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“ Hyungseok !!” The boys called out and the world turned black.
For a split second, Eunho’s world turned black and he could only stand frozen, with breathing hard and shallow as he stared at the blood pouring down Hyungseok’s face, down his hands and onto the floor under him.
And here Eunho was, with his phone on full volume, pacing around the dorm, with one hand tugging on his hair, on the verge of passing out from how damn nervous and worried he was.
He took in a deep breath for the first time in the last two hours – ever since he received a call from Hyungseok that he’ll have to have a surgery – when his phone finally rung and a notification popped up on his screen, reading ‘I’m okay’ and then felt his cheeks warm up with the tears that finally spilled.
It was his fault, at least that’s what he told himself – he was bickering with Hyungseok over something completely irrelevant when the taller missed a step and landed face-first on the floor, breaking his nose. He promised he’ll take care of him when he gets home from the hospital, and Hyungseok laughed so beautifully, it almost made the elder’s heart skip.
When Hyungseok was finally released, Eunho was the first to know he was on his way home.
Home – to him.
“ Hey ,” Eunho greeted him in the door, their manager and one of the staff helping the boy inside, politely greeting as they walked past the elder into the room. Hyungseok sighed quietly as their eyes met and Eunho saw the bruised skin under his eyes, stretching across half his cheekbones. Tears swell up to his eyes as he scanned the face staring at him, with a thick bandage on his nose, taped carefully across his cheeks. “ Hey ,” Hyungseok hummed in response.
Eunho felt so unbelievably bad – and Hyungseok must’ve seen the tear that dropped down his cheek as he ducked his head and pulled him closer, hugging him, resting his chin on top of the smaller’s head. Eunho was taken aback at first, but hugged him back, carefully wrapping his hands around the taller’s waist, taking in his scent. He smelled like hospital , and blood, and medication.
But it was Hyungseok , and Hyungseok smelled like home to Eunho.
“ Eunho... hey ,” Hyungseok let out, running one hand over the smaller’s back, tugging gentle fingers in the back of his hair. Eunho took in a deeper breath, blinking away the tears and nodded gently, peeling away from the younger. “I’m sure you’re tired. Do you wanna lay down? I cooked you some tea, it should still be warm. I also made some food, but I guess you can’t really bite, can you? I mean, I could also cook you some soup-” “Eunho! Stop ,” Hyungseok stared at the smaller, a very soft frown on his face as their eyes met. “ Why are you panicking ?”
Eunho stood, staring up at the taller. “I’m just... sorry . It happened because of me , and I’m really sorry.” His eyes adverted down to the space between them, fingers nervously fidgeting against the ham of his shirt. “What are you on about? I missed the step myself , Eunho. It's my fault for not being careful.” “If I wasn’t bothering you –” “You weren’t bothering me! You never do, even if we bicker, you’re never a bother ! I like you bothering me !”
Staring at each other as the words floated in the air in between them, Eunho felt his cheeks warm up and could see a small tint darkening the highs of the taller’s cheeks in between the tape.
Finally looking away as the manager and staff came back from wherever they were, the two awkwardly greeted them and stood as the door closed behind them. The door opened a fraction of a second later and Eunho twitched at his name echoing across the space. “Oh, Eunho – he’s been given painkillers, so he may be a bit … wonky. Take care!” “I’m not freaking wonky!” Hyungseok whined and the manager laughed, greeting them before dissapearing. “ I’m not wonky, Eunho . I mean it.” Eunho stared at the younger, who’s cheeks his under the tape, and all Eunho could feel was relief . He was so glad –
Eunho could feel his cheeks burn as he watched Hyungseok’s eyes jump over his face, from his eyes to his nose and down to his lips. His eyes did the same, he reminded himself and adverted his eyes, running one hand through his hair.
“Do, uh , do you wanna eat?” Hyungseok forced a quick smile before throwing the hoodie he was still holding onto a chair. “ No , they fed me before sending me home, because of the meds . But I am tired.”
Eunho nodded, pressing his lips into a thin line, sighing. “Wanna go to bed or…?” “We can watch something? I wanna have some company, if that’s okay. ”
Hyungseok seemed to smile as Eunho nodded and excused himself to go and shower.
Eunho found a show they both loved and quickly texted the boys back, knowing the rest were worried about Hyungseok as they practiced at the agency.
“ Eunho !” Eunho jumped at the sound of his name echoing through the dorm. He ran while holding his breath –
“What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt ?”
Hyungseok stared at the smaller, first watching him with a serious, unreadable face that soon turned into a small smile. Eunho stared up at the younger with wide eyes, breath still stuck in his throat as his eyes wandered over the bruised skin of his cheeks.
