Pigeons Don’t Have Feelings, Jongin

Taemin groans at the warm hand on his shoulder roughly shaking him awake.  The smooth movement of the speed train had lulled him into a deep sleep some thirty minutes into the ride from Seoul to Busan, despite the loud and excited conversations of his teammates in the background.  The result was a dream full of perfect sets and one-on-one opportunities (maybe his teammates’ conversations did reach him somewhat) that was too beautiful to wake up from.

Now all he feels is a heavy sleepiness throughout his body that makes him turn away from whoever is trying to get him to get up, mumbling an annoyed, “Cut it out, I’m trying to sleep.”  It’s one of the few times he’s glad he’s one of the smaller people on the team, because he turns his back to whoever it is that’s still shaking him and curls up as best as he can into the window seat.

“Yah, Lee Taemin, we’re here.  Get your lazy setter up.”

He groans again at the familiar voice, mumbles out a “Shut up, Jongin, I’m trying to sleep,” and proceeds to tuck his head further into his arms, attempting to block out whatever light is coming from overhead.

But Jongin is having none of it, it seems, because he doesn’t hesitate to turn Taemin’s body and manually stretch his legs out until his feet hit the floor, forcing a “Jongin, what the hell?” out of him.  He meets Jongin’s gaze with what he’s sure is annoyance and irritation written across his face only to find that his best friend is smiling back down at him almost stupidly.  It only takes the sight of Jongin’s admittedly charming eye smile for Taemin to decide he’s not actually as mad as he thought – though he shoves him lazily for good measure.

“Asshat,” he says as he reaches down to gather his athletic bag, muffling a yawn and trying to ignore the sleepiness still flooding his veins.  Jongin waits for him as he pulls his athletic bag up onto his lap, and then proceeds to step out into the aisle so that Taemin can follow along.

The train is still half full with passengers, but Taemin can see the rest of the Seoul Honors Academy volleyball team already making their way off the train.  He can’t help but to groan again as he steps out into the aisle and follows Jongin out of the nearest exit, athletic bag dangling from his shoulder, scanning the crowd of people for the familiar black sweatshirts their entire team decided on wearing for the day.

It doesn’t take long to find them – a group of twelve relatively tall guys and a couple of coaches, just as tall, doing a headcount and then scanning the crowd to find missing players is hard to miss.  They make their way over wordlessly, and Taemin is glad that Jongin isn’t saying anything because really he wants this team meeting to be over with so he can take a nap.

“Why is it that whenever I’m missing players it’s always the two of you,” their head coach, Choi Jin, asks upon seeing them, brow furrowed in something that could be annoyance, but Taemin knows is actually more like concern.

“Sorry, Coach,” Jongin says, and Taemin can practically hear the smirk in his voice.  “Taeminnie here was taking a nap and didn’t want to be woken up.”  And then, as if he hasn’t just called Taemin a pet name in front of their coach, he reaches over and pinches Taemin’s cheek.  “Poor baby Taeminnie was tired, he needed his nap.”

The rest of the team laughs, and Taemin proceeds to swat Jongin’s hand away, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.  Yet there is no denying the grin breaking out over his face.  He hears Coach Choi sigh, and grins wider in response.  He’s sure he and Jongin look like a couple of idiots grinning so wide, but such is the basis of their friendship.

On the team, they’re known as “That pair of idiots”, second only to Baekhyun and Chanyeol in terms of how much time they spend laughing at their own dumb antics before, during, and after practice.  Never mind that Taemin is the starting setter and Jongin is one of the starting outside hitters.  They’ve always been like this; picking on each other, laughing at each other, laughing at themselves, acting complete fools whenever they’re together.  It is their normal, and the rest of the team has come to accept that – including their coach, who has grown tired of scolding them for goofing off over the last year and a half.

“Anyway,” Coach Choi continues, “I have room assignments written down so once we get to the hotel, I’ll let you guys know who you’re pairing off with.”

Taemin gives Jongin a knowing look that Jongin returns, because they both know that Coach Choi will end up throwing them together anyway.  Ever since that one time where he tried to pair Jongin with Sehun, and Taemin and Jongin protested for hours until they were finally switched back, Coach Choi has never tried separating them again.

Out of the corner of his eye, Taemin sees Coach Choi eyeing the two of them strangely – almost in amusement, it seems.  He resists the urge to frown, although his grin does fall a bit.  Coach Choi doesn’t comment, just turns and waves a hand as a signal for everyone to follow him.

As it turns out, the hotel is only a five-minute walk from the train station, though as sleepy as Taemin is, it seems to take forever.  Check-in seems to take just as long, and he whines about it the entire time (with Jongin constantly telling him to shut up beside him).  In reality, it’s only another ten minutes before Coach Choi is standing in the middle of the group of boys, clipboard in hand ready to read off the names.

Before he can even start, however, Taemin stands and extends a hand out.  “What room are Jonginnie and I in,” he asks, doing his best to keep sass out of his words.  He’s tired and wants nothing more than to take a nap before dinner.  The least his coach could do is stop putting up a front about who Jongin and Taemin are rooming with and give them their key cards.

