Chapter Text
Hoseok knows that something’s wrong in the moment the house gets suspiciously quiet.
Don’t get him wrong, Jooheon’s a good kid, but, in the Shin’s home, silence means trouble; specially if coming from the four-year-old little boy. So it’s not an overstatement to say that Hoseok abandons everything in the kitchen ― where he was preparing their late breakfast ― and sprints towards the living room as soon as the sound of childish giggles and toys being thrown around is replaced only with the sound of the TV show Jooheon likes to watch every single day.
His suspicions are proved to be reasonable in the exact moment he steps inside the room, looking around with a worried frown, searching for his son. Jooheon’s standing next to their glass door ― the one that leads to their garden and their neighbour’s house ―, hands and face pressed against the glass. Relief immediately floods Hoseok’s system, but he’s a bit disappointed too.
“Jooheonie!” he calls out, and the little boy turns to him without taking his hands off the glass, eyes confused and surprised. “What I told you about that door?”
The younger blinks and thinks for a moment, not moving at all. Then, slowly, he furrows his small eyebrows together, retreating his hands to himself and giving his father a pouty look.
“That Jooheonie can’t touch it because it’s bad?”
It’s the apologizing tone on the boy’s voice ― and the way his lower lip quivers at the end of the sentence ― that makes Hoseok melt inside. He makes an ‘awn’ sound and immediately walks towards the younger, kneeling at his side and wrapping his arms protectively around him. Jooheon stops pouting, hugging him back and nuzzling against his father’s neck, humming contently.
“It’s not bad, Heonbee, it’s dangerous.” Hoseok presses a careful kiss at the top of the boy’s hair, rubbing his back, instinctively rocking him back and forth. “You can hurt yourself if appa’s not here. That’s why I told you to call me if you wanted to open it, remember?”
Jooheon nods, even though Hoseok knows that, no, his little boy doesn’t remember that. Honestly, he doesn’t know why he thought it’d be a good idea to put a glass door on his living room, from all the places he could’ve put it, but he regrets it immensely. If Jooheon was a bit more active ― or the type of kid to run around wildly without a care in the world ―, he sure as hell would have a big problem in hands by now. Hoseok doesn’t like to even think about it.
“What were you looking at, baby?” he gently taps Jooheon’s nose. The boy giggles and pushes his hands away, giving him a full-dimpled, toothy smile. “What caught the attention of my nosy little bee?”
“Mrs. Lee’s house is being invaded!” Jooheon points a small, chubby finger towards their neighbour’s house. “Look!”
Hoseok immediately looks up, caught off guard by the blunt statement, but, this time, his worry isn’t reasonable at all. The house isn’t being invaded, per se, because there wasn’t anyone living in there for at least five weeks by now, but it’s not like Jooheon will understand if he tries to explain that. To his son, the lovely old lady that used to bake him sweets ― with enough charisma that Jooheon always ended up proving even the ones he didn’t like just so she wouldn’t have wasted her time doing it (what always made Hoseok tear up with pride) ― just took a vacation to somewhere else. Hoseok didn’t have the heart to tell him that she was moving out, but, apparently, as the house’s not on sale anymore, he’ll have to do it somehow.
“Uh, about that ―”
“Prince Gumball!”
Jooheon’s delighted squeal interrupts Hoseok and makes him blink in surprise. He’s at a complete loss of words, even more so when his son escapes from his arms to press his tiny hands against the glass once more. He turns to the older only to point towards the neighbour’s house, batting his finger on the door with such a fiery excitement that the other worries about the possibility of the glass break with it.
“Look, appa, look! It’s Prince Gumball!”
Hoseok doesn’t have any idea what Jooheon’s talking about, but he gently holds his hands to avoid letting him keep beating the glass before searching for whatever got his little boy so excited. It’s easy to find it, the clue being the ‘gumball’ thing. It’s a guy, probably younger than Hoseok, who wears a pastel purple sweater and, apparently, just took off the beanie, revealing a bright pink hair, just like bubblegum. Hoseok blinks.
“Prince Gumball’s invading the house, Prince Gumball’s invading the house!” Jooheon clutches at his father’s clothes, so excited that Hoseok has a hard time trying to keep up with him. “Open the door, oppa, please, open the door, open the door, open the door!”
