Junmyeon hummed happily to himself as he walked leisurely down to the back of the boat, his left hand on the white railing and his right buried in his pocket.

He was clad in a pair of well-fitting khaki shorts, a pair of white converse and a white short sleeved with a black stripe down the middle, he’d opted to keeping the first couple of buttons undone – to keep him cool of course, not because he was trying to impress anyone.

He’d styled his brown hair up again, having enjoyed the response he’d gotten for it the day previous.

He was in pretty good spirits, what with the sun shining and the ocean breeze keeping him cool. He was feeling pretty damn chipper if he did say so himself.

“You know,” a voice said from beside him, “If you keep smiling to yourself like that, people are going to think you’re on day release or something”

Junmyeon rolled his eyes before turning his head to face Yixing, “Day release on a boat?” he quirked a brow.

“Yeah well, you could have sneaked on board when we were docked” Yixing shrugged easily as he fell into a relaxed walk beside Junmyeon, subtly pulling Junmyeon’s hand from his pocket before taking it in his own and making Junmyeon smile.

Junmyeon chuckled, “Well I suppose you’ll have to keep an eye on me then” he gave Yixing’s hand a squeeze in playful jest.  

“That seems easy enough since I can never keep my eyes off of you anyway” Yixing shot back with a bashful grin.

“And people think I’m the cheesy one” Junmyeon laughed, but it was with obvious affection, “But the feeling’s mutual” he added, letting go of Yixing’s hand in favour of wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

In turn, Yixing’s arm wrapped around Junmyeon’s waist, his thumb rubbing idle circles as he held onto the elder. “People know you’re cheesy because you’re not cool enough to hide it” he said in an explanatory tone, “I, however, have mastered the art of controlling myself in front of people”

“Do I not count as people?” Junmyeon asked, a hint of amusement in his voice as he raised a brow at Yixing.

Yixing smiled back at him, offering him an easy shrug, “I was more thinking that I don’t mind being myself around you” he admitted, “I don’t need to be cool because it seems like dorky me fits with you well enough”

Junmyeon rolled his eyes, “Well you’re cute when you’re dorky,” he said, “So you win either way. I think it’s the dimples, they make it unfair”

“They do make it a bit harder when you’re aiming for hot though” Yixing grumbled moodily, a pout on his lips.

Junmyeon shook his head, “No, you pull off hot really well. Believe me. I thought I was gonna keel over when I first bumped into you. Hot doesn’t even begin to cover what you are, Zhang Yixing” he told the other boy earnestly.

Yixing ducked his head shyly, an uncommon trait. He didn’t usually get embarrassed by compliments, but the overwhelming honesty in Junmyeon’s voice just tugged at his heartstrings. “You’re just biased” he dismissed demurely.

“No, I’m being truthful” Junmyeon said firmly, “Even if I didn’t fancy you something stupid, there’s no denying that you’re insanely attractive.” He stated as a matter of fact.

Yixing couldn’t help the soft blush that fanned across his cheeks, “Well, thank you then. Coming from somebody as handsome as yourself, that means a lot” he grinned almost shyly.

“Oh, have less” Junmyeon laughed, “We both know I’m nothing special.”

Yixing’s eyes widened, “You’re joking, right? I mean, you do own a mirror, yes? Myeon, you’re ing hot. Like, ‘the things I’d let that man do to me’ kind of hot. You’ve got that y CEO look going for you. Trust me when I say that if people find you attractive in that hideous Hawaiian shirt you own, then you’re one handsome er” he shot back, absolutely incredulous that Junmyeon thought of himself as anything less than absolutely smokin’.

Junmyeon’s eyes crinkled into small crescents as he grinned whole-heartedly back at Yixing, “What on Earth did I do so good that I got to meet you?” he laughed in amazement. Clearly taken aback by Yixing’s mini-rant.

Yixing playfully rolled his eyes as he pulled them both to a stop and backed Junmyeon against the railings, his arms wrapping around elder’s waist, “I think you’ve got that the wrong way around, love” he said warmly.

Junmyeon laughed softly, his hands coming up to cup either side of Yixing’s neck, his fingers playing with the baby hairs at the bottom of his hair line, “Are you trying to make me swoon or something? Because it’s working” he smiled, a playful glint in his eyes.

