D-18 to Lee Sungjong's Birthday!

Pairing: Myungsoo/Sungjong

Prompt: Cuddling

(Hold Me)

Myungsoo gets a nightmare one night.

At first, he thinks of it as a random occurrence.

He doesn’t dream often, let alone have nightmares.

But one nightmare leads to another, and that leads to another, and eventually Myungsoo has had nightmares for one full week.

They don’t stop. Not for one week, and not even for two.

Myungsoo suddenly has deep bags under his eyes and the fitful sleep each night leaves him in a cranky mood throughout the day.

Everyone thinks it is strange, seeing as how Myungsoo usually sleeps well. Very well, almost to the point where it is a mission in itself to get him up every morning.

No one, not even Myungsoo himself, is the wiser about why nightmares are suddenly plaguing him and destroying his already messed up sleeping schedule.

-

His nightmare consists of lots of black shapes, horrifying and blank things that try to drag him under and suffocate him.

He has never been successful in escaping and surviving.

No one is there to save him. s have shown up in his nightmares a couple times, but in the end, they all suffer the same fate, even if they try to rescue him.

The closest one to saving him to date was Sungjong, with the youngest being only a couple inches away from rescuing Myungsoo from a pit of nothingness.

The rational side of him tells him that he’s just having stupid nightmares that he hasn’t had since he was a child.

Dark and dreary and unshapen things, set out to destroy him. That is all that there is to it.

Myungsoo doesn’t know why.

But he wants it all to stop.

-

Myungsoo wishes he was back to being a child, when his nightmares could be hugged away.

He remembers when he was much younger, when he would sparsely have nightmares that would cause him to scream in terror. His parents would come running in and they would cuddle and hug him and whisper calm nothings until he settled back into slumber.

“There, there, Myungsoo,” his mom would tell him. “All you need is a little hug to chase away the nightmares. Because where there’s warmth, there can’t be darkness.” She holds him close and soothes him with her presence.

“As long as someone is there to chase away your nightmares, you’ll be fine,” is what his dad tells him. He sits by Myungsoo’s side and his hair gently.

Little Myungsoo takes those words to heart.

And even now- he so desperately wishes for it.

-

Myungsoo piles on the fanservice with Sungjong to make up for it.

But no matter how much affection and warmth he receives in the day, it does nothing to heal his nights.

-

He doesn’t know what to tell s.

He’s reserved by nature, even if he’s not quite quiet.

He can’t bring it in himself to ask for someone to chase away his nightmares. He is a grown adult, he should be able to solve this by himself.

-

Myungsoo doesn’t have one night of peaceful sleep for two and a half weeks.

-

On one particularly horrible night, Myungsoo is woken up by someone shaking his shoulders. “Hyung, are you okay?” In the dark, his bleary eyes make out Sungjong’s face. “You were screaming,” he says.

It takes all of Myungsoo to not say what he is thinking. He clamps his lips shut, refusing to say “no, do I look okay, I can’t ing sleep,” because there is no way he is taking out his misguided anger on their maknae that is just concerned about a hyung.

“Do you need anything?” Sungjong asks, tone hesitant. Myungsoo vaguely wonders where his roommate is, but Sunggyu is nowhere to be found. Maybe the leader asked Sungjong to take care of him that night. Maybe Sunggyu thought Sungjong would just be more help. “Hyung, if you need anything, just ask.”

I want the nightmares to go away. Maybe having someone with me would make them go away he thinks. Maybe Sungjong can scare them away. He was so close to saving me before, maybe he can save me now.

“Stay.” He wants to command. But no- Myungsoo would never ask, doesn’t have the personality to do so. He has the right to ask for ridiculous things from Sungjong because he is his dongsaeng- and Sungjong has probably been given more ridiculous tasks, he’s sure. But he never wants to force Sungjong to do something he doesn’t want to. Myungsoo doesn’t have it in him to do so, sleep deprived and grumpy or not.

Myungsoo just stays quiet, waiting for Sungjong to give up because of his unresponsiveness. Myungsoo doesn’t know it, but even though he is not outright asking, his eyes are pleading. Screaming, actually, for Sungjong to realize what Myungsoo wants.

