Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It's three. Momo is starting to feel the weight of the hour on her shoulders, in her aching arm, and in her droopy eyelids. Most of all she feels it when she looks over at Mina, who sits cross-legged in front of her, wordlessly passing her each new album so she can get the autographs done more quickly.

Momo watches her autographs get sloppier, but she can't find it in herself to care too much, because the managers are getting annoyed and restless and Mina needs her rest.

Over on the couch, however, Sana seems to be doing perfectly fine keeping Dahyun up on a video call. Every once in a while Momo and Mina look over at Sana and frown or pretend to gag. Surely they should pay some mind to the feelings of the people around them.

"Is she nuzzling her face into her phone?" Momo asks absentmindedly and pauses signing for a moment.

"Yah, focus," Mina says even though she spares a giggle when she turns to see Sana's antics with her girlfriend. "We need to go home quickly."

Momo pouts as she receives the next album from Mina. "I'm going as fast as I can already."

Mina stares at her, face difficult to read with the blue mask on. "No you aren't; you've been getting distracted by Sana over there and your grumbling stomach. And look, you still have seven more piles to go."

Momo pouts more and averts her eyes from the seven piles of Signal albums she still has to sign. She even has to write dedication messages on a few of them, and she hasn't started on those yet. Mina's already done with hers and Momo feels a tug on her heart thinking about the fact that Mina decided to stay on with her.

Momo briefly hears Sana repeat that she won't go home to Dahyun until Dahyun says she misses her, and overhears Sana shamelessly begging for kisses again. One of their managers rolls his eyes.

"Mina," Momo whispers, continuing to sign the albums.

"Mm?"

"Do you know what would make me sign faster?" Momo asks, reddening a little as she daringly begins her proposition.

"What?" Mina says, not entirely paying attention.

Momo stalls for a moment until Mina makes a noise of encouragement. For some reason she's getting her signature right faster now.

"A kiss," Momo whispers.

When Mina doesn't respond after a few moments, Momo looks up. Mina is frozen in place and blushing, clutching onto an album that all members but Momo have signed. She refuses to make eye contact with Momo.

"I- I was just-" Momo starts.

"I'm sick, and there are people around," Mina whispers in her croaky voice and Momo's heart starts hammering in her chest at the thought of Mina taking her seriously; her proposition had been half a joke, but somewhere underneath the joke she'd been holding out hope that Mina would view the request seriously.

The natural response, Momo thinks, is to get bolder and tease her more. Momo's still nervous, but Mina's blush is just too adorable to not encourage. She's been seeing it more often these days, since they've gotten a bit less shy with their displays of affection these days - Sana calls it flirting, but Mina and Momo have been quick to deny it.

"But you promised you would the last time," Sana whines loudly over them, "so you're just going to have to make room for me in your bed. Don't you dare fall asleep without me again. I'll be home soon."

"See," Mina says softly, "you have to sign faster so we can get home faster."

Momo shakes her head in her place like a petulant child. "Not until I get a kiss."

Mina actually sighs out loud this time, running a hand through her short black hair and looking like a messy, unimaginably attractive angel. "What has Sana been teaching you?"

One of their managers looks over at them and shows them the time on his phone. It's three fifteen. A terrible time to be awake. He taps his wrist to indicate that they should be leaving soon.

"She'll be done soon, oppa," Mina promises.

When Mina turns back, Momo has her face very close to her. Mina inhales sharply and tries not to move an inch. She is suddenly glad for the barrier of the mask between them.

"Will I really be done soon?" Momo asks teasingly.

Mina coughs at this moment, and raises her arm to her mouth. "Could you please focus on signing? I want to get back and rest."

Momo's face falls, but it's more out of guilt than disappointment. "Sorry, I shouldn't be joking around when you're ill."

Mina turns around to bring the next stack of albums closer to where they're seated. She doesn't know what to say to console a quiet Momo.

"Look, if I wasn't sick I would, okay?"

