salvageable | does a sick backflip

I’ll set an alarm for an hour.

[ It takes a couple of taps on his phone to cement that.

Joonghyuk collects Dokja’s dirty work clothes and thinks about how he’s going to separate the laundry, but catches Dokja deep in thought. That is… A worrying look. How is it that he has to worry about so many of Dokja’s mannerisms and expressions…?

They really are not in the same wavelength. He cocks an eyebrow, curious but also dread. ]

What now?

[ He tosses the articles into the laundry basket. ]

[ Some things are better left unsaid and in Dokja's brain where he can continue to overthink and spiral toward dreaded conclusions.

So he does not answer. Instead, he returns under the covers and shoots Joonghyuk a mysterious grin as he pats the spot next to him. ]

It's nothing.

[ Come join your favorite not-at-all-annoying person in the world in bed. ]

[ I COULD HAVE TAGGED THIS SO EASILY but then talking about orv consumed me. It's very tempting to come lounge beside him, maybe read a book since he isn't sleepy... But.

There is a problem and Joonghyuk stands straight up, crossing his arms to show signs that he can't. ]

I have to put away the food you didn't eat.

[ They. Left it there and Joonghyuk isn't going to let it rot. ]

[ Oh, right........

You know what Dokja could do? Offer to help.

What does he do instead? He pulls the covers over his head and turns to his side. ]

Don't take too long.

[ Comes the muffled response. ]

[ There's like a whole second Joonghyuk waits to see if Dokja would offer help, but no. He's going to fuck off then. Biyoo stands on all fours on the bed to watch him leave, wondering if she should go, too? She looks to Dokja, then to the open door, but ends up curling up next to the lump under the sheets.

Joonghyuk doesn't take long.

But he has to eat.

By himself. This is fine

Also has to wash the dishes and let them dry, then prepare the leftovers for Dokja's lunch for tomorrow. Okay, he takes maybe twenty minutes before returning to the bed and flopping right on top of Dokja under the covers. Biyoo quickly hops away, already expecting this. ]

[ Remember when he said he wasn't going to read webnovels on his phone? Yeah, he's reading a chapter update on his phone from underneath the covers...

He's so engrossed in his story that he doesn't hear the water shut off or Joonghyuk's footsteps until it's too late, and it's like getting hit with a wall of muscles? Dokja shouts some garbled nonsense in surprise when he's flopped on before he starts struggling from under the covers.

Finally, his face emerges with a gasp. ]

I was about to fall asleep!

[ No, he wasn't. ]

[ Joonghyuk settles beside the other man, close with an arm wrapped around his torso. It allows Biyoo to find a place to settle near her dad without fear of more roughhousing (hopefully). When Dokja pokes his head out of the sheets, Joonghyuk shoves his hand under and fishes out the infamous temptress—his beloved and enchanting smartphone.

No words. He's going to check what chapter Dokja is on. ]

—Hey!

[ He tries to swipe his phone back but we all know how that goes.

It's Just Another story about a Chadly, black-haired returnee protagonist and the most recent chapter is in the 800s (salutes to s-class).....

Okay, no more looking. Dokja slaps his hand over the screen with a huff. ]

I was checking something.

[ He moves the phone away so he can take a peek. How hot is this protagonist? Of course Joonghyuk is comparing himself to this fictional character.

Predictably, he decides he’s better. ]

You were reading a webnovel.

[ His gaze shifts to him. How is it a man can lie so well sometimes and then lie so poorly? ]

[ Better in what ways?? Not personality.

Dokja has to basically crawl across the vast expanse of Joonghyuk's chest to try and retrieve his phone. ]

I was checking on it while waiting for you.

[ Please can he have his phone back. ]

I know I was gone long enough for you to read five chapters.

[ Joonghyuk means at least because between them Dokja reads... Very fast. It's annoying and it's why they never read anything together. I have willed it that they tried to read the same book as an activity and Dokja always ends up finishing the chapters they allotted for each week way before Joonghyuk, then starts on another book on the side.

Annoying. ]

Go to sleep.

[ He clicks the lock button on the smartphone and places it on the nearby nightstand, right on top of the wireless charger. ]

[ that's so cute..... just read faster, yjh?

Also, how chilling. It had indeed been five chapters, and Dokja freezes from where he's practically laid out across Joonghyuk.

He deflates as he watches his phone being set aside. And then, finally defeated, he returns to his side of the bed with a grumble. ]

You go to sleep.

[ It's extremely childish behavior but it doesn't have any real strength to it. Probably because he's realized how tired he is and how heavy his eyelids are and how comfortable the bed feels... ]

[ Joonghyuk doesn’t even read slow? Dokja just reads too fast?? Joonghyuk allows the other man to retreat, not saying a word of confirmation or defiance. Unlike Dokja, he’s allowed to keep his cellphone? He isn’t the one that has a migraine.

After setting an alarm for an hour, he plays his mobile games. I’ve decided it’s genshin impact because while I’d choose granblue fantasy, you don’t actually Play gbf. Games are at least feel familiar… It comforts him and hushes the whispers that say it’s weird to stay in the same bed with Dokja.

How can it be weird? They’ve had these sleeping arrangement for months.

For the next hour, he simply lounges and plays until the alarm from his phone blares loudly. He gives Dokja a moment to react. ]

[ which genshin does joonghyuk like best... if dokja ever saw him "play" gbf he'd talk about how handsome eustace is—

Anyway. Here's Dokja dead (heh) asleep... So much so that when the alarm blares, he doesn't react much? There's a furrowing of his brows, sure, but he doesn't rouse from his slumber at all. In fact, on closer inspection, he looks like he's having a bad dream that he can't pull himself out of.

