Work Text:
there are exactly three places in the world where riku can deliberately fall asleep: his own bed, in the passenger seat of a moving car when seunghan, his best friend, gave him a ride, and sion’s lap.
the first one makes sense, it’s his own room and his sanctuary.
the second one can be explained by something the internet had dubbed as “carcolepsy”, where the gentle vibrations of a car combined with the steady hum of the engine and the repetitive motion of the ride encourages the body to relax. add the fact that seunghan is a good driver and it made riku’s brain gradually lower its guard, making him interpreting the situation as safe enough to sleep. there are articles about it, riku had read it out of curiosity after realizing he could never survive a car ride longer than thirty minutes without dozing off.
then the third one, however, remains a mystery. because as far as riku knows, there is no scientific journal or article that can explain why resting his head on his lover’s lap seems to have the same sleep-inducing effect as his own bed and the passenger seat of seunghan’s car.
or maybe there is? he doesn’t care.
riku likes to think he’s a reasonably independent person.
he had spent his teenage years believing he didn’t need ‘someone’ to feel whole, he already had volleyball and his one and only, seunghan. company was nice, sure, but never necessary.
which is why makes his current situation feels a little ridiculous.
over the years, sion had become one of the few places where riku’s body know how to rest instinctively. and right now, that place happens to be a lap. sion’s lap.
the television was playing a film in the background. perfect days? if riku heard sion correctly. it’s about a middle aged man cleaning public toilets in tokyo and lives his life in simplicity and daily tranquility, sion had read him the film’s synopsis earlier, riku’s not really paying attention to it.
sion’s hand had been buried in riku’s hair ever since the movie started. his fingers move in slow strokes, combing gently through the strands before circling back to do it all over again. it’s such a small gesture that riku doesn’t realize he’s been unconsciously leaning into the touch until sion’s hand paused for a second.
“you comfortable?”
the question slips from sion’s mouth so softly that riku almost misses it.
riku doesn’t answer, instead he presses his face further into sion’s lap, eyes closed and cheek drags lazily against the fabric stretched over the older’s thigh. the material is soft from countless washes, carrying the familiar scent.
then riku shifts again, searching for a position that maybe feels even more comfortable than already is. the arm that had been hanging loosely off the side of the couch lifts sluggishly before coming to rest beneath his face, a makeshift pillow. he feels small, like a hamster nestles itself into its bedding.
“that’s your answer?” sion sounds pleased, hand is still in riku’s hair, combing through the strands.
“yes,” riku murmurs, “i’m tired.”
the television continues playing in the background. the last thing riku remembers seeing before closing his eyes was the old man eating alone in the park. he couldn’t say whether the scene had changed by now, his attention had wandered long before his gaze did.
“i failed the class.”
“hm?”
“the one i studied for,” riku opens his eyes, staring at the television vaguely, not really paying attention to it. “i don’t even like coffee, but i think i drank enough of it that your americano got nothing on me now. i pulled all-nighter for that stupid quiz. i even snatched ryo’s three different color-coded sticky notes, borrowed all his ridiculously colorful pens, and sat through four hours of youtube lecture.”
“i’ve missed like ten dinners with you because of the group project,” riku lets out a long sigh, “all of those just to fail the class.”
sion shakes his head, little smile linger in the corner of his mouth. “baby,” he says tenderly, “you only missed one dinner, it’s not a big deal.”
“…what?” riku blinks.
“you only missed one,” sion repeats.
“i definitely missed more than one.”
“you didn’t,” sion nudges riku’s nose, then his hand slips back into riku’s hair, “you canceled one dinner. the rest, we just got a takeout and ate later.”
riku blinks again, visibly caught of guard. a quiet, disbelieving huff escapes him. he clears his throat, pretending the fact that sion remembered something so small hadn’t just thrown his heart completely off balance.
“but you know what’s the worst part?” riku continues.
sion hums as if he says i’m listening and keep going. so riku does.
“the guy who spent the entire semester playing minecraft behind me passed. i saw him studying for like, twenty minutes before the exam, yet he managed to get an eighty-seven,” riku’s voice rises before he realizes it, frustration bubbling over, “meanwhile i barely get seventy!”
“everyone’s been so annoying lately. my group member. the professor. that guy who kept asking bunch of nonsense five minutes before class ended and making the class twenty minutes longer,” riku snorts, “and don’t get me started on the discussion forums.”
“it was that bad?”
“it was invented by satan.”
sion laughs, “yeah?”
“they make us attend lectures on weekend, do assignments, write a reflections about the assignments, then make us discuss the reflections.”
“oh, that’s… excessive,” sion admits, sounding sympathetic.
“RIGHT?” riku gasps dramatically, pointing his finger at sion like someone had finally taken his side. not that he’d expected anything different, though. sion has a habit of always ending up on his side. “THANK YOU.”
sion just keeps listening, never once asking riku to lower his voice. his fingers continue their slow strokes through riku’s hair.
“i like it when you go like this,” sion says quietly. the words are spoken with such an adoration, as though riku’s endless complaints are simply another thing sion has grown fond of.
riku tilts his head back.
above him, sion is already looking down. the corners of his mouth are tipped upward from whatever ridiculous complaint riku had just made. the television’s glow flickers across his face, softening his features, making him almost looks unreal.
for a moment, riku forgets what he was talking about. his train of thought derails dramatically when the realization lands.
the world is full of people waiting for their turn to speak, yet sion has always listened as though every word deserves a place to land.
riku knows, of course, sion has his own problem. his own frustration. if anything, sion is probably carrying burdens far heavier than the ones currently spilling out of riku’s mouth.
and still, he continues making room for riku. offering his attention unreservedly as if it costs him nothing, making riku feels like he’s not asking for too much, like listening to him has never felt like a burden.
