❧

Leaning his head against the window of the bus, Jongin lets out a long sigh before closing his eyes. His head is spinning a thousand miles per hour, yet he feels so incredibly euphoric. His fingers itch to grasp around Sehun's hand and he sighs again; he lowkey regrets declining Sehun's offer to stay the night, but Jongin figures it's for the best - a sleepover with Sehun this soon would be too much for him to handle. Not that he'd have anything against it or anything. When the bus stops and the driver opens the doors, a cold breeze enters and travels through the entire bus, and Jongin subsequently shivers. Sticking both hands in his pockets, Jongin blinks when his fingertips come in contact with his phone. One thought leads to another, and the next thing he knows, he's contemplating whether to call Sehun, given the fact that Jongin is practically dying to hear the melodic sound of the blond's voice. However, he decides against it; Jongin figures a late-night talk with Sehun on the bus with a bunch of noisy children in the background wouldn't sit right with either of them. Jongin runs a hand through his hair while crossing his legs, leaning his head back onto the window as the bus starts rolling again. He barely even gets a chance to let his eyes slip shut (it suddenly hits him how tired he is) when the bus suddenly runs over a pothole, and Jongin hisses in pain when his head smacks into the window.

"," Jongin curses under his breath, rubbing the area above his temple. He makes a mental note to take the train next time before moving to (carefully) lean his head against the window again. He doesn't get to, however, and he flinches in his seat when he suddenly hears a sigh to his right. Turning around, he momentarily blinks in confusion when he sees Baekhyun sitting next to him, eyes scanning the piece of paper in his hands, a worried look on his face. Jesus, Jongin thinks as he turns to face Baekhyun, I'd forgotten all about him.

"What's got you looking so down?" Jongin asks, rubbing the side of his head. "How long have you been sitting here?"

Baekhyun blinks before staring up at Jongin. "Uh," he says, raising a confused brow, "I've been sitting here just as long as you have. We got on the bus together, moron."

Jongin blinks before nodding. "Yeah, I knew that." He coughs before turning his face away. "Nevermind, forget it."

"Why're you acting so strange?" Baekhyun asks before breaking out into a smug grin, poking Jongin's waist. "Let me guess, Sehun's got your tongue?"

With a loud squawk (that doesn't go unnoticed by the passengers around them, much to both his and Baekhyun's embarrassment), Jongin slaps Baekhyun's hand away. "As if Chanyeol hasn't got yours."

"Don't change the subject," Baekhyun huffs before discreetly stuffing the piece of paper in his pocket. Adjusting his beanie, he shoots Jongin a knowing glare. "You were all over him."

"Well, yeah, I was." Jongin rolls his eyes but breaks out into a grin anyway, much to Baekhyun's amusement. "You got a problem with that?"

Putting his hands in the air, Baekhyun shakes his head. "No, of course not, you dolt," he whisper-shrieks, "I'm ing happy! I've been like, rooting for you two since day one!"

Jongin shoots Baekhyun a thumbs up. "You definitely have."

"Are you gonna call him when you get home?" Baekhyun asks, suddenly leaning onto Jongin, "since you, y'know, 'miss the melodic sound of his voice'?"

Scoffing, Jongin attempts to shove Baekhyun off of him with little success. "Well, I kinda did promise him I would. , get the hell off, you weigh a ton!" he winces in pain when he feels his collarbone practically shattering under Baekhyun's chin. When the latter still doesn't budge, Jongin grabs Baekhyun's beanie and proceeds to tug it off his head.

"Hey," Baekhyun squawks, instantly sitting up and attempting to pry his cap out of Jongin's hands. "And yeah, of course you promised, you dolt; because you love him. Seriously, Jongin, let go before you end up bursting a seam!"

When Baekhyun is finally off of him and back in his own seat, Jongin lets go of the beanie before brushing himself off. He watches as Baekhyun proceeds to put his beanie back on his head before feeling a blush creep up his neck. Coughing low in his throat, Jongin slowly turns his head until he's looking out the window. "I do."

Brushing a lock of red hair out of his face, Baekhyun blinks. "Huh? You what?"

Fidgeting in his lap, Jongin keeps his gaze fixated on the hurried Christmas shoppers running down the street a few feet away. He wants to stay silent, but the warm swelling in his chest makes staying quiet physically impossible. "I love him."