There's sweat beading on his forehead and his fingers twitch and curl around something that isn't there. There's some mumbling going on, too, but the words can't be made out.

How weird? Dokja normally wakes up fine during alarms. ]

[ After it blares for five seconds, Joonghyuk stops it, getting overly annoyed. Even more annoyed that it doesn't seem to affect Dokja much aside from the uncomfortable shift or twitch of his expression. It's only when Joonghyuk observes him for a moment longer after the alarm is silenced does he realize it isn't the alarm bothering him.

... Dokja often suffered nightmares when he slept, didn't he? If he slept at all—why does he feel like that? Dokja doesn't stay up that late normally. Why does he feel like he never sees the man rest?

...

Gently, he shakes him by the shoulder. ]

... Dokja.

[ At the shake of his shoulder and the call of his name, he doesn't wake with a start and, instead, seems almost slow in coming out of whatever dream he'd been stuck in. His eyes blearily blink open once, twice, then again, and they're unfocused at first, like he's not sure where he is.

And then they stop at seeing Joonghyuk. Dokja's breath catches in his throat, a difficult to read expression on his face before it shifts into a more recognizable look. It's both so incredibly forlorn yet relieved.

... Something about this Dokja is different from the one that had fallen asleep just an hour ago. ]

Yoo Joonghyuk.

[ His voice is scratchy, still heavy with sleep, but what's odd is the use of the entirety of Joonghyuk's name. ]

[ If this was regular Joonghyuk, he would shake him roughly and viciously. He already senses something is off, again. Usually, after a nightmare, Dokja would be extremely obnoxious and annoying to obscure whatever negative feelings. Sometimes they talk about it. Sometimes they don't.

This is different, especially when he hears his full name. It should irritate him yet he finds it familiar and comfortable. That makes his face scrunch, frustrated again with these invasive emotions. Remnants of scenes he doesn't recall claw at the sound of his name. He must have an ugly expression on his face, or as ugly as his handsome face can make. ]

You were acting out in your sleep. [ Describes it like Dokja is a BABY throwing a TANTRUM in his sleep. How... Should he ask if everything is okay? ] What's wrong with your face?

[ It means the same thing. ]

[ No it doesn't??

Confusion flits past his gaze, and for a moment, the cloudiness over his eyes clears for a moment as Dokja registers the fact that they're... both in bed? In one bed? He draws back from the hand on his shoulder, almost flinching away, and grabs the sheet in a hurry as if meaning to pull it off of him, but then he stops.

As if a reel of film is fixing itself back into place, frames shuttering in motion, the dazed look on his face returns. His moment of clarity now gone, Dokja sits up with a grunt, one hand pressed over his eyes. What had been the question again? ]

My face...? [ Literally who asks if someone's okay like that. ] I had a dream...

[ He trails off. It... had been a dream, hadn't it? It had felt all too real, a memory where he'd been close to losing someone, but. That person had been right there when he'd woken up. ]

[ Why is it that today is the day where all of Dokja's mannerisms are wrong—like he doesn't know this man at all. It shouldn't scare him, but it does. his hand retracts, drawing back to his side, and the tension only grows as he's to himself.

At the same time, he starts to wonder if he's the one that's strange. If how he feels is off—quickly, she shakes off those doubts with an intense scowl. ]

Don't move around too abruptly. You'll aggravate your migraine. [ No matter the universe, Joonghyuk is an annoying narc. ] ... Another nightmare?

What is it about?

[ He hesitates, grateful for the hand over his eyes because they shake anxiously at the... the dream? The memory? It had felt so real, so vivid, the emotions so strong that they nearly knock the breath out of him even now.

You wanted to kill me comes the unspoken accusation. Over a stupid misunderstanding. No, a betrayal...? It must have been. Dokja had been prepared to let it happen, but then—

His hand drops from his eyes to cover his mouth, complexion ashen when it comes back to him. ]

I... I don't remember. [ Liar. ] My head hurts too much. I can't think.

[ Any excuse to not have to talk about it, to stew in his thoughts on his own some more. ]

[ Why is Dokja always a little shit... Joonghyuk has his doubts. Again, he knows Dokja usually plays the game of staying quiet, letting it fester, and using words and behaviors to obscure intent. However, in the end, what's true is the his partner is suffering a massive headache. It will get worse if he tries to push, so it has to wait for tomorrow.

Even if the other man shifted away from him, seemed more comfortable as they're apart, Joonghyuk brings him closer and plops them both onto the bed. He bundles Dokja into the blankets like a burrito, caging him here where he knows he's safe.

... Where is that fear coming from? ]

Sleep.

[ 💪 built this way.

There's something that weighs uncomfortably against his chest as Joonghyuk bundles him up and Dokja doesn't think it's the tight press of the blankets around him. While he normally finds comfort in small and secure spaces, there's an unfamiliar restrictiveness about this. Or is it because of the person doing this to him?

It's new. He's never felt so much like a stranger around Joonghyuk before... Right? Almost as if every action the other man takes is foreign and odd and not... ordinary.

He's thinking too much again, so much so that it's practically deafening. About that dream. About how there's been a sudden shift in how he perceives Joonghyuk. Dokja's not going to be able to fall asleep. Maybe if he just closes his eyes... But he can't hide the furrow between his brows, the downturn of the corners of his lips, the way his breathing slips unevenly past his lips. ]

does a sick backflip

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