“Does that mean you’re not looking at anyone else for the rest of this holiday?” Yixing asked cheekily, pressing himself against Junmyeon who was still mindlessly fiddling with his hair, it was a rather nice feeling in Yixing’s opinion.

Junmyeon gently guided Yixing’s head forward so that they were nose to nose, “I wasn’t looking at anyone else since I saw you anyway” he said quietly before tilting his head up and pressing a brief kiss to Yixing’s lips, making Yixing smile.

“Good to know” Yixing whispered back sweetly, “I’ve never been very good with sharing. Only child syndrome and what not”

Junmyeon bit down on his bottom lip as his eyes flitted up to catch Yixing’s gaze, “I’m actually very okay with that. Which is concerning considering how little time we’ve known each other”

“I think time doesn’t necessarily matter when you click with someone” Yixing told Junmyeon, “When you have that instant connection with someone, so long as it isn’t unhealthy then who’s to say what the right amount of time is?”

Junmyeon hummed interestedly, “That’s a fair point” he admitted, “Is this the part where we kiss again?” he added smoothly.

Yixing chuckled, but decided to answer by leaning in and catching Junmyeon’s lips in a lazy kiss rather than with words, and that suited Junmyeon just fine.

Junmyeon let out a content sigh as he and Yixing kissed, easy and unrushed under the warmth of the late morning sun. He smirked slightly against Yixing’s lips before pulling back, enjoying the way Yixing’s lips followed before he whimpered at the loss. The disappointment soon faded however, as Junmyeon’s lips found their way to Yixing’s neck, eliciting a soft gasp from the younger boy as his teeth grazed over a particularly sensitive spot as he began to nibble teasingly at his sun-kissed skin, soothing it after with his tongue, making Yixing moan breathily.

“Need I, oh. Need I remind you that we are – , okay – in view of a lot of people” Yixing managed out, his fists balling around the fabric of Junmyeon’s shirt at the back.

Junmyeon hummed in mock concern, “Are we?” he mouthed against Yixing’s skin, making the Chinese boy shudder pleasurably.

“Junmyeon” Yixing breathed out, trying to sound firm but not quite reaching it.

Junmyeon chuckled in return, his laughter tickling against the base of Yixing’s neck, “I like it when you say my name like that” he purred.

“I swear to god” Yixing gasped as Junmyeon bit down on his shoulder, “If this is payback for the other night, I’m gonna kill you”

Junmyeon grinned, lifting his head to pepper sweet kisses over Yixing’s face, “No you won’t” he said confidently, “You like me too much”

Yixing let out a tinkling laugh in return, “You’re so cocky” he snorted, letting go of Junmyeon’s waist in favour of reaching up and catching the elder’s face between his hands, keeping him still and pressing a kiss to his lips, “What am I going to do with you, Kim Junmyeon” he shook his head playfully.

Junmyeon grinned mischievously, “Lots of naughty things, I hope” he waggled his brows, making Yixing laugh without restraint. He liked Yixing’s laugh a lot, it was pretty and highly addictive.

“We went from having a nice moment to you being a ” Yixing rolled his eyes, still snickering as he did, “Lovely”

Junmyeon raised a brow, “This is coming from the man that openly admitted to thinking of me when wanking?”

Yixing grinned proudly, “Yes” he answered, “But that was in the privacy of my own room”

“Where three of your closest friends were sleeping” Junmyeon shot back pointedly.

“Oh, bleh” Yixing waved him off, “We live together, they’ve heard me wank and then some. I’m not ashamed. Plus…” he smirked, “You have no idea how hard I came when I was thinking about you… Mmm, it felt so good”

Junmyeon swallowed hard, “Oh yeah?” he got out, “Maybe one day I’ll get to show you how good I can really make you feel” his voice was thick with something akin to lust as his eyes raked over Yixing’s face, proud to see his want mirrored there.

“Maybe” Yixing whispered lowly, a smirk still playing over his pretty lips, “What exactly would you to do me, hmm?” he asked, running a finger lightly down Junmyeon’s chest before slipping his arms around the elder’s neck.

