Hyosang doesn’t turn around when he feels the weight of another body press into his side. The scraping of a chair had already keyed him into the situation, and he adjusts his shoulder height so Taeyang can rest comfortably against him. For a while, no words are exchanged, and the light thumping coming from his headphones is the only indication of a lack of standstill. Taeyang starts.

“Are you still working? I can’t sleep without you…”

When Hyosang finally, finally turns to look, he sees Taeyang nestled comfortably against him, sleepy eyes drooping into crescent-shaped moons still bright enough to brighten the night sky. He feels his heart swell as Taeyang curls closer and watches him mess with the synths for his next single despite his own limited knowledge on music production. Hyosang removes his headphones from his own ears and gently lifts Taeyang’s head to slip them over his boyfriend’s ears. Taeyang hums in approval, but does not let the beat deter him.

“Hyosang…”

"Hmmm?”

“Bed…”

Worry clouds Hyosang’s mind as Taeyang rubs his tired eyes with the back of his hand, his cursory glance at the older revealing too thin wrists and too pale skin.

“Taeyang, go sit on the couch first, ok? You can nap for a bit there, right? I’m almost done here.”

He receives a soft nod in response before Taeyang removes the headphones to pass them back, mind focused on moving to the studio’s sofa so as to avoid falling asleep right there and then. Hyosang fights back the urge to chuckle as Taeyang stumbles over his own feet in his haste to reach the couch, tumbling onto the furniture once he gets close enough. He barely has the strength to tear his eyes away from the human-shaped lump, but chants Taeyang’s name silently to himself as he turns back to his work in an attempt to reinvigorate himself. Slipping the headphones back over his ears, Hyosang keeps his boyfriend in mind as he works comfortably for the next hour.

Hyosang feels his eyes begin to slip shut as he modifies the last of the beats in the track, fingers aching from their constant movement around the equipment. He gathers the rest of his energy with a shake of his head, swivelling his chair around to check on his napping partner. He feels the stress of work leave his shoulders with every rise and fall of Taeyang’s chest, visible underneath the jacket Taeyang managed to snatch from Hyosang to drape over himself, hiding his small form.

With careful movements, Hyosang turns off all the equipment and moves to Taeyang’s side. He presses two fingers to Taeyang’s cheek in a gentle caress before rolling his shoulders, stretching them to prepare them for what’s to come. Gently, Hyosang puts his arms around his smaller boyfriend, cradling Taeyang’s head to his chest before adjusting his grip. He lifts Taeyang with ease, and frets quietly over the weight he is sure Taeyang has lost.

Taeyang wakes abruptly in confusion, gripping tightly onto Hyosang’s shirt where his hands came to rest after being jostled around. He tries to blink the sleep out of his eyes, but finds that Hyosang makes too good of a bed and instead nestles into the younger’s hold. Hyosang takes a moment to smile down, rubbing his nose softly against Taeyang’s and admiring the cute smile he receives in return. There’s a moment where Taeyang looks like he wants to be put down, embarrassed, but Hyosang keeps his grip firm and Taeyang is quick to give up.

Their walk to the dorm requires no words, and Hyosang invites himself into Dorm B without being asked. The door to Taeyang’s room lies open and empty, Sangdo off with Hojoon for the evening for their weekly ‘cuddles and ice cream.’ They pass by Sehyuk in the kitchen on the way to the room and Hyosang waves hello with the arm wrapped around Taeyang’s waist. Their leader returns the wave and chuckles quietly to himself when Taeyang smiles shyly, embarrassed at being caught.

The pair make it into the room with no further encounters, and Hyosang sets Taeyang on Sangdo’s bed before pressing a kiss to Taeyang’s cheek, leaving the room after to rummage through Taeyang’s closet for the clothes he kept here for nights like these. He doesn’t let Taeyang wait for him, choosing to carry the clothes back to Taeyang’s room so he can change there.

When Hyosang walks back in, Taeyang has already settled in on the top bunk, back to the door and body wrapped around a pillow. He twists awkwardly to smile at the intruder before altogether giving up and flipping his body around to face him. Hyosang ends up smiling back at the dimple on Taeyang’s face, lifting up his pyjamas in indication. He watches as Taeyang makes a face and turns around for a second time, too shy to openly watch the other change, and chuckles at his boyfriend’s expectedly cute actions. He rushes through changing and ends up putting his shirt the on the wrong way, not that either of them notice.

With practiced ease, Hyosang climbs the steps to the top bunk and ignores the creaking of the bed as he pounces onto the lump on top of the mattress. Taeyang can barely stop himself from shrieking as Hyosang mischievously digs his fingers into Taeyang’s sides, resulting in heavy thrashing and stifled giggles. The attack only stops when the pair hear the door creak open, revealing a worried Yooncheol and a smug Dongsung.

“Yooncheol! See? I told you he was here. There’s no way Taeyang would be so loud otherwise.”

Taeyang has the decency to look slightly guilty before burying his head into his pillow, leaving Hyosang to fend off the two visitors.

“Ok, ok, maybe you’re right. But he sounded like he was dying or something, I couldn’t just leave him at the mercy of the attacker.”

Dongsung stared pointedly at Yooncheol.

“Are you sure it sounded like he was dying? Because it sounded a hell of alot like he was having a good ti-”

Hyosang launched a pillow at Dongsung, ignoring his muffled shout. Thoroughly shut down, Dongsung threw the pillow back and huffed as Yooncheol laughed awkwardly in the background.

“Fine, we’ll leave you two to have your fun. Be safe, kids!”

Dongsung cackled as he sped back towards his own room, leaving Yooncheol red-faced and in the dust.

“Sorry hyungs, I’ll be sure to keep a closer watch on him next time.”

Hyosang and Taeyang had no time to comment as Yooncheol left as quickly as Dongsung had, shutting the door behind him to give the two privacy. Hyosang heaved a heavy sigh at the two’s antics, too used to their interruptions to remind them that he either ways slept with Taeyang or stole him and took him back to his own dorm. Shaking his head, he reaches over to turn off the lamp on the nightstand, thankful for his height and long limbs that allow him to reach without having to leave the bed.

Once the light is off, Hyosang flops down next to a still-hiding Taeyang. He has just enough time to turn over and throw an arm around the older before Taeyang is burrowing himself into Hyosang’s chest, sighing contentedly. Hyosang removes his arm briefly to pull the covers up around them-  even though he knows they’ll be strewn about in the morning- but after that the hand returns to Taeyang’s waist. Taeyang pulls himself from the warmth long enough to whisper a heartfelt ‘I love you,’ drifting off to sleep before giving Hyosang a chance to respond. Deprived of the moment, Hyosang compensates by pressing smiles and whispering the words back into Taeyang’s hair, hoping Taeyang will find him in his dreams.

In the morning, both of them will have to work hard again, pushing the limits to try to hate something they both love doing and, being incapable of that, loving every second that they get to do what they love together. The morning brings family, competition, and fans, but right now, with they are only Hyosang and Taeyang, not Kidoh and Jenissi, and there is no pretense, only raw emotions and tired lovers.

Like this, Sangdo finds them tangled the next morning when he comes back after a night with Hojoon, and only suppresses his chuckles at Hyosang’s backwards tee before smiling fondly at the times where they don’t have to hide.