“ Are you gonna come running every time I call you now ?” Hyungseok asked through his smile, and Eunho felt his cheeks warm up, adverting his eyes. “ I got worried ,” he whispered in return and felt his heart skip a beat as the taller’s fingers curled under his chin and pulled it up to meet his eyes. “ I’m glad ,” he whispered, and Eunho felt the air around them shift completely.
It has been there, for months , but Eunho could never pin-point it. He knew there was something blooming inside of him with the way his stomach erupted in something every time Hyungseok would tease him a bit more than the rest, every time he made sure the elder was by his side for a bit longer than the rest.
It could have been Eunho imagining it all this time, but something shifted in this small place between them today .
He felt as if he could finally breathe.
“What, uh , why did you call me? Were you feeling wonky ?” the elder teased, trying to ease his nerves. Hyungseok smiled and let go off Eunho’s chin, adverting his eyes and Eunho was sure he could see his skin blushing up to the tips of his ears. “No, I wasn’t feeling wonky. Jesus,” he let out with a laugh following. “I, uh , I need to change my bandage. I'm afraid to do it myself.” Eunho forced a smile and nodded, dragging the boy to the living room, sitting him down on the couch and running to get everything he thought he needed – even if Hyungseok had everything pre-packed when he came from the hospital.
“Okay... I’ll try my best. Tell me if it hurts, okay?”
Hyungseok nodded, forcing a smile as their eyes met.
Eunho tried his best to ignore the hand resting on his knee, the warm fingertips brushing against the clothed skin. He tried ignoring the feeling of the taller’s breath on his face from how close they were, tried to ignore the eyes wandering over his face, never leaving it.
“Wait, can you come closer just a bit –” “ Enough ?” Eunho felt his breath hitch as Hyungseok pulled himself closer to him, with one hand on the elder’s waist, the other on his thigh, face a mere few centimeters away from the elder’s. When Eunho felt the eyes dancing around on his face, he blinked himself awake and took in a breath, softly nodding. “ This is fine, yes .” HIs voice was light, barely a whisper, and he tried his best not to shiver at the hands drawing circles into his skin.
Hyungseok let out a small gasp when the elder pulled the gauze off of his nose, and Eunho’s eyes widened, fingers carefully cupping his cheeks. “ Sorry, was I too harsh ?” Hyungseok shook his head lightly, opening his eyes to stare at the smaller. “ No, it’s just... hurts a bit .”
Eunho’s fingers were shaking as he pulled them away from Hyungseok’s face, and the taller, carefully reached out, brushing one finger over his cheek. “ It’s not you, Eunho .”
Their eyes met as the whisper floated around the room for a bit, eyes just admiring the beauty in front of each other. Eunho studied the dark bruise stretching across the younger’s nose and eyes, and the red, irritated skin just under his nose, above his lips. He couldn’t help but advert his eyes down to the plump lips, staring at the small curve, the pink color, the unusual softness. They should’ve been chapped and dry , Eunho thought. And half of him died, because it was unfair . Unfair in sense of how damn good Hyungseok looks all the time, at all times, and unfair of how Eunho has to hold back.
“ You didn’t get stitches ?” Eunho finally asked, breaking the silence, adverting his eyes down to the fingers, fighting to open the sterile gauze. “ No, they said they could access it from the nostrils .” Eunho nodded, taking in a short breath as he felt tears bubble up. “ Did it hurt ?”
Hyungseok pulled both hands up and cupped his face, pulling his chin up to look at him properly, Eunho blinking away the tears that piled up, nonetheless. “ Eunho, hey , it’s okay –” “ I’m sorry, Hyungseok. I’m so sorry ,” Eunho cried out, and Hyungseok pulled him closer, into a gentle hug, caressing his hair. “ Hey, it’s okay, I'm okay, Eunho. I’m okay .” “ I was so worried. I was so fucking worried, Hyungseok. I was terrified –” “ I’m okay, hm? It's okay. It passed, I'm fine. It's just a little bruise now. I'm okay. ”
Hyungseok pulled away, and cupped Eunho’s cheeks, wiping the fallen tears, forcing a smile. “ Okay? No more tears .” Eunho took in a deep breath and gently nodded before Hyungseok wiped the remaining fallen tears. “ Okay ,” Eunho whispered before excusing himself to freshen up.
When he came back, Hyungseok was laying on the couch with his hands behind his head, eyes closed. Eunho carefully sat next to him, freezing as the taller opened his eyes and forced a smile, then pulled himself higher and placed his head in the smaller’s lap.
