For the next few weeks, Kyungsoo's new family began to teach him how to read and write. They also got him a private tutor to help him out. The boy was quite the fast learner with a good head on him. As he got to see more and more of the world, not being just limited to the confined space of his own home, he never for once ceased to be fascinated by it. He couldn't simply 'get used to it'. He was often taken out to different places, to see different things, and meet different people. Amber and him actually grew to be good friends, the girl often poking fun at him and making him laugh. Jungah and Junmyeon were always so kind to him and treated him like their own son, just as they had promised. As for Jongin, he was a little more distant from the rest but he often offered to help out and was a friendly person in general. The relationship between them was more along the lines of acquaintances but sometimes, when Jongin got friendlier than usual, Kyungsoo would think it might have been just a little more. 

And through the process, that distaste for his mother was slowly, slowly but surely growing into something else, something more along the lines of hatred. Often did he think no...she's still my mother and I still love her. But more often than not, he found himself unable to believe it. 

One day, he tore her picture apart and threw it into the fireplace in a fit of anger and frustration. He didn't realize Jongin was standing at the back, watching him.

One day, Kyungsoo was in his room, wrapping up some homework his tutor had given him. Jongin's bedroom was right across his so it didn't go unnoticed when Jongin stepped out of it. He sent Kyungsoo a smile and slightly knocked on his already open door. "Mind if I come in?" 

"Come on in." The shorter smiled.

"How's it going?" Jongin asked as he took a seat on Kyungsoo's bed, slightly peeking at his homework.

"I'm almost done." 

"Oh, okay. Go on ahead, then." The taller boy lay down on Kyungsoo's bed, his hands folded across his stomach as he stared at the ceiling. After a few seconds, he sat up again, shutting the books in front of the other. "I'm bored. Let's do something."

"I should really finish this-"

"Do it later." Jongin waved his hand in the air dismissively, "You have all the time in the world."

Still unsure, Kyungsoo agreed, to which the taller boy smiled widely. "Wait..." he looked like he suddenly had a great idea, "You've never been to the movies before, right?" 

Kyungsoo shook his head. The younger stood up and pulled the other up along with him. "Then get dressed. We're going to the movies!" He grinned. It was the first time Jongin offered to take him out somewhere. It was usually Amber who invited him to her college parties or to the mall, or Jungah who took him out shopping. The family seemed to be more on the rich side, despite their fairly ordinary home. And so, Jungah would always buy him tons of new clothes no matter how much Kyungsoo complaned and told her she didn't have to. But with Jongin, it was usually just waves from across the hall or small talk.

For some reason, the fact that Jongin was taking him out for the first time made a smile form on his heart-shaped lips. No one was home except them since Amber was out with friends and the parents were out on a business date. Needless to say, Jongin was bored out of his mind.

"I'mma go get dressed." The tall boy said before leaving the room and stepping into his own. Kyungsoo proceeded to get changed into a simple black T-shirt and a leather jacket, accompanied by black trousers. For some reason, Kyungsoo found himself in love with the colour (or lack thereof) black. One would think he must hate the colour since it was all he had seen for a considerable amount of his life, but surprisingly enough, it was very much the other way round. When he was done, he stepped out of his room to find the taller boy already seated in the living room, waiting for him.

Jongin's eyes, lingered on Kyungsoo for a little more than they had to before he quickly smiled. "Should we get going?" 

"Sure."

Kyungsoo quickly got into his sneakers and the two of them left the house, making their short, pleasant walk to the bus station. As they waited for the bus, Jongin cautiously glanced at him before clearing his throat. "You um...You look good in that jacket." Kyungsoo realized it was the first time he wore it since Jungah only recently bought it. With a small blush on his cheeks, he muttered a low "thanks". 

As the older boy looked at the latter, he realized he was only wearing a long sleeved shirt. "Aren't you cold?" He asked.

"I am kind of actually..." Jongin laughed softly, "I forgot it was winter already."

"We can go back and get you a jacket from the house." 

"We can't now. We'll miss the bus." 

Kyungsoo had a moment of thought before removing his own and offering it to Jongin. 

"Hyung, I'm fine."

But Kyungsoo wouldn't budge, his hands still outstretched with the jacket in his hands.

"You'll be cold if I take it."

"It's okay. I'm used to it." Jongin could see the sad smile on his face. While the taller boy was shivering his off, the older didn't even look fazed by the cold. There it came again- the pity. Jongin didn't like pitying others because he himself didn't like being pitied. And it bothered him, a lot. With a soft sigh, he reluctantly took the jacket from Kyungsoo. He could still feel the warmth from Kyungsoo's body as he put it on, relaxing his frozen muscles almost instantly.

"Thanks, Hyung."

The other nodded at him with a smile just as the bus arrived at the station.

