{crumbs: nct one-shots}

{sleepless in seoul: hyuckil}

concept: donghyuck can't sleep so he moves in taeil's bed.

the windows were dark. the curtains were closed. johnny wasn't snoring... too loudly. and yet, haechan still couldn't bring himself to close his eyes and shut his brain down. he'd been plagued with insomnia for the past few days. at this point, he was starting to grow desperate and wasn't sure what to do. so he asked himself what mark would do in this situation.

his feet brought him out of bed, sneaking past johnny before carefully shutting the door to their room. he was grateful his roommate wasn't a light sleeper, or he probably would have been greeted with a flurry of questions.

he padded carefully through the hallways in the dark, careful not to wake up his other members. he went toward the stairs, starting to climb them. there was one person who made him feel safe and comfortable, and he only thought it was logical to turn to him at this moment.

it was probably close to four in the morning now, so his members were finally asleep. he wished he could have joined them but of course his body couldn't give him that luxury. haechan finally reached the door to the room he was looking for. he could feel his hand tense up and his heart start to pound as if he was afraid. afraid of what, he wasn't sure. maybe waking up the people in the room.

he carefully turned the knob and pushed the door open, seeing that the moon was illuminating the room through the curtains which were open slightly. in the bed closest to the window, hyuck could make out two people. yuta and mark, who was being held like a teddy bear. he scoffed lightly and rolled his eyes but was still smiling. it's not like he didn't come here to do the same thing.

in the opposite bed, taeil was sleeping peacefully, his face showered in a soft white by the moon. haechan felt his heart speed up again as he reached for the older's shoulder. "taeil hyung," he whispered. "taeil hyung," he repeated a bit louder, earning a responsive shift from mark. "hyung." he squeezed taeil's shoulder a bit harshly, making him wince, but blink awake nonetheless.

"hyuck? what are you doing in here?" taeil asked in a whisper.

"i can't sleep. can i sleep with you?" haechan asked, impacted by a sudden shyness.

taeil shuffled over to make room on the bed for the younger. he lifted the blanket, closing his eyes for a second. he patted the mattress next to him. "come on."

haechan smiled gratefully, snuggling into the blankets beside the older. taeil draped the blanket over him and left his arm over the younger as well. he pulled the older's hand closer to himself, liking the feeling of being held. taeil shifted so his chest was against haechan's back. he was holding the younger in a way very similar to how yuta was holding mark.

he leaned into the older, closing his eyes for the first time that night. "goodnight, hyung," he whispered.

taeil kissed his head, leaning his chin on it afterwards. "goodnight, hyuck," he murmured sleepily. "sweet dreams," he added with a yawn.

donghyuck finally felt comfortable in taeil's arms, his warmth pressed against him. he furrowed his brow at his own thoughts. he wasn't the type to give in to warm, fuzzy feelings. but he liked cuddling with taeil. he decided he should do this more often.

~~~~~~~~

haechan woke up with a nose pressed into the back of his neck and the sun directly on his face. "hyung, stop, your breath is so warm," he complained.

"so it's okay when you have your face in my neck but not when i have my nose pressed against your back?" taeil asked, his voice slightly muffled.

"yah, what's that supposed to mean?" haechan asked, feeling his cheeks get warm.

"you're the clingy one here. i was just giving you a taste of your own medicine," taeil said, stretching in an arch and pulling his head away from haechan. his arms also released the younger from their grip. "did you sleep okay?"

haechan blinked. he just had the best sleep he'd had in a while. "yeah. better than i've been getting." he sat up on the bed, stretching.

"good to hear," taeil said, getting up from the bed. "especially since you slept through the afternoon."

"why didn't you wake me up?" haechan asked, his eyes glancing briefly over taeil's exposed torso before looking away while the older changed his shirt. he blushed at the realization of what he had done.

"well, you looked so peaceful, i didn't want to wake you," taeil explained, changing into a pair of jeans. this made haechan blush again. "are you hungry?" he asked.

haechan shrugged. "yeah, i guess i could eat something."

"okay. come on then." taeil opened the door to the room and started walking out.

"oppa!" haechan called, both trying to be cute and get taeil's attention. the older turned to poke his head back into the room. haechan noticed his cheeks were flushed a slight pink, making haechan smile. "carry me?" he asked, holding his arms out.

taeil hesitated for a moment. he sighed in defeat before walking back to the bed to lift the younger into his arms. haechan wasted no time wrapping his legs around taeil's waist. "you're lucky you're cute," taeil said. haechan smiled, pressing his forehead against the older's temple as he was carried downstairs.

the living room was mostly empty when they arrived. jaehyun was reading on the couch, jungwoo snuggled up next to him while playing with the rings on his right hand as he read. jaehyun smiled down at him fondly. mark was sitting cross-legged on the floor, haechan noticed when they got closer. yuta was laying with him, his head in the younger's lap. mark was playing with the older's hair. both couples seemed lost in their own little worlds. that's what haechan thought, at least, until jaehyun spoke.

"good morning, you two. taeyong and doyoung went out to get some groceries and johnny went over to the wayv dorm," he explained without looking up.

"oh so he's hanging out with ten," haechan said, making taeil stifle a laugh.

"it's just a couple's day today," mark said, still playing with strands of yuta's hair.

"couples?" haechan asked, tilting his head.

mark shrugged, looking up for a moment. "i have yuta, jaehyun has jungwoo, you two have each other because you're—" he struggled to find the right word— "whatever you are."

haechan looked at taeil with a look of innocent curiosity. "we're not really a-a couple," taeil said.

"i just like sleeping in his bed and cuddling with him," haechan said. "and i like being around him because he's funny and i think my life would be a lot more boring without him in it."

"and taeil absolutely adores you," jungwoo said, still playing with jaehyun's rings.

haechan looked back to the older, who looked away from him. he laid his chin on top of the older's head. "you are pretty cute," he murmured with a giggle. "and you give great cuddles. maybe i should come sleep in your bed more often."

"maybe you should," taeil said, looking back to the younger. haechan kissed the older's cheek.

"do you want to join the others in just cuddling for now?" haechan asked. taeil nodded before sitting in front of the couch where jungwoo and jaehyun were. haechan adjusted himself in taeil's lap, making himself comfortable. he set his head on taeil's shoulder, enjoying the comfort of the older's warmth.

perhaps it could be a couple's day. and it wouldn't end in another sleepless night for haechan.