“you’re impossible,” riku mutters.
“i am.”
sion’s hand never leaves his hair. even now, his fingers continue their slow strokes. the gesture is so repetitive that riku thinks it should have become meaningless by now, but instead it only seems to loosen the weight in his chest until each breath comes a little easier than the last.
“i’m so tired.”
sion’s hand pauses, still looking at riku. “you’ve said that.”
“yes. i’m tired like, all the way through,” riku drags both of hands down his face, as if it could rub the exhaustion out of his skin, “my body’s tired. my brain won’t shut up. i keep thinking about college. my GPA. my future. the job market and its ridiculous requirements. this country’s economy, like everything keep getting more expensive while everyone’s still getting paid the same. corrupt politicians. illegal deforestation. i don’t know. everything. oh my god this country is cooked.”
“mhm,” sion hums, amused. fingers scratching lightly at his scalp, “you’re crashing out but somehow still politically conscious, i love it.”
the simplicity of sion’s answer really eases him, no arguing or attempts to reframe it by saying it’ll be okay, just him willingly to sit with riku exactly where he is. it relieves him more than reassurance ever could.
“thankfully i have you,” riku’s voice comes out softer this time.
“yeah?”
riku presses his cheek back against sion’s lap, letting his eyes fall shut once more.
for a moment, everything goes still. the silent stretches comfortably between them. it’s like time had stopped after riku said that before sion lets out the softest laugh.
riku barely has time to notice before he feels something warm brush against the bridge of his nose.
a kiss.
gone almost as soon as it arrives.
riku’s eyes fly open, seeing sion above him is already looking away. suspiciously interested in the movie neither of them have been watching for almost forty minutes.
riku stares at him for a long moment before reluctantly pushing himself upright, leaving the warmth of sion’s lap. he settles beside him, close enough that their knees brush, lifts both hands to cup sion’s face.
“you’re so annoying,” he mutters. with a deep breath, he gathers every ounce of courage he has, lightly tugs sion closer until the space between them disappears.
his eyes flutter shut, and a heartbeat later, he feels the softness of sion’s lips meeting his.
the kiss was gentle, still leaving riku’s stomach feel ticklish even though they had spent countless evenings exactly like this.
riku has always loved kissing sion.
there is something about the way their lips met that seems to slow the world down. all he can sense is the warmth of sion’s lips against his and the faint of his breathing, making the noise in his head recede little by little.
riku’s thumb drags lazily across sion’s cheeks, feeling against skin beneath his fingertips. he tilts his head, deepening the kiss, unconsciously seeking a little more of it as though there were still some distance left to close.
both of sion’s hands come to rest at riku’s waist, tracing slowly through the fabric of his shirt with the same movement it had used moments ago to stroke his hair.
riku gradually shifts closer, comfortably settling himself on top of sion’s lap, sitting there.
sion’s hand slipping beneath the hem of riku’s shirt, gripping his waist to steady him before sliding farther until his arms encircle riku completely, palms gently fondle riku’s back.
riku’s fingers slip from sion’s cheek into his hair, caressing softly through the dark strands.
a quiet giggle slips from sion before he can stop it, the sound dissolving between their kiss.
“what?” riku murmurs, barely pulling away.
“it’s just…” another soft laugh escapes sion as he rests his forehead against riku’s, “you’re suddenly become so eager.”
“shut up,” riku lets out a small, embarrassed groan despite the smile tugging at his lips.
he doesn’t move away, forehead still resting against sion’s, close enough to study him properly. the lift of his cheeks, perfectly sculpted nose, pretty curve of his smile.
that’s the face riku has spent year memorizing.
“you know…” riku says softly, leaning back to meet sion’s eyes, “i keep thinking… if we’d somehow missed each other in this life, i’d probably spend the next one looking for you.”
“yeah?” sion’s expression softens almost imperceptibly. his hand rises, thumb brushing across riku’s lower lip.
“yeah,” riku nods, small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, “i hope i always find my way back to you.”
the words leave his mouth more easily than he’d expected, but the eye contact doesn’t. riku’s gaze dropped almost immediately to sion’s shoulder, his collarbone, his shirt, anywhere but his eyes.
“there he goes,” sion murmurs, quiet laugh escapes him. both of his hands come up to cup riku’s puffed cheeks, guiding his face upward. “look at me.”
“okay,” despite the fact that their faces are barely inches apart, riku remains stubbornly focused on the fabric of sion’s shirt.
“riku, baby.”
“i’m literally looking at you.”
“that’s my shirt.”
“a very nice one.”
sion’s shoulders shake with laughter. the sound is far too pretty to ignore, coaxing riku into looking up to him.
“there you are,” sion’s face lights up, smiling the moment their eyes meet.
sion’s thumb glides beneath riku’s eye, brushing softly against the delicate skin there, making riku squint. his nose scrunches, his cheeks puffing out again. cute, sion thinks.
“you make it sound like i’d let you get lost,” before riku can answer, sion leans forward and presses a small kiss on his lips, “don’t worry about it,” another kiss, then he rests their forehead together once more, “i’d find you first.”