And that’s exactly what Coach Choi does.  With a slightly exasperated sigh, he checks the list, pulls out a small packet with the room keys, and hands it to Taemin.  “You’re in 402,” is all he says before turning back to the rest of the boys.  Taemin gives him a small word of thanks before turning and grabbing Jongin by the wrist.  “C’mon, Jongin-ah.  Bedtime.”

Jongin scoffs at his words as they make their way away from the rest of the team.  “You’re the laziest person I’ve ever met.  Probably the only person on the planet that sleeps as much as you do.”

“That’s rich, coming from you,” Taemin fires back.

He hears the team laugh behind them, still not quite out of earshot.  Taemin brushes it off as he presses the button to the elevator.  He hears his coach yell out, “We meet down here at 6:30 for dinner!  Don’t forget and don’t sleep through it you two!”

And then he hears Baekhyun ask, “But coach what about the refractory period?”  To which the rest of the team bursts into laughter so loud Taemin hears them even after the elevator doors close.  He rolls his eyes – Baekhyun’s jokes are so played out – before leaning against the back of the elevator and letting out a tired sigh.

“Why is the rest of our team convinced we’re dating,” he breathes out after a moment, the elevator finally starting to make its ascent.

“I have no idea.  But considering how close Baekhyun and Chanyeol are, Baekhyun is one to talk about dating best friends.”

Taemin snorts at that, and the rest of the way to the hotel room is silent.  It takes Taemin a couple of tries to get the key card to function, but when he finally does, he pushes the door open with no hesitation and enters the room ready to claim his bed.

Except that there’s only one bed.

He pauses, turns to look over his shoulder at Jongin with a question written on his face.  Jongin looks at him with an eyebrow raised in response as he drops his own athletic bag by the closet.  “What’s up,” he asks, but as soon as he reaches Taemin, he understands.  He falls silent, and Taemin wants to comment, “Yeah, I know.”  Except he doesn’t, because he’s still wondering how this is going to work.

The room itself is nice; a relatively high-end bathroom to his right, a flat screen TV hung up above the sole, mahogany dresser.  Matching nightstands by the single, full-sized bed.  The walls are a pale yellow that make the room feel warm and homely, and there’s a large window with patterned curtains overlooking a portion of Busan’s downtown area, a plush armchair pushed up against it.  But it’s the fact that there’s only one bed that’s really getting to him.

Taemin thinks this must be some sort of joke.  Some wild joke.  Coach Choi does have a dry sense of humor when he wants to be funny.  Still, in his time as a player for the Seoul Honors Academy volleyball team, he has never had to share a bed in a hotel room with anyone – not even Jongin.  It has to be a joke.  Or a mistake on the hotel’s part.  Yeah.

He’s already turning on his heel to go ask Coach Choi what’s going on when Jongin goes, “So I guess we’re sharing a bed this weekend,” effectively knocking out of him whatever fire he may have had.

“We are,” Taemin asks, dumbfounded.  He’s not sure what he was expecting – maybe for Jongin to have the same burning curiosity, ready to go out and ask what exactly is going on here – but it wasn’t exactly Jongin walking over to the bed and plopping down like they’ve slept in the same bed a thousand times and it’s the most normal thing in the world.  Taemin watches as his best friend grabs one of the thousand pillows on the bed and curls up sideways with it right in the center of the mattress.

He almost feels betrayed – not by Jongin, but by the odd fluttering sensation in his gut at the prospect of having to share a bed with his best friend.

“Sure we are,” Jongin finally responds.  “Coach Choi did say it’s an expensive hotel, so it makes sense that we could only get rooms with one bed.”  And then he yawns, as if everything in this situation is perfectly fine.  Just peachy.

“When did he say that,” Taemin finds himself asking.  He regrets it as soon as he sees Jongin’s knowing smirk.  “I don’t know, maybe half an hour after you fell asleep, you lazyass.”

Taemin sometimes wonders why his luck is like this.

But he’s also still tired, so he drops his athletic bag and makes his way over to the bed, kicking his shoes off in the process.  “Well then I guess we are sharing a bed.  Nap time.”  And with that, he steals Jongin’s pillow out from under him and curls up sideways on the bed, much like Jongin, eyes closing quickly.

“Hey, that was my pillow,” Taemin hears Jongin say, to which he sighs sleepily and says, “Shh, Lazyass is going to sleep.”

He can hear Jongin open his mouth to protest – they’re laying that close, really – but then Jongin abruptly shuts his mouth, grabs another pillow, and curls up again.

If Jongin ends up napping alongside him, Taemin isn’t sure.  He’s out far too quick to notice.

X

Taemin wakes up to Jongin shaking him again.  Like when they were on the train, he frowns, curls up into a tighter ball, and tries to roll away from Jongin’s strong hand.  “Stop,” he whines, and he can hear the sleep in his voice.  “I’m trying to sleep, you .”