Momo nods, barely listening. When Momo is focused, like when she's trying to learn a new dance and perfect it, she doesn't register things happening around her. Now she furiously gets through ten albums in a minute.

"Momo?" Mina asks softly.

"Hmm?" Momo says perfunctorily, still engrossed in the activity.

"Momo," Mina says seriously, and tips Momo's chin up so she can look into Momo's eyes.

Momo doesn't really process anything and feels her eyelids flickering. The last thing she sees is Mina briefly pulling down the blue mask she's wearing. Momo stills as Mina kisses her, mouth gently touching hers. It's a soft kiss, and Mina's lips are warm and she can feel Mina breathe onto her face.

Their faces had been so close, Momo notes as she watches Mina pull away and put the mask in place again. The mask hides her red face.

"You're so cute, Minari," Momo says contentedly.

"J-just sign faster now, okay?" Mina says, her words muffled through the cloth mask.

Momo nods hurriedly and gets back to signing. Her hand moves at record speed and within the next twelve minutes, she's gotten through the last couple of stacks.

"Momo, you can handle the messages tomorrow," their manager says. "Pinky has gone to get the van, so we'll wrap things up here."

Sana grabs her bag and slings it round her shoulder. "Finally."

"Honestly, you weren't that much faster than us," Momo says, standing and sticking her tongue out at Sana, who does it right back.

"Well, you were still slower than Mina-chan, who is sick," Sana retorts.

"Can we just go," Mina mutters.

Momo nods solemnly and lets Mina lean on her shoulder after they've gathered their scattered belongings from the practice room floor. She puts an arm around Mina's waist to support her.

"By the way," Sana says as they walk down the stairs, "you two are disgusting."

Mina wakes and opens her eyes just in time to give Sana a withering look.

"What?" Sana asks, throwing up her hands. "It's true! You have to think about the feelings of the people around you!"

Mina rolls her eyes and Momo barely finds it in herself not to push Sana down the stairs. Momo briefly looks down at Mina as she helps her make it down the stairs woozy, places a hand on Mina's neck to check for a fever, and finding no sign of one, kisses Mina on the forehead.

She swears she catches Mina blushing under that mask of hers.

Chapter Text

It's nearly four when Dahyun feels the mattress sink and a body slip into bed next to her. She knows who it is, and she's quite surprised that the intruder hasn't made a ruckus entering the room and her bed from falling or whatnot.

"Dahyun-ah," Sana begins her assault on Dahyun's ears, "you were supposed to wait for unnie and not sleep again. Do you know how hurt I was when I heard you didn't wait up for me the first time?"

Dahyun contemplates not responding, but eventually gives in for fear that Sana will begin whining more loudly than before and wake up the others. "It's reasonable; we have a schedule tomorrow and the comeback is really close, so we all need our sleep."

Dahyun shivers as Sana places her chin on her shoulder and speaks into her neck.

"Can you go to sleep knowing unnie is still up and working?" Sana tries again.

"I was sleepy," Dahyun protests.

Dahyun can feel Sana frowning into her shoulder. After a beat, Sana retracts her body from Dahyun and Dahyun is honestly sorry to feel the warmth go.

Sana is on her side, facing away from Dahyun and sulking like there's no tomorrow. Dahyun has a good mind to tell her that this bickering is just going to leave them with fewer hours to sleep, but knows that such logic won't work on her girlfriend.

"Sana-unnie," Dahyun says as she turns towards Sana, wrapping her arms around Sana's waist.

There is no response.

"Sana-unnie," Dahyun prods Sana's hip with a finger and her hand is pushed away. "Don't be upset."

Sana finally turns to face Dahyun again, arms folded. "You said we would sleep together today. We're not going to get a lot of time like this in the future, you know."

"And look how you're spending it, being angry," Dahyun cajoles.

Sana burrows her head into Dahyun's shoulder and mumbles something that Dahyun can't quite catch. When Dahyun asks for clarification, the fox that Sana is has already changed tack from looking victimised and indignant to looking sultry and teasing.

