pet, meanie

XVI

Wonwoo slapped himself for making decisions without thinking twice. What had he been thinking when he'd asked Mingyu to come over, knowing his room was basically brain-dump?

His hand was on the door handle, and the other was still holding onto Mingyu's — of course he had to let him in. And so, without whirlpooling his thoughts too much, he pushed the handle down and opened the door, letting Mingyu step into his space.

Mingyu stared – not for a few seconds, but for a whole few minutes – at the contents of his room which had been cleaned thoroughly by Wonwoo in the wee hours of that morning. Why? Because he couldn't sleep due to the thought of the marathon creeping up on him.

Wonwoo cringed at himself, trying everything to not squirm and flee from the room. He had emo fucking band posters everywhere, and Fall Out Boy's tour schedule stuck on the wall above his desk — right next to his quiz schedule for the upcoming week. The only spot that had been spared from his emo-ness was the balcony panes — which were spotless — although Wonwoo had been debating over putting up a few things on them too.

"Like I said, you don't deserve to be emo," Mingyu broke the silence at some point.

What? "What?"

Mingyu turned to face him completely, and said, "I mean, look at you blushing and shifting on your feet." He wore a stupid smile – as though he were totally enraptured and head-over-heels for Wonwoo. It made Wonwoo's heart skip a beat, despite having convinced himself each time that Mingyu couldn't get any sweeter. The boy definitely liked to throw him off each time, coming up with the most genuine compliments and cheesiest pick-up lines every time.

Wonwoo realised he would come off as a disgrace to Pete Wentz by melting into a soft puddle each time Mingyu did something undeniably affectionate – then again, Pete Wentz didn't know who Wonwoo was, neither was there a rule that said emo people couldn't blush.

"S- Shut up," Wonwoo stammered, pushing past Mingyu to sit on his bed. He beckoned the boy over, patting the spot next to his as he took off Mingyu's jacket. Oh fuck; he'd been wearing it – a bit too large on his skinny frame – when he'd talked to his mum downstairs.

Wonwoo wanted to cry of embarrassment, cursing his stupid brain that thought of the wildest ideas. The events of the day came rushing at him – the fateful marathon, the talk with his mum, going for a breather, and finally ending up back in his room with Mingyu next to him.

He felt the boy shift beside him, and warm arms soon engulfed him completely as Mingyu rested his chin over Wonwoo's head. His hands gently patted the back of his head, fingers running through his ruffled hair, and Wonwoo couldn't help but let out a small cry of disappointment. The day had been too much for him – and it hadn't even been anything worth contemplating over so much. But it was, said a voice in his head.

"Oh Wonwoo... What's wrong, baby?"

Wonwoo sobbed further – he couldn't really tell since he'd tried to gasp at the same time. It was the first time Mingyu had ever addressed him by something other than his name.

"It's n-nothing, it's stupid, really,"

"You don't seem like the kind that cries when things are stupid,"

"I don't know- The day's just been shitty,"

"And it's okay to cry when things get too much,"

Wonwoo sniffled, letting out a ridiculed laugh. He scooted away, furiously rubbing away the tears from his face. Mingyu peeled his hands away, and took to carefully wiping the remnants of tears off. He held Wonwoo's face in his hands once he was done, and gently pressed a kiss to his lips. "Did letting it out make you feel better?" he asked as he pulled away.

Wonwoo nodded, still recovering from the unexpected kiss. No matter how down he was, Mingyu always lightened things for him. He smiled – finally – and looked up at the boy staring at him. "Thank you," he whispered, leaning in towards Mingyu.

Mingyu kissed him, again, and Wonwoo suddenly didn't think too much of disappointing anyone – not even Pete Wentz.

"I swear, you're sucking the emo-ness out of me," he giggled, once he'd pulled away.

"I'll like you anyway, emo or not," Mingyu admitted, sending warmth coursing through Wonwoo.

"Good luck explaining things to my mum as you go," Wonwoo said, giggling as he stood up, handing Mingyu's jacket back as the boy was readying himself to leave. It was past nine, and Mingyu's mum had sent him a text a while ago, asking him to come back. She'd eventually called him too, and that was the first time Wonwoo had heard the boy sounding so adorably annoyed.

"Yes mum- I'm at friend's, jeez!" he'd exclaimed, followed by a series of 'yes's and 'I'm on my way's.

"Oh shit," Mingyu realised, mouth open as if to let a mosquito in. Wonwoo pushed the base of his palm up his chin, closing the boy's mouth before that could actually happen.

"Walk safe," he whispered as he saw Mingyu out the door, with his mum lingering, like the nosy woman she was, in the living room, "or do you want me to go with you?"

Mingyu stared at him pleadingly – with those huge, glistening puppy-eyes – looking as though he really wanted Wonwoo to come along, making him giggle. "I'll have to tell her," he said, gesturing to his mum who was- Yeah, she was definitely invested.

"Mum? Can I go with him, just till his house? I'll be back in around fifteen minutes,"

"Sure, love, I don't mind," she agreed, her voice sickly sweet as she spoke. Gosh, his mum could be so annoying at times, but she was the chillest mum he'd ever seen; so that was a win.

"Bye Mrs. Jeon!" Mingyu exclaimed, as Wonwoo shut the door and held his hand.

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I love Fall Out Boy (I swear I'm not emo)