There’s something warm and small pressing into Jeonghan’s side.

            He mumbles in his sleep, grabbing the blankets and pulling them higher over his chin. The warmth he feels presses harder into his side, and then there’s something pressing on his chest. Jeonghan huffs, opening one eye only to be met with black hair. A soft sound comes from the person sleeping on top of him, cuddling closer to him, causing Jeonghan to laugh.

            “Chan,” Jeonghan whispers, shaking the small boy.

            Chan whines, grabbing the blanket in fistfuls as he nuzzles his head into Jeonghan’s chest. Jeonghan feels his chest vibrate with his laughter. He wiggles one hand free, reaching out to ruffle Chan’s hair. “Baby,” Jeonghan whispers, “can you get off of me?”

            “No,” Chan whines adorably, his hand latching onto Jeonghan’s shirt to get him to stop moving.

            Jeonghan lets out a small laugh, reaching down to plant a small kiss to the top of Chan’s hair. He slowly rolls the small boy off of him, and Chan immediately grabs the blankets, wrapping himself up. Jeonghan stands up, rolling his neck. He absentmindedly pats Chan’s head softly before he walks out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

            Seungcheol is sleeping on the couch, the blankets pooling at his waist, exposing his bare chest. Jeonghan grins as soon as he sees him. He brushes his thumb on Seungcheol’s eyebrow, the same thing he always does before bed and as soon as they wake up. His soft touch causes the older boy to let out a small noise of content. Jeonghan presses a small kiss to Seungcheol’s temple, and then he’s walking toward the kitchen, pulling out a pot so he can start making breakfast.

            He’s spooning some soup into bowls when he feels warm, steady hands wrap around his middle, a kiss being pressed to his temple and then a splattering of kisses following down to his jaw.

            “Yah,” Jeonghan laughs, “You’re going to make me spill it.”

            Seungcheol laughs, nuzzling his head into Jeonghan’s shoulder. “It smells delicious.”

            “Can you guys not be so gross this early in the morning?”

            Chan is shuffling out of the room, his hair sticking up every which way as he rubs a hand over his eyes. His mouth drops open in a small yawn and he stretches as he sits down at the table, patiently waiting for food. Jeonghan frees himself from Seungcheol’s hold, grinning as he places a bowl in front of Chan. “Sorry, Chan,” he laughs. “We’ll tone it down a bit, I promise.”

            Seungcheol is grabbing the other two bowls as he joins them both at the table. He sits next to Jeonghan, wrapping an arm around the younger boy as he pulls him closer to his side. He presses a loud sloppy kiss to Jeonghan’s temple. “I don’t promise anything.”

            “Yah,” Chan crinkles his noise, spooning some soup into his mouth. “Are you going to be doing this at the party?”

            Seungcheol looks at Jeonghan curiously. “Party?”

            Jeonghan grins, wiping at his mouth. “Ah, yes!” He glances at Chan, frowning. “It’s not a party. I invited Jun and Minghao over tonight. And I also invited Jihoon.”

            Seungcheol frowns. “Good luck getting him to show up. He’s always spending time with that Joshua boy.”

            Jeonghan rolls his eyes. “Well, I’m planning on inviting Joshua too, so hopefully they come.”

            Chan is chewing noisily, reaching over the table to serve his hyungs more food.  “Ah, hyung said I could come too. He said I could even invite Vernon-hyung.”

            Seungcheol raises a brow. “Great, now we have to make enough food to feed a small army.”

            Jeonghan pats Seongcheol’s hand, using his thumb to brush at the mark on his wrist. Seungcheol instantly relaxes, humming as he leans into Jeonghan. Jeonghan grins, chewing and once he finishes, he says, “I’ll cook, don’t worry.”

            Once they’re finished eating, and Jeonghan helps Chan get ready – the younger boy keeps swatting at Jeonghan’s hand every time the older boy reaches out to try to fix his hair – Chan is stuffing his clothes into his bag, speaking lowly on his phone.

            “Yah, hyung,” Jeonghan hears Chan say, “you can go out with your boyfriend later. Come on.”

            “Come over!” Jeonghan yells as he helps Seungcheol look for his shoes.

