Han Sanghyuk had made many regrettable decisions in his life, certainly.

 

    There was the time when he was six and his friends dared him to the swing set on the playground in sub-freezing temperatures, the time when he was seven and he had to prove that he wasn’t afraid to do it again, and the time when he was fourteen and wanted to demonstrate what a fool he had been at the age of seven, among others. There was the day he asked his father where babies came from, just about every fashion choice he had made before he was at least eighteen, and that God-forsaken infamous black lipstick performance of Hyde. All in all, the shows of Sanghyuk’s talent for making poor choices were far too many to count, each example seemingly worthy of an even greater cringe than the last.

 

    Bearing all these things in mind, Han Sanghyuk was certain - one hundred percent completely and utterly without a doubt positive - that the worst offense of them all had to be that split second in which he chose paper over rock.

 

    With Dynamite promotions in full swing, it was a rarity for a single member of VIXX to spend the night in his own bed. They’d be in one city on one day and on the other side of Korea the next. Granted, with their many activities, the only time they were in their hotel rooms was when they were sleeping, but the point still stood that things were foreign, were different from how they were at home. Among said ‘differences’ was the fact that each new hotel room brought with it a new roommate.

 

    It was for variety’s sake, claimed their manager, though there was no one who bought that for so much as a second. In truth, as with most things VIXX did, no one wanted to be stuck with Hakyeon.

 

    Honestly, they all loved their leader to death. Really, they did (as Hyuk so often tried to convince himself). It was just that the eldest could be a bit too much at times, to put it in gentle terms. Doting on whatever member he was with at the time, demanding attention at any given moment… It was a lot, really, after a long day of performances, so no one could blame the boys for wanting some peace and quiet instead.

 

    Still, the fact remained that someone had to room with Hakyeon, and it was determined before too long that the fairest way to make such a decision was the ever-effective method of rock, paper, scissors.

    

    One glance at the six boys huddled together could indicate the intensity of the situation, each poised for attack with their hands in fists in the center of their little circle. The anxious feeling in the air was made evident by each member, Taekwoon focussing his gaze intently on their hands and Hongbin flickering his sights between each of the boys, lingering for just a moment longer on the leader. Sanghyuk might’ve laughed had he not been just as on edge as them.

 

    “Rock…”

 

    Hakyeon began to speak, and all of the boys visibly tensed. What would the others pick? What should they pick?

 

    “Paper…”

 

    Paper or rock, rock or paper? Sanghyuk was torn. He wouldn’t pick scissors - that was what Hakyeon usually did. Hyuk himself was a fan of using rock - it hadn’t failed him yet. Did Hakyeon know that, though? Would he then use rock to trap Hyuk? If that were the case, then the safest option would definitely be paper. Making his decision, Sanghyuk prepared for attack.

 

    “Scissors!”

 

    It all happened in a flash. Sanghyuk showed his flat palm, certain of his choice. He’d probably be with Hongbin or Wonsik, he thought, both of which he could tolerate.

 

    ‘Probably’, unfortunately for Sanghyuk, was not the same thing as ‘definitely’.

 

    As soon as all six hands were out, those who had chosen rock - Wonsik and Jaehwan - were fist bumping, throwing their arms around each other in relief (though Sanghyuk couldn’t help but to feel as though there was a bit of prior conspiring involved in their lucky results). The scissors, too, let out the breaths that they had been holding in, Hongbin smiling warmly at Taekwoon. Before Sanghyuk knew it, there was only one other left - a tanned hand which matched the position of his own.

 

    Hyuk tried to switch, squeezing his hand into a fist as quickly as possible, but he knew he was too late. Hakyeon had already seen.

 

    The leader turned to him with what outsiders may have mistaken for a genuine smile, but to Sanghyuk, the threat in his eyes was the most obvious thing that he had ever seen. “Ah, how lucky! We’re together again, Hyukkie!”

 

    Again.

 

    Again.

 

    “Let’s play again,” Hyuk suggested immediately, flat out ignoring the leader as he turned his back on him. “I wasn’t ready.”

