Another Sleepless Night
The Days of Caffeine and Candy Kisses
“Doesn’t it ever get tiring?” Yoseob asked quietly, thumbs tapping buttons and guiding joysticks as he spoke. On the television screen, his character jumped onto a ledge and dispatched a monster quickly.
Beside him, Doojoon glanced over curiously and paid for it when his character was hit. He muttered under his breath and recovered, following after Yoseob. Then he stopped and allowed his health to regenerate. “I’m out of potions…” He breathed in disappointment, and turned to look fully at Yoseob. “What do you mean?”
Yoseob glanced at the screen, pausing the game so they didn’t have to worry about being attacked again. When he looked back at Doojoon, the taller boy was staring intently at him, waiting for an answer. Yoseob sighed, setting down his controller. “Training. Doesn’t it ever get tiring? What happens if we aren’t chosen and our trainee days with the company are over? I’ve already been through that. I’m getting kind of tired of it…”
Doojoon stared at him in surprise. This was news to him. Yoseob always seemed so determined to debut that he’d never once thought of him being frustrated. Then again, the sugar highs were enough to distract anyone from the idea of the hyper teen struggling as a trainee. Now as he looked at him, he realized just how small the other looked.
“Yoseob, training is hard. Sometimes a company’s way of doing things aren’t the right fit for some trainees. It’s okay to be rejected and start over.” He murmured gently, briefly remembering his trainee days at his previous company.
“Yeah, but how many times?” Yoseob’s voice was quiet. Almost too quiet. He laid on his back on the carpet, tucking one arm beneath his head as he stared at the ceiling. “How do you tell when it’s time to… to find a new path?”
Oh, he really didn’t like where this was going. Nope. Doojoon was definitely not thrilled with this conversation or the direction it was heading. For a moment he watched the boy laying on the floor, frowning in thought as he tried to find something to say that would bring his temporary roommate out of his funk. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized…
He didn’t know much about Yoseob at all. Other than the nearly constant sugar high and caffeinated ‘psychosis’ as he had started calling it, he really knew very little about his singing partner. He knew how much Yoseob cared about his family, that he was extremely talented at singing and picked up choreography very quickly. Other than that…
Kikwang was far better suited for conversations of this sort. He knew Yoseob so well.. Doojoon had seen how easily Kikwang could cheer him up, how he’d complain and pout whenever Yoseob picked at him but would grin the second his friend’s back was turned. They’d been friends for ages. Naturally he would be the first choice for something of this magnitude. What if Doojoon said the wrong thing? If Yoseob quit because of something he said…
“Boys! Dinner is ready! Come out and eat!”
Yoseob sat up immediately and set about shutting their game down. With Doojoon staring at him, he put everything away and stood, straightening out his clothes. When he was finished he looked down at Doojoon with his trademark smile. “Let’s go!”
He was almost to the bedroom door when Doojoon stopped him, scrambling to his feet to grab his wrist. “Wait.”
As Yoseob turned to look up at him, Doojoon tried his hardest not to squirm under the intense curiosity directed his way. Beyond the bedroom, the faint sounds of dishes being put on the table could be heard.
“You’ll be fine,” He murmured quietly, still holding onto Yoseob’s wrist. As the other boy’s eyes widened slightly, he squeezed gently. “The others weren’t the right fit for you, not the other way around.”
Yoseob stared at him, lips parted in surprise at the vehemence in the statement. “Doojoon..”
“Besides,” Doojoon inhaled and allowed his lips to give into the temptation and quirk upward in a smile. “You fit in at Cube. They’d be nuts not to let you debut.”
That earned him a smile, Yoseob’s pearly whites flashing at him moments before he was gripped in a nearly bone crushing hug. Yoseob let him go just as he was starting to have trouble breathing. “Thanks, Doojoonie!”
As Yoseob slipped out of the bedroom, Doojoon grinned. He was back to the nickname..