            He hears Chan laugh. “Did you hear what hyung said? Now you have to come.” A pause. “Great! We’re coming here straight after – yeah, yep, okay. Bye.”

            Jeonghan hears the door open, and Chan quickly yells out a bye. Jeonghan presses a quick kiss to Seungcheol’s lips, his thumb brushing out the frown that Seungcheol has on his face.  “Jihoon will come,” Jeonghan kisses the tip of his nose. “I promise.”

            Seungcheol sighs. “I don’t know what’s happening, Jeonghan. Jihoon has had boyfriends before, but nothing like this.”

            Jeonghan tangles his fingers in Seungcheol’s hair, his mind automatically drawing up an image of Joshua. He can still see the boy, smiling softly as soon as his eyes caught Jeonghan’s. Jeonghan blinks the image away, feeling his cheeks turn red. There’s a warm haze all over his body, his heart pounding fast. Jeonghan shakes his head. “Listen, this will be great, okay? I promise.”

⚘❁⚘

            Jeonghan is too busy running around, trying to fill up everybody’s dish, that he doesn’t even get to properly greet Jihoon when he arrives with Joshua in tow.

            Everyone else is already there, crowding at the table as they pick apart everything that Jeonghan has cooked. Jun is sitting with Minghao, his arm slinged around the other boy’s shoulder. Jun eats happily, occasionally feeding some to Minghao, who pauses from eating his own plate every time to open his mouth for Jun. Chan sits with Vernon, both of them laughing as they talk to one another, occasionally picking up food from their plates. Seungcheol sits next to Jun, conversing easily with the other boy as he eats as well.

            Jeonghan is busy serving Chan more food (he’s too skinny, Jeonghan argues, he needs to eat more), when there’s a knock on the door. He hears Chan shout “I’ll get it hyung!” and then Chan is pulling the door open, revealing a scowling Jihoon. Joshua is standing behind him, a nervous look on his face. Jihoon is grumbling as a hand reaches out to pull Joshua inside, the smaller boy curling his hand into the material of Joshua’s jacket. Joshua stumbles in, looking positively red in the face.

            “Jihoon! Joshua!” Jeonghan yells as he sets the plate in front of where Chan was sitting. “Here, have a seat, I’ll serve you a plate.”

            Jihoon drags Joshua towards the table and the taller boy’s eyes widen as soon as he catches sight of Vernon. The younger boy grins, looking between Joshua and Jihoon. His eyes twinkle in mischief.

            “Vernon?” Joshua asks.

            Vernon grins wider. “Hi hyung.”

            Everyone looks between them, their eyes curious. “You know each other?”

            Joshua grins. “Of course! Vernon comes in all the time to flirt with Seungkwan.”

            Vernon blushes and everyone turns to look at him. Chan takes a seat, his tone teasing as he says, “Seungkwan, huh? That cute guy from the café?”

            Vernon throws him a look. “Cute?”

            Chan raises his hands. “Not trying to steal him away from you hyung, relax.”

            Jeonghan softly swats Vernon in the back of the head when Vernon grumbles under his breath. “No fighting at the table,” he instructs. He glances at Joshua and Jihoon. “Have a seat, come on.” He gestures for the others to make room. “Scoot down for them.”

            Jihoon immediately plops down, but Joshua hovers, glancing at Jeonghan. Jeonghan knows he looks a mess right now. He has hair sticking to his forehead and neck, strands escaping his ponytail. His face is flushed from being in the kitchen so long, and he feels like he hasn’t had proper time to relax all afternoon.

            Joshua’s voice is quiet, shy. “Do… do you need help?”

            Jeonghan glances up, his eyes wide. “I’m okay, you can eat.”

            Joshua is already shrugging off his jacket, placing it on the empty chair next to Jihoon. He’s shaking his head, reaching around to pick up some empty plates. “Nonsense. I work at a café, it’s okay.” He smiles at Jeonghan when he hesitates. “It’s okay, honestly, I can help.”

            Jeonghan grins back, his eyes dazzling and Joshua’s grin grows a bit wider. Jihoon glances at them both, a curious tilt to his eyes, but Jeonghan doesn’t notice. Seungcheol is trying to catch Jihoon’s attention, and Jeonghan barely notices that they speak to each other in hushed tones.

