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Eunho woke up to something stirring in his arms. The smell of a certain citrusy shampoo invaded his senses and he knew exactly what it was.
Who it was, to be more exact.
He wanted to open his eyes and look at the face he yearns to see daily nowadays, but the pounding in his head was preventing him from doing so.
Instead, he kept his eyes closed and tightened his hold to stop the person from moving. He buried his nose into the head of hair of the man he was holding and took a deep inhale, feeling his headache relax slightly at the familiarity of it.
Then he felt a pinch to his side.
“Ouch!” Eunho yelped as he flinched backwards, arms loosening their hold.
He looked down to see the pink-haired man glaring up at him.
Glaring back at him, Eunho muttered out in annoyance, “That hurts, Chae Bonggu.”
Bamby glared even harder and gave him another pinch, earning him another yelp, as he replied, “That’s hyung to you. And aren’t you going to let me go?”
Eunho stared back as he lifted an eyebrow, taunting, as he said, “What if I said no?”
“I’ll kick you off this bed. You know I would,” came the immediate reply.
He really would.
Eunho sighed and massaged his temples, arms releasing the elder. “Fine, fine. Now, please let me sleep a little more. My head is killing me,” he mumbled, slightly regretting the shots he took yesterday. He placed his arm on top of his eyes because the room suddenly feels a little too bright.
With a huff and a grunt, he felt the smaller man roll out of bed. He heard shuffling of feet before he felt a blanket being thrown over him, making him smile fondly, eyes still covered by his arm.
“Stop smiling, Do Eunho. If you catch a cold, it’ll make the fans and hyungs worried and I don’t want to be responsible for that,” he heard the elder mutter out begrudgingly and Eunho couldn’t help but chuckle.
Adorable.
He heard rustling of clothes then and he knew Bamby was changing. He had to shut his eyes tighter and fist his hands to stop himself from peeking. Then, “Take the hangover meds before you fall asleep again, Eunho,” before he heard more shuffling as it got further and further away.
Bamby had left the room.
With another sigh, he lifted himself off the bed slightly to reach for the meds he placed on the nightstand. He noted that Bamby took some for himself before popping two of them into his mouth and swallowing them with the water.
Finishing the glass of water, he was apparently thirstier than he thought, he placed the glass back down on the nightstand and fell back into bed.
Eunho’s head was pounding and he badly wants a shower but being surrounded by Bamby’s scents, from the pillows to the bedsheets and blankets, made him very reluctant to remove himself from the comfort of it all.
So he lets his eyes close and promised himself only five minutes. He’ll just lay there in silence, relax, and then he would get up to start the day.
The next thing Eunho is aware of though, is a stinging pain on his forehead, making him hiss and squeeze his eyes shut before opening him to see the culprit. It was, of course, the owner of the bed he was currently sleeping in.
“Hyung!” he exclaimed, looking at the elder with a mix of shock and slight anger.
“Nu uh, I called out to you multiple times but you refused to get up, so that’s what you get,” was his answer before he could say anything else.
That made Eunho furrow his eyebrows in confusion. He fell asleep? And he didn’t hear Bamby call out to him?
“You… called out to me?” he asked, still frazzled from being forced awake.
Bamby’s eyebrows were narrowed and his arms were crossed as he stood beside the bed. “Yes. Are you really tired or something? Or are you sick? You usually wake up at the slightest sounds, no?” came the reply from the elder.
Bamby’s words and posture would make most people misunderstand and think that he was angry or upset.
Well, maybe he was a little upset but Eunho knew that was also because Bamby was genuinely worried. Because what he said was true, Eunho was really sensitive to sounds.
Any sharp drops or rises in sounds would always bother him especially if he was asleep. Even the smallest of creaks would wake him. So, Bamby calling out to him to wake him and him not hearing it was definitely something unusual.
Sighing, the younger man dropped his head into his palms and took a deep breath. Feeling more awake now, he was suddenly aware of why this happened.
Eunho only developed his sensitivity to sounds when he started living alone. At the time, he felt guarded and was on high alert since it was his first time being away from home. Then it just became a habit but the younger realised that whenever he would return to his parents’ home, sounds wouldn’t bother his sleep anymore.
Because he felt safe. Because he was home.
But Bamby didn’t need to know that.
Fuck me. I’m down bad.
