dahyun slept alone every night. that is, until she moved into nayeon’s room. see, the blonde was happily rooming with chaeyoung. but since they have started preparing for a comeback, their manager suggested a room switch. now, of course, dahyun was comfortable with all of the other members, she loved each of them to pieces. but when her and nayeon were chosen to share a room together, some part of her, deep deep inside, knew something would change.

nayeon was beautiful, no one could ever deny that fact (even though she tried, quite desperately). it didn’t bother her much, not until she slept in the same room as her. nights came and went, and dahyun came to realize that nayeon was a pleasant roommate. although she was a little messy, she never made too much noise and always made sure dahyun felt comfortable. and she did, feel comfortable.

it was only a few weeks before it happened for the first time. nayeon never seemed to be a restless sleeper. at least, from the short time dahyun had roomed with her. but that night something was different. nayeon rolled under her sheets, whimpers clearly audible to the blonde. the older girl let out light sounds, her movements never ceasing. dahyun really, really wanted to ignore it, but she knew she couldn’t. there is something wrong, i have to see if she is okay, dahyun thought. she battled with her own thoughts, before finally propping her own head up on her palm, looking in the older girl’s direction. it was too dark to see anything clearly, but she could see nayeon’s clear discomfort. she knew she had to get up. dahyun (much to her dismay), climbed out of her bed and moved toward the one adjacent to hers. she leaned down, reaching for nayeon’s shoulder.

“unnie?” she lightly shook her shoulder. nayeon groaned loudly and dahyun shook her again. “unnie, i think you’re having a nightmare”. nayeon’s eyes snapped open and she gasped loudly. dahyun flinched slightly, before feeling nayeon soften under her grasp.

“dahyun-ah,” she whispered, quickly wrapping her arms around the blonde. dahyun was surprised, to say the very least. nayeon was noticeably trembling, and she breathed heavily against her.  dahyun tried to pull away, however the older girl’s grip was too tight.

“stay with me,” the brunette whispered, not loosening her hold on dahyun. she sighed. i’ve never slept with her before… would it be weird? i mean, i don’t want her to have anymore nightmares…

“please,” nayeon whispered again, shaking dahyun out of her thoughts. dahyun nodded into her shoulder. she knew she could never say no to nayeon. the brunette shifted her body, making room for the girl to join her. dahyun climbed into bed, keeping a fair distance from nayeon. her heart beat was picking up, and she could swear the older girl could hear it. as much as she tried to calm down, she just felt so awkward next to the beautiful girl. oh my god dahyun, calm down. it’s just nayeon.

“you can come closer, you know,” nayeon said quietly, placing her hand flat on dahyun’s stomach. dahyun inched closer to her. she should’ve known this wasn’t enough for the other girl, when nayeon wrapped her arm around dahyun’s lower back, and pulled her close. we have never been this close before…

at this point, nayeon’s face was close to dahyun’s neck, her fingers trailing small circles on dahyun’s hip. the younger girl’s heart rate was only picking up, and she hoped to god nayeon didn’t notice. dahyun could feel nayeon’s whole body relax, breathing deeply against her neck. it was something new, she never slept with chaeyoung this closely. there was something so comfortable about being close to nayeon, yet it had her absolutely freaking out.

time passed, dahyun started to relax. she enjoyed the sensation of nayeon’s hand on her bare hip now, and shamefully loved the feeling of her breath on her neck. dahyun was brave now, hugging the girl closer. she knew the girl was sleeping, but she couldn’t help but enjoy nayeon wanting to be close to her. dahyun still felt her heart swell at the thought. she asked me to stay. dahyun smiled to herself, once more before drifting into sleep.

*

nayeon’s habit of asking dahyun to sleep with her only became more frequent. not that dahyun ever argued, of course. there was something so blissful to dahyun about the girl’s bright smile when she asked dahyun to come to her bed. it was expected at this point, but that did not mean dahyun ever fully accepted it. the older girl was still a dream to her, and her innocent crush only grew deeper. it was kind of sad to her, how she longed for her days to pass, just so she could hear nayeon say those words.

stay with me, dahyun.

now, the blonde knew full-well that the older girl meant nothing by it. she was lonely and she had nightmares, and dahyun had to understand that. as much as she longed for a deeper meaning, she could never expect that from her. when the night came, she held the older girl, she let her hold tight. she felt every breath, and she remembered every one. she learned nayeon’s sleeping habits, her small hands acquainted with every curve on nayeon’s back.

dahyun never felt safer than when the night came.

*

it must have been a month before dahyun ever had the courage to ask nayeon about it. she slept by nayeon’s side every night, but never even thought of asking her why.

why does she ask me to stay?

the two girls sat in their shared room, consumed in their own activities. well, nayeon was. dahyun pretended to be enthralled with the program playing on the screen in front of her. she thought she was doing a good job too, until, before she could catch herself, she was staring at nayeon. her thoughts wandered to the same question, why does she ask me to stay?

dahyun tended to be pretty good about hiding her stares when it came to nayeon, but this time she was too consumed to notice. 

“dahyun-ah? what are you looking at?” nayeon asked, amused tone.

the blonde quickly snapped out of it, blinking her eyes and avoiding all eye contact.