Jongin, Taemin concludes, has no regard for his feelings, because his best friend doesn’t hesitate to push him hard enough to force him off the bed.  Taemin manages to catch himself, but not without a fright.  He groans and rolls over onto his back, looking up at the ceiling contemplating why he plays volleyball and why he’s friends with Jongin and why the world doesn’t want to let him sleep.

“Quit contemplating why the world won’t let you sleep,” he hears Jongin say from somewhere above him.  He glances down at his feet to see Jongin standing over him.  “Get up, Lazyass.  We have to meet the rest of the team for dinner in fifteen minutes.”

Taemin heaves out a sigh but gets up nonetheless.  He glares up at Jongin as he makes his way around the bed and to the bathroom to brush his teeth, pausing by his athletic bag to grab his toothbrush.  “You know I hate being woken up,” Taemin points out as he slips into the bathroom.

“Yes, but you hate being told off by Coach Choi even more, so hurry up.”

Ten minutes later, Taemin has emptied his tanks, brushed his teeth, and washed his face.  He feels almost completely transformed, although still sleepy beneath it all.  “I’m ready,” he announces upon exiting the bathroom, raising his arms above his heads in a sort of sarcastic flourish.

Jongin snorts at the sight of him, but stands from the armchair by the window, grabs the keycard off the nightstand, and leads Taemin out of the room.  Taemin is too sleepy to try and figure out where exactly the restaurant in the hotel is, choosing instead to just follow Jongin along to wherever it is they have to go.

The elevator ride is quiet, and Taemin is almost tempted to lean his head back against the wall and take a nap.  He chances a glance at Jongin, but upon seeing his best friend’s knowing look, he shakes himself awake, slapping his cheeks.

“Were you just thinking about sleep again?”

“No.”

“You’re terrible at lying, you know.”

“Shut up, Jongin, you’re at tipping line.”

“It’s a lot harder than it looks, alright.”

“So is not thinking about sleep.”

The ding of the elevator interrupts their conversation, and they are met with the sight of the rest of their team waiting for them right outside the elevators.  “Look who finally decided to show up,” Baekhyun comments, hands on his hips, Chanyeol’s arm slung around his shoulder in a way that Taemin honestly thinks looks a little more than platonic.

“How was your, uh, nap,” Baekhyun throws at Taemin, to which Taemin walks over and gently flicks Baekhyun’s forehead.  “It was great, except for the part where Jongin woke me up because we had to come meet you all for dinner.  If it was up to me, my nap would have been a sleep.”  He feels a joke bubbling inside of him, and gives Baekhyun no other warning aside from a mischievous grin.

“Anyway, enough about how I slept,” he starts.  “How did you two sleep?”  He gestures at both Baekhyun and Chanyeol.  Baekhyun seems to get it immediately, and blushes accordingly, looking at Chanyeol with something akin to premonition on his face..  Chanyeol, on the other hand, seems a bit confused.  “What does he mean?  We didn’t sleep?”  He looks down at Baekhyun, brow furrowed, and Taemin can’t help but to laugh at the way Baekhyun gets even redder at the taller player’s words.

“I figured you guys didn’t,” Taemin says, grinning.  His amusement is short-lived, however, because there’s the definitive feeling of a clipboard hitting the back of his head. 

He immediately turns and bows, apologizing to Coach Choi for making an inappropriate joke.  He can practically hear the face Coach Choi is making as he says, “I told Baekhyun to cut it out with those jokes earlier.  You cut it out too.”

He hears the rest of the team laugh, and gives Coach Choi nothing but a nod in response.  The last thing he wants is a lecture, especially now that he’s starting to really wake up and understand just how hungry he is.

Luckily, Coach Choi seems satisfied with his nod and bow and turns his attention to the group as a whole.  “Alright team, it’s dinner time.  We’ll be eating in the hotel restaurant for tonight so you can get to bed early.”  Taemin swears Coach Choi gives him a sort of nod, to which Taemin mouths ‘thank you’, because despite how tough on the team Coach Choi can be, he’s very considerate of his players.  “Let’s go.”  And with a small wave of the hand as a signal, the team follows Coach Choi through the lobby and into the restaurant.

Dinner passes by relatively uneventfully – aside from Baekhyun and Chanyeol snickering at the jokes they constantly throw at each other and Taemin and Jongin bickering and pushing each other around playfully (at least until Coach Choi tells them to stop).  Taemin eats his bibimbap between laughing at Jongin’s dumb jokes and finishes right as Coach Choi claps his hands to gain their attention, a solid two hours after the team met in the lobby.

Coach Choi says nothing that doesn’t go in one ear and out the other until the end, where he dismisses them for bed and heads over to the bar area to pay the check.  Taemin turns and looks at Jongin in a silent question, and Jongin just nods his head in response, already knowing the question he wants to ask.

With a wave to the rest of their team, they stand from their seats and make their way back to their room.  Taemin finds it slightly less difficult to think about falling asleep in the elevator on the way up, but only because he knows he’ll be able to take a shower and go to sleep in an actual bed in just a few minutes.