            By the time that Jeonghan gets to sit down and eat, the only ones that are still eating are Jihoon and Joshua. Jeonghan plops down next to Seungcheol, the other boy easily opening his arms for Jeonghan to land in. Jihoon frowns as he sees this, avoiding his eyes. He scoots closer to Joshua, the other boy looking uncomfortable as well.

            Seungcheol wraps his arms around Jeonghan, kissing his neck distractedly. “So Joshua,” he starts. “You were kind of quiet the other night.”

            “Hmm,” Joshua hums as he picks up some meat. “I guess I’m just kind of quiet.”

            Seungcheol raises his eyebrow, opening his mouth to speak, but Jun beats him to it. “Yeah, I think we noticed that on your date. Both you and Jihoon are quiet, do you just sit and stare at each other?”

            Joshua and Jihoon glance at each other and Jeonghan feels something weird in his chest when they both grin at each other like they’re sharing a secret.

            “No,” Joshua laughs, “we talk.” His lips twitch into a smile. “Occasionally.”

            Jihoon laughs, smacking the older boy in response. It makes Jeonghan frown, and Seungcheol also frowns, asking, “What do you mean occasionally?”

            Jihoon picks up a piece of beef, smiling. “It’s a secret.”

            “Yah,” Chan says, “you’re such a tease hyung.”

            Jun agrees, his fingers playing with the hood of Minghao’s sweater. The younger boy keeps swatting at his hand when Jun tickles the back of his neck, but Jun just smiles every time he does this, reaching out to run his fingers on Minghao’s neck again. His fingers trace the mark that curves around Minghao’s ear. “Well,” Jun starts, “at least Jihoon has a boyfriend now.”

            Joshua frowns, glancing at Jihoon. “We’re not dating.”

            Seungcheol tightens up, his lips forming a straight line. “So what? You’re just messing around with Jihoon?”

            He sounds angry, furious actually, so Joshua softly chokes on his food, waving his hands frantically. Jihoon pats the older boy’s back, throwing Seungcheol a dirty look as Joshua regains his breath.

            “No! No, no. I’m not messing with Jihoon! We’re just friends.”

            Seungcheol gestures to Jihoon, who has not removed his hand from Joshua’s back. “Does he know that?”

            Jihoon frowns, hissing, “I’m not a child, Seungcheol. I know what I’m doing.”

            They both just sit there glaring at each other, the rest of the table sitting in uncomfortable silence. Jeonghan pats Seungcheol’s hand, ignoring the light feeling that entered his chest when he heard Joshua deny that he and Jihoon were dating.

             “Calm down, Seungcheol.”

            Seungcheol looks away from Jihoon, instantly calming down as he looks at the eyes of his mate.

             “I have an idea,” Jeonghan exclaims. “Let’s all go to the living room and leave this conversation here.”

            They all silently agree. Jeonghan sits with Seungcheol, the older boy wrapping him up in his embrace. Jun and Minghao sit across from them, fitting against each other perfectly. Chan sits next to Vernon, glancing at the older boy as he taps away on his phone. Jihoon and Joshua sit next to Jeonghan and Vernon. Conversation seems to flow easily now, and Jeonghan is laughing at something that Vernon said when he notices that Jihoon is pulling Joshua out of the living room, the older boy frowning deeply.

            Jeonghan frowns, looking around, but it seems like no one has noticed except him. He pats Seungcheol’s knee, sitting up. “I’ll be right back,” he whispers and Seungcheol just nods, still listening to the story that Minghao is telling.

            He doesn’t know why cares so much, but something heavy sits on his chest, and he tells himself that he’s not trying to eavesdrop, but really, what else could this be considered?

            He tells himself it’s just because he’s worried about Jihoon, not anything else.

             “….can’t hide yourself from me, Joshua. I know.” Jeonghan hears Jihoon say.

            Joshua sounds panicked, and Jeonghan thinks he hears the ruffling of clothes. “Stop it, Jihoon.”

            Jihoon sighs. “How long?”

             “What?”

             “You know what I mean, Joshua. How long?”

            Joshua is quiet and then he speaks. “A long time.”

            Jihoon laughs, and it sounds a bit bitter to Jeonghan’s ears. “Wow, we’re pathetic, aren’t we?”

