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Maybe - probably - for the first time in the last few months, they have the dorm to themselves, and if Jeonghan’s being honest it’s really very nice. With eleven other young men taking up three floors’ worth of rooms it’s not often that there’s a lack of shouting or loud music or video game noise or stomping around. It’s not often that there’s soft sounds and comfortable silence, and Jeonghan is reveling in it. He and Seungcheol had woken up that morning to see the boys off to the SBS Gayo Daejeon filming and after all that chaos just the two of them were left. And now the only sounds Jeonghan hears are those of the music playing through the speaker in the kitchen - at a cozy volume, one that won’t make his ears bleed like many of his members seem to love - and his own humming as he finishes up the ramen. In a few hours the other boys will return with their boisterous laughter and tons of stories to tell, and of course Jeonghan is excited to see them, to spend Christmas night with them, but until then it’s just him and Seungcheol.
And honestly he’s not sure that he could ask for a better Christmas.
There’s the soft patter of feet above Taeyeon’s “Candy Cane” and then Jeonghan’s wrapped in a pair of strong arms, pulled back into the familiar warm embrace. Seungcheol smells like his usual shampoo as he nuzzles his face into Jeonghan’s neck, and Jeonghan smiles. “How was your shower?”
“Good,” Cheol mumbles and his hot breath leaves goosebumps on Jeonghan’s skin in its wake. “I didn’t want to get out, but then I remembered that you were making us ramen.”
“It’s almost finished.” He pats Seungcheol’s hands on his stomach before grabbing at the bowls he’d laid out as best as he can with a whole Choi Seungcheol hanging off of him. “It won’t be as good as Mingyu’s but - “
“Eh who needs him? We’re old enough to take care of ourselves.”
Jeonghan laughs softly. “You say that now but wait till you taste it.”
Seungcheol just grunts in response and then he’s turning Jeonghan around in his arms. His features are warm and soft as he smiles at Jeonghan before burying his face back in his neck. It’s such a familiar move, one that makes Jeonghan’s insides turn into mush, and he weaves careful fingers through damp, damaged hair. They stay like that for a bit, just wrapped up in the moment, in the quiet, in each other. And then Cheol mumbles something about cold ramen and they pull apart.
The ramen isn’t as bad as Jeonghan was thinking - though in all fairness to himself it is pretty hard to fuck it up - and they eat in more comfortable silence, soft music drifting from the kitchen speakers still. It’s nice, sitting in the living room with one of his best friends, enjoying the lights they’d all put up a few weeks ago, eating something homemade and simple. Enjoying a low-key Christmas. Which, in all honesty, is probably what they both need. With Seungcheol’s anxiety spiking as of late anything more than a meal and presents with the members was pretty much out of the question, and Jeonghan’s dizzy spells have been worrying him more than he’d like to admit. Plus the last few months - hell the entirety of 2019 - have been insanely busy for them. Which is good but at the same time…
“What are you thinking about?” Seungcheol asks as he leans forward to place his now-empty bowl on the coffee table, next to Jeonghan’s. Warm brown eyes meet his. “You’re quieter than usual.”
“And here I thought you’d like the quiet, what with all the screaming kids we deal with on a daily basis.”
Cheol smiles and leans into the couch, hugging one of the pillows close to his chest. “So you miss them too, huh?”
“I do,” Jeonghan says quietly. “Even though this is really nice, just being here with you.”
“It’s definitely been awhile,” he murmurs as he unwinds one arm from the pillow and reaches for Jeonghan’s hand. That’s all the invitation he needs and he worms his way across the couch to let Seungcheol hold him. Something akin to relief floods his body when Seungcheol threads fingers through his hair and Jeonghan closes his eyes at the sensation. He’d blame their clinginess on the holiday and their solitude if it wasn’t fairly normal for the two of them, and not for the first time he’s actually glad that Seungcheol enjoys skinship so much. Because sometimes he just needs to snuggle with one of his best friends on Christmas, no questions asked.
It doesn’t take long for drowsiness to set in, what with the warmth from the dorm’s heater, the soft music wafting from the kitchen, the fullness of his belly, and Seungcheol. The fingers in his hair relax a bit, deciding on a leisurely pace of soft curling, catching a few strands between his thumb and forefinger. The hand at his back rubs gentle circles through the fabric of his hoodie, and the heartbeat and breathing in his ears are slow and heavy. It’s all more than enough to lull him to sleep - and then his phone vibrates angrily on the coffee table. Only twice though, which is just a text, but still. It’s jarring enough.
“Bet it’s the kids,” Cheol whispers against his temple. “I think it’s about time for the thing to be over.”
Jeonghan hums in response as he wills himself to even open his eyes. “Think they’ll be upset that we didn’t actually watch it?”
There’s a huff of warm laughter on his temple and Seungcheol slowly runs his fingers through Jeonghan’s hair. “Mm, maybe. But knowing them they’re gonna spend hours telling us everything that happened. And then they’re gonna wanna show us videos of everything anyway, regardless of if we’ve seen it already.”
“Mm, that’s true.” He lifts his head and they’re maybe a few inches apart. Cheol’s hand drifts from his hair down to Jeonghan’s face, fingertips brushing against his skin. It leaves butterflies in his stomach and Cheol grins that stupid gummy grin of his when he “accidentally” boops Jeonghan’s nose; that stupid gummy grin that always has Jeonghan smiling back. "You're a pest."
"You love me." His hand slips down to cup the back of Jeonghan's neck, thumb slowly stroking across his cheekbone. It's such an intimate touch, one that he wouldn't accept from just anyone, and he closes his eyes again. It's so nice having Cheol all to himself today. But soon the others will be home and after that it's tour prep for the next two or three weeks. More work, more sleepless nights. Jeonghan would never give it up for anything - except that sometimes these moments are so tempting. He knows there’d be more of them if he insisted on taking breaks a bit regularly. He could sleep more, spend more time with his family and friends.
Spend more time with Seungcheol.
He loves moments like these. There are no cameras, no scripts, no managers, no expectations and fake laughter. Right now he and Cheol are just two boys, together. Not idols, not singers or rappers or dancers. Not celebrities. It's just him and Seungcheol.
"I do love you," he mumbles as he lowers his head back to Cheol's chest, shifting so that his heartbeat fills his ears. It's strong and warm and comforting, just like the man it belongs to.
"I'm glad you're here, Hannie," Seungcheol whispers. "I'd hate being alone on Christmas."
"I'd never leave you alone." His voice is barely louder than a murmur, slightly slurred by the exhaustion threatening to take over his body. It weighs his limbs down and he's more than happy to just melt in Seungcheol's arms. "Especially on Christmas."
For a few moments there's nothing but the heavy sounds of Cheol's heartbeat, of his breathing, and gentle music. His fingers have even stopped weaving through Jeonghan's hair - maybe he's asleep already -
"I love you too, Jeonghannie," he whispers.
Jeonghan smiles and snuggles closer.