Junmyeon watched Yixing with almost cautious eyes as he spoke, “First I’d kiss you. Nothing too much, just enough to keep you interested as I pulled you to the bedroom. I’d let my hands run down your body” he said, his hands slowly moving down Yixing’s sides as he spoke, making his breath hitch slightly, “then I’d slip my hands under your shirt, just to let you feel my skin on yours. I’d smile at you before kissing you again, harder this time, making sure to leave you breathless before I get rid of your shirt” he smirked a little at how Yixing was clinging onto his every word, he made sure to slip his hands under Yixing’s t-shirt to hold onto his bare hips, “after that it’ll be a game of making you squirm. I’ll push you down onto the bed and work my way over your body with my mouth. But I’ll stop to take off your trousers, and you’ll be aching for me to touch you by then, but I won’t. I’ll touch you everywhere but where you need me to, and if you try to touch yourself, well… I’ll have to tie your wrists to the headboard.”

Yixing was breathing a little heavier as he listened carefully, desperately willing himself not to react – after all they were still on the main deck and whilst they were off to one side, it wouldn’t be hard to guess if they were up to something that they shouldn’t be.

Junmyeon gripped onto Yixing that little bit tighter as he continued, “I’ll take off your boxers next, then pull away, leaving you aching for me to touch you whilst I take my clothes off. I’ll do it real slow, too. Make a show of it, so that you’re practically squirming. Eventually I’ll show you just how much you affect me. And I’ll walk back over to you so that I can push my way between your thighs, kissing further and further up, skipping where you want my mouth the most until I finally get back to your lips so that I can kiss you stupid” he purred and Yixing whimpered, his hands moving to hold tightly onto Junmyeon’s shoulders, “I’ll let one hand tease over  your body as I kiss you and then I’ll finally touch you, but I’ll make sure it’s slow, so slow that you’ll be begging me for more.

 “I might give in and speed up, I might not, it depends how well you behave. I’ll stop kissing you after a while so that I can kiss my way down your body, by then you’ll be itching for me to just please, please make you feel good. So I’ll give in and make you watch as I you off, I’ll make sure to look at you whilst I have your in my mouth too. Just so that you know how much I’m enjoying it. How much I like making you feel good. And just when you think I’m gonna let you come… I’ll stop… As for the rest, well… Let’s just say if you thought you came hard on your own, then baby you’re in for a real treat when I’m done with you”

It was Yixing’s turn to swallow, “Right” he cleared his throat, “Yeah, that um, that sounds like something I could get on board with” he managed with an even voice, much to his relief.

Junmyeon smirked, one of his hands moving round to grab Yixing’s and pull him ever closer, “I’ll bet” he ran his tongue over his bottom lip, unintentionally seductively. “You alright there?”

“Not even a little bit” Yixing laughed shakily, “Just so you know, this would be a really good time to kiss me”

Junmyeon didn’t have to be told twice. He kissed Yixing hard, and happily so.

They weren’t sure how long they stood there just kissing, but before long the hustle and bustle of people grew as everyone went about getting drinks or lunch, or whatever else they felt like.

Yixing grinned, biting down on his lower lip as he did, “You wanna go grab some food?” he asked, resting his forehead against the elder’s shoulder.

--

Jongin laughed loudly as he, Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo danced to the heavy thrum of music. They were sloppy and uncoordinated, but they were enjoying themselves amongst the mass of hot sweaty bodies.

The four of them had decided to have what Baekhyun called a ‘drunk day’ whereby they just spent the day with a drink in hand at all times.

They’d been tipsy by the time two o’clock rolled around and headed into drunk as a skunk at the four-thirty mark.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were an interesting pair. Jongin had noticed that a lot of the time, Baekhyun initiated a lot of the physical contact with his best friend, but now it was as though Kyungsoo was drawn to Baekhyun by a magnet, he was constantly at Baekhyun’s side, touching him, whispering to him, laughing with him. Not that Baekhyun was any better, he clung to Kyungsoo as he always did but tenfold.

Jongin had been annoyed as he watched the two of them drunkenly fumble around with one another, Chanyeol joining in every now and again to try and steal Baekhyun’s attention.

It was at the five o’clock mark that Wyclef Jean had started playing and Kyungsoo had let out a cute squeal of excitement before grabbing Jongin with one hand and Baekhyun with the other to pull them over to the dance floor.

They’d been dancing for a good half an hour before the tell-tale ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ of Genuwine’s Pony sounded through the speakers, eliciting a cheer from the drunken passengers who were quick to grab a partner or turn to their friends and start dancing in a lude way at each other.

