Work Text:
honestly, sungjae hadn't meant to stare. honestly, the words that were going to leave his mouth at that moment were more than halfway out of his mouth before his brain actually registered the scene in front of him. mouth slightly agape, hands in mid air from where they were drying his hair, sungjae was sure he wasn’t as surprised as his appearance spelled him out to be. he was just kind of taken back. that’s all.
the dorm had been empty when he had entered the shower. while he should have, he hadn’t been expecting anyone to return soon, even if they had been the reason for sami’s sudden visit.
sungjae let his grip on his towel loosen as he brought the cloth down. soft curls bounced in front of his eyes, barely blocking his vision. he closed his mouth. with a slight tilt of his head, sungjae mindlessly leaned against the nearby wall.
in the living room, changsub was perched on the sofa, a tiny kitten playing around in his arms. the man petted the kitten with utmost care, quiet laughter following its sudden movements.
there was the faintest smile on sungjae’s lips.
changsub continued to entertain sami, he, himself, finding happiness in the interaction.
something warm fluttered in sungjae’s heart. it was shocking enough to briefly snap him out of his state. shaking his hair, sungjae’s eyes shut tightly, bracing the droplets hitting his face. the cool beads refreshed him, reigning him back into reality.
“sami-ya,” sungjae cooed, stepping into the room as if he had just arrived. his voice cracked at the end— a detail neither being in the room paid attention to.
at the call, changsub looked up, the brightness never leaving his face.
“hello to you too,” he greeted, amused.
sungjae briefly glanced at the other and hummed, turning his attention back to sami. he didn’t mean to come across as that off-handish, but it was something that had become second nature between the two boys.
unfazed, changsub allowed himself to fall back. an uncomfortable soreness spread across his back, and he winced. for relief, he turned to his side, right towards sungjae and sami. changsub let out a breath and fell limp.
sami pawed at the air. the younger, being sungjae, pawed along, trying to attract the kitten’s attention through mimicry. his wet hair flopped with his motions, and changsub could see each and every bead of water fly off.
amused, changsub smiled gently.
“your hair’s a mess.” it was valid statement.
sungjae took no time in replying. “it won’t listen to me today. it’s gone and imitated yours.”
changsub snorted at the horrible excuse of a comeback. he looked back at sungjae, words at the tip of his tongue. they stayed there as another round of thoughts circled in changsub’s head.
sami was making sounds, quiet meows that could easily be overlooked. but sungjae, as attentive as he was with her, had heard them loud and clear. despite that, he seemed to be having difficulty with understanding the kitten.
changsub rolled his eyes. he reached behind him, towards the small heap of cat toys, and grabbed at the nearest one. rolling over his belly, changsub shimmied his way across the sofa.
at the sounds of movement, sungjae’s head perked up, a mirror image of sami’s response. the younger’s eyebrow rose, his gaze following the worm-like movements in confusion.
it was hard not to laugh. “hyung. wh—what are you doing?”
sami, having noticed the bright toy in changsub’s hands, pounced forward. changsub stilled, allowing the small creature to climb around to find the grasped toy.
changsub smirked, coy eyes glinting up at sungjae.
caught off guard by sami’s sudden retreat, sungjae tried to cough back a retort. “don’t get too excited,” he scoffed. “she’s quite young and has a lot to learn.”
the older hummed knowingly. “let’s hope she doesn’t go on you then.”
“hyung!”
changsub laughed mockingly at the whine, his face leaning forward it each ‘ha!’. sungjae’s eyes zeroed in on the scrunched nose in front of him. upon seeing the cross eyed sungjae, changsub leaned back.
“what are you doing?”
sungjae blinked. “nothing.” he didn’t move.
changsub nodded. “okay.” making the first move, he returned to his spot on the couch. sami jumped on his chest, bringing out a small yelp from the man.
sungjae once again stared. eyes unfocused and cheeks tinted with a rose shade, he took a few seconds to recollect himself. from his position he was able to further notice the little details of his hyung, from the wrinkles around his eyes when he smiled, to the way his hair seemed to split perfectly and wisp up, softening the man’s aura even more. more or less, he took note of the subtle dips of the black circles under changsub’s eyes, however hidden they were by make up. over the years, sungjae had learned the signs clearly. exhaustion spelled itself on the older’s features, and all the younger could think of was the musical and the positive reviews he had read online.
the ends of his lips twitched up.
changsub didn’t notice.