“ I wanna lay down, if that’s okay ,” Hyungseok whispered, closing his eyes with a small smile on his lips. “ I still need to put the bandage back ,” Eunho let out, and Hyungseok forced another smile, nodding. “ The doctor said I need to let it breathe a little ,” he let out, catching Eunho’s hands into his and pulled them down, one entwining with his fingers, the other softly into his own hair. Hyungseok hummed, the smile on his lips a bit brighter, bigger.
“ Let me rest a bit ,” Hyungsek whispered and Eunho forced a smile, nodding before taking in a deeper breath and running his hand through the taller’s hair gently.
Eunho was on fire . He felt himself getting lost in the warmth seeping through the thin material of his trousers, felt the soft fingers rub circles into his hand. The younger’s face slowly relaxed as Eunho ran his fingers through his hair, soft hand threading through the semi-dry hair. It was unfair ; looking this good even with a huge bruise covering most of his face, the soft lips, the soft hair. Eunho had a hard time holding back –
“ That’s a relief ,” left his lips before he could think twice.
And when he noticed he had been staring at the younger’s lips for a tab bit too long, his heart sank as he realized Hyungseok’s eyes were opened, staring right up at him.
“What is?” Hyungseok asked and Eunho blushed deeper. “ Oh , uh, your face looks the same, is all.” The time seemed to stop before Hyungseok finally cracked a small smile at Eunho.
He adverted his eyes, gulping, avoiding the taller’s gaze as a soft smile spread on his lips. He heard Hyungseok chuckle a bit and the hand around his dissapeared. “You can bandage me up now. I think it was long enough,” he let out and Eunho took in a quick breath, letting go off the younger.
And once again, the two were a breath apart as Hyungseok sat up for the elder to bandage him up, softly running his finger over the bruises with some sort of cream, holding his breath the whole time. When he gently pressed the tape to his cheeks, Hyungseok let out a breath and forced a smile. “ Okay ?” Eunho quickly asked and Hyungseok nodded, closing his eyes. “ Perfect . Thank you ,” he let out, and Eunho smiled.
Hyungseok cuddled in his lap for a tad bit longer, before the afternoon turned into evening as they laughed the time away, the TV they opened only a background noise as they talked, and talked, and talked. They shared a lot of things without the usual bickering and teasing, and Eunho felt as if the younger tried his best to listen. Hyungseok held Eunho’s hand, fingers playing with fingers, drawing circles, pressing warmth. He doesn’t remember Hyungseok talking to him like this, ever; it felt completely different. Hyungseok felt so different to Eunho.
Eunho caught the younger stare up at him a few times, and forced a smile as his ears burned in red.
Hyungseok reached up at some point, running one hand over his cheek, and Eunho froze, the warm fingers gently brusing a stray strand of hair from his cheek.
Eunho felt the younger’s energy somehow shift ; his touched became deliberate, but shy, his looks warm and eyes full of something that was difficult to miss.
But Eunho didn’t want to mistake this for what it wasn’t.
The talk died down a bit ago, a while after the two ate some of what Eunho cooked, after Hyungseok accidentally spilled some soup and was forced to sit back and stare at Eunho cleaning with stars in his eyes . When Eunho returned, the taller found his place back on the elder’s lap, hand entwining with his the second they touched. Eunho was on fire .
The talk died down a while ago , and Hyungseok was slowly falling asleep in Eunho’s lap.
“ Hyungseok ,” Eunho gently called, a soft smile on his lips as their eyes met. “ Let’s get you to bed .” Hyungseok let out a groan and took Eunho’s hand into his, closing his eyes again. “ I don’t want to ,” he let out, bringing the elder’s hand up to rest against his cheek. “ I like this, I like your company. ”
Eunho had to look away to cover the bright pink cheeks. He has to pull himself together –
“ Maybe I can stay with you until you fall asleep ?”
Hyungseok opened his eyes and Eunho mentally cursed. “ You would ?” the taller smiled, and Eunho gulped, nodding. “ Let’s go .”
Eunho was nervously pacing around the room before the taller came in with brushed teeth and pajama on. He sunk into the bed and stared across the room at the frozen elder.
Eunho gulped and walked closer, Hyungseok’s eyes following him the whole time; and it made Eunho so nervous .
Just when Eunho was about to sit, Hyungseok pulled the cover up. “ Don’t go .”
It wasn’t a demand; it was a plea and Eunho’s stomach twisted with the butterfies. “ Please, stay with me .”
So, he laid in and found himself staring across the tiny pillow at the eyes staring back at him.
