Buzz.

            Mingyu grins, bent over the counter as he taps away on his phone. Joshua sits on the counter beside him, typing at his phone as well, headphones plugged into his phone. Wonwoo can distinctly hear a soft song coming from the older boy’s phone.

            Buzz.

            Wonwoo grits his teeth as Mingyu lets out a quick laugh, his grin becoming wider. Joshua looks at Mingyu quickly, and then he glances at Wonwoo, who is holding onto a piping bag tightly. He sighs, shaking his head and directing his attention back to his phone.

            Buzz. Buzz.

            “Mingyu!” Wonwoo forces out. “Can you please stop with the texting?”

            Mingyu looks up, his fingers still tapping at the screen. He tilts his head, an adorable confused expression on his face. “Does it bother you?”

            “Yes,” Wonwoo spews through gritted teeth.

            Mingyu grins. “Then no.”

            Joshua sighs, using his hand to lower Mingyu’s phone. “Listen to your hyung.”

            Mingyu frowns at both of them. “I’m not bothering anybody.”

            “You’re bothering me,” Wonwoo says. “I’m trying to work.”

            Mingyu throws his hands up. “Okay, okay! First Joshua, and now Wonwoo, I get it. The texting is annoying.”

            Wonwoo just stares at him for a bit before shaking his head, letting out a soft sigh as he focuses on trying to decorate the cakes in front of him. Mingyu comes to stand beside Wonwoo, a grin on his face. His eyes are twinkling, and Wonwoo’s heart flutters, just a tiny bit.

            “I’m sorry hyung.” He leans over the counter, planting his elbows on the surface before he plops his head in his hands, his eyes wide. “From now on, I’m only going to focus on you, no one else.”

            Wonwoo feels his cheeks turn red as Mingyu stares at him, a challenging and mischievous glint in his eyes. “Brat,” he mutters, reaching over to grab another full piping bag. He places it in front of Mingyu. “If you’re going to be a creep, at least help decorate.”

            Mingyu nods seriously, even going as far as to salute Wonwoo. “Yes, boss.”

            Wonwoo rolls his eyes, but there’s a softness around his eyes as he watches Mingyu decorate the cakes, the tip of his tongue peeking from his lips as his brows furrow in concentration.

            “Oh god,” Wonwoo hears Joshua say, “I can’t watch this anymore.” Wonwoo distinctly hears the front door bell go off, signaling that someone has just entered. “I’ll get it.” Joshua rolls his eyes. “Not like Mingyu was planning on leaving here anytime soon.”

            Mingyu just grins, not even bothering to address the other boy as he hums.

            They decorate in silence, but Mingyu doesn’t handle silence all that well, so then he’s leaning his hip against Wonwoo’s, sighing loudly. Wonwoo does nothing, still decorating, so Mingyu sighs again, dragging it out.

            Wonwoo feels his lips threaten to form a smile. “Yes, Mingyu? Is there something you want to say?”

            Mingyu grins, setting down the piping bag. “Yes, Wonwoo, hi! There is actually something I want to talk to you about.”

            “Hmm? What is it?”

            Mingyu says it so easily, but Wonwoo feels his throat close up. “What happened with your soulmate?”

            It takes a second for Wonwoo to catch his breath, and then he’s looking at Mingyu with wide eyes. “What?”

            Mingyu looks at ease, but at a closer look, Wonwoo can see that the skin around his eyes is tight. “What happened to your soulmate? I mean, if you don’t want to tell me, I understand, but we’re best friends so I figured…” Mingyu mumbles.

            Wonwoo feels the same panic gripping at his throat that he felt when he was eighteen and he woke up to the pain of his mark. He remembers the happiness that was soon followed with despair and heartbreak as soon as he saw his tattoo, and he remembers Mingyu’s warm brown eyes looking at him in sadness as he announced that he found his mate, and Wonwoo fights down the tightening feeling in his chest, and instead says, “We’re best friends?”

            Mingyu grins, bumping his hip with Wonwoo’s, and he gets the hint that Wonwoo does not want to talk about it. “You know you’re my favorite hyung.”

