Tick. Tick. Tick.

The silence in the air was almost suffocating if not the the graze of the wind from the air-conditioner and the gentle patter of the rain rapping against the window. Minhyun pulled the covers over him, body curled as he lay alone on the large king-sized bed. In the past he would have spread himself from corner to corner on the luxury of a large bed, but now he's accustomed to his new position on his sides, knees slightly tucked towards his chest, one arm under his pillow. 

When you live with someone else, you learn to accommodate; new habits form while old ones break, and the singer already lost count of how many new ones he's had.

He sighed, gasp of air wavering for a moment before he took a deep breath. There's a lingering, comforting scent on them that he found himself fall, a familiarity he could no longer kick and a blanket of security in late nights like these. Minhyun shifted again, sheets rustling as the giant figure of over six feet rolled and flatten himself along the sheets before curling on the other side. Then, giving up, the raven forced open on tired lid to check the time. The image of the digits on the clock stilled as his orbs focused, and another long drag of air left his lips. 

It's close to 4am, and he hadn't had one wink of sleep since climbing into bed few hours earlier.

In the dark with eyes shut, he blindly reached for the plushie Hyunbin had placed on his side of the bed, telling Minhyun that he's 'willing to lend him Mr skitty for the night~' earlier that day. He recalled laughing in return, telling the model not to be silly and just go for his fashion party, wherever that was. (They had a mutual , unspoken agreement to respect each other's social circles and career. Compromises and promises, two little things that build a relationship of trust in the long run. Minhyun never enquired about what Hyunbin does at the exclusive parties unless he was sharing the stories over breakfast; likewise Hyunbin doesn't push for answers when the raven wanted to to be left alone, locking himself up in the study for a day or so to craft his lyrics.)

But now, he was rubbing his face into the flat Skitty plushie, feeling the soft beans shift as he hugged it tightly. It smelled like Hyunbin, he noted, with a hint of sunshine having been baked by the window place for a couple hours that day, though it did little to help him fall asleep. Lips jutted out into a soft, annoyed pout, Minhyun can't help but pinch the soft toy the way he imaged doing it to its owner for making him like this. 

Hugging plushies was Hyunbin's coping mechanism when they're apart, him away for his overseas concerts or schedules or Hyunbin for his modeling gigs. The model would almost always pack a toy of some sorts, something flat, malleable and huggable into his luggage just so that he could plant his face into it after a day's of work, a piece of home to give him a piece of mind to fall asleep soon after. 

"Minhyunnie hyung, hold this."
"...? Why?"
"Hug it tight. Tightly." 
"...like this? Why?"

Random statement followed by a Skitty plushie pushed towards him, Minhyun had calmly took the toy in his arms, squishing it hard at the request. Amusement twinkled in his eyes, dancing with confusion at Hyunbin's determined, knitted brows just watching him. The singer watched as his lover burst out in a sequence of short quiet laugh when receiving the cotton soft toy back, patting it at the edges to make it less deformed once again.

"Hehe...It smells like hyungie now."

Minhyun had laughed even harder after that, slapping the younger's shoulder at the comment. His ears had tinted red while he watched the giant squatted on the floor, curling up to put the plushie inside his luggage bag carefully, buckling the straps of the bag like how one would a child to their baby seat in the car. Since then Minhyun always spared a minute of his time to spray his favorite cologne onto Hyunbin's favorite stuffed plushie at the moment - they ranged from Skitties to Ugly Dolls, random gifts his fans had gave to him that the boy cherished - and tuck the toy neatly back into the luggage. 

A piece of home. 

For the elder, however, his piece of home was not the plushie in his arms right now. His 'piece of home' wasn't even a tangible object; it's not a shirt or the couple keychain Hyunbin had gifted him on their anniversary, it's not the first book Hyunbin had bought for him that he came to love every page of. Minhyun sighed, throwing the blankets over his face as he rolled back to his original position, facing away from the windows and ceasing rain against the glass. 

His piece of home was his voice, a soft whisper of 'good night' and an appreciative hum of a ballad track in his bass voice. Minhyun sang for a living, made the stage a key part of his life, but it was Hyunbin's voice that he could listen to on a loop, be it his rambles to his sincere singing, his daily greetings or random outbursts of compliments. And perhaps it was the musically inclined person within him that Minhyun needed to hear him every other day, to feel the sense of security and coziness from the richness of Hyunbin's words that translated into a blanket of comforting music notes, ringing in his ears.