-_-_-_-_-

Jongin finally left the crowded cinema canteen with a handful of snacks and a large grin on his face. He was carrying two buckets of caramel pop corn, two nachos and two giant blueberry slushies. Kyungsoo rushed over to help him carry the stupid amount of snacks he bought.

"Are we seriously gonna eat all this?" Kyungsoo asked with a dumbfounded look on his face as he took the nachos and the slushies from Jongin's arms. 

The taller grinned. "We are men. So we have to eat like men." 

Kyungsoo was definitely surprised since he had only eaten modest amounts of food during his time. Not to mention, the stuff he was carrying looked weird to him, especially the odd blue colored drinks in his hands that were freezing his fingers off. 

"We're gonna be late for the movie. Come on." 

The two of them made their way into the cinema hall, where they offered their tickets and entered. Jongin grabbed two pairs of 3D glasses and handed one to Kyungsoo. 

"What's this?" He asked. 

"3D glasses."

Kyungsoo still looked clueless, staring at the object in question with wide eyes. Jongin chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Let's go get seated first."

As they stepped into the hall, Kyungsoo looked around in awe. There were already a lot of people in it and the ads were playing.

"Whoa." He couldn't help the gasp that escaped his lips.

"I know right?" Jongin chuckled. "How about it? I'll take you here every weekend." 

Kyungsoo felt himself blush as they found their seats and sat down. 

"If you want to then I don't mind." Was his timid answer. 

Jongin pouted slightly as he stared at the older boy. "No, I wanna know what you want," he sighed, "Can I tell you something?" 

Kyungsoo blinked, "Sure."

"Why don't you express yourself? I mean, whenever my mother or Amber suggest something, you always just agree. I don't mean to be offensive but... When you just keep agreeing to everything, people can easily push you around. Don't be scared to reject, no ones gonna judge you, especially not us."

Kyungsoo looked down, thinking about how every word Jongin just said was true. But he didn't know yet how to express himself. He was still scared, and everything was still so new to him.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that. Let's just enjoy the movie, okay?" Jongin smiled at him, slightly tilting his head to the side adorably. 

"Okay." 

* * *

Turned out the movie Jongin picked out was a horror movie. The weird looking creatures in it didn't scare Kyungsoo in the slightest. However, he did find it very intriguing and had his eyes on the screen the entire time. As for Jongin, he kept flinching at every jumpscare, even dropping some of his popcorn once. By the end of the movie, most of the snacks Jongin bought were left uneaten, to which Kyungsoo sent Jongin a disapproving look. The younger boy grinned and scratched the back of head. 

"So, what do you wanna do now?" Jongin asked as the two left the cinema hall. 

"I don't know, anything's fine." The older boy shrugged. Jongin shot him a look. "Oh... Well I guess I am sort of hungry." 

"Really?" Jongin had a wide grin on his face. "Let's go grab some dinner then." 

And so they did. The two had a pleasant evening, chatting and joking around light-heartedly over delicious food. Often did Jongin find himself staring at the older boy when he wasn't looking, admiring his features. He declared in his head that he wouldn't mind just watching Kyungsoo for hours on end.

The reason Jongin wasn't able to hang out with Kyungsoo was because his mother and his sister were always hogging him all to themselves. And probably also because Jongin was more than a little shy to approach him. But today seemed like the perfect opportunity. With no one home, he mustered up the courage to take him to the movies. Jongin wanted to be the one to show him new things, not his sister or his mother. He wanted to be the one to teach him. And now, he was determined to do so. 

When the two got back, everyone was already home and the two went to their respective bedrooms, not before muttering a few 'good night's. 

At 3am in the morning, Kyungsoo was immediately awakened by the sound of his doorknob turning. He had always been a light-sleeper with rather sharp ears.

A dark, tall figure walked into the room which Kyungsoo instantly recognized as Jongin. 

"Jongin?" The tall boy didn't respond and stood motionlessly at the foot of the bed. After what seemed like forever, he plopped down onto the bed, throwing his arms and legs over Kyungsoo and snoring softly. 

Kyungsoo on the other hand was confused and not to mention, flustered. 

"Um... Jongin? Are you asleep?" 

No response. 

The older boy wasn't sure what to do. And so, he tried to fall asleep in that position, the warmth from Jongin's body surrounding him and, strangely enough, comforting him. 

X X X

A/N The fluff is about to get started, people! Are you ready? Of course you are.

After some thought, I decided on posting short, more frequent chapters rather than longer ones which take longer to write. Tell me if you guys think this length is okay (1.8k words). 

Hope you guys enjoyed this little chapter and I'll see you again soon! Please leave your fabulous comments below, it helps me out a lot ^_^

Have a great day you y person you.

Sam XOXO