“what are you thinking about?” nayeon asked again, her tone growing more curious.

“you” dahyun blurted out, quickly covering with her own hands. when she saw nayeon smiling softly at her, she stuttered to correct herself. “i-i mean, i have -uh- something to ask you”. she knew she looked stupid, but part of dahyun knew it was time. she needed to know.

“and what would that be?” nayeon questioned, same soft smile on her face.

“well -uh…” dahyun started before clearing . “why do you ask me to stay?”

dahyun saw nayeon’s mood shift, her smile fading. she was deep in thought, and dahyun could tell.

“i don’t know,” nayeon sighed.

“you don’t know?” dahyun was more confused than ever. she doesn’t know?

“it just, i don’t know, feels right. like, in the moment. i never felt good about sleeping, you know, nightmares and stuff. but when you’re there, i don’t feel bad. i feel safe.” the older girl rambled. dahyun breathed heavily. her heart was beating so fast, she was definitely not expecting that answer. she had no idea that nayeon felt that way about her.

“okay,” dahyun breathed.

“just okay?” nayeon questioned softly.

“what i mean is, if it makes you feel safe, i’ll always stay,” dahyun said, barely making eye contact with the older girl. it was true. she would do anything for nayeon.

“really?” nayeon asked, smile coming back almost immediately. dahyun nodded before nayeon practically tackled her. arms tight around her neck, dahyun was almost positive she was going to suffocate. but it was okay. she knew she played a role in nayeon’s happiness, she knew that now, and she was unbelievably happy.

**

everything became more intimate to dahyun, from that moment on. before sharing a room with the older girl, she had no idea how soft she was. all nayeon needed was to feel safe, and dahyun provided that to her. the younger girl made that her personal mission. every night, same closeness, protecting nayeon from every approaching nightmare.

nayeon started to leave kisses on dahyun’s forehead, each and every night. it was her way of saying thank you, but dahyun felt so much more. every single kiss lingered on her skin, never forgotten by the younger girl. dahyun didn’t think nayeon would notice the bright pink glow on her cheeks when nayeon kissed her, but she did. she always did.

this sign of affection became a norm for the two. when nayeon was awoken by nightmares, dahyun would kiss her forehead softly before holding her even tighter. it worked every time.

**

one night, nayeon was stirring and shivering, much more violently than usual. the nightmares must have been bad tonight. the older girl was letting out high pitched whines, followed by exclamations of “dahyun, no, dahyun”.

“i’m right here, unnie. it’s okay. i’m here,” dahyun whispered, holding tight as ever. nayeon didn’t stop, still shivering violently in the younger girl’s arms.

dahyun watched as tears began to fall from the brunette’s closed eyes.

“it’s okay, unnie,” she kept repeating lightly shaking nayeon. nayeon’s eyes finally opened, bright read and full of fear.

“dahyun-ah” she nearly gasped, grip tightening around the blonde. “you’re okay.” nayeon started to soften, tears still falling.

“yeah i’m okay, unnie. i’m right here,” she leaned down to kiss the older girl’s forehead, running her warm hands up and down the shivering girl’s arms.

“i-i dreamt that something really bad happened,” she choked on her tears. “to you…” nayeon started to cry even harder and squeezed dahyun even tighter.

“no, unnie. i’m right here and i always will be. it’s okay,” she tried desperately to calm the girl down.

nayeon’s tears began to dry, and her breathing slowing to a normal pace. dahyun watched her with loving eyes. god, she is even beautiful when she is crying. dahyun’s thoughts were interrupted by the older girl calling her name softly. “dahyun-ah,” she turned her head to face nayeon. nayeon’s eyes were always so beautiful, even bloodshot and tired. dahyun never missed a chance to admire her.

“why do you always stay?” nayeon asked softly. dahyun wasn’t surprised by the question. she knew it was coming, ever since she asked her own that day. she could think of a whole list of reasons.

because i like making you feel safe.

because you want me to.

because i like being close to you.

because i sleep better with you.

because i love you.

but the younger girl knew, no words, no expressions of love could show what she was feeling for the older girl. dahyun felt it since the first night, she only ever wanted to hold nayeon. now, and always.

overwhelmed by the multitude of emotions flowing through her, looking straight into nayeon’s wide, curious eyes, dahyun did something she never thought she would have the courage to do. her face close to nayeon’s, she leaned in. she pressed her lips against the older girl’s soft ones, pouring all of her feelings into the kiss. dahyun’s shaky hands rose to touch nayeon’s cheek, deepening the kiss. and she felt nayeon kiss back. the older girl’s arms wrapped around dahyun’s neck, pulling the girl closer. their lips glided so softly together, and dahyun swore she never felt anything like this before. when their bodies begged for air, dahyun was the first to pull back. she opened her eyes to see nayeon’s staring right back at her, bright as ever.

dahyun was in complete shock, she never expected to be kissing the girl she held tight every night, but she certainly never expected that girl to kiss back. the younger girl raised her own hand to touch her lips, still in shock at what just happened.

“dahyun-ah” nayeon whispered, causing dahyun to make eye contact with her again. the brunette reached out, grabbing dahyun’s hands to hold them in her own. “stay with me?” dahyun nodded. she could never say no to nayeon.

“i’ll always stay with you.”