“Woah, little bee, calm down.” he smiles at the pouty face Jooheon makes at him, whining a long, high-pitched ‘appa!’ that always gets him whatever it is that he wants, because Hoseok can’t resist that cute pout. “Okay, okay, wait a second.”
Under his son’s worshipping gaze, the older stands and unlocks the door, being deliberatedly slow in his movements just so he can watch the boy shifting on his foot, moving his hands excitedly and making awkward, cute noises of delight and anxiousness. When Hoseok finally opens the door, he barely has time to breath before Jooheon’s out and running directly to the wooden fence that divides their yard from their neighbour’s.
“Prince Gumball, Prince Gumball, Prince Gumball!”
Hoseok rethinks for a moment about Jooheon not being ‘the type of kid to run around wildly without a care in the world’, smiling fondly before following the little boy, watching as the younger wraps his fingers around the wooden fence and keeps calling out ‘Prince Gumball’ like there’s no tomorrow.
The new neighbour soon finds out that the high-pitched shouts are directed to him. Hoseok sees his scowl when the pink-haired guy stops talking to the worker that’s helping him to move in and turns over, and concern immediately washes over his senses. Sure, Jooheon’s a lovely kid and people tend to like him a lot, but there’s always someone who doesn’t, and Hoseok doesn’t want him to have to deal with that type of thing yet ― not if he can do something about it.
Hoseok opens his mouth to call the little boy, but the other guy looks at him, and the words get stuck in his tongue. Sharp eyes and high cheekbones, the soft look doesn’t do much to hide the fact that the pink-haired neighbour seems ready to fight him. And then he looks down, to the place in the fence where Jooheon’s still waving wildly ― and, instead of scowling deeper or twisting his lips in disgust like Hoseok was kind of expecting him to do, the anger immediately dissipates from his eyes, his features softening. He blinks in confusion for a moment before dismissing the other guy with a movement of his hand and starting to walk towards the fence.
And Hoseok ― as the overprotective father he’ll always be ― never walked so fast in his entire life, positioning himself behind Jooheon, his hands resting on his son’s shoulders. The little boy looks at him, and Hoseok’s never seen his eyes so wide before. Their moment is interrupted when the new neighbour approaches, no longer scowling, and, although still a bit tense, apparently just confused. He gives Hoseok a lost stare before turning to Jooheon, his gaze softening even more once he notices the adoration glowing on the boy’s face.
“Uh ― hey, were you calling me, little guy?”
Jooheon gasps loudly, his lips opening and forming a perfect ‘O’.
“You’re so pretty.” and he turns to Hoseok, making grabby hands and pratically jumping in excitement. “Up, appa, please, up!”
Hoseok smiles at his overexcited son, reaching out to hold him. Jooheon barely waits to be lifted before turning back to the pink-haired guy on the other side of the fence, already waving his arms wildly once again.
“Prince Gumball, Prince Gumball, why are you invading Mrs. Lee’s house?” and, before Hoseok can tell him that it’s not respectful to start a conversation like that, the little boy keeps going: “And wow your hair is so pretty! Can I touch it, Prince Gumball, can I touch it? Is it true that you’re made of candy? I like candy. Appa doesn’t like candy. Appa says it’s not weal ― heal ― appa says candy is bad. But you live in Candyland, Prince Gumball, don’t you? Does that make you bad? I don’t think it does. You have pink hair! No one who has pink hair can be bad! Can I touch your hair, pretty please?”
And then Jooheon’s making the ‘lost puppy eyes’, and Hoseok’s so whipped he barely notices the awestruck look on the neighbour’s face. The pink-haired guy blinks slowly, opens his mouth to answer. Stares at the hopeful little boy in front of him, thinks about it again. Hoseok sees the decision in his eyes before the guy even reacts, giving an hesitant nod as an answer.
Jooheon makes a happy noise that sounds a lot like ‘yay!’. When his son extends his hands towards the other, tiny fingers making the ‘grabby moves’, Hoseok notices the neighbour shuddering, as if regretting the decision. But the guy doesn’t back off, slowly moving his head so the boy can reach his hair. Jooheon breathes out a sigh when his hands touch the pink locks, mouth opened in awe, caressing it so carefully that you’d think he’s touching the most delicate thing in the world. Hoseok’s heart swells with pride, even more so when he notices the surprised look on the neighbour’s face, who was caught off guard by the gentleness of the touch.
