Work Text:
1
It starts with nothing.
They’re sitting beside each other on a variety show, five members squeezed into a couch obviously meant for three. The lights were blazing above them, and the host’s voice echoes throughout.
Jeonghan shifts slightly, leaning to whisper a joke into Seungcheol’s ear, and when he settles back, his pinky brushes Hansol’s.
It barely grazed but Hansol doesn’t move away.
It’s a small thing, that Jeonghan almost thinks he imagined it. But he doesn’t. He glances out of the corner of his eye, half-expecting Hansol to shift, to tuck his hand away into his sleeve like he sometimes does.
But he doesn’t.
And Jeonghan doesn’t push. He just lets the moment hang between them like a question Hansol hasn’t said no to.
2
Rain catches them after rehearsal. The parking lot’s soaked as soon as they step outside. Jeonghan’s the only one with an umbrella, and when he finally manages to open it, the others have already run ahead to the waiting vans.
When Hansol jogs up beside him, hood damp, hair sticking slightly to his forehead, Jeonghan wordlessly angles it to cover them both.
The path ahead is narrow. The rhythm of their steps sync, and their shoulders bump with every other step.
Then Jeonghan feels it, Hansol’s hand hooking around the crook of his elbow. Just to anchor himself. To stay close.
Jeonghan doesn’t comment, but his steps slow just a bit. The umbrella staying steady above them.
3
Jeonghan tried his best to resist fiddling with his clothes during the break in their shoot, sitting on the floor, back to the mirrors. Stylist noona already got mad at him for unravelling a knitted top before, and he absolutely didn’t want a repeat of that situation.
He looked around the room to distract himself. He sees Seungcheol cuddled close with Jihoon by the mixer, and Jisoo bantering with Seokmin. Everything was loud and familiar and comforting, but he’s still feeling unsettled. So instead of his clothes, he fiddles with his ring instead, twisting it around and around, like the motion would settle his nerves.
Around.
Around.
Around.
“Careful or you might lose that.”
The voice was low, and just a little amused. It broke through Jeonghan’s haze, and he looked up with a blink to see Hansol crouched beside him. At some point, he'd joined him on the floor, quiet as always. Jeonghan looked down to see the ring was teetering on the tip of his pinky, seconds from slipping off. He quickly slid it back into place and offered a grin.
“Hey, handsome. How long have you been there?”
Hansol shrugged, his mouth curving just slightly. “Long enough.”
Jeonghan tilted his head, still smiling, but softer now. Hansol met his gaze before he sat down fully, stretching his legs out beside Jeonghan’s. Their shoulders didn’t quite touch, but the space between them felt comfortable.
Jeonghan had always kept his distance just enough when it came to Hansol. He never pushed, never assumed but sometimes, he was met halfway. And today, after a pause just long enough to make Jeonghan wonder if he’d imagined the closeness of their last conversation, Hansol leaned in.
Only a little. Just enough so their arms brushed, barely there.
Jeonghan doesn’t say anything. He just smiles and nudges their shoulders together gently. Then, ever so lightly, he let his head rest against Hansol’s for a brief moment. It wasn’t a lot but now he knew, when Hansol allowed it, even just once, Jeonghan would take every chance to hold him a little closer.
4
During a group interview, they're seated beside each other, out of the main camera’s line. He wonders if they can hear the faint tapping of his foot during the lull of the conversations. The others are answering a question when Jeonghan suddenly feels a hand cover his own.
He looks down, surprised, and follows the arm up to Hansol’s face, which is still turned to the front. Hansol’s thumb gently strokes across his knuckles, and Jeonghan can feel his nerves calm.
When they stand to leave, Hansol doesn’t immediately let go.
5
It becomes a habit, Jeonghan’s not so sure but whenever they walk side by side, Hansol starts linking their arms. He never says anything. He just slips his elbow into Jeonghan’s, and walks like that.
Once, during a late walk back to the dorms, he does it without looking up from his phone, like it's second nature now.
Jeonghan feels the warmth of it long after they've gotten home.
It happens when Jeonghan’s tired. Not just physically, a quiet tired, the kind that clings to the corners of his eyes.
They’re alone in the practice room, waiting for the others. Music is faintly playing. Jeonghan leans against the mirror, eyes closed, arms folded.
Hansol walks up, steps close, places both hands on Jeonghan’s shoulders and pulls him into a hug.
A real one full of warmth that Jeonghan wants to sink into.
He exhales like something heavy is leaving his lungs and hugs back. He burrows his face into Hansol’s shoulder, arms tightening just slightly.
+1
It’s late and the city is quiet. The breeze is cool against Jeonghan’s skin as he thinks about how they ended up on the roof. One moment they were tossing empty water bottles at each other in the kitchen, and the next, they were pulling their hoodies on and climbing the stairs instead of heading to bed.
Hansol leans against the railing, eyes on the skyline while Jeonghan sits down, back against the wall, legs stretched out in front of him. He watches Hansol’s profile, lit only by the streetlamps below and the soft spill of moonlight.
“What are you brooding about over there?” Jeonghan asks.
Hansol glances down at him and hesitates, before he pushes away from the railing and sits beside Jeonghan on the concrete. Their arms brush and it’s a familiar feeling now.
“I don’t think I’m great at showing things,” Hansol says. “But I keep trying. With you.”
Jeonghan turns to him, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest as Hansol keeps going, his voice steady.
“I like you. Not just the way you make everything warm and easier. I like you, Jeonghan. I’ve liked you for a long time.”
Jeonghan shifts a little closer, and lets his head fall gently against Hansol’s shoulder. He lifts his hand and threads their fingers together, thumb brushing lightly over Hansol’s.
“I like you too,” he says into the quiet. “Very much. And I think I’ve been saying it in every way I know how.”
Hansol turns to him and leans in, pressing a quiet, tentative kiss to Jeonghan’s temple as the sun begins to rise.