Jongin rolled his eyes as he saw Chanyeol and Baekhyun dancing together, both of them giggling as they attempted to grind to the music. Admittedly, Baekhyun was actually pretty good, but the giggling took away from the y effect that was meant to go with the heavy hip movements.

Jongin shook his head before his gaze moved to land on Kyungsoo who was dancing with himself, swaying his hips to the beat of the song in an almost sinful way.

He wasn’t sure if it was the dangerous amount of alcohol in his system, or if he just had a death wish, but he found himself gravitating towards Kyungsoo until his chest was pressed firmly against the elder’s back and his arms s around Kyungsoo’s waist, palms pressing flat against Kyungsoo’s stomach to keep him close.

Kyungsoo glanced behind him, noting that it was just Jongin and shooting the dancer a lazy smile as they moved together, Jongin biting back a groan at the way Kyungsoo had decided to push his back to grind against him.

Kyungsoo smirked as one of his hands moved to rest atop of Jongin’s, whilst the other reached up and behind him to hold onto the back of Jongin’s neck.

He tilted his head slightly, allowing him to look up at Jongin, the position seemingly less awkward than it should have been. Kyungsoo’s eyes were fixed on Jongin’s as he shot the younger a dirty smirk, so confident and sure, so unlike sober Kyungsoo, but in Jongin’s hazy mind it didn’t register. All he saw was the inviting look on Kyungsoo’s face that compelled him to lean his head forward and teasingly taste Kyungsoo’s plump bottom lip with his tongue.

“That the best you’ve got?” Kyungsoo challenged, his voice enticingly seductive as he kept eye contact with Jongin.

Jongin felt like he should have scoffed or come back with a witty one-liner, but he knew that he was too far under Kyungsoo’s spell to make heads or tails of anything worth saying. Instead he gave a little shake of his head before letting himself be a lot more daring than he usually was to press his lips to Kyungsoo’s in a teasingly gentle kiss.

But it seemed that Kyungsoo was having none of it as he turned himself in Jongin’s arms and wrapped his arms securely around his neck as he deepened the kiss, coaxing Jongin’s lips open so that he could properly taste him.

Jongin lost himself in the kiss, a small part of him impressed at their co-ordination given how intoxicated they were. His hands slipped under the back of Kyungsoo’s t-shirt, the pads of his fingers pressing against sweat-slick skin, he enjoyed the way that Kyungsoo pressed more solidly against him in return.

As they kissed, Genuwine melded into Justin Timberlake, which was followed by something that Jongin didn’t know, but it was all the same because before long he could only hear the erratic pounding of his heart in his hears as Kyungsoo’s fingers teased at the collar of his shirt.

He hadn’t realised quite how desperate he’d been to get his hands on Kyungsoo.

He signed softly as Kyungsoo pulled away from him, feeling a loss of warmth as he did, but as Jongin opened his eyes, he was met with the sight of a wonderfully dishevelled Kyungsoo smirking up at him.

The elder pressed a finger to his lips before taking Jongin by the hand and leading him away from the dancefloor.

Jongin was slightly confused but let himself be pulled along nonetheless. Kyungsoo seemed in control of himself, no signs of stumbling or tittering as he walked, but this was definitely out of character, or at least it was from the Kyungsoo that Jongin had slowly been getting to know.

Before long, they had made it back to Kyungsoo’s room, where the latter pulled Jongin inside and locked the door behind them with a soft click of the lock.

Kyungsoo was practically exuding seduction as he turned to face Jongin again, that same sinful smirk etched over his lips.

He stalked his way over to Jongin, who was stood by the closet, his back pressed against the door almost like prey about to be attacked.

He took a shuddered breath as Kyungsoo finally came to a stop in front of him.

Kyungsoo let his hands run over Jongin’s thinly clothed chest, as though smoothing out his shirt before he began to pop open the buttons at a deliberately slow pace.

Jongin watched as Kyungsoo pushed it off of his shoulders, doing nothing to stop it falling to the floor.

He closed his eyes as he basked in the feeling of Kyungsoo’s hands running over his bare torso, hot and lingering.

“Pretty” Kyungsoo breathed, pressing a soft kiss to Jongin’s collar bone, “So pretty”

Jongin let out a small whimper as he caught Kyungsoo’s wrists in his hands to stop the elder’s from roaming. Kyungsoo looked as though he wanted to protest, but anything he was going to say was forgotten as Jongin cracked and brought him into a heated kiss.