“It’s probably because it’s been a while since I’ve gotten drunk enough to have a hangover. I’m fine. What time is it?” he answered instead, trying to distract his best friend.
Bamby still had his eyebrows narrowed and he just stood there for a while, Eunho knows he’s doubting his answer, but decided to let it go with a shake of his head.
The elder turned around and walked to his dresser as he replied, “It’s noon. It’s almost time for practice. Think you’re good enough to join?”
Eunho scoffed a little in amusement. “Are you actually worried about me, Chae Bonggu-ssi?” he teased, trying to lighten the mood.
He was then hit in the face with a piece of cloth, it was a shirt, before the elder replied, “Keep that up and I won’t go easy on you when we dance later, Do Eunho. Now, go take a shower and change or we’ll be late.”
Lifting his arms into the air in surrender, Eunho moved to get up then. Bamby was right. They would be late if they didn’t leave anytime soon.
Standing up with the change of clothes in hand, he stretched his sore muscles, his arm felt especially heavy from holding a certain pink haired friend of his all night but let’s not think about that, and couldn’t help but groan a little from the relief.
Before going into the bathroom, he walked to the cupboard to take a new towel but noticed that his best friend’s face was a little pink.
Smirking a little, he bent down as he walked past him and whispered in his ear, “Enjoying the view, Bamby-ssi?” before sprinting into the bathroom.
The loud, “DO EUNHO, YOU BRAT!” behind him made his smirk widen.
“Let’s take a break!” Hamin shouted after hours of them practicing their new dance routine. Eunho huffed in relief as he bent down, holding his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
Despite his earlier threat, Bamby did take it easy on him during practice today but as usual, dancing always takes a toll on Eunho. Once he got his breathing to steady, he straightened up and walked to grab his water bottle.
Sitting down to take small sips, his eyes drifted to the corner of the room where Bamby and Hamin were standing next to each other.
Too close.
He couldn’t help but think as he watched them talk, and he knows that they’re probably going over their new choreography, but a small part of him wished they wouldn’t stand so close to each other as they did.
Feeling ridiculous, he shook his head to snap himself out of it.
“Are you okay?” the sudden voice of their leader next to him made him snap his head in his direction, surprised.
Smiling his best polite smile, he nodded as he replied, “Oh yeah. Everything’s fine, Yejun-hyung. Just a little tired.”
There was an unreadable smile on the leader’s face as he looked at him but it was replaced immediately with the familiar warm smile he always wore.
The man then walked to take a seat next to him, his own water bottle in his hand, and they sat there in silence as they tried to recover as much as possible for the rest of their dance practice session.
Then, “Are you jealous?” was asked by the elder.
Almost choking on his water, Eunho cleared his throat before looking at their leader bewilderedly. “Excuse me?” he replied.
The older of the two chuckled as he looked at him, his eyes teasing as he repeated, “Are you feeling jealous?”
Right. Eunho forgot that he talked to Yejun yesterday. He knew he didn’t say anything definitive, but he was sure their leader already had him figured out.
There’s a reason why he’s the leader after all.
Laughing a little awkwardly, Eunho looked down and considered his next words carefully.
Yejun-hyung is fine. He’s safe.
So he decided to be honest.
“Yes,” was all he said.
He saw the elder nod from the corner of his eyes and then it was silent again between them.
“Eunho, hold my hand,” Yejun said suddenly.
His voice was soft but it broke whatever comfortable silence was there between them and he looked at their leader, confused.
Yejun had his hand out and his head tilted, waiting for the younger to take it.
Not wanting to let the elder wait, he took it hesitantly with both of his before looking at Yejun straight in the eyes.
The blue haired leader had a warm smile on his face and Eunho wasn’t sure if he should, but when he didn’t say anything for a while, he asked, “What exactly are we doing, Yejun-hyung?”
The elder then gripped both of his hands tighter, patted it, said, “Just trust me, Eunho-ya,” and then released it.
Perplexed, Eunho was about to ask what he meant by that but then Hamin was calling them back to start their practice. Yejun yelled, “Coming!” at their youngest before looking back at Eunho with another unreadable smile and whispering, “You’ll thank me later.”
Yejun stood up immediately then, leaving behind a completely confused Eunho, before his name was called, snapping him out of it. He stood up quickly then and hurriedly joined the group for their dance practice session.
