Tired Lines; Soonhoon

17

☽

10:08 am.

He blinks slowly, trying to focus through the haze of sleep and tangled eyelashes; he has some distant memories lingering behind his skull, those of faint murmurings and feeling someone readjust the blanket over his shoulders before dozing off again. He thinks he might have dreamt them, but then he processes his surroundings, realizing that this is not, as a matter of fact, his dorm, and he sits up with a jolt.

Maybe they weren't dreams.

"Uh, hello?" he calls, voice groggy. From somewhere behind him, beyond a thin wall, he can hear the sound of cupboards opening and shutting, the clattering of ceramic. Some time passes, maybe a few seconds, maybe a few minutes - Jihoon isn't really sure - before he's shaken out of his stupor by a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you're awake."

"I am? I mean, yeah. I am."

Soonyoung laughs quietly and perches himself on the arm of the couch, passing a mug over to Jihoon while he raises his own to his lips. Jihoon's a little out of it, mind foggy, but the aroma of coffee and the bitter taste of caffeine warming his throat are enough to wake him up some more. He rubs his eyes with the backs of his hands and glances around - glances anywhere that isn't near Soonyoung. He's so close.

"When did you get up?" he asks, trying to distract himself.

"Not too long ago. I considered making you breakfast but I, uh, don't know how to cook. Figured the least I could do was make you coffee." Jihoon holds the mug close to his chest, squeezing his eyes shut and groaning. So much for distracting himself.

"Soonyoung, stop being so nice to me. I feel terrible."

"Why?"

"I dunno. Like, I ate your cookies. I crashed on your couch. Last night was your night off and I - "

"You're forgetting the fact that I asked you to do all that, Jihoon. And it worked! You slept like a log."

"I did?"

Soonyoung hums, taking another sip. Jihoon unconsciously follows the movement of his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, swallowing past the dryness in his own throat. "Mm-hmm. You woke up a few times throughout the night, but other than that I'm pretty sure you got at least nine hours."

Nine hours. That's the most sleep he's gotten in over a month, now. Soonyoung catches onto his incredulity and grins.

"Feels good, huh? Now maybe if you show up to watch movies with me every night - "

"You need sleep, too, Soonyoung."

"I did sleep! I slept great, actually. I got up every now and then to - I mean, it doesn't matter. I did sleep, though." 

Jihoon wants to ask what he was about to say, convince him to finish the sentence, but before he can so much as breathe a word the sound of his phone vibrating pulls his attention. He has to search through the folds of blankets and the cracks between couch cushions before finding it, hitting answer without checking the caller ID.

The voice that greets him is loud and nagging, and it doesn't take more than half a second for Jihoon to guess who it is.

"Jihoon, you son of a bitch - "

"Yes, Mingyu?"

"Why haven't you been answering my messages? I swear to God, you motherfucker, I've called you about a million times - the least you could do the next time you decide to just not come home is text me and let me know, yeah? Like, did you just expect me not to worry? You're stupid, Jihoon, a grade-A dumbass, literally anything could've happened - "

"Can you slow down, idiot?" Jihoon sighs, rubbing his eyes and managing a weak smile in Soonyoung's direction. The latter has his lips pressed into a thin line, snickering. "I'm not that dumb," he adds, "I'm an adult. I can take care of myself."

"That is a lie. You and I both know you can't take care of yourself. Where the hell did you even go?"

Jihoon blanks for a moment, wondering if he should lie or tell the truth. Would Soonyoung be offended if he lied? Would Mingyu find out? Yes, probably, to both of those. But then if he tells the truth, Mingyu will most definitely tease him for the next five years, and Jihoon's not sure which is worse, in all honesty.

Before he can form some sort of response, however, Soonyoung is leaning close to his ear and speaking into the microphone.

"He stayed the night at my place, Min. But no worries," he adds, "I made sure he slept plenty."

The line suddenly falls quiet on Mingyu's end, and Jihoon can practically see the gears in his head turning, trying to understand the situation. "Can you hurry up and say something?" he asks, irritated. "I know you've only got so many brain cells, but this isn't difficult to process." 

"You ... stayed the night at Soonyoung's? Oh - oh, I get it - "

"No, I don't think you do," Jihoon scrambles to explain, blushing furiously when Soonyoung breaks into a bout of cackles, his own cheeks tinged pink. "I just slept, okay? Nothing else."

"Yeah, right, I'm sure - Wait, you slept? How much?"

Jihoon huffs at the surprise in his friend's tone, feeling like a child. Normal people don't need to celebrate getting a full night's rest.

"It doesn't matter, yeah? I'm gonna get going soon, anyway, so I'll talk to you about it later."

"Really? I figured you'd be jumping at the chance to stay longer - "

"I'm done talking to you," he interrupts. "Don't do anything stupid before I get back."

"Okay ... Jihoon?"

"What?"

"I love you."

" ... Shut the fuck up, Mingyu. I'll see you in thirty."

Jihoon doesn't give himself the chance to hear the boy's response, ending the call and moving to stand. Soonyoung watches him, chin tilted up and eyes curious. He's so cute, Jihoon wants to tear his own eyes out.

"Where are you going?" he asks.

"Uh, home? I really appreciate everything, Soonyoung - like, seriously, it means a lot. But I can't stay here forever." As much as I'd like to.

"You can come back whenever - and I'm not just saying that! Last night was fun."

Jihoon isn't quite sure how to respond without sounding disingenuous, so he does what he thinks is the next best thing and offers up the brightest smile he can muster. It feels a little weird, his cheekbones aren't used to reaching his eyes like this, but it's for Soonyoung. Justified, he thinks.

But when Soonyoung shoots back a smile of the same caliber, his heart melts, and justified doesn't seem like a big enough word.