Kyungsoo guided them across to the bed where he gently pushed Jongin to lie down, crawling over him as he did before resuming their kiss.

Jongin could feel himself getting hard, and it was obvious that Kyungsoo was too.

It was as Kyungsoo was about to reach into Jongin’s jeans – that he hadn’t even realised Kyungsoo had undone – that it was really hit him what they were actually doing, and more importantly why it was happening.

He grabbed Kyungsoo’s wrists quickly before gently moving the elder off of him.

“I’m sorry” he said, sitting up and moving to the side of the bed to bring his feel back to the floor, “I’m sorry, I can’t do this” he didn’t look behind him where Kyungsoo was laying, not wanting to see the look of hurt he knew would have taken over Kyungsoo’s face…

He felt Kyungsoo shift on the bed as he sat up to lean against the headboard and curl in on himself, “Did I… Did I do something wrong?” he asked in a cracked whisper.

Jongin’s eyes widened as he turned to look at Kyungsoo, the elder was hugging his knees to his chest and clearly fighting back tears, “No! No, of course not!” Jongin told him, shuffling back onto the bed to sit beside Kyungsoo, “I can’t do this because we’re drunk. I… You don’t want to do this, Kyungsoo, because I know you’ll only regret it in the morning”

“I won’t” Kyungsoo shook his head, “I want you, Jongin” he let his hand come to rest on Jongin’s thigh.

Jongin sighed, this was killing him, really it was. He wanted it so bad, but he knew it wouldn’t be right, “No. If you were sober, you wouldn’t even think of me like that” he said, removing Kyungsoo’s hand from his body. “I should go…”

“No!” Kyungsoo shook his head, “No, please don’t go. I promise I won’t try anything, just… please stay. I don’t want to be alone” he pleaded.

Jongin paused, almost hesitant, but in the end he signed before giving Kyungsoo a small nod, “Alright” he agreed, “But I’m gonna get dressed, okay?”

Kyungsoo nodded, not trusting his voice as he watched Jongin get up and put himself back in a respectable state, trying not to let the feeling of Jongin’s rejection get to him too much.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable” Kyungsoo said quietly as Jongin sat down on the bed again.

But Jongin shook his head, “No, no don’t be silly, you weren’t making me uncomfortable at all. I just don’t want to put you in a position like this when you’re not really… well sober enough to think straight”

“Yeah, I was thinking pretty gay for a minute there” Kyungsoo attempted to ease whatever the thick tension was between them.

Jongin snorted, nudging Kyungsoo with his elbow, “Wow” he grinned at Kyungsoo, glad that there was a lighter atmosphere all of a sudden, “Just wow”

--

Tao laughed as Jongdae told a story about him and Baekhyun. He was sat with Jongdae and Minseok by the pool, just enjoying the company of his new friends.

Jongdae sighed softly as he looked between Minseok and Tao, “Do you ever just get this weird urge to like blurt out something that you just know people will look at you weirdly for?” he asked.

Tao raised a brow, “Dare I ask?” he questioned.

Jongdae grinned before waving wildly about his head as he sing-songed “Get ! Get wild! I’m pregnant with your child!” then laughed hysterically.

“Nope,” Minseok said suddenly, “No, okay, no. yeah, That’s it. This is over. I’m breaking up with you” he deadpanned.

“Rude” Jongdae looked affronted before standing up and gripping Minseok’s hand between his own, “Min… Tell me how am I supposed to live without you?! Now that I’ve been loving you so long!!” he sang, loud and off-key, making Minseok cringe and Tao snort with laughter, “Tell me how am I supposed to liiiiiiiiive without you?! And how am I supposed to carry on? When all that I’ve been living for…. Is gone?!”

Minseok groaned as Jongdae draped himself over him from behind, “you’re a ing nightmare, Kim Jongdae. A nightmare!”

Tao giggled cutely at the sight in front of him, “You’re guys are so cute”

Minseok raised an amused eyebrow, “Did you not just see any of that?” he asked.

“Yeah, but it’s sweet that you guys can be playful with each other” Tao explained, “How long have you been dating?”

Jongdae snorted, “Define dating” he said, earning himself a slap on the chest from Minseok.