Throughout the rest of their dance practice though, Eunho felt eyes on him. Well, the members always kept an eye on him when they practice, for obvious reasons, but he felt them a lot more intensely.
Especially from a certain pink haired group member.
Did I do something?
Deciding he’d ask when they were done, Eunho tried his best to ignore his best friend and concentrate on getting his moves right, so they can finish faster.
It was dark out when Hamin finally ended the practice session for the day, which was normal, but it made Eunho shout in relief today. There were yells of ‘Thank you’ and ‘You’ve worked hard’ being passed around amongst the members but Eunho could only nod as he gathered his breathing.
Focusing was a lot harder when your crush has his eyes on you the whole time, he realised today.
Once he felt less tired, he went to his bags and took out a towel to wipe his face. He noted that Bamby was next to him, drinking water with his own towel around his neck, but his movements seemed a little more rushed than usual.
Frowning, Eunho turned to him slightly and asked, “Are you in a hurry for something?” as he took out a fresh new shirt from his bag.
Bamby was doing the same but it seemed he was upset for some reason because he wasn’t answering him. Shrugging, Eunho began changing into the new shirt but as he was putting it on, Bamby was already walking away.
What the fuck?
Because they lived next to each other, and had a close friendship, they’d always walk home from practice together and if they had other plans, they’d inform the other person of it.
So what the fuck was this behaviour?
Feeling annoyed that Bamby was once again getting angry at him without explaining why, Eunho hurriedly finished changing before chasing after the elder.
By the time he’d caught up, they were at the bus stop, so he had no choice but to stand there in silence next to the pink haired man, who wasn’t saying anything either, because if Eunho spoke, it would sound upset and that would attract too much attention.
When their bus arrived, Bamby immediately walked in first and hurriedly took a seat next to someone else. He avoided all eye contact as he immediately took out his phone and put on his air pods.
Heaving a sigh, Eunho decided he’d need to use the time to get back to their apartment complex to calm himself down anyway and walked to the back of the bus without saying anything.
The silver haired man pulled out his own air pods and put on a song that he’s been listening to a lot lately. He stared at the passing buildings and thought about how to face the elder when they get back.
He thought about ignoring all this and simply going back to his apartment until Bamby decided to confront him about it but the thought of them not talking to each other didn’t sit right with him.
So, when the bus arrived at their stop, as Bamby quickly got up to leave, Eunho took his time. He calmly got off the bus, thanked the bus driver and wished him goodnight before walking into their apartment building, the pink haired no longer in sight.
When he arrived in front of the elder’s door, he stood there for a while before moving to press the doorbell.
No answer.
Feeling exhausted all of a sudden, Eunho walked closer and leaned his head on the door as he spoke, “I know you’re there. You know I’m not coming in unless you let me, Chae Bonggu.”
More silence.
Closing his eyes, Eunho spoke again, his voice soft but he knows the elder can hear him, “Hyung, please.”
A few seconds later, he heard the lock click and the door opened slightly.
An invitation to come in.
Smiling a little, Eunho pushed the door open slowly. Bamby’s shoes were by the entrance and Eunho bent to pick it up with his own shoes once he took them off before putting both of them on the shoe rack.
Bamby hates shoes at the entrance.
As he walked into the living room, he saw the top of the pink haired male’s head peeking from the couch as he stood behind it.
He walked closer and saw that Bamby was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest and his head buried in his arms.
Even like this he’s cute.
His own thoughts made him smile as he approached the smaller man. Crouching down on the floor in front of him, he tapped the elder on the arm to get his attention but received no answer.
“Hyung, we’ve talked about this. I’m never going to understand if you don’t tell me,” the silver haired whispered then, placing his hands on either side of Bamby, in case the elder was going to run away.
There was more silence then but Eunho waited patiently for the elder to sort through his thoughts.
Then, “It’s nothing,” was the reply he received.
Bamby’s voice was small but the younger could tell he was on the verge of tears.
If anyone asked Eunho what his weakness was, he would always say it was dancing. But Eunho knows that’s a lie.
Because his weakness was Bamby’s tears.
So the thought of the elder crying made the silver haired man panic. He immediately reached out to lift the elder’s head gently as he tried to placate him, “Hey, hey, why are you crying?”