“It’s so soft!” Jooheon smiles, retreating his hands and holding them close to his chest. He giggles, full of dimples and tiny teeth, before hiding his face on his father’s chest, shy all of a sudden. “Prince Gumball has soft hair, appa! He let me touch it, he let me touch it!”
Hoseok laughs at that ― he can’t help it, Jooheon’s too cute for his own good. He sends the neighbour a grateful look, and is met with a stare that can clearly be translated along the lines of ‘what the fuck just happened’. It only makes Hoseok smile, though a bit more apologizing this time.
“Sorry about that.” he scratches the back of his neck, a bit embarassed. “He saw you from our living room and wouldn’t calm down if I didn’t let him come to talk to you.”
The pink-haired man makes an ‘Oooh’ sound, though he still seems a bit out of place. Jooheon spies on him, giggles childishly and hides again. Hoseok rubs his back fondly before extending his hand to greet the other.
“I’m Hoseok, by the way. Shin Hoseok.” he nods towards his son. “And that’s Jooheon. I suppose you’re our new neighbour?”
The guy looks at his hand for a moment before shaking it, accepting his greeting.
“Yeah, uh, that’s basically it. I’m Kihyun.” and he gives him a somehow awkward smile. “Nice to mee you.”
Jooheon’s head perks up at that. He looks at his father before turning to Kihyun once more, eyes widening a bit.
“Prince Gumball is going to live in Mrs. Lee’s house?!” and he tugs at Hoseok’s shirt, enthusiastic. “He’s going to be our nei ― ne ―” Jooheon stops to pout in frustration. “What’s the word, appa?”
Even Kihyun smiles a bit at that, what only proves Hoseok’s point: no one can resist that pouty face. No one can resist those dimples. No one.
“It’s neighbour, Heonbee.” Hoseok gently taps Jooheon’s nose, because it never fails to make him smile ― this time is no different: just like before, the little boy giggles and pushes his hand away, whining ‘stop, appa, it tickles!’ in a childish tone. “The word is neighbour.”
Jooheon hums in acknowledgement.
“Is Prince Gumball going to be our ―” he makes a pause. Blinks slowly. “Is he going to live at our side?”
Hoseok laughs at that, too ― partly because Jooheon’s the smartest little thing he knows, partly because Kihyun’s surprised face is funny. The pink-haired man opens his mouth to answer, a loud breaking noise comes from inside his house, and he ends up cursing instead. His eyes widen right after, flickering from Jooheon’s still excited face to Hoseok’s concerned features.
“I ― uh, that wasn’t ― I shouldn’t have said that.” he apologies, though his shoulders are tense and his posture changed from relaxed and slightly lost to angry once more.
“Appa says bad words all the time.” Jooheon’s answer comes out blunt, he doesn’t even think before saying it.
Hoseok facepalms, embarassed with his son’s raw honesty. Kihyun seems taken back with the statement.
“Jooheonie, you can’t go around saying things like that!”
The little boy looks at him, features confused.
“No?” his eyes widen a bit. “Is that bad? Jooheonie’s being bad?”
“It’s not bad.” Hoseok immediately pats his head, voice fond, reassuring. “Just ― uh, unusual. Not bad.” and he turns to Kihyun again, giving him a small smile. “Sorry about that, again. Is everything okay in there? Do you need any help?”
“Nah.” the pink-haired guy shakes his head and looks briefly at the house, lips pressed in a thin line, anger hardening his features a bit. “I told them to take care. I’ll just call the agency later. Probably. Thank you, though.”
“No problem.” Hoseok’s smile grows a bit. “You’re welcome.”
“Welcome.” Jooheon repeats, nodding solemnly, and then blinks. “What does welcome mean, appa? And why tehere’s a tap ― tapes ―” he struggles with the word. Pouts. Tries again. “― carpet on Prince Gumball’s window?”
Hoseok opens his mouth to answer, and only then he notices the boy’s choice of words. Just, what? By the look on Kihyun’s face, he’s also confused as hell. Both of them stare at each other for a moment before the pink-haired one turns to see what the kid’s talking about.
“Holy shit ― you’re not supposed to put that there!” he curses again before turning to his new neighbours one last time, scowling, but, still, looking a bit apologizing all the same. “I need to ― uh, I need to go in there.”
“Sure, sure.” Hoseok immediately agrees, comprehensive. “No problem. Jooheonie, say bye to Kihyun-ssi.”