“We made it official only a few days ago” Minseok explained, “We’ve been friends for ages though and we were friend with benefits for about… two years..?” he glanced at Jongdae who gave him an affirming nod, “Yeah, two years. But we weren’t really seeing other people either… so…”

Tao nodded interestedly, “And before that you dated Yixing, right?” he asked.

Minseok nodded, “Yeah, that was so long ago though. I think we were like… seventeen… it was just a highschool fling really. He came here on exchange then decided to transfer over. We were friends and then we dated for about a year, then broke up when school ended. We lost touch after that, which was sad, but we’re gonna keep in contact now that we’ve met again. I always did like him a lot. He’s so sweet. Funny too, really one of a kind” he smiled fondly.

“Why are we discussing this?” Jongdae whined, “I don’t wanna hear about you liking other guys!”

Minseok and Tao exchanged a look before rolling their eyes and laughing together at Jongdae’s whiney attitude.

Jongdae sighed as he watched the pair, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed as he watched Minseok laugh. Seeing the elder smiling was worth anything.

“What’re you looking at me like that for?” Minseok asked as he caught Jongdae’s eye, he wasn’t sure what to make of the overwhelming fondness that Jongdae was projecting at him. He’d never been very good with those kind of emotions, but still there was something about it coming from Jongdae that made him less weary of it all. Perhaps it was that Jongdae was first and foremost his friend, and that was why he was so content in giving them a chance. He really did love the younger man.

Jongdae shrugged, “No reason. I just like seeing you smile” he said by means of explanation.

“When did you get so sweet?” Minseok teased lightly, pressing himself into Jongdae as he sat back beside him.

Jongdae chuckled sweetly, hugging Minseok with one arm in return, “I didn’t, but you bring out sides of me that I didn’t even know I had” he laughed a bashful laugh, hiding his face in Minseok’s hair as he did. “Besides, I’m just really happy you gave me a shot”

Minseok smiled as he pressed his lips against Jongdae’s collar in a feathery kiss, “Me too” he said honestly, a fondness in his voice that was saved just for Jongdae, “Sorry it took me so long to figure out what I wanted” he muttered, honestly he did feel guilty about what had happened. He’d known all along that he felt something more than friendship for Jongdae, but he’d never wanted to admit it. Jongdae was so important to him and he’d been scared of losing what they had, he’d been inclined to deny himself of anything more.

But their argument had been such an eye-opener for him. Knowing that he’d pushed Jongdae enough for the younger to seek comfort in someone’s lips, it had hurt a lot and he’d be damned if he did it again.

He was nervous about it all, but he’d rather be afraid and give it a go than lose the person that meant everything to him.

“Nothing to be sorry for, Minseok” Jongdae soothed warmly, his hand rubbing Minseok’s arm in a comforting manner.

Minseok gave him a soft hum in return, “I love you, you know” he said, sounding almost shy, “I feel like even when this was just a friendship, I never told you enough how much you really do mean to me”

Jongdae couldn’t help but flush at the words that left the elder, he knew that Minseok wasn’t a every openly emotional person, he was more of a take it on the chin and move on kind of guy, so that he was opening up enough to really tell Jongdae what he felt for him was more than Jongdae could have asked for. It made him feel on top of the world. “I love you too, stupid” Jongdae smiled into Minseok’s hair, “And it’s okay, I know you’re not the kind of person to say those things a lot. But you’ve always shown me, Min. I’ve always felt like I meant something when I was with you. It’s half of why I fell for you”

“What was the other half?” Minseok asked playfully.

Jongdae chuckled, “You’re boyish good looks, of course”

“Of course” Minseok snorted.

Jongdae grinned, pressing a soft kiss to Minseok’s cheek as he did, “No, but really, you have no idea how utterly brilliant you are, do you?”

“I think you’re just biased” Minseok smiled softly, tilting his head up so that he could press a sweet kiss to Jongdae’s lips, “I’m a bit of a mess to be quite honest, but then again, I think you’re used to that by now”

Jongdae rolled his eyes at that, “You’re not even nearly a mess, you’re a just a weirdly quiet, socially awkward, y librarian”

“If that was a hint for me to dress up for you, you can put that idea back in the sick box it came from” Minseok deadpanned, making Jongdae laugh again, loud and obnoxious, but Minseok grinned because it was always his favourite laugh of Jongdae’s; the one where he just let himself go completely.