Sure enough when their eyes met, there were pools of tears in the pink pupils that he loved so much. Sitting up on his knees, Eunho tried to pull the smaller man into his embrace but Bamby resisted it and pushed him back forcefully which made him frown.
“Hyung,” he called to ask him again what the problem was but the elder glared at him.
“What were you and Yejun-hyung talking about earlier?” he asked.
Eunho looked at him confused at first because of the abruptness of the question but then it clicked.
Yejun’s ‘You’ll thank me later’ suddenly made so much sense and it made Eunho burst out laughing when he finally realised what the problem was.
He’s jealous.
Just like I was.
When Eunho recovered enough composure to look at Bamby, he was met with large, disbelieving eyes that were still filled with tears.
“Are you laughing at me?” the elder asked incredulously when their eyes met.
“No!” Eunho exclaimed defensively.
Silence.
Then he shrugged and with a grimace, Eunho spoke hurriedly, “Yes, but it’s not what you think!”
Bamby threw a cushion at him with an angry grunt as soon as he said yes and was about to get up and run away but Eunho pushed his shoulders down to stop him.
“Let go of me, Do Eunho,” Bamby said, his eyes narrowing threateningly.
It’s cute to Eunho but now is not the time.
“No. Not when you’ve got it all wrong. Listen to me before you go, hyung,” he said, calmly meeting the pink eyes in front of him.
A few moments passed as they just stared at each other, Bamby was glaring, before the elder huffed, peeled Eunho’s hands off of him and leaned back into the couch with his arms crossed defensively.
He looks like a petulant child.
Sighing for the umpteenth time, Eunho looked at Bamby straight in the eye as he spoke, “Look, there really isn’t much to say. Yejun-hyung was just asking me if I was okay, like he always does to all the members.”
“Why were you holding hands?” Bamby asked.
“He was just trying to tease me and also showing me support at the same time,” Eunho answered, vaguely.
Eyes still glaring, Bamby continued, “Then why did you laugh at me?”
“Because it makes no sense to me why you would think something was going on in the first place!” he exclaimed, almost exasperatedly.
A little taken aback, Bamby’s eyes went wide before he began blinking rapidly as he stuttered, “What do you mean by that?”
Eunho’s eyes softened at the question. He thought about it, about how vague everything is between them, about how they seemed to always tip toe around the topic but never really confronted each other about it, and decided it was time.
It’s time to clear the air.
Looking at the man in front of him with all the love he’s ever held for him, Eunho held the elder’s gaze and said, his voice gentle and dripping with affection, “Chae Bonggu, you know what I mean.”
Bamby tightened his arms around himself and sunk further into the couch behind him but couldn’t take his eyes off of the taller man in front of him.
“No, I don’t. And why are you looking at me like that?” the elder replied, still defensive.
“Like what, exactly?” Eunho challenged, his head tilted with a small amused smile.
Frowning and at a loss for words, “Like that. Whatever that is, stop it.”
Eunho smiled wider at the elder’s reactions but he needed to be sure that it is a positive reaction, so he pushes just a little, “You mean like I’m in love with you?”
Sure enough, it started from his neck and Eunho watched as Bamby was suddenly red to the tips of his ears.
There it is.
Leaning a little closer, Eunho once again placed his arms on either side of the smaller man. Not trapping him, Eunho made sure he had room to run away if he wanted to, but just enough to show that the elder that he was being serious.
Bamby pulled back a little but didn’t push him away as he gritted out threateningly, “Do Eunho.”
“Yes, Chae Bonggu,” the younger replied, his eyes tracing the elder’s face.
“Stop playing around,” was all the smaller man could mutter, but his voice was soft then, almost a whisper, as he stared back at him.
Eunho knew Bamby’s eyes were searching him, trying to make sure that he wasn’t reading the wrong signs himself. So he stared back, and gave him all the assurance he needed.
Then, verbally, “We both know I’m not,” as he leaned even closer. Their faces were merely a few inches apart by now and Eunho was waiting for it.
Waiting for Bamby to give him the sign that it was okay.
“I’m a little scared, Eunho-yah,” the elder whispered.
Eunho smiled and his hand reached out to tenderly cup the elder’s cheek.
“I know, hyung. So am I, to be honest,” came his own whispered reply.
Two eyes held each other, pink and red, and the moment was so fragile that it could be broken by a mere pin drop.