He was trying not to acknowledge the small, tiny, breath length distance between them –
“ Thank you for bearing with me today ,” Hyungseok whispered, and it was so delicate, the smaller had a hard time believing it came from Hyungseok. “ I know I’ve been a lot. I’m sorry –“ “ Stop ,” Eunho cut him off, feeling himself getting pulled closer to the younger. “ Stop apologizing. I like taking care of you , plus ; would you really be you if you weren’t a little difficult ?” he added, half joking and Hyungseok’s eyes glistened before a small smile stretched his lips. “ I know you like me like that ,” Hyungseok let out, voice breathy, full of smiles and Eunho got lost.
Eunho once again found himself staring at it , at the plump, pink, soft lips, and only looked away as he felt the younger’s hand entwining with his. Hyungseok pulled it up to his lips and pressed a small kiss to his knuckles, Eunho’s breath dissolving from his lungs .
Hyungseok stared at him as he pressed another kiss to the back of his palm, and Eunho felt his hand shiver. He was just as affected as Eunho was, and it made a part of the smaller warm.
“ Thank you for caring . I like you taking care of me .” He pressed another kiss, before forcing a smile and lowering their entwined hand. “ I like you .”
Eunho was waiting for the next few words, words that would usually follow such words and was left with no air in his lungs as the words never came.
“ Wonky talking ?” “ The meds passed a few hours ago, Eunho .”
And then they laid in silence for what felt like forever as Eunho stared at the face that stared back at him; breath hitching every time the taller’s eyes landed on his lips, Eunho found himself slowly building up the courage to say what he wanted.
“ Hyungseok , I , I really …” When he found the younger slowly leaning closer and their faces were literally a hair thickness away, he mustered up enough to say. “ I really wanna kiss you .” Hyungseok’s eyes lightly widened before a smile stretched his lips. “ You can ,” he whispered and the smile dissapeared, eyes filled with stars.
Hyungseok stared at the elder, waiting for him to move , to do something, judging by the impatient hand on his waist, and Eunho finally leaned in and pressed his lips against the taller’s, only to quickly pull away with wide eyes as Hyungseok whined.
“ Ough, fuck, sorry ! Are you okay ? I’m so sorry !” Hyungseok instead laughed out and pulled Eunho to him, body pressed together flush. “ Gently ,” Hyungseok said through his smile, hand pressing into the smaller’s waist. Eunho gulped and slowly leaned in, cupping the taller’s jaw before pressing a very gentle kiss to Hyungseok’s lips.
And when they parted, Hyungseok smiled, and pulled Eunho in for another kiss, cursing as he pressed a tad bit too close and Eunho laughed. “ Maybe we should wait till your nose is not wonky,” he let out and Hyungseok ran one hand through his hair, laughing.
And the laughs died down to only gentle smiles and the reality of what they did slowly settled in.
Eunho tried to read Hyungseok’s face, but the younger wasn’t giving much away; except for the fond smile and thousands of stars in his eyes.
“ Hyungseok, I… ” When words failed to form, Eunho forced a smile, feeling Hyungseok’s fingers entwine with his. “ I like you , Eunho . I really, really, really do . I have liked you for a while .” The words floated in the air for a bit before Hyungseok gathered his thoughts again. “ All I was thinking about today before coming home was… if you were okay. If you’re doing okay. I wasn’t worried about anything else. And you know that’s a lot coming from me – I, all I could think about was you ,” he whispered and Eunho felt tears burn behind his eyes. “ I decided I’ve had enough of playing, because I like you too much to keep hiding behind lame jokes and bothering you . I know it makes no sense – And like – I like you . A lot , Eunho .”
The elder felt how nervous the other was while talking, and forced a small smile, even if his lungs felt like giving out. “I’ve been scared, tried to push these feeling away because I was afraid I might push you away,” he added. “But I like you so much. But, if, you know, since it makes no sense. If there’s a possibility you might not like me back –” “I do!”
Both freezing as the confession echoed between them, Hyungseok smiled and Eunho could breathe . “ I like you, Hyungseok . I’ve liked you for months .” He pressed himself closer to the taller and smiled. “ Even your damn rumbling, ” he joked and Hyungseok pulled away lightly, a breathy whine leaving his mouth. “ Rumbling ? When did I rumble ? I was speaking my feelings and you call it rumb – “ Shutting him up with a gentle kiss to the corner of his lips, Hyungseok bit his lip and nodded. “ Point taken . I will rumble more .”
Eunho laughed and pressed another kiss to his cheek.
“ I can’t wait to have a healthy nose .” Hyungseok breathed out after pressing a gentle kiss to Eunho’s lips, laughing along with Eunho.