“Bye, Prince Gumball!” Jooheon waves animatedly. “Nice to see you!”
“Meet, little bee.” Hoseok gently corrects him. “The right word is ‘meet’.”
Jooheon furrows his eyebrows together. Stops moving his hand for a second. Gives his father a confused look ― and then his whole face lights up like a Christmas tree, like he just understood what the older said. He nods excitedly and turns to Kihyun once more, giving him a toothy smile and waving again.
“Meet, Prince Gumball! Nice to see you.”
The look on Hoseok’s face must be priceless, because Kihyun lets out a quiet, melodious laugh before giving the little boy a small wave in return.
“Nice to meet you too, Jooheon, Hoseok.”
And he goes away under the little boy’s enchanted gaze and excited squeals of ‘Prince Gumball knows my name, appa, Prince Gumball knows my name!’. Hoseok watches, a bit incredulous, as the smile on his son’s lips only grows, his eyes pratically closed, holding the older’s shirt between his small fingers, squeezing slightly.
“Prince Gumball lives in the next door, appa!” Jooheon turns to him, lifting one of his hands to tap childishly at his father’s cheek. “The. Next. Door! Can we invite him over one day, can we, can we?”
Hoseok laughs, ruffling his son’s hair fondly.
“Sure thing, baby bee, sure thing.”
Jooheon talks about ‘Prince Gumball’ the whole day after that.
Hoseok’s just happy his little boy is having fun with the news.
Nighttime is Hoseok’s favorite time in the day. He doesn’t know exactly why, but it is ― maybe because it’s when he gets time with his son during work days, maybe because Jooheon gets really clingy during that time, he doesn’t really know and he doesn’t really mind. What matters is that it’s his favorite time.
“Appa.” Jooheon’s voice is sleepy, edging a whine, and Hoseok looks down to the little boy on his lap, gently running his fingers through the kid’s hair.
“Yeah, Heonbee?” Hoseok’s answer is soft, fond.
They’ve been on the couch for an our or so since dinner, because Jooheon wanted to watch SpongeBob and the older didn’t see why not. That’s how they ended up here, with the boy sprawled all over him, head on his thighs, hands on his knees, yawning from time to time. Hoseok honestly just wants to hold him closer and cuddle him forever.
“Were you serious when you said Prince Gumball can come home?”
Hoseok smiles at Jooheon’s sleepy gaze, slowly untying the knots on his little boy’s hair. The younger makes a content sound at the back of his throat, nuzzling happily against his hand, appreciating the care.
“Yes, Jooheonie, I was. I am.” he pokes the boy’s dimples, effectively making him giggle, a bit more awake, playfully trying to bite his fingers. “But only if you obey me. It’s sleep time!”
“Nooo.” Jooheon whines, but lifts his hands up, as if demanding to be carried. “Bath time, appa, bath time! No sleep without bath!”
Hoseok laughs, turning off the TV and picking him up as carefully as he can. Jooheon immediately latches onto him, small arms wrapping around his father’s neck, lips twisted into a bit smile. When the older nuzzles against his neck and presses a sloppy kiss to his skin, the little boy starts giggling, pushing him away and complaining childishly.
“Eeew! No, appa, no!” he holds up a finger, making a ‘no no’ movement. “No kissing, no kissing! It’s icky.”
“Ooh, so my lazy little bee doesn’t like appa’s kisses?” Hoseok pouts dramatically before grinning devilishly. “Too bad appa loves giving his Heonbee kisses!”
And so he presses another sloppy kiss on his little boy’s neck ― and then on each one of his cheeks, and on his hair, and on his shoulders, holding him safely all the while. By the time they get to the bathroom, Jooheon’s full-on laughing, high-pitched and loud, and Hoseok’s cheeks hurt from smiling too hard.
“Stop, appa, stop!” the little boy’s shoulders shake from all the laughing and struggling to free himself of his father’s hold. “Jooheonie likes appa’s kisses, Jooheonie likes appa’s kisses!”
Hoseok stops just so the younger can take a deep breath, and he’s grinning so widely he’s sure he looks like a maniac. Jooheon’s cheeks are tainted pink, eyes a bit teary from laughing too hard, and he’s giving his father that absolutely adorable eye-smile. Hoseok gently rubs his back, waiting for his son’s breath to normalize a bit before talking again.
“Does he?”
“Jooheonie does!” the little boy nods enthusiastically. “Pinky promise! Jooheonie loves appa and appa’s kisses!”