            Wonwoo laughs, and he’s about to say something when Joshua walks back into the kitchen, a dazed expression on his face. Joshua lets out a small strangled noise, sliding down and sitting on the floor. Wonwoo and Mingyu look at each other confused, and then Wonwoo asks, “Hyung? Are you okay?”

            “I… I don’t know.” He looks up at them, helpless and confused. “I think I just agreed to a triple date with Jeonghan and his boyfriend at his house.”

            Crap, Wonwoo thinks, looking at Mingyu, who has the same expression on his face. This can’t end well.

⚘❁⚘

            Joshua rolls his eyes as he pushes past the door, mentally shaking his head at Wonwoo and Mingyu. His phone buzzes in his hand, and a quick glance tells him that it’s Jihoon. He smiles a little to himself. He has been hanging around the small boy a lot lately, and he’s grateful for the distraction he provides. He hasn’t thought about Jeonghan as often.

            He walks over to the sole customer they have in the café, who is sitting in the far corner, facing the window. Joshua places a menu in front of them, hooking his hand together as he happily says, “Welcome. Can I take your order?”

            And Joshua feels his heart stop because the person turns around, revealing a soft smile and sparkling brown eyes.

            “Jihoon’s boyfriend?” Jeonghan laughs.

            Joshua feels his cheeks heat up. “He’s not my boyfriend,” he mumbles. He stands up straighter, clearing his throat. “And my name is Joshua.”

            Jeonghan rolls his eyes. “I know what your name is, silly.” He grins widely. “Jihoon told me where you work, I hope that’s okay. I wanted to talk to you.”

            “Me? What for?”

            Jeonghan smiles, blinding, and gestures to the chair in front of him. Joshua sits down nervously. In all the time that Joshua has worked here, he never would have imagined that this would happen.

            Fate has a funny way of working like that.

            Joshua drums his fingers against his thigh, looking anywhere but at Jeonghan because he knows that all he has to do is take a look at those warm brown eyes of his, and then he’d be done for.        

            “Well,” Jeonghan laughs, “this is awkward.”

            Joshua lets out a small smile, planting his hands on the table. “Sorry?”

            Jeonghan waves his hands, brushing his hair away from his face. “No, no! Don’t apologize.” Jeonghan lets his hands fall on the table, the tips of his fingers brushing Joshua’s. Joshua freezes as the feeling of warmth spreads throughout his hands. The mark over his heart starts burning. Joshua glances up at Jeonghan, whose eyes are wide and dazed.

            And then Joshua glances down, catching a glimpse of the name Seungcheol written on Jeonghan’s wrist, and he quickly snatches his hand away.

            He clears his throat, feeling warmth spread to his cheeks. “You said you wanted to talk to me.”

            Jeonghan frowns at his hands, but then he’s shaking his head, looking up at Joshua with a wide grin and crinkled eyes. “Yeah. You’ve been spending a lot of time with Jihoon, right?”

            Joshua shrugs, avoiding eye contact. “Yeah, he’s a good friend.”

            “Right, so here’s the thing. Jihoon is Seungcheol’s best friend. You remember Seungcheol, right? He’s my boyfriend.”

            Joshua almost wants to laugh. “Yes, I remember.”

            Jeonghan clears his throat. “Well, Jihoon hasn’t been around to see Seungcheol in a long time. And we all miss him.” He smiles, his eyes sparkling. He leans forward in excitement, speaking fast. “So I was thinking that you both could come over to our house and we can all hang out. So Jun will be there with Minghao, and it could be like a date. You know, so we can get to know you better.”

            Joshua is half not paying attention, too distracted by the twinkle in Jeonghan’s eyes. So this is how he finds himself agreeing, nodding as he distractedly says, “Uh-huh.”

            Jeonghan grins wider, clapping his hands together. “Perfect! Jihoon knows where we live so just show up tonight.” He stands up, smiling. He brushes hair away from his face. When he speaks, his voice is soft, and it makes Joshua’s heart clench. “Thank you, I know this will mean a lot to Seungcheol.”

            He’s walking away when Joshua realizes what he’s done, but by the time he tries to call the boy back, Jeonghan is pushing past the door, his hair swishing behind him. 

a/n: i hope you all enjoy this ~ ~ thanks for commenting and thanks to all my subscribers! ^^