three days had passed of a peaceful summer break, where mingyu was inseparable from wonwoo. he'd been sleeping over at wonwoo's house since the day after his parents took off for a business trip and in such a short span of a few days it had become something completely natural to the two.
even to wonwoo, who became oddly comfortable around mingyu. not only in his way of speaking, but also his behavior had drastically took a turn, to mingyu's liking.
they had payed a visit to seungcheol's cafe every day since the place opened up, mostly right after sunset as the cafe held a cozy atmosphere in the dark and it would be less crowded with customers. to their luck, seungcheol was still busying himself with chores and other activities though it closed at nine. and since jeonghan was together with him most of the time, there was no doubt that they were welcome.
"i made you some lunch, my dearest." mingyu announced himself as he graciously placed a plate with sandwiches in wonwoo's lap, acting like the polite butler he tried to picture. the boy had been busy reading his book and looked up with a disgusted glare.
"my dearest? are you for real?" wonwoo said to a visibly amused mingyu, who in fact knew exactly what he was doing. mingyu was well aware that he was absolute no match to all those romans wonwoo read, yet still he tried it all the time, those cute little nicknames being the main example of it. "gyu please, beside romeo and juliet absolutely no one says that."
"doesn't mean i can't express my love towards you." mingyu puffed his chest in triumph as he took a bit from his own sandwich. "it's gross, express it in another way." though wonwoo couldn't help but to feel butterflies roam through his tummy.
"you can be so weird sometimes, you know?" mingyu huffed, reaching for his chest to act as if the latter had hurt him with his words, yet he wasn't even able to suppress a chuckle. "hey, when are your parents coming home?"
"i have honestly no idea. probably in a week, maybe two." wonwoo remained unbothered, munching on his delicious sandwich with a blank expression. "how about you? you said you live in an apartment, but i've never heard you talk about your parents."
for a second the room remained silent and once mingyu broke eye contact and lost his delighted expression, wonwoo noticed something seemed off. yet still mingyu managed to reply, making the atmosphere suddenly a lot gloomier than expected. "i lost my parents in a car accident seven years ago. it's been just me and my brother ever since."
instant guilt rose up in wonwoo chest on how bluntly he had asked such question. "i'm.. so sorry. i shouldn't have asked that question." though he apologized, the latter waved it away with a gesture of his hands to cover it up quickly. "no don't be sorry! you couldn't have known that, isn't it normal to ask someone about their parents?"
and just like that they fell in a silence, the clock ticking away the painfully slow seconds as they ate the remainings of their lunch. wonwoo had never experienced something like this and found it extremely hard to comfort the latter, who seemingly found it difficult to talk about the subject. the feeling of regret lay heavy inside his chest, wonwoo's head working over hours just to be able to say something.
and the moment he finished lunch and put his plate down on the couch next to him, he knew a perfect solution. "come here?" he requested for mingyu to come closer, knowing how cuddles had solved the issue a few nights back as well. and like he expected, mingyu shuffled his body a little closer, dropping the back of his head in wonwoo's lap so he was able to gaze up at the elder from another perspective.
"hey, i'm sorry i started about it. i really didn't mean to bring it up.." wonwoo apologized as the guilt wouldn't disappear.
"don't be sorry, silly." mingyu gave out a small smile, moving his hand up to ruffle through the raven boy's hair. "it's been seven years. i should be able to talk about it now, don't you think?"
wonwoo hesitated, but nodded sadly, unconsciously brushing his fingers through the brunette's hair. "do you, maybe want to talk about them?" wonwoo offered, knowing it might lessen the burden just for now, since he doubted mingyu had ever been able to show his vulnerable side before.
"well, in my opinion my parents were perfect." mingyu looked up at the ceiling, recalling memories from his younger years. "you know the usual perfectly painted picture you get with the title parents. my mom stayed at home while my dad had a full-time job. we ate breakfast together every morning, my mom made dinner and waited for my dad to get home. they even kept reading me bedtime stories until i turned ten. sometimes i wish they could still do that."
"i could read you a bedtime story tonight, if you'd like to?" mingyu propped himself up on his elbow and reached wonwoo's face height, tears brimming in the corners of his eyes. "would you do that?" a sudden feeling of nostalgia and safety overwhelmed him, the warmth of his mother appearing in wonwoo's eyes. and for the first time, the tall boy returned home again.
"of course i would." wonwoo convinced the rather insecure mingyu. "don't you think it's weird though? reading a bedtime story for a seventeen year old?" a giggle of relief escaped wonwoo's lips as he remained eye contact with the puppy-like guy, faintly brushing over his cheek with his thumb. "i'd love to read you a bedtime story. i can tell by the look on your face how much it means to you."
tears were threatening to fall as his bottom lip trembled on the sudden home-like feeling he received. the boy could barely bring out a verbal reply, something that was absolutely unlike to the mingyu wonwoo knew. "you're allowed to show your emotions, you know that right?" wonwoo whispered, making mingyu nod as he hid his face in the crook of wonwoo's neck, silent sobs being muffled with tears wetting wonwoo's exposed skin.
"shhh.. it's okay gyu.." wonwoo whispered to the trembling boy inside his arms, giving him all the comfort needed by rubbing his back up and down, trying to calm his sobs and attempting to support the steadying of his breath.
"wonwon.. thank you."
and mingyu couldn't help but to feel even guiltier than he already did...