As soon as Jongin opens the door to the room, Taemin rummages around in his bag for his toothbrush and the pajamas he packed (which really only consist of a t-shirt and some shorts to go over his underwear – Taemin’s not a fan of clothes), and makes his way over to the bathroom.  “I call first shower,” he shouts over his shoulder before Jongin even has time to find his own clothes.

“You’re a brat,” his best friend says, but Taemin just shuts the door behind him to get ready for bed.  His shower is quick, because he wants nothing more than to crawl into that big old bed – Jongin or not – and go to sleep.  He brushes his teeth and throws on his clothes in under five minutes and is in bed a mere two minutes later, having thrown his dirty clothes on the floor by the armchair and spread his towel out on the curtain rod.

When he’s finally snuggled up against a pillow under the covers, Taemin lets out a long sigh of relief.  He faintly hears Jongin showering in the bathroom, and he allows the muted sounds of the shower lull him to sleep like rain in the countryside.

X

It starts the first night.

Taemin never thought he'd curse the fact that he and Jongin have to share a bed.  He was curious when he first walked in earlier and thought it was a joke, sure, but he didn’t really think it’d be a problem sleeping in the same bed as his best friend in the end.  Jongin has slept over multiple times, and although they've never slept in the same bed, they've slept close enough to each other to where Taemin once felt as though he knew Jongin's sleeping habits.

It is only now that they are in the same bed that Taemin realizes that he didn't know .

He once thought Jongin had no real sleeping habits, aside from maybe shrugging off his shirt when he gets too hot (which, he must admit, he understands, as he does it himself - and with a lot more than just his shirt).  He never thought that Jongin would ever get up so many times to pee in one night.  Maybe it's because he's never shared a bed with Jongin, and he's therefore never had to feel the mattress shifting as Jongin gets up to make yet another trip to the bathroom.  Maybe he's a particularly heavy sleeper so long as the bed isn't moving.  Whatever it is, he's sure as hell not used to being woken up by Jongin's kitten bladder trips.

"Jesus Christ, again, Jongin? It's three a.m."  He sounds annoyed and tired and honestly all he wants to do is go back to sleep.  He’s lost count of how many times his REM cycle his been interrupted because Jongin has next to no control over his bladder.

"Yes, Taemin, it's three a.m. And I'm doing it to get you to wake up and stop ing snoring."  Jongin sounds equally annoyed and tired and, if Taemin knows his best friend, he knows Jongin just wants to go back to sleep too.  "I don't know how I've never noticed that you snore," Jongin mumbles, lips pulled into what Taemin calls his "sleepy pout" as he turns and makes his way to the bathroom attached to the room.

Taemin rolls his eyes and takes a breath to calm himself.  Regardless of how badly he wants to fire back some sarcastic comment, he knows they have games starting at nine in the morning, and so he focuses on getting himself back into a state where he’s just sleepy, not sleepy and irritated. Just go back to sleep, he tells himself as he lays his head back down onto one of the mounds of pillows tilted back against the headboard.  He pushes aside all thoughts of small bladders and bathroom lights, and he thinks he's even starting to drift off right when he feels the mattress sag next to him. 

A sigh escapes him before he can think about it too much.  Jongin lightly pushes against his shoulder in response before curling up on his side and swiftly falling back asleep.  Taemin lays there, awake, for a while, wondering to himself when the next time Jongin is going to wake him up will be.  They have to be up by half past seven. Taemin prays that Jongin won't have to pee again before then.

X

Taemin’s prayers weren’t answered last night.  He’s awake five minutes before his alarm is set to go off, eyes narrowed but still burning at how Jongin eases his way back beneath the sheets after yet another trip to the bathroom.

“What,” Jongin asks upon seeing Taemin’s face of disapproval.  “Those last five minutes count.  Good night.”  Taemin feels himself frowning at the way his best friend snuggles under the blankets, curled up in a ball to no doubt recapture the warmth he had before he went to the bathroom.

He finds it too hard to resist the urge to push him off the bed.

Jongin lands flat on his , eyes wide and looking directly into what Taemin is sure is now an expressionless face.  “You’re a ,” he tells Jongin before getting out of bed and making his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.  He can feel Jongin’s confused eyes on him as he closes the door and starts to get ready.

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them are dressed in their uniforms and warm-ups, volleyball shoes already on.  Jongin is still giving Taemin confused glances, seemingly still wondering about why Taemin pushed him out of bed when they woke up.  Taemin feels slightly guilty, but he feels even more tired, and he’s positive it shows on his face – especially when they get out of the elevator and Baekhyun grins at the sight of them.

“You two look awfully sleepy,” he teases.  Taemin is too tired to say much except, “Jongin kept waking me up.”  And he only realizes it’s the exact wrong thing to say at the surprised look on Baekhyun’s face before he bursts into laughter, loud and boisterous and annoying as hell this early in the morning when Taemin is so tired.

