I

Trench coat

October, in an unspecified hotel room in Japan

Seungyoon is still sleeping, laying on his side, a hand clutched on the pillow. His lips are parted as he’s mumbling something, and his eyes move under his eyelids. Taehyun smiles at this sight.

Last night they has planned to go to sleep early, after all those exhausting days packed up with concerts and events in Japan. They had, but then Seungyoon decided to sit on his bed, saying he wanted to stay there “just for five minutes”, and Taehyun stiffened when he came even closer, showing him his telephone and asking him if he knew this song. Of course he did, Taehyun whispered. Seungyoon chuckled, his famous smile painted on his face, a bit more tired than usual.

“This other one, instead...”, he blabbed, and blabbed and Taehyun listened to him, first bothered, then indifferent, eventually interested. In that they were similar: Seungyoon liked to talk about songs and how they were related to his own life, songs that had a deeper meaning than what other people could see. After a while, Taehyun started to reply to him, he laughed and asked for more and – it was already 1 AM then – requested some songs, telling him the stories behind each one of them, how he cried for a girl listening to this one, how he sang this one to his mother for her birthday some years ago, how his grandmother adored this singer, and how his dongsaeng secretly performed this other one for his audition. Seungyoon’s smile grew wider as the maknae talked about his family, feeling like he could almost see the four of them, all together – and Taehyun, the kid, in his room, a pair of headphones on his ears, his eyes closed and his heart opened to the music.

They went on for hours, talking in between the songs, almost whispering sometimes, as they were aware it was too late; chuckling or sighing, shoulder to shoulder, clasping their hands when one of them had to catch the attention of the other one. Happy, they thought.

Then, Seungyoon fell asleep on his shoulder. Taehyun gulped in surprise and helped him to lay on his bed, then covered him with the blankets. He went to sleep on Seungyoon’s bed.

And now Seungyoon is still there at his place, in his bed. Taehyun ruffles his hair, lightly, while calling him, but he keeps sleeping.

Taehyun goes to the bathroom , washes himself, picks the clothes he’ll wear today at the airport, brushes his hair, talks to Seungyoon who is still sleeping, dresses up, sits on the bed and looks at him. He smiles, seeing Seungyoon like this: he looks so young when he sleeps, curled up, the blankets all tangled to his feet, that expression of beatitude on his face, like he has never had a bad day in his life, like he’s still a baby who needs protection because he doesn’t know how real life is... Taehyun stops looking, gets up and fidgets, thinking that he should really wake up the leader, but he doesn’t want to.

He wavers. The sun is up and the light filters through the curtains, almost reaching Seungyoon’s face.

Taehyun doesn’t know what that feeling is, his own mind is failing him right now, leaving him clueless. What he feels is more like – he sighs, then, trying to define it: it’s more like a small bright spark in the center of his chest, growing every time he looks at him. A spark he first thought was just bother, months ago, when he had to adapt himself to their group and Seungyoon as leader – now,  though, he thinks it’s something else.

Shaking his head, he sits on a chair, noticing just few seconds later that he’s on Seungyoon’s coat. He shifts, taking it in his hands. Then, without even thinking, he gets up and tries it on. The neck of the coat still smells of the perfume Seungyoon usually uses. He get his nose closer to the fabric, until the scent is too strong and he doesn’t feel anything anymore. Then he snaps out, realizing that he’s doing a foolish thing right now, wearing that coat after all the thoughts he had few moments ago.

“Taehyun-ah”, he hears then. Taehyun freezes, still in his coat. He doesn’t want to turn his head and look at him, not now. “Taehyun-ahhh, why didn’t you wake m-“, Seungyoon stops then and Taehyun knows he has seen him. “What are you doing?”, he can feel uncertainty in his voice.

Taehyun turns around, smiling his best smile in an attempt to make Seungyoon . “I-I was curious to see how I looked”. Seungyoon is clearly puzzled, it’s quite obvious as he tilts his head and furrows his brow, pouting his lips as he tries to understand. “I know you’re very possessive with your things, I am too, I didn’t want to upset you”.

Seungyoon looks at him, his eyes warm even if he’s still too sleepy to truly get what he’s saying. He just ruffles his hair, mumbling. “It’s ok, Taehyun, you can keep it. For today”. Taehyun widens his eyes. “I mean it”, Seungyoon smiles cheesily, getting up from the bed, “I know you wanted to look as cool as me”.

“You wish”, Taehyun mutters.

“I gotta go to the bathroom. Next time, wake me up”, his voice is back to his KangNag style.

Taehyun smiles, glancing at him for just one second. When the door of the bathroom is closed, he just hugs himself, relieved that he smoothly got away from one of the possible most embarrassing situations he has been.

He sits on his bed, the one where Seungyoon slept last night, stretching and laying in there. His head is right on the pillow, he turns it and smells the same scent that is all over his coat – Seungyoon’s. He unconsciously blushes.

Yes – he thinks, getting up in a millisecond – right in his chest, making his heart bumping like crazy, there is something else. And he has to sort it out as soon as possible. 

A/N: inspired by this.