Just a little incident | Junhao

14

"Could we go to yours?"

Junhui did a double take. He looked over at the younger, innocently sitting in the passenger seat and looking up at him. "No." He responded, facing the road again. Slotting the car key into the ignition, he started driving out of the carpark.

"But- but why not?" Minghao stuttered out. He hadn't expected the blatant rejection, and truth be told, it kind of hurt. Luckily for him, the older didn't know how to get to his apartment, and if he did not crack first, he could still manage to get his way.

Junhui sighed softly. "It's late. I want to get home, as do you."

The younger frowned. "Please? It'll be like sleepover." He begged. Shameless as it may be, he was very aware that with a show of his puppy eyes, Junhui wouldn't be able to resist. 

"What about Lila?" Junhui frowned. Wasn't that the exact reason Minghao had rejected his invitation once before?

"She's with my parents until the end of next week." Minghao responded. 

His hunch proved accurate, as the older gave in not long later. Before they knew it, Junhui was driving back to his own apartment, a younger Chinese male dozing off in the passenger seat. Every so often, his hand would shoot out in front of the younger when they went over a speed bump, making sure he didn't fall forward too violently.

When they finally reached Junhui's house, Minghao had been the more enthusiastic one about this so-called 'sleepover'. He waltzed right into the apartment, which Junhui found funny considering it wasn't even his. Yet, him being in that apartment felt right. The older wondered why.

Minghao called first-dibs on the shower, so Junhui had no choice but to sit in the living room and wait while the younger bathed and changed out. While the Minghao busied himself, the older rummaged through his closet to find a set of clothes comfortable and small enough to fit the other. Minutes of searching turned out to be a plain shirt and a pair of checkered drawstring pants, that he had bought on a whim during a sale but ended up being too small for him. He kept it though; it was a good decision after all.

Sitting on the couch, Junhui pulled his phone out from his pocket to scroll through social media, distracting himself in the meantime. "Jun," a voice shouted from the bathroom, "I need a toothbrush!"

"Under the sink!" He called back, not once looking up from his phone. After a few moments, Minghao waddled out with a towel between his fingers. A laugh nearly escaped the older's lips looking at the other. The pants were slightly longer, so the end of it dragged along the floor, making Minghao look dwarfed in the clothes. He held back his comments about the shirt, which hung loosely on the younger's body and exposed a tiny bit of his collarbone, a good or bad thing he did not want to know.

Junhui came out of the shower a half hour later, his hair still dripping water onto the collar of his own shirt. Walking towards his bedroom to finally get some rest, he stopped short at the sight in front of him. Minghao had already settled into his bed, entire body covered from view by the blanket with only the top half of his head poking out. "I'll take the couch." He made up his mind instantly, turning to walk back out of the room.

"Why can't you sleep here?" Minghao asked softly.

Junhui stared at him pointedly. "You do hear yourself, right?"

Minghao nodded, "It's big enough to fit both of us." To make his point, he scooted over to the left half of the bed, leaving nearly a two person space for the elder. Junhui cautiously approached the edge of the bed, lifting the covers slightly to slot himself in. The younger was laying down sideways, scrolling cat videos on Instagram, but got up quickly and started shifting the pillow and bolsters around. 

"What are you doing?" Junhui asked, sitting up to allow him more space for whatever pillow fort he was trying to create. 

"Making a barrier." He announced matter-of-factly, as if it were already obvious. When he had finished setting up a line consisting of two pillows which separated the king-sized mattress into equal halves, he prodded the older's shoulder. "No crossing the line." He ordered with a strict tone that Junhui found more adorable than anything. 

"I won't." He said. He was sitting up, leaning against the headboard whereas Minghao was laying down, so he had a full view of the latter if he looked down. 

Minghao frowned, crossing his arms while getting up once again. "I'm not done," He continued, "No touching throughout the night. Deal?" 

A small laugh escaped the older's lips. He pretended to consider the agreement for a minute. "What's in it for me?" Minghao looked taken aback. "I'm just kidding." He assured when the younger struggled for words. He hooked his pinky onto Minghao's extended hand, entertaining the other's childish antics. Afterward, the room plunged into silence as the younger turned and shut his eyes, meanwhile Junhui continued to check his socials. Minghao had turned off the lamp on his side, but Junhui left his on to properly see his phone.

Not long later, he heard a small whisper of a voice call his name. "Yes?" He faced the younger. "I can't sleep with the lights on." Junhui looked back and forth between the boy beside him and the bedside lamp. Sighing, he plugged his phone into the charger and turned off the light. It was about time he fall asleep anyway. 

A mere 5 minutes after he had shut his eyes, Minghao called him again. This time, he hummed in response. "I'm cold," The younger complained shyly. Junhui wordlessly climbed out from under the warm covers and turned up the A/C. When he still wasn't satisfied, the elder went to the living room and brought back the extra blanket he kept lying around on the couch. "Better?" He asked, to which Minghao nodded his head, his face smooshed into the pillows.

Finally, peace at last. 

"Jun?" The small sound pierced the silent atmosphere. 

"What?" Junhui snapped, rolling around. He was rather annoyed by the other man's constant badgering. 

"Nothing, I just- Goodnight." Minghao squeaked. 

Oh. Through the dim moonlit room. Junhui could spot the younger curled in a fetal position, hugging a bolster tightly. 

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Halfway through the night, Junhui had awoken with a slight startle. In accordance with the rules Minghao had laid out earlier, he dutifully kept to his side of the bed, making sure not to kick out or shift around. Yet when he felt himself start to stir, there was a strange warmness near his legs. Peering under the covers, he found that the pillows used to act as the barrier between them had miraculously disappeared and ended up on the floor, while Minghao's right leg barely grazed the side of his left's. He slowly shifted away, but the action caused Minghao to sleepily move as well, and now his leg was slung across the older's. The rest of his body had infiltrated into Junhui's side as well. So much for not crossing the line.

Junhui let out his fifth sigh of the day, willed himself to fall back asleep. Some things never change.