“How do you have so much energy,” Taemin asks, eyeing Jongin’s shoulder and contemplating whether or not he should take a shot at leaning against his best friend for a few minutes of shuteye during breakfast.  If Baekhyun has a witty reply, he doesn’t get to say it, because Coach Choi is the next person out of the elevator.  Without so much as a good morning, he waves a hand and leads them over to the buffet area of the hotel, where they’ll be having complementary continental breakfast.

Taemin eats his food quickly, trying to buy himself some time because the more he looks at Jongin’s broad shoulders, the more he wants to lay his head on one and rest for a few minutes.  He manages to finish with a solid ten minutes before they have to leave.  And although he hasn’t said much to Jongin this morning after calling him a , he knows Jongin won’t mind him leaning over and laying his head on his best friend’s shoulder.

As expected, Jongin doesn’t even give him much of a reaction – just looks down at him before turning his attention back to his food.  Taemin is thankful he doesn’t ask questions, although he does catch the look on Baekhyun’s face, the latter lightly hitting Chanyeol’s arm and gesturing toward him.  Taemin chooses to ignore them as he closes his eyes in an attempt to snooze for the last ten minutes of breakfast.

In the end it seems to work because in what feels like the blink of an eye, Jongin is shaking him awake again and the rest of the team is standing from their seats, ready to head over to the convention center.  He rubs his eyes for a moment, and then slaps his cheeks, trying to bring himself into full wakefulness.  When his eyes focus, he finds Jongin still seated, staring at him in a way he can’t quite place.  Taemin initially thinks it’s hurt from being pushed off the bed this morning or from Taemin being relatively quiet through breakfast, but when Jongin notices Taemin looking right back at him, he abruptly turns his head and stands from his seat.  “Time to go,” he says.

Taemin frowns but ultimately shrugs off Jongin’s strange behavior, pinning it on the lack of sleep the both of them are experiencing right now.  He stands from his seat, stretches, and then heads out with Jongin and the rest of the team to where the convention center is.

The walk is less than five minutes, and Taemin feels himself come to life at the sight of the courts – over a hundred of them, he’s positive – all in one place.  He grins at the sight of it, excitement finally rushing through him at the thought of competing in a place where there’s more than enough room for whatever crowd there will be.  A glance up gives him a view of all of the windows on upper floors that give one a bird’s eye view of the courts.

He forgets all about Jongin’s kitten bladder and his lack of sleep for a while.

X

They’ve been killing the competition all day - quite literally.  They’re outhitting all of their competition so far.  Somehow, despite their lack of sleep, Taemin and Jongin are playing extremely well, and the rest of the team is on fire.  Taemin tells himself that they might have just been put into a lower pool than they were supposed to be in, but he knows deep down that his team just came ready to play.

It’s with this thought in his head that he runs to target, ready to set up yet another, somehow perfect pass.  The ball is high, coming straight for him, a little tight to the net, just how he likes them.  He takes a glance out of the corner of his eye at the middle on the other side of the court, sees the middle studying his movements, then jumps and releases the ball back for a slide from Chanyeol.

As expected, the middle jumps with him, leaving Chanyeol with only the other team’s outside hitter blocking him.  It’s a matchup Chanyeol wins, because he gets up fast and slams the ball down the line.  Taemin can’t help but let out a shout of delight as he makes his way to the huddle in the middle of the court.  Chanyeol gives him a high ten before pulling him into a quick hug.  “Great set,” he hears the taller blare in his ear, and Taemin can’t help the grin breaking out on his face as he sees Jongin head back to serve.

He heads back to his position in serving order, a hand resting on Chanyeol’s back as a sign that he’s behind the taller until he hears Jongin make contact with the ball and moves into his base defensive position for the front row.  He watches the movement on the other side of the court, sees the set going outside and jumps for the block, feeling Chanyeol at his hip blocking with him.

The ball comes in sharp cross, and Taemin lands to find that Baekhyun has handled it perfectly.  As much of a pain in the as he can be off the court, Taemin thinks that there is no better libero.  Chanyeol moves out of his line of sight, transitioning off.  Taemin makes his way to target, seeing Chanyeol running out of the corner of his eye, calling for another quick slide.  He glances at the middle again, sees him watching Chanyeol, jumps up with two hands and dumps the ball right into the center of the other team’s court.

Despite four players going for it, not a single one is able to get to it. Taemin smiles to himself in satisfaction as his team erupts into cheers – both on the court and on the bench.  They huddle quickly in celebration in the middle again, and he catches Jongin giving him a proud grin, eyes bright before the latter goes back to his place behind the service line.  Taemin would be lying if he said that it didn’t make his heart feel just that much lighter knowing he made Jongin proud with that play.  Regardless of the fact that Jongin kept him up all night and he feels as though he’s running on empty, that proud grin from his best friend makes losing the sleep almost entirely worth it.

Again, he heads back to his position in proper serving order, chancing a glance at the score.  He nods to himself in approval when he realizes it’s match point for his team, feeling the anticipation build within him.  This is the last team they’re to play today, and if the way they’ve been winning in straight sets is any indication they’ll more than likely finish first in their pool.

