforting sensation that Jisung always gave him. They stayed like that for a while until Minho’s breathing finally started to steady. After a few minutes passed in silence, Jisung started to rub the back of his neck awkwardly.
“I’m sorry.”
Minho opened his eyes slightly.
“For what?”
“For grabbing your hand earlier,” Jisung said, glancing down. “I know you don’t like physical contact without warning. I didn’t really think about it at the moment.”
Minho looked at him for a second and shook his head faintly.
“It’s fine.”
Jisung frowned a little. “Are you sure? Because I hope you know you don’t have to say it’s fine when it isn’t. I should have been more conscious at the moment but–”
Minho stopped his rambling abruptly.
“It doesn’t bother me when it’s you.”
Jisung blinked.
“Oh.”
The small, shy way Minho said it made something warm spread through Jisung’s chest. But before the moment could get too serious, Minho looked down again and spoke quietly.
“I’m the one who should be apologising. I ruined our walk.” Minho said, staring down at the pavement. “We had to leave because of me.”
Jisung’s expression softened immediately.
“Minho, no-”
“And you had to deal with that,” Minho continued, voice low. “I hate it. It doesn’t make sense why I get like that. I should be able to handle a street with people on it.”
Jisung shook his head quickly.
“Hey. No. Don’t say that.”
Jisung leaned forward, trying to catch his gaze.
“There’s nothing to apologise for,” he said gently. “If anything, I should say sorry.”
Minho frowned faintly. “For what?”
“For not noticing sooner,” Jisung said. “I was too busy talking about something I like that I stopped paying attention to you.”
“You’re always talking about something you like.” Minho said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
“Exactly,” Jisung said. “It’s a problem.”
That earned the faintest hint of a smile from Minho, but it faded quickly.
“I’m serious,” Minho muttered, disappointment obvious in his voice. “I’m twenty-seven and I can’t even pass through a street full of people. What kind of adult am I? Normal people don’t react like that.”
Jisung’s expression shifted immediately. He reached out and gently squeezed Minho’s hand again.
“There is nothing wrong with the way you reacted.” he said quietly, looking tenderly into Minho’s eyes.
Minho looked away.
“It’s not about being normal,” Jisung continued. “Your brain just processes things differently. So does mine. That’s not something you need to apologise for.”
Minho stayed quiet. Jisung nudged their shoulders lightly together.
“And for the record,” he added, “the walk isn’t ruined. I still got to talk about sharks.”
“You would have done that anyway.”
“Exactly.”
Minho let out a quiet breath. After a moment, he squeezed Jisung’s hand back.
Jisung checked his phone.
“Good news.” he said. “The last train is in fifteen minutes. Do you want to go home? We can get something to eat in the convenience shop and watch a movie.”
Minho nodded.
⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆ ✧ ⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆
The train was almost completely empty. Just a few passengers in other cars and the quiet rhythm of the tracks beneath them as the train moved through the city. Minho sat by the window, watching the lights blur past outside. Jisung sat beside him, their shoulders lightly touching.
The train rolled onto a bridge, and suddenly the whole city opened up outside the window. Buildings glowing in the distance, streets like lines of gold stretching into the distance.
Jisung let out a quiet “whoa.” Minho looked at him. Jisung was staring out the window with that same fascinated look he had earlier while talking about sharks.
“Did you know some sharks can see really well in low light?” Jisung murmured suddenly.
“Jisung.”
“What?”
“You’re doing it again.”
“I’m just saying,” Jisung said defensively. “Night oceans are probably beautiful.”
Minho shook his head, but there was a small smile on his face. After a moment, Jisung leaned sideways until his head rested gently on Minho’s shoulder. Minho stiffened for half a second but quickly relaxed.
“Better?” Jisung asked quietly.
Minho nodded.
“Yeah.”
“I love you Minho.”
“I love you too Jisung.”
They watched the city pass by together in comfortable silence, the night calm again.