author's note: this fic was originally a short drabble that i wrote last year. please enjoy the updated, expanded version.
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The night is bitter cold and dark, but Hoseok...Hoseok is so, so warm.
They're on the dorm couch together, Kihyun and Hoseok, and Kihyun's mind is moving so slowly, delayed by several seconds, but so relaxed, his thoughts feeling thick and heavy, blurry, all mixed together, but he feels so warm, so wonderfully, wonderfully warm, and it's bizarre, but it's an amazing feeling, like his head and body are filled with honey, like everything is pure sweetness, like there's nothing holding him down to the earth anymore, like despite the heavy, thick warmth inside of him and all around him, he could just float away like this, float off into the night sky, like the only thing still keeping him here is Hoseok.
Hoseok. Kihyun would never float away from this, would never want to. He wants to stay right here, right beside Hoseok, forever.
Kihyun is tucked at Hoseok's side, curled against Hoseok's chest, his face pressed right on top of Hoseok's slow, steady beating heart, his cheek resting on Hoseok's prominent muscles, Kihyun's legs curled under him and Hoseok sitting up straight, leaning back into the couch cushions. Hoseok's arm is draped around Kihyun, and Hoseok's cheek is pressed to the top of Kihyun's head. Soft. Warm.
They've been sitting like this, unmoving, just breathing together slowly, for a long time now, long enough for the entire building around them to fully settle into the quiet of nighttime. There are no more running showers or sinks of people getting ready for bed, no more hushed and gentle conversations, no more TVs switching off for the night, no more closing doors and slow, tired footsteps. There's only quiet, just the still, perfect quiet.
Kihyun and Hoseok are both drunk. Well, not just drunk, plastered, more than either of them has been in a long, long time. And it's making everything feel all...gooey. It reminds Kihyun of waking up in the middle of the night, half-asleep from a deep, intense dream, that moment just before realizing what's happening, that strange, in-between state. It's that moment, that exact moment, stretched out and melted down to its essence.
The other members are all drunk, too, and all passed out, completely out cold, the result of a relaxing night in the comfort and privacy of the dorm following a seemingly endless round of schedules, the first evening of a week or so of breaktime before they dive right back in like they never left, like they never stopped moving even for a second. And they had kept it simple: video games, laughter, booze. Lots and lots and lots of booze.
Hyunwoo had been the only one to actually make it to his bed, but the other four are all sprawled out on blankets on the living room floor, all tangled up together in a mess of limbs and fabric, snoring softly in deep, deep sleep, dreamless, blank, the wonderfully dark and empty kind of sleep that only alcohol can gently guide them into as it pulls them down into its comforting abyss. They're all hugging each other close, seeking out the warmth, the anchor to hold them here when it's so difficult to hold on to anything sometimes.
And Hoseok...he's so, so warm. Being with Hoseok is like drowning in deep, orange sunshine, bright and brilliant even in the darkest, coldest hours of the night.
Hoseok's chest is firm beneath Kihyun's cheek, Hoseok's heartbeat, a soothing, steady rhythm, his arm around Kihyun's shoulder strong and secure, but his hand gentle where it grips Kihyun's body, holds him in close. Hoseok is not quite asleep yet either, but his eyes are closed, and his breathing is slow, and he's humming softly, low and deep, almost inaudibly, but Kihyun can feel it rumbling through Hoseok's body like a lullaby, and Kihyun is having trouble keeping his own eyes open, having trouble staying on this side of his consciousness, having trouble not losing himself entirely to the deep, dark embrace of sleep in Hoseok's arms, Hoseok's warmth.