"Hyung, stop."

Sunggyu blinked blearily, glancing up from the spread out sheets of their upcoming schedules towards the overly bright doorway. His slitted eyes squinted narrower as soon as gleaming white lights hurt his oversensitive, tired pupils. Had Howon not been closely paying attention to the fatigued features of his leader, he would have assumed Sunggyu was asleep.

Clearing his throat due to hours of unused, Sunggyu mumbled, "Howonie? Didn't you head back with the rest," he paused, checking his phone for the time oh, 3:23, when had it become so late, "a few hours ago?"

I was waiting for you. "The producers called before I left, said I had to re-record some parts," Howon lied smoothly, shutting the door of the dimly lit meeting room behind him to block out the fluorescent light from distressing Sunggyu's small eyes further, "You need to get some rest, we have a schedule early tomorrow, don't we?"

A soft chuckle sounded and Sunggyu's eyelids slid shut for a brief moment, a hint of a smile on his lips, "You're the one to talk."

Howon snorted with an eyeroll in denial, an automatic response he had cultivated overtime after having to deal with the daily antics of s.

Rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands, Sunggyu lets out a deep sigh before forcing himself to focus on the papers in front of him once again. "Look, why don't you head back first? I just need to check a couple–"

"No, hyung, enough," Howon swiftly cuts in, knowing an excuse when he hears one – especially after listening to Sunggyu recite the very same words over the years. He strode over to Sunggyu's side and easily pried the sheets away, undeterred by the weak resistance from his stubborn leader, "These can wait, but you, you look like death."

"Yah, Lee Howon!" Sunggyu grumbled while he attempted to grab his papers back from his dongsaeng with sluggish movements, "Return me the schedules this instant. It needs to be completed by tomorrow."

"No," he firmly reiterated, holding them as far high as he was capable of, "Stop being so stubborn. You need sleep."

Unaffected by the irritated glares his hyung was throwing at him, Howon returned the favour with his infamous judging stare at the slumped form, igniting a silent war between them. He knew he was right, seeing that Sunggyu was too exhausted to even stand up when he was able to get the schedules back without much difficulty due to their height difference (what Howon lacked in the height department, he definitely made up for it with his body muscles).

After what seems like ages – despite it only being a few minutes – he noted a shift in Sunggyu's eyes, recognizing a resigned look falling over the weariness he wears like a second skin, the fight in him slowly ebbing away. Another long, heavy sigh escaped past his hyung's lips, sounding as though he was carrying all the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Fine. Fine. I'll rest, but just so you know, if I'm not able to complete them before the managers request for it, I'm holding you responsible."

"Deal."

Even though Howon was fine with bearing the brunt of their managers in Sunggyu's place, he knew Sunggyu was simply complaining for the sake of it, knew his leader would have assumed responsibility no matter what happens. He wished, for once, Sunggyu will rely on them instead of suffering on his own.

Once he was absolute certain that Sunggyu will not try to snatch the papers back again, Howon relaxed his aching arm but he still kept them close to himself as a precaution. He maintained a watchful eye on his hyung, and at that instant, he knew Sunggyu had let down his guards around him, drowsily kneading the base of his sore neck with a worn out expression.

And that was the deciding factor for Howon.

"I'm driving you back to your apartment," he stated, immediately noticing the protest beginning to form on Sunggyu's lips and continuing before he had a chance to say anything, "I'm definitely not going to let you drive back alone when you are in this state. Come on. I'll fetch you tomorrow."

Yet another sigh fell past Sunggyu's lips while he stumbled to his feet, aware that it was impossible for him to out-talk Howon. He was able to spot the determination shining strongly in Howon's gaze, recognizing it to be a lost cause if he had even bothered to try resisting.

"You better," Sunggyu grumbled, surrendering, as he plodded after his dongsaeng out of the dreary meeting room.

The drive back was relatively silent, save for the soft snores filling up the enclosed space. Sunggyu had succumbed to his perpetual exhaustion almost instantaneously, lured by the comforts of darkness. Every now and then, Howon would peek at the passenger seat beside him, the corners of his lips quirking upwards at the sight of his sometimes-baby-sometimes-grandpa hyung sleeping soundly. He pulled over at the nearest sidewalk and gently reclined Sunggyu's seat, allowing his hyung to rest comfortably. God knows he needed it.

Easing his car into the empty parking lot of Sunggyu's apartment building, Howon did not have the heart to wake his hyung up. He switched off the engine and walked around to the other side of the car, gathering the snoring figure in his arms. With a grunt, he hefted Sunggyu out carefully and slammed the passenger door shut with the sole of his shoe.

He must have shifted Sunggyu around too much while trying to get him out of the car. Before he realized it, the snores had ceased but it didn't take long for him to spot the small serene smile on the lips of his supposedly asleep hyung.

"Now that you're awake, you can walk back by yourself," Howon deadpanned, pretending as if he was about to drop Sunggyu.

Sunggyu's eyes instantly flew opened when he felt Howon about to let go and a panicked expression crossed his features, making Howon burst out into laughter.

"Lee Howon, don't you dare!"

"Yah you big baby, you're making your dongsaeng carry you home."

"You can put those muscles of yours to good use."

Sticking his tongue out childishly at his dongsaeng, Sunggyu wrapped his arms around Howon's neck to secure himself and make it easier for Howon to support his weight, eyes quickly closing itself again once he's settled. The content look on Sunggyu's face was enough for Howon to indulge his leader for the night.

"Stay," please, Sunggyu mumbled, his hand reaching out from under his blanket to grab hold of Howon's just as he was about to leave.

Turning back to face his hyung already lying in bed, Howon raised an eyebrow, waiting for Sunggyu to continue.

"It's late. It will be easier for you to fetch me to our schedule later, we can't be late," Sunggyu feigned annoyance to conceal his embarrassment, sinking further into his fluffy pillow to hide half of his face without releasing Howon's hand.

Howon's eyes shifted towards the bedside table, in search of the digital clock he knows his hyung had placed there; its white lights illuminating 04:18 in the otherwise dark room. Deciding that Sunggyu was right and that the both of them should probably catch as much sleep as they can before their schedule, Howon caved.

"Let me change first. I can sleep on the couch."

"No," was Sunggyu's hurried response as he struggled to come up with an excuse, the grip he had on Howon's hand tightened briefly, "The bed is big enough for the two of us, and the couch is uncomfortable. I don't want to hear you complaining about back aches because you didn't get to sleep on a proper bed."

"I'm not you, hyung," Howon joked, unable to stop the grin on his face from growing wider when he realized Sunggyu was worried about him. He knew this was his chance to cuddle with his hyung, especially since the other was offering, and Howon wasn't able to hold back his impulse any longer, "Okay."

Later, after Howon had cleaned up and changed into a comfortable set of night clothes, Sunggyu's of course, he slid into bed beside his hyung and wrapped his arms around Sunggyu's waist.

"Good night, hyung," Howon whispered, snuggling closer and plastering himself to Sunggyu's back.

"G'night Howonie." Thank you.