He hears Jongin make solid contact with the serve and makes his way to his base position, watching as the other team somewhat mishandles the pass and the setter is forced to set right side.  He grins in something like knowing as he watches Chanyeol transition out to pair up with Tao on the outside.  Just as he foresaw upon seeing the set, the other team’s right side takes a swift swing and is completely stuffed by the double block in front of him.

Taemin’s team erupts into cheers again, high-fiving and hugging in the huddle before lining up to officially end the game.  Taemin shakes hands with the other team, giving them the customary ‘Good game’ before he is pulled into a quick celebration by his team.  He knows they’ve played well, because Coach Choi can’t seem to find anything negative to say.  He grins at the knowledge as Jongin pulls him into a sweaty victory hug, ruffling his hair.

“You were great out there, especially those last few points,” Jongin says into his ear, trying to be heard over the loud cheers of his team.  Taemin nods, doing his best to ignore Jongin’s breath tickling his skin, and replies, “Thanks, but you’re one to talk.  I think you had, what?  Eight kills in that set alone?”

“The one on one opportunities were abundant.  You’re short but you sure are an offensive threat when you’re front row.”

Taemin nudges Jongin in the ribs at the mention of his height, but laughs nonetheless.  “You know what the best part of this is,” he asks as Jongin lets him go and they make their way over to where the rest of the team is collecting their belongings to go back to the hotel.

“What’s that?”  Jongin is looking at him with sparkling eyes and a grin so happy Taemin feels something in his chest ache in response.  He feels it so often – whenever they win or play well or even when Jongin just finds something particularly funny – that he’s already used to it.  Still, that smile of Jongin’s is so awfully charming and happy that it makes Taemin want to grin every time he sees it, and so grin he does.

“Now we can head back to the hotel, eat, shower, and take our butts to sleep.  Hopefully tonight we can actually sleep well.”

Jongin nods in agreement as the team begins to make their way out of the convention center.

X

Later that night, stomach full and body tired, Taemin is high off the feeling of winning their pool for the day.  Tomorrow, they'll be up against taller teams with trickier plays and generally stronger offenses.  Teams like theirs.  The victory surging through him is nothing to the excitement he feels at the prospect of playing tougher teams.

He steps out of the shower that night feeling refreshed but not quite calm.  And from the looks of Jongin, he can tell his best friend feels the same way.

Not being one to hide his feelings from Jongin, he announces, "I'm excited for tomorrow."  And then makes his way over to the bed they share, where Jongin is already laying down with his hands behind his head, eyes seemingly glued to the ceiling.

Jongin nods in agreement but doesn't say anything.  Now that Taemin is closer to him, lying down next to him, he can tell that his friend is deep in thought.  He recognizes the purse in those already pouty lips and the slight wrinkle of tan skin between his (somehow perfectly shaped) eyebrows.  And yet what really sells him on Jongin being deep in thought is the eyes, because those brown eyes are still stuck to the ceiling.  Taemin knows, from years of experience, that Jongin normally makes eye contact when talking to someone.  Taemin remembers how intimidating it made Jongin seem at first - honestly, they were about ten years old and Jongin was way taller than him.  Now he thinks that if Jongin doesn't make eye contact it's even more intimidating.

"What are you thinking about?"  He can't help but ask.  It must be something heavy for it to have Jongin staring at a ceiling like a zombie even though he's already admitted to being excited for the next day's pool play.

For a while there, it seems like Jongin isn't going to respond, too deep in thought to have heard him.  But then Jongin looks him in the eye and asks, "Do you think pigeons have feelings?"  And Taemin wonders how the he ever became friends with a person like Kim ing Jongin.

"Hey," Taemin starts, "no offense, but literally what the , Jongin?"  He hasn't been accused of anything but somehow he sounds indignant, and he wonders why.  Maybe it's because Jongin looked so deep in thought just now, as if he were pondering the meaning of life, and instead has opened his mouth to spew what is probably the dumbest question Taemin has ever heard.

Jongin seems unfazed by his reaction, going on to add, "Okay but like, think about it.  Dogs aren't humans, but we know from having them as pets that they have feelings and they love us, like there's some pretty good science on this.  And we know the same thing about cats for the same reason.  And there have been some cases where pet birds say 'I love you' to their owners when they can speak, and pigeons are birds even though they're slightly grosser than house birds, so like, do you think they have feelings?"

Jongin is still looking him straight in the eye, face so serious that Taemin is having a hard time comprehending how this is reality.  "Jongin," he says, voice low, "that's not how the transitive property of logic works." 

He does his best to be serious, looking Jongin straight in the face, but Jongin doesn't seem to be picking up the hint.  His brown eyes widen, giving Taemin a clear view of every detail of them.  Somehow, he finds himself captivated - Jongin has really pretty eyes, and Taemin has seen them a million times and he’s known this for forever but he's never really noticed up until now.

"Okay, but do pigeons have feelings, Taemin?"