---
It was Doojoon’s turn to remain sleepless, apparently. The storm was still raging outside, though it had been over six hours since they’d last heard any hail. By tomorrow the storm would wind down to a steady rain, or so the news was saying. For now, though, it was still loud and thunderous, with lightning forking across the sky often.
Doojoon sighed and looked away from the window toward the ceiling. Maybe if he counted ceiling tiles… No, he’d done that an hour ago. He could always recite the lyrics for their vocal lesson, but he’d be too tempted to hum and that could wake Yoseob. Considering the smaller boy had passed out two hours ago and was attached to his side like a koala to a tree, he really wasn’t a fan of waking him up.
He turned his head a little, looking at the dark tufts of hair he could see. Yoseob’s head was nestled on his shoulder, one arm slung over Doojoon’s chest and a leg thrown across his thighs. It was a good thing he hadn’t needed to use the restroom. Detaching the snoozing boy would probably take forever.
It was strange… Only a few short weeks ago, he never would have imagined laying in bed with Yoseob, let alone anyone. Yet here he was. Here they both were, Yoseob snoozing on him and Doojoon just allowing it. How he would explain it to his friends, he’d never know. He couldn’t even understand why he’d kissed him, honestly. Most days, Yoseob alternated between annoying the out of him and doing something so stupid or adorable that he couldn’t help but laugh at the other boy’s antics. Then yesterday…
He frowned, using his free hand to rub his thumb over his mouth. Despite the suddenness of the kiss, Yoseob had melted and followed his lead in no time. Doojoon smirked to himself. Yoseob certainly hadn’t shoved him away, that was for sure.
The rain quieted a little, sounding less like a roar and more like a quiet pattering. He sighed. Another lull that would last too short a time, but at least the sound was monotonous enough to make his eyes droop a bit.
Yoseob mumbled something incoherent in his sleep and shifted, bringing his hand toward his mouth for a moment before his fingers brushed back across Doojoon’s chest. The touch left a warm, tingling trail behind on his skin that brought heat searing up his neck toward his ears. Doojoon held his breath at the feather-light contact but managed not to make a sound. When he was sure Yoseob was still asleep, he relaxed and closed his eyes, willing his heart to slow its mad pounding.
“Doojoonie…” The mumble was so soft and garbled that at first he wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. He frowned and shook his head a little. Stop imagining things and go to sleep.
“Doojoonie..“ When the mumble came again a little clearer and held a whine to it, he cracked an eye, trying to see Yoseob’s face without actually moving his head. If Yoseob was awake..
Yoseob sighed softly and draped his arm a little more securely over the taller boy, head lifting slightly as he readjusted his cheek’s position on Doojoon’s chest. When he was still again, he was touching his vocal partner in a way that suggested he could melt right into his skin and literally become a permanent attachment. It was enough to raise Doojoon’s body temperature several degrees and bring an uneven rhythm to his pulse.
The storm continued to rage beyond the walls of Yoseob’s bedroom, building again in intensity until the rain pelted the window with cracking force. Doojoon managed to curl his trapped arm around Yoseob’s back, the only action he could do with it considering there was a body laying on his shoulder and preventing further movement. He winced; his arm felt like dozens of pins were sticking in it. Pretty soon it’d be numb, but least Yoseob was sleeping… Far better than the previous night.
Thunder cracked right overhead and he felt the vibrations through the walls and Yoseob’s bed. With his long fingers splayed wide over the other’s bare skin, he pressed Yoseob a little closer as the boy flinched in his sleep from the loud noise. Yoseob stirred with a whiny mumble, eyes blinking groggily for a few moments. His lashes fluttered down again in seconds, and Doojoon was left alone in his wakefulness.
He sighed. It was going to be a long night…
Caffeine & Candy Kisses is essentially the prequel to WIB, but about Dooseob instead of Junseung. I've gotten a lot of questions about that..
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