late nights || minjoong

- four -

four days later the two found themselves upside down on the same couch. "joong, i'm losing hope" "no! not on my watch, i promised you would get this done and you will i believe in you and you should to you dork" despite his worries and now overwhelming amount of self doubt mingi laughed and gave a genuine smile. something that always seemed to appear when he was with the older. mingi had been coming there every single night and in all honesty he didn't regret a second of it. sleeping was out of the question so the issue he was starting to get more concerned about was the fact that hongjoong didn't sleep while he was there. "hongjoong, when do you! find time to sleep i'm here sometimes for hours, i keep you up i feel bad." "no need to worry i find time to rest during the day before my shift late afternoon, plus i do other things to keep me busy." 

hongjoong sipped his regular coffee but choked briefly when he heard mingi slam his laptop shut.the taller had been silent the past fifteen minutes. the younger placed his head in his hands and took a deep breath. mingi removed his legs from the couch where he was originally stretched out comfortably and sat straight up. hongjoong placed his cup down sensing the other's distress. from the time they have spent together, hongjoong can read mingi like an open book and this was a state he hadn't seen him in yet. being careful hongjoong gently placed his hands on mingi's shoulder's not knowing if he would startle him again. contradicting what he figured would be his reaction the other leaned backwards towards the touch seeking some sort of comfort. the older gently massaged the other's shoulders being gentle but noted how tense he was due to all the stress he had piled onto himself. 

hongjoong heard the other sigh and finally removed his face from his hands. due to his rounder cheeks despite being angled behind him hongjoong could see tear stains on his cheeks. "awe mingi" hongjoong placed his arms around the other arms wrapped around his shoulder and neck area due to the back of the couch. he felt the taller start to shake in his hold, and only held on tighter wanting to protect him. "why is everything so difficult?" it was months worth of stress, lack of sleep, self doubt, pressure, and a whirlwind of negative emotions crashing on him at once. hongjoong moved so he now was squatting in front of mingi to be eye level with him. he cupped his cheeks in his hands and used the pads of his thumbs to brush away any tears that decided to escape the other's eyes. "i'm right here, okay, look at me" mustering up all his care for the other hongjoong put that in his gaze on mingi. "i'm sticking right by your side okay, i'm not going anywhere. and as long as i'm here i won't let you struggle, at least not on your own." mingi felt more tears well in his eyes but this time they definitely weren't the stressful ones.

he reached forward pulling the older into a hug not wanting to let go of him, scared he could be gone in an instant. "you won't leave" "i promise. you can't get rid of me that easy cutie" the nickname caused the taller to bury his face further into hongjoong's shoulder feeling suddenly much more shy. "i'll be there okay. i'm right here for you... think of me like your..." hongjoong lulled over the thought for a moment. "as your star, it may seem dark but i'm there for you."

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