↱ECHO↲ ⇾seongjoong⇽

第二十一

Hongjoong awakens from a light nap to find Seonghwa still curled into him with his hands placed gently on the nurse's chest.

The elder's lashes are crusted over from crying, but they fan out over the swell of his cheeks as he slumbers.

His lips are still swollen from their kisses and Hongjoong finds himself reaching out to brush a stray lock of hair from his eyes.

This is certainly a new development, but the nurse can't find it in himself to be surprised or even concerned.

In a way, he had always felt that things would gravitate to this, he just didn't expect it to happen so seamlessly.

After the massage incident, he figured Seonghwa wasn't emotionally ready to handle their ever-changing relationship— and maybe he still isn't— but coming to Hongjoong for comfort was certainly a big step.

He's not entirely sure why his patient was so upset, but he assumed it had something to do with the passing of Wooyoung's mother.

No matter the issue, it meant that Seonghwa trusted the nurse enough to be vulnerable and that was such a great progression on its own.

He just hopes that this time, Seonghwa doesn't run away, doesn't try to fight it, because Hongjoong can't any longer.

That's why the kiss had happened in the first place— the nurse had grown restless watching Seonghwa cry, seeing him in pain, and then the elder had found comfort in Hongjoong's story about his mother's taste in music and those dark eyes had softened at the edges, his face had lost the usual hardness, and then there in his arms, was just Seonghwa, looking up at Hongjoong like no one else ever had.

Not even Seongie.

And so, running his fingers over the smooth skin of Seonghwa's tear-stained cheeks, Hongjoong had decided to go for it, and it's probably the single best decision he's ever made.

He smiles just thinking about it and lets out a breathy sigh.

With a soft groan, Seonghwa wakes next to him, blinking a few time as his fingers flex and brush against the nurse's chest, but he doesn't move his hands.

Instead, he pushes just a little closer and peers over Hongjoong's shoulder at the clock on the nightstand.

"Fuck, we've only been asleep for thirty minutes."

Hongjoong laughs at this.

"I guess we tired each other out."

A dusting of pink colors Seonghwa's cheeks at the statement and he rolls away to stretch his upper torso.

"Shit, I'm tired but also... not tired." Hongjoong wonders if they are going to talk about what happened, or if the moment is too fragile to address just yet.

He doesn't want to scare Seonghwa away, so he decides that a redirection of the night is in order, just to make sure things don't get too heavy.

"I understand what you mean. We did end up taking a nap," the nurse states with a grin. "We should, uh, go out and do something."