#ccvernon

he stares up at the same ceiling now and sighs. the glow of the stars has dimmed with age—it’s so faint that the room in plunged in darkness, the only other source of light coming from his digital alarm clock. 2:30am, the red numbers read. minghao feels like knocking the clunky plastic monster off his nightstand. he can’t sleep and it’s starting to piss him off. insomnia is one issue minghao has never had to deal with, so this is new. he doesn’t know what to blame. maybe it’s the heat or the stress of living an alternate life as a magical hero or—maybe it’s vernon’s loud snoring.

nah, it can’t be the snoring. vernon sleeps in minghao’s bed more often than he does in his own. minghao is used to the sound and sometimes he can’t sleep without it. the noisy, chainsaw-like confirmation that vernon is there beside him is reassuring. better than any safety blanket minghao has ever had. no, it’s definitely the stress and the heat and the stupid bruise on his hips that hurts every time he touches it. heck. gotta hide that one from vernon.

speaking of whom… “vernon?” minghao asks, still staring up at the ceiling. “you awake?” their legs are tangled together, vernon’s arm draped over minghao’s bare chest. his face rests close to minghao’s neck and every time he exhales, a thrill shoots down minghao’s spine. he’s ticklish as heck and that’s his sensitive spot. “vernon?” he tries again. no answer, just snores. “vernon, i wanna talk about some stuff wake up.”

he shifts until he’s staring at vernon’s sleeping face. his eyelashes are so long that minghao gets distracted for a second trying to count them. wait, no, not the point. he pokes vernon’s cheek instead. “vernon… VERNON… “

“the fuck, hao?” vernon mumbles, reaching over and trying to… minghao doesn’t know what he’s trying to do, but vernon ends up almost sticking his fingers up minghao’s nose before minghao bats his hand away. “i’m trying to sleep.”

“i can’t sleep.” minghao cringes as the words tumble out of his mouth. he was going to lead into this differently, but it’s too late to dance around the topic. and this is vernon, for crying out loud. he can never keep anything from his best friend.

vernon’s eyes flutter open in alarm. “what…” he rubs the sleep out of his eyes and glares at minghao, now wide awake. “you… how long have you been awake? and why didn’t you tell me earlier?” the concern in his voice makes minghao wish he’d never woken vernon up in the first place, not when he doesn’t know how to answer.

“a while,” he says finally. “and, i dunno, i just…” there’s a lot going through his mind, he decides. that’s the problem. there’s way too much going on in his mind and he just needs to settle down. but he can’t because everything is weird and different ever since they signed that stupid contract. “do you… do you ever regret stuff? like… regret…” minghao trails off, frustrated. part of him doesn’t want to admit it.

“regret letting you put anchovies on the pizza tonight? yeah.” vernon tries to smile, but all minghao can see are his sea-glass eyes filled with worry. “do you mean… aku and…”

minghao closes his eyes and turns over, burying his face in vernon’s chest. “maybe. yes. it’s just.” he pauses. “i never asked for this, y’know? we didn’t. and what if something bad happens? what are we supposed to do? what if i can’t protect you and you get hurt? what if—”

“hao, you idiot.” vernon cuts him off. “why are you stressing over this now?”

“but—”

“just go to sleep, dude.” when minghao doesn’t respond, vernon wraps his arms around him and pulls him closer. “regrets aren’t for 2:30am. uh, they could be, but you’re stressing about dumb stuff. nothing’s going to happen to me or to you.” his voice drops down to a low whisper. “i promise.”

minghao wants to laugh, he really does. he stays still in vernon’s arms before pulling his head back and pressing his lips to vernon’s chest, right above his heart. “you know what?” minghao murmurs. “i regret some stuff, but i don’t regret meeting you.”

he can hear vernon’s breath catch. “come off it,” he grumbles, and minghao finally chuckles. vernon’s right, maybe. nothing is going to happen to them because he won’t let it. “hao,” vernon continues, “want me to count down from 100 with you? it might help you sleep.”

“isn’t it counting sheep?”

“... no. just listen to my voice, okay?”