Hoseok chuckles, ruffling his hair fondly. Jooheon smiles proudly, and, when the older puts him sitting on the toilet to get the bathtub ready, kicks the air animatedly, legs too tiny to reach the floor by themselves yet.
“Does Jooheonie happen to also love bubbles?” Hoseok asks playfully, though he already knows the answer.
“Bubble bath!” Jooheon basically screeches. Hoseok cringes a bit at that, but the smile doesn’t leave his face. “Bubble bath, appa, bubble bath!”
“What are the magic words, baby?”
“With the ramen made the love won’t fade!”
Hoseok laughs so hard his stomach hurts.
“No, no, little bee, the other magic words!”
Jooheon stops to think a bit. Gives his father a sheepish smile.
“Pretty please?”
Hoseok gives him a thumbs up.
“That’s my smart cookie!”
Jooheon seems pretty satisfied at that. While Hoseok gets everything ready for their bath, the little boy hums happily to himself something that sounds a lot like his father’s favorite song. The older soon finds himself humming along, smiling quietly to himself. It’s easy to convince the boy to take off his clothes to enter in the bathtub and not long after they’re both bathing, Hoseok gently rubbing the younger’s back, Jooheon playing with the bubbles like he’s never seen something funnier in his entire life. It’s easy and comfortable, their daily ritual before sleep, and Hoseok’s happy with the familiarity.
“Appa.” Jooheon blows a bubble. Watches it getting higher and higher, until it explodes with a small ‘pop’ sound. Hoseok mumbles out a ‘Yes, Heonbee?’ to let him know he’s paying attention. “Does it rain on the Candy Kingdom?”
The older blinks confusedly at that. Jooheon’s talking non-stop about the whole candy thing since they met the new neighbour, and he still doesn’t know what it is. The little boy calls it ‘Candyland’ and ‘Candy Kingdom’, and Hoseok has no idea even if they’re the same thing or different places, because Jooheon never cared about specifics. He guesses he’ll have to start properly watching the TV shows with his little boy if he wants to have any clue about where they’re heading to when his son asks strange questions like that out of the blue.
“I guess it does?” though it sounds more like a question than it does as an answer, Hoseok knows Jooheon doesn’t mind at all. “Why?”
“Because rain makes candies disappear.” the little boy waves his arms on the water, succeeding at making more bubbles. He giggles happily. Hoseok rubs shampoo on his hair, taking care not to let anything fall on the younger’s eyes. “And Prince Gumball is made of candy! Can we make a pillow fort to him?”
The heartedly question takes his father by surprise. Hoseok stops moving. Jooheon turns to look at him with confused, innocent eyes.
“Appa?”
“I ― uh ―” Hoseok suddenly finds in himself that he’s at a complete loss of words. There’s a lump in his throat. “Sure, little bee, sure. Anything you want.”
Jooheon tilts his head slightly to the side. lips pressed together in a fierce pout while he furrows his eyebrows.
“Is appa sad?” and, before his father can deny it, the little boy lifts his hands up, putting them on each one of Hoseok’s cheeks, basically smashing them together. “Don’t be sad, appa! We can build one for us, too! And halmeoni. And daebu Hyunwoo. And Mrs. Lee, too! A lot of pillow forts to all the people we love. And animals! But no bugs. I don’t like bugs. Okay?”
Hoseok laughs weakly at that, not able to believe the innocence of his son. He gently holds the little boy’s hands, squeezing them slightly, pressing them further against his own cheeks.
“Okay.” he says, and then: “Okay. Whatever you say, bubble boy, whatever you say.”
Jooheon gives him a toothy smile, full of dimples and all, before yawning, mouth opening ever so slightly, and Hoseok pats his head softly. The younger shies away from the touch, not content at all with the water splashing onto him.
“Welp, I see that my little bee is sleepy again.” he smiles at his son’s pouty face. “Shall we go to bed now?”
“No, no!” Jooheon shakes his head fiercely, crossing his arms. “Not yet!”
It takes a bit of coaching to convince the little boy to get out of the bathtub ― even more so to wash his teeth (“Jooheonie, you can’t eat the toothpaste!”, “No, no, you can’t lick it either!” and “Stop chewing on your toothbrush, Heonbee, that’s not good to your teeth!” are basically everything Hoseok chants for a while, until the boy eventually gives up on being a little rebel and washes his teeth properly) and dry him to put on some pajamas. Jooheon absolutely refuses to sleep in less than at least two layers of clothes, and Hoseok always tries to convince him to use lighter things. He doesn’t understand how the little boy manages to sleep with so many clothes, when to him is hard to even put a shorts or something.