“We can try this again. I can still wait,” Eunho reassured, caressing the cheek in his palms. When there was no reply, the younger felt a little defeated but he didn’t want to go on if the pink haired wasn’t ready, so he was about to pull away but then he felt the smaller man grab the hand on his cheek.
And then he closed his eyes.
Eunho was smiling but he felt like he was about to cry.
Finally.
Slowly but surely, he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on top of the soft pink lips he’d yearned so long for.
It was more than just a peck, it was a proper kiss, but Eunho kept it light, merely pouring all of the love and affection he’s held back all these years because he wanted to take it slow.
It took all of him to pull away, he didn’t want to overwhelm the elder, but when Bamby gasped as their lips parted and grabbed his neck, he froze with wide eyes.
His eyes were searching the elder’s expression, once again making sure he wasn’t getting the wrong signs, and once he saw the glazed look in his eyes, Eunho dived back in.
Their second kiss was a lot less innocent. There was desperation and ferocity in Eunho this time, Bamby’s reactions making him lose his mind, as his palm went from cupping the smaller man’s cheek to fully grabbing him behind the neck.
Feeling Bamby’s arms go around his neck and having him return all of his kisses with the same fierceness, Eunho’s other arm went around the elder’s waist and under his shirt. When his palm touched the skin of Bamby’s lower back, the elder gasped again and Eunho slipped his tongue into his mouth.
Bamby moaned softly into the kiss and all of Eunho’s sanity seemed to snap then. The younger opened his eyes slightly in the middle of their kiss and he thanked God he did because the sight of Bamby in front of him was breathtakingly beautiful.
He was addicted to the taste of the man in his arms, the look on his face, and the sweet sounds he was making as he kissed him.
It was the small taps on his shoulder that broke him out of the trance he was in, making him immediately pull them apart.
Bamby was breathless and his expression was completely broken. He was dazed, his eyes were glazed with tears, his cheeks were red and there was a string of saliva dripping down his chin.
Fuck.
Pulling the smaller man into his embrace, he peppered him with kisses on his forehead, his cheeks, his nose, licked the saliva off his chin before placing Bamby’s head on the crook of his neck as he kissed his temple, all the while whispering apologies and promises to take it slow next time.
Bamby was out of it and buried his face in the crook of Eunho’s neck, his hands gripping the younger’s shirt, and he inhaled the familiar musky scent of the silver haired man as he tried to calm himself down.
After a while, as they held each other in comfortable silence and coming down from their high, Eunho noticed that Bamby was starting to doze off. So the younger placed one arm under the elder’s knees and the other around his back, before lifting him bridal style to the bed.
As he laid him down, Bamby’s hand was still gripping his shirt tightly even in such a sleepy state and he was mumbling, almost whining, “Eunho-yah,” and Eunho couldn’t help but laugh adoringly at the sight.
So, Eunho placed Bamby on top of his body before pulling the blanket to cover both of them. The younger carded his fingers through the elder’s hair as he whispered in his ear, “Sleep, hyung. I’m not going anywhere.”
Then, “Eunho-yah,” Bamby called out.
“Yes?” answered the silver haired with a fond smile.
A short silence passed before he heard, “I love you, too,” said in the softest of whispers, almost breathed into his neck, and Eunho’s smiled became wider before he leaned down to peck the top of the elder’s head.
“I know. And I love you, Chae Bonggu-ssi,” was his tender reply into Bamby’s hair. After a few minutes, Eunho could hear the soft snores coming from the man on top of him.
Eunho took his time to stare at the pink haired man sleeping in his arms. He watched as his chest moved up and down as he breathed and felt the air tickle the skin of his neck that he was laying on.
The idea that when morning comes, he can greet this man he’s loved for so long with kisses and cuddles makes him eager and a little giddy that he can’t seem to fall asleep. So, he brushed back the hair falling into the elder’s eyes and caressed his cheeks.
He traced the outline of his face with his eyes so he doesn’t wake him, and Eunho thinks about how Bamby probably doesn’t fully understand the depth of his feelings for the elder.
He doesn't understand how he longs and desires to touch him. How his smile brightens the darkest of his days, how his voice soothes all his headaches, or how his mere presence is enough to make him feel safe and comforted.
Bamby doesn’t understand.
But their time together has only just begun and he plans to make full use of it to slowly teach the elder on how much he is loved by a man named Do Eunho.
The End~^^