mornings are special to the seven of them.

they're one of the only times in their hectic lives wherein all of them (usually, at least) can be together and simply live as one.
mornings mean peace and quiet; no schedules, no managers, cell phones turned to silent and voices hushed and low.

well... in some cases.

most definitely not in the case of minhyuk, who wakes with the dawn, like always, and immediately springs up like a summer flower, making his rounds. his first stop is the bunk above his own. he climbs the ladder as quietly as he can manage, stepping carefully on the one rung he knows squeaks. peeking above the edge of the mattress, minhyuk can't help the grin that pulls at his cheeks.

their resident puppy dog is still fast asleep, cheek smooshed against his pillow, dark lashes fluttering with whatever it is that puppy dogs dream about. soft golden ears lay at odd angles atop his head, twitching intermittenly in their nest of snow white hair. minhyuk reaches out, and takes one of the yellow ears between his fingers as softly as he can. he lays it down from where it had been flopped across jooheon's forehead, and smoothes the silken fur down with as much gentleness as he can muster.

silently, he creeps back down the ladder.

jooheon is a slow waker, and minhyuk likes to take his time in awakening him on these special mornings.

across the room, he shakes kihyun's shoulder, and kisses changkyun's sleep-dewy cheek. the two wake quickly enough, kihyun with a shiver and a suppressed groan, changkyun with a dopey yawn that has minhyuk smiling into the maknae's hair.

the tiptoe out of their room and begin their morning. as minhyuk goes into the hyung's room to begin waking them, changkyun stumbles groggily into the bathroom, with the sound of the shower running quickly following.

watching the two of them, badly-concealed fondness in his eyes, is kihyun, who heads to the dormitories small kitchenette.

~~~

by the time minhyuk has gotten the final three awake and mobile, kihyun has started on breakfast. homey smells filter out into the air, coffee and hot savory porridge and frying spam.

wonho's stomach grumbles like a passing truck, and hyungwon snorts into the sleeve of the overlarge hoodie he's swamped in. minhyuk believes he last saw hyunwoo hyung wearing that hoodie, but chooses not to embarrass hyungwon and lets it slide for once.
pink-cheeked and clutching his growling stomach, wonho latches onto kihyun and nuzzles sleepily into his neck, begging for scraps like a dog.

speaking of...

minhyuk trots happily back into his room, this time making no effort to stay quiet. he clambors up the ladder onto jooheon's mattress and doesn't hesitate a moment before flopping down beside him, cuddling up to his body and latching on tight.

jooheon awakens with a flinch and a moan, trying to bury his face in the pillow before minhyuk stops him, putting his hands on his pillow-soft cheeks and squishing his pink lips into a pout. eyes still shut, he grunts an incoherent question. minhyuk, feeling full to the brim with affection towards their precious puppy, simply uses his grip to shake jooheon's head in a nod.

"good morning," he whispers.

like sunshine peaking from behind grey clouds jooheon's eyes creak open.

"-nhyuk?" he whispers back.

"lets get some coffee in you, puppy."

it's with great reluctance that jooheon levers himself up and away from minhyuk's clinginess, hair a mess, floppy ears perked, pink lips in a grumpy pout.
smiling, minhyuk s for his hand amongst the crumpled sheets, and tugs until he gets jooheon following him down the ladder and into the common area of the dorm. the heavy scent of strong coffee rouses him as they walk together, and as he rubs sleepily at his eyes they finally come into view of the others.

"good morning!" wonho chirps. the sentiment is repeated with varying degrees of enhtusiasm by the other men in the room.

"mornin'", jooheon mumbles, itching an ear.

the hearts melting are almost audible in the morning stillness.

kihyun bustles over, bringing a steaming mug of dark roast over and taking jooheon's hands to wrap around it.

"drink up!" he chirps.

jooheon smiles at him in thanks and cradles the warm mug to his chest, letting the steam wash over his face and help wake him up.

"did you sleep well, jooheonie?" hyunwoo ruffles jooheon's hair as he walks past, careful of his ears.

"i did," jooheon answers. his voice, rough and sleep raspy, has hyunwoo's eyes disapperaing in a gum-bearing grin.

"good,' he says, with a loud kiss to jooheon's cheek.

wonho giggles at the sound from where he stands in front of the stove, and tries his best to replicate it on a grouching kihyun's forehead before he's smacked away with a spatula. still giggling, he comes over to jostle jooheon's shoulders, laughing off the pup's irritation over almost spilling his coffee. wonho, always one to show his love with what can only be described as physical harrassment, then skips off to pull changkyun from his morning shower to come and join the rest of them for breakfast.

~~~

the warm and cozy atmosphere of the apartment-style dorm seems even more apparent as the seven men gather around the scuffed formica dining table shoved into the corner of the living room. porridge steams quaintly from mismatched bowls before every seat, and glasses of coffee for hyunwoo and jooheon, juice for wonho, and water for everyone else sit beside every bowl. socked and slippered feet shuffle around on the hardwood floor as everyone grabs their spoons and prepares to eat. changkyun and wonho emerge from the bathroom, wonho's shirt wet in spots and a smug grin on the maknae's face peeking from behind the towel slung over his wet hair.
as everyone takes their seats, minhyuk fights valiantly, though in vain, to be able to sit next to jooheon. hyunwoo and changkyun fend off his advances with ease like always, and slip into the chairs on either side of the groggy pup.

to stop his pouting, hyungwon pulls him to sit on his bony lap, and pulls his bowl closer so that they can eat together. minhyuk aqcuiesces, but not before sticking his tongue out at the eldest and youngest across from him.

"thanks for the food, kihyun hyung!" changkyun claps his hands together dramatically and bows his head, and the others follow. even jooheon, still half asleep, dips his
head before going back to his mug.

kihyun mumbles vaguely that they'd better be thankful, ungrateful brats, but a smile is tugging on the corner of his mouth.

the seven hungry boys immediately start digging in. wonho shoves a whole slice of smoky fried spam in his mouth, and smiles giddily when changkyun fakes a gag from next to him. most eyes are still stuck on jooheon however, as he hasn't yet reached for his spoon and instead sits quietly with his coffee mug held to his lips, the steam leaving his cheeks and forehead dewy and soft-looking.

hyunwoo takes his own utensil in his hand and blows gently on the spoonful, nudging jooheon on the shoulder to get him to open his swollen eyes.

"eat it," he says.

lowering the mug to the table, jooheon opens his mouth and accepts the rounded bite that hyunwoo had scooped for him. chewing seems a labor to the sleepy puppy, his jaw working, his plump lips pursing, but he seems to be enjoying it, grinning as he swallows. his dimples make their first appearance of the morning, and kihyun's eyes are practically heart-shapped as he watches him.

"so cute," gets whispered from behind minhyuk, and everyone turns to look.

hyungwon, his face filling in red before their very eyes, stares back defensively.

"what? you all were thinking it too."

they certainly can't argue with that, it's hard for them to even tear their eyes away from their precious rapper, their sweet contradictory aegyo king, special both for his soft furry ears and for so much more.

jooheon, blinking and pink-cheeked, resigns himself to their adoration, and begins eating his breakfast with vigor.

occasionally hyunwoo will give him another mouthful from his own bowl, or changkyun will wipe a stray grain of rice from his cheek, or minhyuk will make some sort of startling noise of affection that makes jooheon jump.

all in all, though, it's just an average morning in the dorm; cozy, comfortable, and steeped in contentment for a sleepy puppy, and the six people he loves most.