And somehow- Sungjong does understand. Maybe it’s the panicked look in Myungsoo’s face, or the weary dark circles on his eyes or maybe it’s the way Myungsoo is tightly gripping his blanket.

But whatever it is, it causes Sungjong sighs a little. And even though he sighs, there is kindness in his dark eyes and understanding as he lifts the blanket and shuffles over so that he is laying right next to Myungsoo.

He doesn’t ask permission to stay with Myungsoo- he knows he doesn’t need to. Because Sungjong knows Myungsoo and knows that he would never ask. But he knows Myungsoo needs this. The unspoken command for him to stay, to be there, is evident in Myungsoo’s eyes.

Sungjong wastes no time in bringing Myungsoo close, in hugging him.

Myungsoo doesn’t know how Sungjong knows what he needs, but he appreciates it- almost melts into Sungjong.

Sungjong is all sharp angles and protruding bones, but he’s warm, comforting, and most importantly there- and just his presence calms down Myungsoo’s erratic heartbeat.

“Cuddle time?” Myungsoo jokes. The situation is almost stiflingly serious and this is Myungsoo’s way of changing that.

Sungjong looks like he has a smartass retort on the tip of his tongue, but he swallows it and smiles softly. “Yes, cuddle time,” he says. He moves one hand up to Myungsoo’s head, gingerly patting his hair.

Myungsoo suddenly remembers his parents and he wants to curl into a ball. The gentleness of it all does wonders to Myungsoo’s heart.

“So you’re going to hold me all night?” Myungsoo asks; he is honestly asking if Sungjong will. Because he honestly wants him to.

Sungjong doesn’t answer Myungsoo immediately. He merely pulls his hyung into him, so that Myungsoo’s head is safely tucked under Sungjong’s chin. “If you need me to.”

It is a strange situation, in which the one who initiates all the skinship gets to be on the receiving end. Sungjong normally only initiates this type of close touchiness when he really wants to, when he's really happy. (When he feels like his hyungs need it.)

So to be in this type of situation with Sungjong- it feels strange.

Strange, but not unwanted.

Myungsoo feels a lot of things in that moment, but none of it is fear. It is all a jumble of gratitude, affection, and love for this person who understands. “Thank you,” he mumbles.

Sungjong hums a little noise, signifying that he has heard Myungsoo. He slowing down his breathing and getting ready to sleep. “Don’t thank me, I don’t need it.”

“Why not?” Myungsoo asks. He shifts in Sungjong’s hold, but only slightly. “Why wouldn’t you need it?”

Sungjong pauses for a second, but only a second. “Because it is what you would have done for me.”

Myungsoo blinks back in surprise and a little smile is brought to his lips. He holds onto Sungjong a little tighter. He is genuinely touched- as well as happy, because Sungjong does know him well. He would do the same for their youngest in a heartbeat.

Myungsoo’s eyes have long adjusted to the dark, and he sees that Sungjong’s eyes are already closed and ready to sleep. “Now sleep, hyung.”

Right now, in this intimate space, Myungsoo has an up close and personal view of Sungjong’s face.

And Myungsoo thinks Sungjong looks beautiful. It’s a face to write songs about, to fall in love with, to trace over and over, to love to wake up to in the morning.

But tonight, that's not the most beautiful part about Sungjong.

The most beautiful part about Sungjong that night is his heart that so easily understands Myungsoo's. 

It is the fact that he is warm, comforting, and there when he needs to be. 

Myungsoo allows himself to be cuddled by their maknae. Their mature, beautiful, and there maknae.

He gets the best sleep that he has had in a long while that night, comfortably curled into Sungjong.

e n d.

i see sungjong as a "no i hate cuddling- damn it, hyung. come here" type of person. hah.

*starting on the last set (omfg i'm on the last set now) today because i REFUSE TO BE LATE ON SUNGJONG’S BIRTHDAY.

**i really adore that myungjong photo by the way.

***/flails.