"ing no!  Pigeons don't have feelings Jongin!"  He sounds exasperated even to his own ears, and he supposes he should feel bad - maybe he would if Jongin were actually pouting.  But Jongin just turns to stare back up at the ceiling.

It's quiet again for a few moments, and Taemin thinks, as he stares at his best friend's profile (he admittedly has a pretty nice one) that Jongin has settled on thinking about tomorrow at last.  But time, again, proves him wrong, because it's only a few brief moments later that Jongin turns to him and goes, "I think we're like pigeons."

Taemin resists the urge to roll his eyes and only then truly realizes that he's been staring.  "And what makes you say that," he asks, although his voice is definitely flat and sarcastic and almost one hundred percent uninterested.

Jongin doesn't seem bothered by it though, because he easily explains himself.  "Well, think about it," he begins.  "We're ugly, we're small for what we do, we seem to get on people's nerves when we're together."

Taemin frowns, opens his mouth to retort, but Jongin cuts him off.

"And when we're together, we on everyone."

Taemin forgets any response he might've had, instead giving Jongin a very confused look.  Jongin looks right back at him, those brown eyes so seemingly innocent and serious that Taemin feels something like a pang in his chest. 

"You know, like we on everybody.  As in blow away the competition.  on them."

Taemin drags a hand down his face almost a little too harshly at Jongin's words, a groan escaping his mouth and Jongin bursts into bright laughter at the sight.  Taemin can’t bring himself to stay annoyed, because that laugh of Jongin’s is awfully charming and Taemin can’t help but to smile at the sound of it.

A comfortable silence settles around them when Jongin finally calms down, and for a while there Taemin thinks it’ll stay that way until they fall asleep (which he can safely say will be pretty soon).  But, again, Jongin breaks the silence.

“Hey, Taemin?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think we’ll win our pool again tomorrow?”

Taemin feels the bed shift next to him then, and when he glances to his left he finds Jongin looking straight at him, making eye contact for those few seconds where Taemin allows himself to look.  Except that he ends up looking longer than intended, because Jongin’s face is so close and it somehow makes Taemin feel off.  Nervous, flustered, mildly embarrassed.  Because his best friend is actually fairly attractive – all bow-shaped lips and chocolate brown eyes boring straight into his soul – and the realization is making him feel strange.

He resists the urge to shake his head in favor of looking up at the ceiling like Jongin had been just a few moments ago.  Shrugging, he says, “I don’t know.  That’s the hope.  That’s what we’ll be shooting for, no doubt.”

Next to him, Taemin hears Jongin hum in response, and he almost expects the bed to shift and Jongin to go back to lying on his back again.  But when a few seconds pass and there’s no movement on the bed, Taemin looks back at his best friend with what he hopes is a neutral expression.

He feels that strange sensation again when he finds that Jongin is pretty much staring at his face.  This time, however, he can’t bring himself to look away.  He watches as Jongin’s eyes roam over his face, feeling suddenly self-conscious – as if Jongin hasn’t seen his face a million times before.

“Hey, Taemin,” Jongin begins, and Taemin wonders why it feels as though his heart is picking up its pace.  He lays expectantly, waiting to hear what Jongin has to say, but Jongin seems to have paused, because he doesn’t say anything for a moment.  The room is quiet, and Taemin can see the way Jongin’s brow furrows, bow-shaped lips pouting in a way that makes Taemin feel even stranger.  But he doesn’t press.

In the end, Jongin shakes his head and says, “Do you think you’ll snore again tonight?”  And Taemin loses whatever strange feeling in his core he had as he proceeds to shove Jongin’s shoulder playfully.  Jongin laughs, loud and lighthearted and vaguely sleepy, and Taemin can’t help but to join in as he begins to pull back the covers to go to sleep.

X

Taemin isn’t sure what time it is when he feels Jongin get up the first time, but he knows he immediately thinks: Oh ing hell, please not again.  He’s so comfortable with his body wrapped in the duvet and his face buried in the pillow, the last thing he needs is Jongin’s baby bladder forcing him out of sleep.

He chances a glance at his best friend to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, a hand rubbing the back of his neck tiredly.  Taemin realizes then, somewhere in his sleepy state, that Jongin’s kitten bladder also affects how much sleep Jongin gets.  From where he lays he can see the slight slouch in his best friend’s posture, and he can hear the faint yawn that escapes his best friend’s lips.

“You alright,” he asks, before he can even process the fact that he’s asking it, voice thick with sleep.

It seems to startle Jongin into further wakefulness, because Jongin jumps and snaps his head around to look at his best friend.  His eyes are wide as he takes in the situation, and then he gives Taemin a small nod, hand still rubbing at the back of his neck.  Taemin purses his lips at the sight, eyelids heavy but not heavy enough for him to fall back asleep instantly.

“Do you have to pee again,” he questions as he closes his eyes, brows furrowing into a small frown.

There’s silence for a few moments, and then he hears Jongin say, “Well…maybe.”

There’s no stopping the sigh that escapes him.  “Alright, well, make it quick.  And try to hold the rest until morning.”  He doesn’t mean to sound so rude, but he’s sleepy and his brain-to-mouth filter isn’t exactly the best at this time of night, in this state.