 

    The members knew him well, though, and could only smile with a sadistic sort of amusement on their faces as Hakyeon threw an arm around Sanghyuk’s shoulders.

 

    Those bastards.

 

    “Shall we get going, Hyukkie?” Suggested Hakyeon, perhaps just a bit overly giddy as he accepted the room keys which their manager offered to them. “We need to head to bed early tonight.”

 

    The maknae offered no response save for an indecipherable grumble, shrugging Hakyeon’s arm from his shoulders as he made his way over to the elevators.

 

    (It didn’t take long for Hakyeon to catch up and return his arm to its previous position, grip notably tighter the second time around.)

 

~

 

    Things weren’t so bad when Hakyeon was in the shower, Sanghyuk noted as he lounged on the bed nearest the window, scrolling mindlessly through his phone. The leader had headed into the bathroom and started up the water nearly as soon as they entered the room, and Sanghyuk was certainly in no position to complain about a few extra minutes of silence.

 

    Of course, he thought, mind going in directions that he most definitely did not want it to go but could not stop, it was really never so bad. Hakyeon had a habit of doting, but that was really all. Time spent with him was just as fun as with any of the other members. Rather, it was, until Sanghyuk had started reading more into his little habits. Every time Hakyeon asked how Sanghyuk felt before anyone else, every time Hakyeon gave Sanghyuk just one more pat on the than the others, every time Hakyeon let his gaze linger on Sanghyuk for a moment longer than it should when he was singing… the little things that had meant nothing to Sanghyuk when he was younger had suddenly become so unbelievably apparent to him, a jolt of something that he couldn’t quite identify coursing through him every time he caught one of those little acts.

 

    Whatever that something was, he was positive it was bad news.

 

    Perhaps he didn’t necessarily think so before, but that was certainly his conclusion when he felt that same jolt again as Hakyeon exited the shower with a towel tied loosely around his hips and droplets of water dotting his tanned chest.

 

    “Hey, aren’t you going to go shower? We have to be up early tomorrow.”

 

    Sanghyuk hadn’t realized that he was staring (and he concluded that he didn’t want to know for how long he had been doing so) until he was hit square in the face with a towel, his heart nearly leaping out of his throat until he realized that it was the one that Hakyeon had been drying his hair with.

    

    “I… I’m tired,” The maknae announced suddenly, not even sure himself of what he was saying. “I’m just going to sleep.”

 

    He scrambled under the sheets, phone discarded unceremoniously onto the table beside him. He tried to ignore the fluttering sensation in his stomach as he pulled the sheets up to his chin, squeezing his eyes shut and praying that he would just fall asleep so he wouldn’t have to think about the truth that he didn’t want to accept.

 

    “Aish, such a weird kid…” He heard Hakyeon mutter, accompanied by the brief sound of rustling. A part of Hyuk really hoped that was the sound of him getting dressed.

 

    A bigger part of him wished that it wasn’t.

 

    It didn’t take long for Hakyeon to settle down after that, dedicating just a few more minutes of his time to his skin care routine before slipping into bed himself, turning out the lights as he did so.

 

    “Goodnight, Hyukkie,” he called out softly.

 

    Hyuk didn’t answer.

 

~

 

    “Hyuk… hey, Hyuk. Hyukkie. Han Sanghyuk.”

 

    It couldn’t have been past two in the morning when Hyuk woke up to a voice at his bedside, the sound hushed but urgent nonetheless.

 

    “Wha-what?” He groaned in response as he rolled over onto his back, squinting his eyes in a failed attempt to make out a shape in the darkness.

 

    “Can I sleep with you?”

 

    Han Sanghyuk was not a morning person, and this was especially true of two in the morning. But at the sound of those words, his eyes shot wide open, all traces of sleep entirely erased from his previously foggy mind.

    

    “Can you what?” He asked, refusing to believe that he had heard correctly. No way. There was no way in hell that he was going to let Cha Hakyeon sleep in the same bed as him, even if just for a few hours. Not over his dead body.

 

    “Can I sleep with you?” Hakyeon inquired once again, confirming Sanghyuk’s fears. “There...  There was a spider next to me and I didn’t see where it went. I’m really freaked out right now, Hyuk.”