laying down next to the duo, sungjae stretched his arms behind his head. he shut his eyes.
a pair of eyes stole a glance. then another. and then another. and kept stealing glances. changsub’s attempts to remain subtle with his actions weren’t as obvious as they would have been if sungjae were fully alert. nevertheless, they remained unnoticed.
with sami occupied by her own self, changsub slowly allowed his attention to divert elsewhere, moment by moment. he hadn’t meant to linger, he hadn’t meant to gaze for a long time. yet, even then, it had been a long time since any one of them were properly together in such an unprofessional manner. schedules galore, each and every one of them was working hard for theirselves and the group. when changsub took note of the slightest falls and shadows hiding under sungjae’s expression, he didn’t necessarily get too worried. it was what sungjae enjoyed, the sense of constant work and satisfaction.
in a way, he was proud. and it showed in his eyes, face, and faint smile as he helplessly stared.
but, as the recollections began to catch up to the present, a wave of concern crashed upon changsub. “sungjae-yah,” he immediately called out.
“hm?”
“were you hurt?”
brows furrowed, sungjae’s eyes cracked open tiredly. at that moment, changsub could see the tiny lines of exhaustion outlining the younger’s face properly. “hurt from what?”
“at law of the jungle?” changsub cleared, his own memories flashing in his mind. while there weren’t major injuries in his case, the challenge wasn’t any less from his end. “during recording? even after, actually. i heard from somewhere that the fans were… well… something else.”
“‘heard from somewhere’,” sungjae restated with a laugh. “hyung.” he turned, eyebrows cocked upwards, a knowing smile facing changsub. “you literally posted the sappiest post about me and peniel hyung on instagram.”
a deep shade of red tinged changsub’s ears. “oh shut up.”
sungjae laughed, hands covering his face. from the way he was laying, changsub could see what was behind them, bringing out a chuckle from his end as well. sungjae turned to look at changsub with bright eyes. he wore the very expression that the other had learned to both hate and love over the years they were together.
“it was okay,” the youngest reassured. “they were just excited.”
“but yo—“
“i’m okay,” sungjae stressed. worry didn’t belong on changsub’s face. “it wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened anyways.”
confused, changsub squinted.
“at least i didn’t fall into piles of poop countless times.”
“yah yook sungjae!” changsub grabbed at the nearby cushions.
sungjae’s laughter rang out again as he folded in on himself in an attempt of defense. right at the moment that changsub was going to launch his weapon, the tiny kitten between the two of them meowed loudly. both men stilled, attention falling straight on sami.
changsub sulked (as he iconically did) towards sungjae. “you’re lucky your cat is cute.” a second later, he blinked. “unlike you,” he finished, satisfied..
rolling his eyes, sungjae returned to his position on his back. this time, he draped his arm across his face, blocking the light from his eyes.
comfortable. his hair may have still been wet, his muscles may have been tight and tense from the way he was laying, his shirt may have been worn the wrong way, but he was comfortable. more so than he had been for a while.
moments passed. no one spoke. the soft sounds of movement eventually ceased. neither of them paid any attention to it. the silence that fell over them was like a warm blanket, tranquil and serene.
it was peaceful. something both of them had needed after their hectic schedules.
sungjae sighed. his arms fell down to his sides. he blinked, thoughts circling through his head.
“hyung?” his tone was quiet and gentle. genuine. “how’s your musi—“
a soft snore interrupted him. sungjae’s head turned to face the older. his gaze softened.
changsub was asleep with sami sprawled next to him, in slumber as well. it was a something sungjae hadn’t ever expected to witness.
“cute,” he whispered to no one in particular. his line of sight fell to changsub’s sweatshirt. observantly, sungjae allowed the recognition to dawn on him. he took note of how small changsub looked in his sweatshirt.
“cute,” he repeated, this time louder.
changsub began to shift. sungjae’s eyes widened as he froze. his heart pounded as the fear of changsub overhearing his sappy remarks began to overtake him.
not even a second later, the latter snored again. sungjae’s tensed body instantly released itself in relief. the faintest laughter, drawn from nerves, threatened to erupt from the back of his throat.
changsub snored again quieter, eventually returning back to the pattern of breathing he was sleeping with moments before.
sungjae remained facing the older. taking one last view of the scene in front of him, from the older’s subtle furrowed brows to sami’s spread out position, a flurry of warmth spread across his chest. basking in the sudden cascade of emotions, sungjae closed his eyes.
and he smiled.