He hears Jongin scoff, and then feels a hand ruffling his hair.  “Stop snoring, then, and I’ll do my best to hold it until morning.”

And with that his best friend is in the bathroom, door closing behind him as the light comes on.

Taemin buries his face further into the pillows, curls himself up as much as possible while Jongin is gone, trying to get comfortable again.  It doesn’t take long, and before he knows it he’s out like a light, barely registering Jongin’s form lying back down on the mattress a few minutes later.

But his peaceful slumber is short-lived, because a hand shaking him none-too-gently soon awakes him.  He cracks an eye open to find Jongin looking down at him and lets out something akin to a groan, hands coming up to rub his eyes.  “What now, Jongin?”

“Well you were snoring again and I couldn’t sleep so I was thinking.”  He pauses for a moment, and Taemin is so tired and irritated at being woken up that he opens his mouth to urge Jongin to hurry up and spit it out.  But Jongin finishes before he can say anything.  “Are you sure pigeons don’t have feelings?”

Taemin can’t believe what he’s hearing right now.  He gives his best friend what he’s sure is the sleepiest glare he’s ever given anybody.  And then: “Go to ing sleep.”

Jongin whines – actually whines – dragging his name like he can’t open his mouth to produce any other sound.  “Taemin,” he voices, mouth open in a way that makes him look like a child begging for candy.  “Answer my question, at least, before you keep me awake the rest of the night.”  And then he lets his mouth hang open, head cocked back in something resembling supplication.

“You look like the complaining face emoji,” Taemin says as he rolls over onto his back and shuts his eyes, effectively blocking Jongin from view enough to make it that much easier to ignore him.

“You look like the monkey face emojis.  I only hang out with you out of pity,” Jongin quips, and even in his half-asleep state, Taemin finds himself amused.  It only seems to egg Jongin on, because immediately after he goes back to whining.  “Taemin,” he drags out, successfully pulling a sigh out of Taemin.

“I’m positive. Go to sleep.”

The room falls silent again, and Taemin thinks that maybe some higher being is finally being merciful and allowing him to get some sleep.  At least until Jongin speaks again.

“What about bats?”

Taemin lets out a sleepy, exasperated groan in response.  “Hey Jongin, what time is it,” he inquires.  He feels Jongin shifting to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand, but Taemin cuts him off before he can even check the time.

“It’s time to ing sleep.  Stop asking weird questions and sleep.”

But Jongin only continues to whine in response.  “But you snore too much,” he complains, “I won’t be able to sleep with you snoring in my ear.”

Taemin shoves him, playfully this time.  “Listen.  You pee too much, but I try to sleep in spite of it.  You should try to sleep in spite of my snoring.”  He gives Jongin a grin that he’s sure comes across as joking, yet Jongin doesn’t seem amused.

Instead, he turns around and gets up from his spot.  “Looks like I have to pee again,” he says, and Taemin can practically hear the ‘I’m only doing this to with you’ in his voice.  This time, he’s the one that lets out a whine.

“Jongin,” he gripes, “You literally just peed.  Go back to sleep for the love of all that is holy.”

“Stop snoring then.”

And then his best friend is in the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.  Taemin his teeth, groans, almost feels guilty at the fact that he seems to have pissed Jongin off.  But he’s really too tired to feel empathy for the person forcing him to lose sleep anyway, so he pulls the covers up over his head, crosses his arms, and prays that Jongin won’t wake him up again.

X

The next time Taemin wakes up, it’s to the feeling of someone leaning over him and something seemingly brushing against his upper lip.  The feeling changes quickly, however, to something pressing solidly against both of his lips, and it’s only when he opens his eyes and sees the outline of Jongin’s bed-hair that he feels his blood run cold in realization.

His stomach seems to flip over itself for a second, and despite internally questioning why the Jongin is kissing him, especially when Jongin thinks he’s asleep, he can’t bring himself to move, let alone push Jongin away.  He lays there, body stiff and eyes wide, until Jongin pulls back and meets his gaze.  Taemin is sure he has a million and one questions running across his face, but all Jongin says, voice deep and thick with sleep, is, “You were snoring.”

And then he shrugs, lays back down, and falls asleep almost instantly.  As if he were never awake in the first place.  As if he didn’t just kiss Taemin awake because he was ing snoring.

“What the actual ,” Taemin whispers to himself, not removing his eyes from Jongin’s face.  “What the actual ,” he says again, stronger this time, because he really can’t find another name for the way his stomach feels like it’s being overrun by butterflies and why the acknowledgement of how cute Jongin looks with a sleepy pout only makes the feeling worse.  Why the sound of Jongin’s sleepy voice seems to be replaying in his mind over and over and over again and why he finds it especially attractive, despite finding it just attractive for these last few years.

He glances over at the clock on the nightstand by Jongin’s side of the bed and for the second time that night, he wonders how the he ever became friends with Kim ing Jongin, because it’s only five in the damn morning.

X