Mornings were usually rushed hours of showers running and doors clicking to a shut, first the bathroom and then the closet, the shoe cabinet and finally the apartment door. Hyunbin wakes up to serene silence an hour or two after Minhyun's morning fury, having to hurry for his training or tv schedule, bird nest hair sticking in all sort of angles as he ruffled them up even more. For the last few years they've lived together, the model had gotten accustomed to hearing the four clicks, so much so that the imagery of a disoriented Minhyun struggling to get into his hoodie came to mind just from hearing the sounds of heavy padded feet shuffling along the wooden lacquered floor. 

Sometimes he'd wake up just enough to pull himself into a seated position, long arms beckoning at his lover for a lazy morning kiss, and Minhyun complied as he always would. Fingers running through the model's messy locks before pressing his lips onto the younger's cheek, the singer would laugh softly as Hyunbin drags him back into bed, arms tightly locked around the slightly shorter frame for a good minute.

'I have to go,' Minhyun would whisper while rubbing the other's cheek with the flats of his thumb, eliciting a murmur of acknowledgement in return, sometimes a puppy-like whine of protest. Still, they'll stay in the position for a while, pressing the pause button on the elder's morning frenzy. When Hyunbin comes to again, eyes fluttering open to the soft hums of the running air conditioner, his lover would be gone as a plushie replaced the space in between his arms, a faded scent of the singer's favourite deodorant lingering in the air. 

But not today. Today was different.

Hyunbin woke up to the afternoon sun grazing his skin, warming the room up through the opened windows. The curtains danced gently to the breeze, rising and falling like a dancer taking even breaths of air in between routines. The taller male struggled to keep his eyes open, rubbing them with his hands as he shifted. A soft whine from the curled frame besides him stopped him in his actions, and Hyunbin moved even slower than before, coming face to face with his snoozing lover, head resting on his outstretched arm. Pale skin glowed with the sunlight's touch, like a canvas with hints of colors painted on them. They covered not the weariness as worn on the dark eye circles, the pockets under his eyes puffy and bloated from the lack of ample rest; speckles of pink from the boy's ears to the knuckles of his hands were now a common sight, rawness as a reflection of the cooling Autumn weather leading to an even colder Winter; there were bruises, purple and green blossoming on his shoulder, and Hyunbin couldn't help but lightly rub the spot with the flats of his fingers. Minhyun had probably walked into a wall, something that sounded very plausible considering his occasionally clumsy nature, but he'd ask when the elder wakes.

There were occasions where Hyunbin woke up before Minhyun, days where he was scheduled for an overseas shoot or rushing somewhere out of Seoul, when traveling on a tight schedule often meant waking up at ungodly hours. But few and far less in between were moments like then, when neither of them were rushed by ticking time and a hollering manager on the other end of the phone. Moments like these were precious, and the raven wanted to frame this very moment like a photograph in his mind. Because besides the tiredness, there was peace; it was shown in the light touches of life on the sleeping figure's cheeks, and that seemingly upwards curl of his lips, it was the even rise and fall of his chest to a humming melody of deep slumber. It's serenity in the room with distant sounds of chattering under the building and the chirps of passing birds, drowned out by the buzz of the roving fan and the little shifts of their tangled limbs under the blanket.

And Hyunbin stared, watching for a while as his thoughts faded to other places and lulled back again whenever Minhyun moved, snuggling closer at times and turning away at others. He took a glance at the clock on their nightstand and noted the time, but he didn't want to wake him up just yet. For the last two weeks or so, Minhyun had been busy with his own solo concert. Day in, day out, Minhyun woke up in the wee hours of the morning and rely for a quick shower and power nap. It was an important week for him, a rising singer who finally had the opportunity for an Olympic Park stage after years of debut, and Hyunbin himself was there to celebrate the event, the tears and hard work that crystallized into a memorable stage to remember.

And after the frenzy, was an extended break, and the model respected that. Lightly brushing away the fringe and pulling them back with a gentle ruffle of his hand, Hyunbin leaned down to press a kiss on the bruise on the shoulder, then once more in the center of his forehead. Minhyun shifted, but his long eyes remained shut, lips slightly ajar in the comforts of his dreams. 

He grinned, pulling the blankets up snugly around them as he sink onto the bed, arm slipping around the elder's waist. There was a muted murmur, but other than the singer pressing his face into the nook of his neck, it was silence once more. The younger rubbed his lover's back in languid motions, gently and soothing, as time seemed to slow down in the room.

For now, he'd join him in the land of dreams.

a/n: i actually made myself a fanfic twitter to interact with you guys at mhb_sng, so please join me if you'd like! i plan to post updates there and also feel free to send my any prompts, questions about my fics as well. this story took a complete 180-degree turn, but i think it ends up well like this.^^