            Jeonghan hears Joshua laugh, and it sounds like he’s leaning against the wall. “Yeah,” he says softly, “we are.”

            Jeonghan shifts, wondering what they’re talking about and – , his elbow bangs loudly on the wall. He figures there’s no point in hiding now, so he makes a lot of noise as he turns the corner, trying to act like he hasn’t been there the whole time. “Hey,” he smiles, “just wanted to see if you guys were okay.”

            Jihoon is pulling the sleeve of his sweater back down, glancing back at Joshua. Joshua looks deflated, upset. His hands are stuffed in his pocket, and upon closer inspection, Jeonghan can see that his shirt is askew. Joshua looks at Jihoon and they seem to share some type of message. Joshua pushes himself off the wall, ruffling his hair. “Yeah,” his eyes cut to Jeonghan’s, serious and deep and warm – and for a second Jeonghan feels exposed under his gaze, but he runs his thumb over his mark, calming down his heartbeat – and then Joshua is smiling softly, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. “We’ll be okay.”

⚘❁⚘

            Jihoon is standing in front of Joshua with his arms crossed over his chest, frowning. “Can you at least pretend that you’re happy to be here? The others may not have noticed your eternal frowning, but I have.”

            Joshua makes a confused expression. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am happily content – Jihoon!”

            Joshua hisses as Jihoon reaches forward, pushing Joshua towards the wall. “I know he’s your mate, but control yourself.”

            Joshua feels his heart pounding in his chest. He straightens out his shirt, pushing Jihoon’s hands off of him. “I don’t know what you mean.”

            Jihoon raises a brow and before Joshua can even blink – that small boy is fast, dammit – Jihoon is pulling at the collar of Joshua’s shirt, exposing his collarbones and the mark that Joshua has over his heart. Jihoon’s eyes go a bit wide as he inspects the mark, but then his eyes soften, looking understanding as he glances back up at Joshua, who looks defeated.

             “You’re a little too reckless, hyung.” Jihoon whispers, stepping back. Joshua doesn’t bother to fix himself, just stands there with his fists clenched. Jihoon is taking a deep breath and then he’s slowly rolling his sleeve up, his eyes wide and panicked. “You can’t hide yourself from me, Joshua.” He flashes Joshua his own mark and Joshua’s eyes go wide. “I know.”

            Joshua feels fear and panic and despair grab at his throat all at once, and he quickly fixes his shirt. “Stop it, Jihoon.”

            Jihoon brushes against his own mark, sighing as he tilts his head to look at Joshua. “How long?”

            Joshua can hear the silent question. How long have you had it?

             “What?”

            Jihoon’s fingers tighten. “You know what I mean, Joshua. How long?”

            Joshua closes his eyes, trying to push back the memory of when he got his mark. He can still remember the first time he learned of Jeonghan’s existence, remembers that fateful day that an angel walked into the café with a bright smile and dazzling eyes. Joshua had been hypnotized, and then he heard someone mutter his name and he thought that he had never been more lucky to be mated with someone so perfect. It all came crashing down when Jeonghan reached forward for his order, and Joshua caught a glimpse of his delicate wrist with someone else’s name on it.

            Joshua pushes the memory away. “A long time.”

            Jihoon laughs bitterly. “Wow, we’re pathetic, aren’t we?”

            Joshua leans his head against the wall, laughing. “Yeah, we are.”

            They both hear a loud bang, followed by heavy footsteps. Jihoon is quickly pulling the sleeve of his sweater back down when Jeonghan comes from around the corner, a small smile on his face.

             “Hey, just wanted to see if you guys were okay.”

            Jihoon glances back at Joshua, who tries to school his expression. They both share a look, silently agreeing to keep this to themselves. Joshua pushes himself off the wall, taking a deep breath and locking his heart back into the cage he has built himself. “Yeah,” he ruffles his hair, looking at Jeonghan. Jeonghan’s eyes are soft and warm and it makes Joshua’s heart break all the same. He smiles softly. “We’ll be okay.”

            And if he’s lying, well, Jeonghan will never know.

a/n: things are going to be picking up pretty soon ~( ^ o ^ )~ thanks for subscribing and commenting! it means the world to me.