Every night, without fail, Minhyun would be lulled to sleep with his lover's voice. Even when they're apart, Minhyun seeked the chance for a phone call up in his hotel room, or the voice message in their private Kakao chatroom. 

( Once, Hyunbin recorded fourteen messages on his phone as a surprise during his Europe tour, one good night message each day counting down to his return in Korea. Minhyun never did tell him that he listened to all fourteen in a single night, looping it like a lullaby ringtone with earphones plugged in, and continued the same for the whole tour. 'Just in case I couldn't wake up early enough to call you, hyung,' he said, but he did anyway, because Kwon Hyunbin's an idiot, but his own idiot. )

And now, just thinking about it, makes him miss Hyunbin so, so much.

It's insane, he chided himself, how many changes the younger had caused in his life. It's almost like Kwon Hyunbin had barged into his life and stayed put ever since. They were apart for just eight hours and he's there, laying in their shared bed and hugging the model's plushie, driven mad not being able to fall asleep. 

All because Hyunbin didn't whisper a good night before he left, and because there wasn't a phone call of 'sleep well, hyung. I miss you, love you.'

( It's way too late and his mind, way too awake. Even if he can imagine the younger's voice in his head, it's not enough, not quite enough. )

He could have called but he didn't want to be the party-pooper, didn't want to be the oddly clingy one when he usually wasn't. Parties like these were important for a model to socialize, grow contacts, and in Minhyun's definition, part of work. For that alone, he shook his head of such juvenile thoughts and flipped into a new position again. 

The melodic bell rang as the main door to their apartment opened. Minhyun let his eyes flutter to a close once more. The door didn't slam to a close like usual, the clumsy giant of a lover tends to overlook his simple push and shove of the poor door on most days; a light smile tugged on his lips at the imagery of Hyunbin making a conscious effort to close the door gently, tall physique slouching as his long fingers held onto the door handle with a death grip in case it slammed down hard. It was a success, the laying figure decided, because the click of the door was so light he could not hear through the closed door of the master bedroom. The loud steps - wide strides, because Hyunbin always crossed large distances with a simple stride, only slowing down when walking beside him - brought him to the door, and he sinked further into the sheets, feigning sleep.

There was a dip on the mattress at the added weight, a brief whiff of cigarettes and alcohol filling his nose, underlying the peppermint sweets the model liked to munch on cover the scents Minhyun shown general distaste for. Long arm wrapped around his waist, buttons of the younger's blazer suit pressed against the thin fabric of his tee. He could hear him, the breathing at the back of his neck followed by the press of his plush lips. The elder shudder involuntarily, and he could feel - imagine - the etch of his lips into a smile against cold skin.

"Sorry, hyung, did I wake you up?"
"...i said to wash up before you climb onto the bed last time didn't I..."

His ears burn red for getting caught feigning asleep, embarrassment briefly hidden by the shadows of the cloudy skies and the darkness of the room; Hyunbin knew however, he always does. Somehow, somehow, over the course of weeks and months of living together, he knew every little new habit the singer acquired. Minhyun scrunched his nose, face burrowing into the plushie in his arms as he felt a light kiss on the tips of his ears.

"Mmm, I know. I just want to wish you good night first, hyungie~good night. Dream of me, okay~? Love you..."

There was a slur in his words, obvious influence of alcohol consumption, yet sober enough of semi-coherent thoughts. The words held an optimistic tone with a sense of amusement and childlike qualities, but it was all that he needed. Everything, that he needed to hear, a warm blanket to quench his many thoughts. The weight was lifted from the bed after another kiss to his earlobe and then he was gone, heavy footsteps carrying the taller male to the bathroom.

Minhyun stayed awake just enough to hear the bathroom clicking shut the sounds of running water, but his consciousness drifted, thumping heart calmed and he finally, finally, fell into deep slumber.

a/n: With the upcoming episode and Hyunbin at risk, I know this ship probably would only become more and more obscure...however, I will still be writing fanfics on them with this account, and I hope everyone can still support them both in their individual career paths even if they don't debut together in the future.^^ ♡ sng