"Jesus, you're acting like you just met the guy for the first time in a decade," Baekhyun scoffs before lightly elbowing Jongin in the arm, exclaiming in protest when the latter attempts to grab his beanie a second time. "I'm just saying; you'd only been away from each other for like, 24 hours before you saw each other again. I swear to God, you idiot, if you ruin my goddamn beanie-"

"You're acting like everything was fine up until that point," Jongin says before resting his head against the window, praying to God there aren't any upcoming potholes in the road. "I'm just super glad it wasn't all awkward and , really."

Not wanting to risk Jongin (un)accidentally tearing his beanie in half, Baekhyun removes said beanie from his head before proceeding to stuff it in his pocket. "I don't think you were," he says and shudders when the cold winter air hits his exposed ears.

Jongin nods. "Thanks." He suddenly smirks before turning his head in Baekhyun's direction. "You, on the other hand-"

"He en' kissed me, right then and there," Baekhyun exclaims, flailing in his chair. "What was I supposed to do? Scream my entire goddamn head off?"

"No," Jongin chuckles before placing a hand on Baekhyun's shoulder. "But let's be real, you were pretty frigging awkward. It's okay, though. It seemd to amuse the hell out of Chanyeol, so, mission accomplished, I guess."

Baekhyun runs a hand down his face. "I don't wanna amuse him by making a complete and utter fool out of myself," he groans, "I wanna amuse him by...you know."

"Making a complete and utter fool out of yourself," Jongin laughs and lets out a pained yelp when Baekhyun carelessly slaps him on the arm. "I'm kidding! Jesus, can't you take a joke?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, Baekhyun slouches in his seat. He doesn't say anything.

"I'll ask you the same question," Jongin suddenly says, "are you gonna call him when you get home?"

Baekhyun stills. "I...don't know, actually. I haven't thought about it, to be honest. We'll see."

"He likes you, you like him, what's there left to think about?" Jongin asks, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly, stop doing this, it isn't funny."

Glaring at Jongin almost accusingly, Baekhyun furrows his eyebrows. "The hell do you mean by that?"

Jongin huffs. "I don't know. It just feels like you're mocking the way I used to act back when-"

"Are you kidding? Why the hell would I do that?" Baekhyun exclaims, ignoring a lady who subsequently tries to hush him, "I meant what I said - I don't know. We'll see. Okay?"

"Okay," Jongin says before shoving his hands in his pockets. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded, just so you know."

Baekhyun chuckles. "I know. You don't even have to tell me."

Nodding, Jongin rests his head against the window again and suddenly feels something settle in his heart when he sees snowflakes fall and hit the window. He has always loved winter, especially the snow - snow angels, snowmen and snowball fights are what he looks forward to all year. Looking out the window, he watches as a woman emerges from a store, a hundred or so shopping bags clutched in her hands.

"Hey."

Jongin turns around. "Hm?"

"You should tell him those things you said," Baekhyun mumbles, playing with his fingers. Jongin can tell he's fidgeting with the paper in his pocket.

"Tell whom what?"

"Sehun. You know, when I asked you to bring up a few things you liked about him and you ended up saying way more than I bargained for," Baekhyun sniggers before he quickly regains his composure. "I think you should tell him that when you get home later. I...I think he'd appreciate that a lot."

"But...I said so much," Jongin moans, "I won't rem-"

"You're not telling him this to test your own memory," Baekhyun cuts Jongin off, "you're telling him because it's a golden opportunity for you to show him how much you care about him, since you do and we both know that damn good and well by now. And since you're so head over heels for him, I highly doubt you'll trip on your own words or forget anything."

"Right as always, Byun Baek," Jongin says sleepily before looking out the window again. He's seconds away from dozing off when a certain boutique catches his eye. Hands scrambling for the STOP-button, he presses it before practically flying out of his seat and zipping his sweater. He looks down and nearly chuckles when he sees Baekhyun staring up at him with a semi freaked out look on his face.

"Look, I'm getting off here," Jongin says in a rushed tone before bending down to give Baekhyun a quick hug before running to the back of the bus, and standing by the doors.

"What? What are you doing? Your stop's the next one!" Baekhyun calls.

