ᴀᴅᴅɪᴄᴛᴇᴅ

【44】

the night was soft around them, the rain tapping gently against the windows and the low hum of the heater filling the quiet spaces. mingi was already sitting on the bed, fiddling with the loose threads on the blanket, while yunho moved around the room, getting ready for bed.

"wanna take a bath?" yunho asked suddenly, glancing over at him with that slow, lazy smile that always made mingi's heart beat faster. "before bed? i kinda want one."

mingi nodded without thinking, getting to his feet, the blanket falling off his lap. yunho grinned and padded toward the bathroom, flicking the light on and leaning over the tub to start the water.

mingi followed behind, rubbing at his eyes, feeling the weight of the day settling deep in his bones. but yunho was there — yunho, who was warm and bright even when he was tired — and mingi felt lighter just being close to him.

the water started filling the tub, steam curling up into the air. yunho tested it with his hand, adjusting the knobs until it was just right. he looked back at mingi, that playful glint back in his eyes.

"you gonna just stand there and stare at me?" yunho teased.

mingi huffed a small laugh, cheeks heating up, and shook his head. he pulled his shirt over his head clumsily, feeling shy under yunho's gaze even though they'd done this before, even though yunho never looked at him with anything but pure affection and love.

they stripped down together, tossing their clothes into a pile by the door, and climbed carefully into the tub. the water was hot, almost too hot at first, but it soaked into mingi's skin in a way that made him sigh, his whole body loosening up all at once.

mingi settled in first, stretching his long legs out and leaning back against the cool porcelain. yunho slid in next, sitting between mingi's legs without hesitation, his back pressed against mingi's chest.

mingi arms came around him instantly, pulling him closer. "this is nice," he murmured, voice thick with sleepiness already.

yunho hummed in agreement, letting his head fall back onto mingi's shoulder. the water lapped gently around them, the rain still whispering against the windows, everything wrapped in warmth.

they sat like that for a while, just breathing each other in, no rush, no need for words. mingi's fingers traced slow, absentminded patterns over yunho's arms, his chest, his stomach, never wandering far, just gentle, soothing touches that made yunho melt.

yunho's voice was calm as he talked, the kind of voice mingi could listen to forever without needing to say anything back. "i talked to my dad today," he said.

mingi blinked, attention sharpening a little. yunho didn't talk about his dad a lot — not because it was bad, just because yunho wasn't the type to bring up heavy stuff unless he really needed to.

yunho looked tired in a way that wasn't just physical.

"he was asking if i'm... happy," yunho said after a second, laughing a little under his breath like he didn't know what to do with the question. "like, actually happy. not just... fine."

mingi stayed quiet, giving him the space to keep going if he wanted.

after a few minutes, mingi reached for the little bottle of body wash sitting on the edge of the tub. he squeezed some into his palm, rubbing his hands together until they were sudsy, then started washing yunho carefully, lovingly.