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Jongho knows that he should be in bed right now. The clock reads 11:07 pm and everyone’s sleeping— well, everyone except for one other person.
The floorboards creak under him as he nears the bathroom. The door is open just a crack and he could hear the faint whirring noises of the blow dryer going off. He wraps his hand around the knob and pokes his head in. “Hyung?”
Seonghwa’s standing in front of the sink, clad in a thin black shirt and plaid pajama pants. The older man doesn't notice Jongho right away, too focused on drying his hair, which is blonde now by the way, has been for a while. Jongho thinks it suits him well.
“Hyung,” Jongho says again, sounding more definite this time.
The older male turns off the blow dryer and finally looks his way. “Hm? What do you need?” Seonghwa asks as he combs his fingers through his semi-dry hair. He seems very confused as to why Jongho’s still awake, after all, the youngest was the first one to claim the bathroom hours ago.
“Can I..” Jongho hesitates under the older male’s stare, suddenly feeling ashamed about what he’s about to ask.
“Go on.”
“Hyung..” Jongho glances to the side, finding it easier to ask this without making eye contact. “Can I sleep in your bed tonight?” When he reluctantly peers back at the older, he notices that Seonghwa appears to be pleasantly surprised. It might be due to the fact that he rarely requests for something like this.
“Why? What’s wrong with yours?”
A beat of silence.
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with it— I..” Shame takes over and it quickly turns into defeat as Jongho lets his hand slip off the doorknob. “Never mind. Forget I even asked.”
“No.” A hand clasps around his wrist, preventing him from walking away. “I was just kidding,” Seonghwa confirms with a lighthearted chuckle, which earns a glare from Jongho. “Wait here. I need to put this away first and then we can go.”
After Jongho gives a shy nod, the weight on his wrist disappears and he’s left standing at the doorway, watching as his hyung unplugs the blow dryer and meticulously wraps the cord around it before stowing it away in one of the drawers under the sink.
Seonghwa turns off the lights and loosely wraps an arm around Jongho’s shoulder as he steers them out of the bathroom while using his other hand to shut the door behind them. They both fall into the same pace as they make their way towards Seonghwa’s room, which is shared with none other than the group leader, Kim Hongjoong. The second oldest is usually absent from their dorm, however today doesn’t seem to be the case when the door swings open and reveals the small male passed out on the top bunk.
Jongho hears a quiet laugh beside him as he’s ushered towards the bottom bunk. The door shuts with a soft click when he climbs into the bed first and burrows himself into the sheets. With heavy eyelids, he watches as Seonghwa plugs the charger into Hongjoong’s dead laptop before turning off the desk lamp, engulfing the whole room with darkness.
Jongho pulls the soft sheets over his face and closes his eyes with a content sigh. It smells like fresh laundry and the warmth it provides vaguely reminds him of home. He could fall asleep just like this but he doesn’t because before he wanders off into his dreamworld the bed dips next to him and the covers lift slightly, effectively pulling him back into that half-conscious state.
“Hyung?” Jongho quietly calls out while the other man settles beside him. He turns over to his side and scoots a little until he feels the cold wall touch his back, offering Seonghwa some space.
“Shhh. Go to sleep,” A deep voice mutters back.
Jongho squints at what he assumes is Seonghwa’s face before weakly slinging an arm over him. The fabric of Seonghwa’s sleep shirt is soft, he might have to steal it later. “Hyung,” He says again, barely above a whisper.
“Hm?” A hand reaches over and smooths his hair back, nearly sending Jongho into a deep slumber. The gentle motion reminds him of when his mother used to run her fingers through his hair until he fell asleep when he was younger.
With a soft sigh, he rests his head against Seonghwa’s chest and finally lets his body go slack. He doesn’t remember the last time he’s felt this warm and content. It’s like all the worries that’s been weighing him down enough to make him stay up most nights have melted away. “Thank you,” He murmurs.
He only receives a sleepy hum in response, but he decides that it’s enough before he closes his eyes again and drifts off into some well-deserved sleep.