 

    No matter what time of day it was, Hyuk’s attitude didn’t disappear for so much as a second. “A spider?” He repeated, staring at Hakyeon with all the disbelief in his body. “Honestly, Hyung. Just kill it and go back to sleep. I’m tired.”

 

    He made a move to roll back over onto his side thinking that maybe, if he just ignored him, Hakyeon would eventually go away (really, he should’ve known better than that after four years), but he was stopped by Hakyeon’s hand gripping tightly onto his arm, reminding him of how strong the apparently slender dancer actually was.

 

    “I’ll do anything,” the elder pleaded, the desperation in his tone quite nearly making Sanghyuk pity him. “I’ll rub your back, I’ll cook for you, I’ll let you boss me around for a day, whatever you want.”

 

    “...How about for a week?”

 

    “I’ll do anything.”

 

    Hyuk really didn’t know what had come over him. Maybe he felt bad hearing the leader beg like that, or maybe it was just the fact that it was two in the morning and he really wanted to go the hell back to sleep. Regardless of the reasoning, though, he somehow found himself scooting over to make room for the elder who slid in beside him without so much as a moment’s hesitation. Just grateful that he could go back to sleep, Sanghyuk rolled over so that his back was facing Hakyeon and closed his eyes again, attempting to ignore how hyper aware he was of the other’s presence.

 

    Of course, in true Hakyeon fashion, things didn’t end with just sleeping beside Hyuk, a fact which the latter discovered as soon as he felt Hakyeon’s arm draping itself over his waist.

 

    “...Hyung?”

 

    “Hm?”

 

    “Why are you holding me?”

 

    “It’s a lot more comfortable like this, don’t you think?” Hakyeon answered, not missing a beat. Sanghyuk was suddenly made aware of just how close the leader was to him, warm breath tickling at the back of his neck and causing him to tense up. When he offered no reply, Hakyeon simply pouted. “I’m really not all that bad, Hyukkie.”

 

“Yeah,” said Sanghyuk. He wasn’t quite sure what he was agreeing with, but the feeling of Hakyeon pulling him closer against himself was enough to have his mind going completely blank (save for the thought, “This isn’t good,”, playing on a continuous loop like a broken record).

 

    “Then why are you so mean, huh?” Sanghyuk could all but feel Hakyeon’s lips brushing against his skin and oh, God, he was so far gone. “What, you won’t even look at me when I’m talking now?”

 

    Before he knew it, Sanghyuk was flipping over onto his other side so that he could face Hakyeon, mind taking a while to catch up with his body’s actions. As soon as it did, though, he was thankful for the cover of the darkness, because he was certain that he turned an embarrassing shade of red the instant he realized just how close their faces were.

 

    “You know, Han Sanghyuk, you’re pretty cruel.”

 

    “H-how so?” Prompted the maknae, tough boy persona entirely lost at the sound of the softly spoken words.

 

    “I can’t tell if you’re trying to block me out or if you’re just painfully oblivious,” Hakyeon answered, hand coming up to cup Hyuk’s cheek, the latter finding himself leaning into the touch. “Do you understand what I mean?”

 

    “No.”

 

    That was a lie. Sanghyuk definitely knew what he meant, and he definitely didn’t want Hakyeon to say it because he knew that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back from saying it, too, and he wasn’t quite ready to admit to that.

 

    “I like you, Hyukkie,” Hakyeon breathed, words barely audible but their close proximity making up for that fact. “As more than your hyung, more than your leader, more than your friend.”

 

    “I don’t like you,” Sanghyuk answered, just as quietly. “I don’t. I really, really, really don’t… like…”

 

    His words were lost. Hakyeon was there, right in front of him, and Hyuk was only human - he could only lie for so long. Hakyeon’s hand felt warm against his face, he looked so gorgeous looking at Sanghyuk with those tired eyes of his, and Hyuk could still feel his warm breath against his lips. It was only a matter of seconds before he found himself leaning forward, pressing his lips against the leader’s.

 

    Han Sanghyuk had made many regrettable decisions in his life, certainly.

    But maybe - just maybe - he didn’t regret picking paper.