“C’mon, Heonbee.” he pleads, giving the boy a caring stare, trying to change his mind just this time. The boy wants to use the fluffy bee pajamas, and it’s not even that cold. “Just tonight. It’s warm enough. You don’t need all of that. Tomorrow you’ll be melting!”
Wrapped up from head to toe on his Adventure Time robe, Jooheon gives him a betrayed look before shaking his head a lot more fiercely than needed. He’s sitting on the edge of the bed, swinging his legs childishly and watching as his fathers goes through the drawers in search of something that might make him change his mind and choose another pair of pajamas.
“Nope.” he pouts, crossing his arms stubbornly. “Not doing that, appa!”
Hoseok furrows his eyebrows together. It’s not like he really minds that the boy likes to use heavy clothes ― whatever it makes his baby comfortable, he’s letting him use it ―, but he does mind about the fact that Jooheon might end up feeling sick or anything like that if the clothes make him feel too warm. He doesn’t want that. He really, really doesn’t want that.
“Jooheonie, that can be bad to ―”
“Not doing it!”
The older stops, knowing that, when the other starts interrupting him, is because he’s very, very close to cross some kind of non-official line placed between making his baby boy cry or leaving his baby boy sad. Jooheon’s lower lip is quivering. He sighs heavily.
“Okay, okay, I give up, I give up.” when the little boy’s shoulders relax, he approaches, gently rubbing the younger’s still wet hair. The other leans on the touch, making a sound of contentment at the back of his throat. “I’m not going to force you, Heonbee. And it’s okay if you want to take them off during the night. Just wake appa and I’ll help you, okay?”
Jooheon nods enthusiastically, already forgetting the whole ‘don’t use so many clothes with that weather thing’ and the upsetness, making grabby hands at him, and Hoseok smiles before picking the boy up. It’s easier to help him to put the pajamas this time, and Jooheon complains little to nothing when he starts rocking him back and forth while drying his hair, the little one enjoying the chance to nuzzle against his chest.
“Little bee?” Hoseok gently lifts him, letting the boy rest his head on his shoulder while putting the towel aside, crawling up to the headboard with the boy all wrapped around him. “Blanket or quilt?”
Jooheon mumbles out an incoherent answer that ends suspiciously like ‘ket’, so his father settles in for the first. He lies on the bed, pushing the fluffy blanket over them and holding the little boy securely against his chest, rearranging the pillows so both of them are comfortable and the risk of Jooheon escaping from his arms and falling off the bed is basically zero ― not like the boy will ever do that (because his son’s de cuddliest and clingiest person he knows), but it never costs to be sure.
That’s also familiar. Hoseok can’t remember a time when he didn’t sleep with the little boy on his arms ― he can’t remember a time when he didn’t love that little person so much, to the point of not being able to imagine his life without him. Though Jooheon does have a room, Hoseok doesn’t really remember ever using it; maybe on their first nights, when the boy hadn’t warmed up to him yet, when there was an awkward strangeness hanging on the air and the younger seemed almost afraid of telling him what he really wanted to do or ot eat or how he wanted to sleep.
Hoseok’s happy that all of that is gone. He’s happy that now Jooheon’s happy and comfortable and more than willing to tell him everything he wants and everything he thinks and everything that goes through his little head ― even the craziest ideas ever. He wouldn’t change it for the world.
The younger sighs contently and snuggles against his father even more, going as far as to wrap his arms around the man’s neck just so he can press himself closer to him. Hoseok doesn’t complain, happy to have his little boy in such a proximity, gently running his fingers through the boy’s hair, receiving a tired yawn and a lazy smile in return.
“Goodnight, baby bee.” he murmurs, softly, fondly, taking care not to disturb the younger’s sleepy state.
Jooheon doesn’t seem to mind, though. He leans his head against Hoseok’s hand and hums quietly, comfortable and already halfway gone in slumber.
“Night, ‘ppa.”
The older presses a kiss onto his forehead. Jooheon’s already fast asleep.
The night is quiet. Everything’s good.
Hoseok drifts to sleep with a satisfied smile on his face.