"You have to say that you miss me and kiss me, and then I'll forgive you," Sana repeats, closing her eyes and reaching up to tap her own lips with a finger. "Hurry up, Dahyun-ah, or I'll sulk for the rest of the night."

Dahyun makes an exaggerated expression to show her displeasure. "You're not playing very fair. Why should I do those things?"

Sana shrugs easily. "You should, or I'll hold the grudge of you not waiting up for me like you promised to do."

"I-"

"I can wake up Tzuyu and sleep in her bed if you really aren't going to-"

Sana is cut off by a determined kiss. Every single kiss that they've had for the past month or so as a new couple was initiated by Sana, and this feels like something new for both of them. Dahyun starts out stiff, but Sana cupping her face makes her relax into the kiss.

This isn't a peck like their usual kisses. Sana angles her head just so, so she can suck and bite on Dahyun's upper lip. Dahyun is slightly caught off guard, but returns the gesture with the same amount of passion.

"Why didn't you wait up for me, huh?" Sana mumbles into the kiss.

"I'm sorry, unnie," Dahyun mutters in response, but is less sorry because this has happened; she deduces that Sana isn't entirely upset about how things have worked out either.

When Sana pulls away, she studies Dahyun's face intensely to make sure she hasn't overstepped any boundaries she wasn't supposed to cross. Dahyun looks slightly scandalised but also somewhat satisfied with herself.

"So, did you miss me?" Sana asks.

Dahyun smiles. "Yeah. Of course I did. I tried to wait up, you know. I just fell asleep along the way."

"You get sleepy so easily," Sana observes, "maybe because you're a growing girl. I have to kiss you more before I go for my schedules so you stay awake more easily."

Dahyun is about to comment that that had as much logic as the time Sana said that if Dahyun kissed her, she'd be able to hear what Dahyun was saying. Just another instance of Sana using terrible logic to further her less-than-righteous goals.

Before she can protest it, Sana is pecking her repeatedly on the lips. Dahyun leans into it eventually, later stopping Sana by placing a hand on her chin. This time, Dahyun presses the kisses to Sana's lips.

Even in the dark, Dahyun can guess that Sana is embarrassed from her advances.

"You're getting daring, Dahyun-ah," Sana notes shyly.

"I learned from the best."

"Anyway," Sana starts, "did you know that Mina and Momo are absolutely disgusting together? No consideration for anyone around them."

"Well, I mean, you don't really have that either-"

As if on cue, Momo bursts into the room with a pot of ramen grasped in one hand and flu medicine in the other, looking weird and murderous.

"We are not disgusting," Momo hisses, trying not to wake the two youngest ones who are soundly asleep. "There isn't even a 'we'. We've only kissed once and you two are so much worse."

"How are we worse!" Sana snaps back. "You two literally kissed in front of-"

"You do that too!" Momo nearly jabs an arm in Sana's direction, briefly forgetting that she's grasping the handle of a pot of noodles.

Suddenly a door opens and everyone shuts up when they hear the growling and grumbling of their leader, who happens to be a light sleeper. "Will everyone just be quiet? Nobody cares about your PDA, just shut up and let us sleep in peace."

With that, the door slams shut. Momo half wants to continue the argument with Sana, but a hand appears on her shoulder.

"Momo, just, just come back to bed," Mina's raspy voice sounds from outside.

Momo blushes madly in the dimly lit corridor and exits the room, not forgetting to stick her tongue out at Sana again.

"Oh wow, are they…?" Dahyun asks.

Sana shrugs. "I don't know. They should be, but God knows those two will never speak a word about their feelings and they might go years without discussing a possible relationship plainly."

"Oh, well, yeah, that makes sense for them."

Sana nods and contents herself with drawing her girlfriend close to her body and running her nose up and down the nape of Dahyun's neck. Dahyun trembles again and lets the rhythm of Sana's breathing and rubbing of her back lull her to sleep.