Chapter Text
"Very romantic"
Martin said it with a wide grin, staring at the only bed in the middle of the hotel room.
Apparently, the manager had made a mistake with the booking and hadn't noticed that they had been given a room with only one bed.
James looked at him, still standing by the door.
"Absolutely not. Go to the manager and sleep with him, Martin"
Martin placed a hand over his chest in exaggerated shock.
"You'd let me share a bed with the manager instead of you?"
James muttered sarcastically as he placed his bag near the door.
"I don't like getting harassed before bed, Martin"
Martin laughed as he followed him into the room.
"I won't, hyung. I won't bother you, and I'll be quiet. Besides, it's late. Let's not wake the manager"
James didn't answer. He simply bent down toward his bag, pulled out a clean change of clothes, and headed for the bathroom.
"I'm going to shower... try not to come in"
Martin complained loudly.
"Hyung, I'm not Keonho!"
As soon as James closed the bathroom door, Martin kicked off his shoes and threw himself onto the bed. He pulled out his phone and started messing around on it while he waited for James to come out.
About half an hour later, James emerged from the bathroom, running a towel through his hair as he made his way toward the bed.
His eyes fell on Martin, who was stretched out across the entire thing.
He walked over and tossed the towel over Martin's face.
"Are you planning on sleeping alone?"
Martin pulled the towel off his face and looked at how much space he was taking up.
"Oh..."
He barely moved, leaving just enough room for one person.
"There you go"
James sighed, grabbed him by the foot, and pulled him toward the edge of the bed.
Martin burst out laughing before finally sitting up and making room for him.
James lay down beside him, picked up his phone from the nightstand, and started scrolling.
Suddenly, Martin rolled onto his stomach and rested his chin on the pillow, his feet kicking lazily in the air.
"Hyung... do you remember that time you said my hair looked like a broom? I still haven't forgiven you for that"
James glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
"That was six months ago"
"Yeah... and I still haven't forgiven you"
James turned his attention back to his phone and gave a short hum.
Silence settled over the room for a few moments, but Martin's feet kept moving nonstop.
Then he said,
"I was going to start learning how to play the piano today... but I ended up watching piano videos instead of actually playing"
James hummed in response to this very useful piece of information.
When the silence returned, Martin suddenly spoke again.
"By the way... you look handsome today"
James looked up from his phone.
"Today only?"
Martin smiled.
"No, honestly, every day... But did you change something about your appearance? Hmm... Did you cut your hair?"
James looked up at him.
"Yeah, a little"
Martin nodded.
"I only noticed now"
James kept his eyes on him for a few seconds before speaking calmly.
"You're the only one who noticed... even the fans didn't"
Martin said it simply, as though he were stating a fact that didn't need any thought.
"I always notice the little things about you"
James fell silent.
It wasn't the first time Martin had said something like that, nor was it the first time he had proven that he noticed things everyone else somehow missed.
Sometimes, it confused James... how Martin could notice a change of only a few centimeters in his hair when the entire day had passed without anyone else mentioning it.
He kept looking at him for a few seconds before extending his leg and resting it over Martin's.
"Annoying... stop moving your feet"
Martin's feet immediately went still.
"Okay"
A few moments later, James moved his leg away, set his phone aside, adjusted himself, and pulled the blanket up to his shoulders.
"Going to sleep?"
James hummed in confirmation.
Martin got up and turned off the light.
A faint smile appeared on James's lips, quietly grateful for the small gesture.
Martin came back, but instead of lying down, he sat close to him.
A few moments later, James felt his hand being gently pulled, then Martin's fingers began fidgeting with his, completely unfazed by the fact that James had just said he was going to sleep.
James opened his eyes and looked down at his hand resting between Martin's.
He didn't pull away.
He closed his eyes again, trying to fall asleep.
But a moment later, Martin's quiet voice reached him, unusually soft, with a rare hint of childishness.
"Hyung... are you afraid of the future?"
James didn't answer.
After a brief silence, Martin continued in a quieter voice.
"...Because I get scared sometimes"
James opened his eyes again.
He was about to sit up, take Martin's hand, and tell him there was nothing to be afraid of, that the future wasn't as frightening as he imagined.
But before he could say a word, Martin continued.
"And I'm even more scared of going bald"
James couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh.
Not even a second later, Martin laughed too.
James pulled his hand away and turned to face the other side.
"You really are something else, Martin... Don't worry. Your broom isn't going anywhere that quickly"
Martin rolled onto his stomach again, looking at James's back.
"Hyung... if I ever disappeared, would you miss me?"
Silence passed between them for a few moments.
Martin smiled.
"Ha! You needed time to think"
James turned to face him.
"I was thinking about how much peace and quiet I'd get"
Martin's eyes widened.
"Liar"
James didn't deny it.
He simply reached out, placed his palm on Martin's head, and gently pushed his face into the pillow.
There was a brief silence.
Then Martin's muffled voice came from the pillow.
"That's unfair"
James lifted his hand a few seconds later.
"I needed a moment of peace"
Martin muttered grumpily,
"I'll give you one... just don't use violence"
"Good"
James pulled the blanket further over himself and closed his eyes, thinking Martin would finally let him sleep.
This time, the silence lasted.
Long enough for sleep to genuinely begin weighing down James's eyelids.
Martin quietly watched his relaxed features.
Slowly, he reached toward his face and carefully moved a strand of hair that had fallen across his forehead.
James opened one eye.
Martin froze, quickly pulling his hand back as though he had been caught red-handed.
"If you touch me again, I'm throwing you off the bed"
James said it calmly, more like his usual warning than an actual threat.
Martin gave him a small smile.
"I was just checking if you were still alive"
James didn't answer.
He closed his eyes again, and the quiet returned to the room.
A few moments passed.
Then Martin slowly began inching closer to him...
An inch.
Then another.
James opened his eyes again and silently looked at him.
Martin immediately stopped, pretending he hadn't been doing anything at all.
They stared at each other for a few seconds.
Then James closed his eyes again.
Another thirty seconds passed.
Martin moved another inch closer.
This time, James sighed and said without opening his eyes,
"Either come closer and get it over with... or stay where you are"
Martin's smile widened, as though he had just won a long battle.
He closed the remaining distance in one go until he was right beside James.
He simply wrapped his arms around James's arm and settled there, as though he had finally found the comfortable position he had been looking for.
Then he murmured contentedly
"Good night"
James didn't open his eyes.
He simply murmured back,
"You too... you annoying idiot"
The room finally settled into silence.
James didn't try to pull his arm away. He simply let out a quiet sigh.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see Martin as anything other than a giant child—absurdly tall, yet still approaching him with the same carefree innocence, holding onto his arm as he fell asleep, as though the world didn't require all the restraint everyone else seemed to carry.
James smiled faintly.
It was hard to be annoyed with someone that simple.