“I wasn’t even going to ask that” Jongdae chuckled as he calmed himself down, “I was actually being serious. You’re y as , and you’re a librarian, and thus when you join the two: y librarian. You see”

Minseok rolled his eyes as he reached up to pat Jongdae’s cheek in amusement, “Whatever gets you through the day, pretty”

“Gasp. Kim Minseok thinks I’m pretty?!” Jongdae let out in exaggerated surprise. “Oh god, the guys are gonna be so jealous. I hear that Minseok is a catch!”

Minseok shook his head, but there was a grin stretched over his lips as he looked back at Jongdae, “You’re lucky you’re pretty, because otherwise I think I’d have to end this now”

“Aha! So you’re just with me for my looks?!” Jongdae pretended to look affronted.

Minseok hummed, “Well I’m not here for your money. Or lack thereof”

“Not yet” Jongdae countered playfully.

Minseok grinned, “Of course, Mr Historian. I’m waiting for you to start working at a museum or something so that I can steal from the gift shop” he joked lamely.

“A man after my own heart” Jongdae rolled his eyes.

Tao watched the pair with soft eyes. He felt like he was intruding on their moment, but he couldn’t find it in himself to look away, too entranced by the amount of love and affection that the pair in front of him had for one another.

It was definitely something special.

And it was as he looked at them that an arm s around his waist and he was pulled back against a familiar chest.

“They’re cute together” Kris commented lightly as he felt Tao relax into his hold, something that made him smile in content happiness.

Tao nodded in agreement, “They are, it’s weird to think that they’ve only just got together. They have that kind of dynamic of a couple that’s been together for a really long time”

“I’m sure there is a reason for it. Perhaps there’s always been something more with them” Kris suggested, “But all that matters is that they’re happy either way”

A soft cough brought the four’s attention to Kyungsoo, who was stood by them looking rather sheepish.

“Kyungsoo?” Minseok frowned, his friend looked completely haggard to say the least, “What’s wrong?” he fumbled to his feet and walked over to hold Kyungsoo’s face gently between his hands.

Kyungsoo laughed tiredly, “No, nothing’s wrong, hyung” he assured, “I, um, can I just talk to you and Dae for a minute?” he asked before glancing at Kris and Tao, “In private?”

“We’ll be right back” Jongdae told the Chinese couple, shooting them both a soft smile before he, Minseok and Kyungsoo walked off to somewhere out of earshot.

“What’s the matter, Soo?” Minseok asked, his voice akin to that of a worried mother as he held onto the tops of Kyungsoo’s arms.

Kyungsoo smiled ruefully, “I did a stupid thing” he admitted, “I, uh… Jongin and I… Last night we were pretty drunk, and I practically threw myself at him” he sighed, “And thankfully he didn’t let anything happen, but we’ve only just started talking and I… I – don’t tell him I said this – but I actually do want him as a friend at least, so I need to stop it being… awkward. I don’t know what to do…”

Jongdae smiled softly, “Soo, have you ever thought about talking to him?” he asked gently.

Kyungsoo shook his head, “I… We were going to get breakfast together today, but I… I kind of ran away”

“Well that’s not very much like you” Minseok frowned, “What’s gotten into you, Mister? Where is my awkward little ball of rage that doesn’t get scared off by a little hiccup?”

Kyungsoo had to laugh at that, “He’s hiding under the bed due to drawn out embarrassment” he shot back without skipping a beat, “Really though, hyung… I’m kinda freaking out. And I was gonna ask Baekhyunnie’s advice, but then I remembered his advice would be ‘go bang him sober instead’ so I came to you as the voice of reason. And well, Jongdae is kinda better at this kind of thing that Baek, granted only marginally-”

“Rude!”

“- so help me?” Kyungsoo ignored Jongdae in favour of begging Minseok, “Please?” he shot him puppy eyes, adding in a pout for good measure. He knew Minseok was a er for his cuteness.

Minseok groaned as he reached down and took Kyungsoo by the hand, “Alright come on” he said before turning back to Jongdae, “Sorry babe, duty calls. Go play with Kris and Tao and I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

Jongdae grumbled about his best friend stealing his boyfriend, but complied nonetheless as he watched Minseok drag Kyungsoo off – he assumed to their room – for a well needed pep-talk.

“Ah to be young and drunk” he muttered to himself as he sat back down at the table.

“Everything cool?” Kris asked.