Every night, after Sukira, Ryeowook would come back to the dorms, eat a small midnight snack, take a quick shower, and flop down on the bed to go to sleep. So, this evening was no different: he slipped in through the front door at exactly twelve thirty-two and headed to the kitchen, eating two chocolate chip cookies (regrettably not homemade – he hadn’t had time to make any recently and apparently none of the others had either – but still delicious, nonetheless) and drinking a glass of warm milk. He carefully put away his dishes before heading to the bathroom, taking as quick of a shower as he could manage before changing into a t-shirt and an old pair of sweats and falling back onto the bed. It was then that he noticed something in his nightly routine was missing (or rather, someone).

He barely had time to start wondering where his hyung was, however; hardly five minutes later, a recently-showered Donghae came wandering in the door, a towel tied tightly around his hips. Ryeowook flushed a light pink at the sight of Donghae’s bare skin, but the older man just smiled, dropping the towel he’d been using to dry his hair on the younger’s head before heading to his closet to find his own sweatpants.

“How was the show tonight?”

They both knew the question was more of a formality than anything else; Ryeowook knew that Donghae always listened, and usually knew how the radio show went better than he did.

“It was good.” Ryeowook smiled, leaning back against the pillows as he pulled the towel off of his head, playing with the fabric. “Quiet, really. But sometimes it’s nice to have a quiet show.”

The room fell silent, but it was a comfortable silence, while Donghae changed. He flicked off the overhead light before dropping onto the bed next to Ryeowook, leaning over him to turn on the bedside lamp. He had just settled down and opened up the comic book he wanted to finish reading when he heard the younger man giggle.

“What’s so funny?”

“You’re wearing glasses!” Ryeowook chirped softly, running his fingers lightly over the frames.

It was Donghae’s turn to flush a light pink as he swatted his dongsaeng’s hand away. He didn’t wear his glasses much; he was too afraid to get lasik eye surgery, so he resorted to wearing contacts almost constantly, but sometimes, if he wanted to read before bed or just watch a movie on a lazy afternoon, he would slip on his plain black glasses instead of going through the hassle of putting in and taking out his contacts.

“You’ve seen them before, Wook. It’s nothing special,” he muttered, his eyes flickering across the page of his comic book behind his thin lenses.

“I like them.” Ryeowook smiled, curling up against Donghae’s side, letting his own eyes slip closed. “You should wear them more often.”

The older man just hummed softly in reply, already absorbed in the fantasy world of his comic book, flipping the pages quickly to keep up with the story. Ryeowook’s hand danced up Donghae’s bare torso, his long fingers running over the smooth, pale skin, dipping up and down with the outline of his muscles and sending a shiver down the younger’s spine. He didn’t notice that his hyung had dropped his book with a sigh until Donghae wrapped an arm around his waist, hoisting him up so Ryeowook’s head was tucked underneath his chin.

“You didn’t have to wait up for me,” Ryeowook mumbled, turning his head just enough to press his lips against Donghae’s collarbone gently, smiling against his skin. But this, just like asking about Sukira, was more of a formality; Donghae would always wait up for Ryeowook to get home, just like Ryeowook would always wait for Donghae.

“I bought you cookies,” Donghae mumbled, biting back a yawn. “I thought you’d like some but Sungmin yelled at me for messing up the kitchen the last time I tried to bake, so that was the best I could do.”

Ryeowook blinked in surprise, then smiled, wrapping his arm around Donghae’s chest. “I ate some tonight. They were great, hyung; just what I wanted. Thanks.”

Donghae pulled Ryeowook closer, reaching up to brush away the younger’s bangs and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “Good. I’m glad you liked them. You should get some rest, Wook.”

“You sleep too,” Ryeowook mumbled childishly, and Donghae felt his lips curve upwards into a small smile. He slid his glasses off, putting them on his bedside table before turning off his lamp and making himself comfortable, pressing his back into the mattress.

“’Night, Wook.”

“Goodnight, hyung!”

Both smiled.

By now, the ‘I love you’ was understood.