Jongin cups his hands around his mouth. "I know! You'll see in a while," he calls back before giving Baekhyun a quick salute and skipping off the bus without as much as another word.

~~~

9:32 PM

Trudging through the door, Jongin removes his coat before gently placing the small black bag on the floor beside him. He barely even gets a chance to bend down and untie his shoelaces when his phone buzzes in his pocket.

Balancing on one foot, Jongin prays he doesn't topple over and crash head first into the wall before he reaches behind him and retreives his phone. A warm feeling surges through his body (instantly making up for the biting cold outside) when he swipes his thumb across the screen. "Hey!"

"Hey," Sehun chuckles on the other line. "Been busy lately?"

"Not really," Jongin replies as he attempts to reach down and remove his left shoe. He curses under his breath when he ultimately loses his balance and stumbles two steps forward, tripping over the carpet in front of him.

"What was that? What on Earth are you doing?" Sehun asks when he hears Jongin groan on the other line, amusement lacing his words.

"It's nothing, I just walked in the door," Jongin mumbles as he stands up and (half-assedly) tries regaining his balance, letting out a squawk of surprise when he somehow manages to step on and trip over his shoelace, sending him tumbling down on the floor again. Damn it.

Sehun is silent for a few seconds. "...Jongin, are you oka-"

"I'm good!" Jongin croak-garbles in frustration. He lets out a triumphant noise when he finally manages to successfully remove his left shoe. Not even bothering with placing his shoes on the shoe-rack, Jongin carelessly tosses his shoes behind him before locking the door. Phone tightly clutched in his hand, he sprints up the stairs before flopping down on his bed. "I'm good," he breathes, "just had a little trouble with my shoes. Or, to be exact, shoe."

"Are you kidding?" Sehun cackles into the reciever. Jongin doesn't know whether to smile because he made Sehun laugh that hard or cry in embarrassment. He settles for both. "Same old Jongin. You haven't changed a bit, my dear."

Jongin blinks. "Is that a good or bad thing?"

"It's a good thing," Sehun chuckles. "But that's what I love about you."

"Me falling and nearly splitting my head open against the wall is what you love about me?" Jongin exclaims in agony.

"No, no, I'm glad you didn't do that," Sehun says, and Jongin can almost see Sehun facepalming in front of him. "It's just that...well, you're cute."

"Good to know that my failures is what makes me adorable," Jongin groans before placing a pillow on his face. Eyes snapping open, he quickly removes the pillow before sitting up. "Hey, what did you mean by 'busy lately'? Y'know, the thing you said a minute ago?"

"Oh, that," Sehun hums, "it's nothing, really. It's just that, well, you took so long to call."

Jongin nearly cries. If Sehun were here, Jongin is a hundred percent sure he would be facepalming to hell and back. "I know, I know, I'm sorry," he blabbers, "I was going to! It's just that I...got busy."

"Busy?"

"You been doing any Christmas shopping lately?" Jongin asks before pressing the 'loudspeaker' button on the screen. Placing his phone on the bed, he quickly gets up and opens his closet.

"Huh? Oh, , no I haven't," Sehun gasps, "I should, though. Remind me to do it this week, alright?"

"What am I, your personal to-do list?" Jongin asks with a roll of his eyes while retrieving his pyjama shirt and proceeding to put it on.

"No, no, no," Sehun laughs. He's silent for a long time afterwards and Jongin is about to check if his phone has run out of battery when Sehun speaks up again. "Although."

Jongin blinks, turning to face his closet. "Hm?"

"Nevermind."

"What? You can't just do that," Jongin whines as he pulls the shirt over his head. "Tell me, what were you gonna say? Although what?"

"Although," Sehun repeats and Jongin can tell the blond is trying his hardest not to laugh. "I'd say you're on my to-do list."

It takes Jongin a full minute to process Sehun's words and when he does, he scrambles to remove his shirt since he's at least 99% sure that the newly added heat in his room will reduce his shirt to a sweat-stained piece of cloth. Entire body flushing, he squabbles something incoherent before burying his entire face in his hands. "What the , Sehun."

"Oh, so you're alive," Sehun guffaws, "good, good. For a second there I thought you'd died or something."

, I practically did. "You can't just say that, Sehun, God damn you, you , whattheiswrongwithyou," Jongin squeaks, hands still on his face. He's eternally grateful for the fact that Sehun isn't in the room with him because otherwise Jongin most certainly would've suffered another anxiety attack.  "God."

It takes Sehun a full thirty seconds to calm down and when he does, he clears his throat. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. Let me guess, you're as red as Baekhyun's hair right now, aren't you?"

Jongin sighs before moving to put his shirt on again. "Take a good en' guess, birdbrain."

"You're so ing cute," Sehun coos, "if I were there with you I'd smother you with kisses."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Jongin brushes himself off before removing his jeans. "Of course you would."

"What? I would," Sehun says nonchalantly. "Good thing Yeol and Baekhyun were there with us earlier, otherwise I most likely would've hugged you to death."

"Sehun," Jongin groans before stepping into his matching blue pyjama pants, "what are we; or to be exact - what are you? Thirteen?"

"You looked cute as hell, especially in that oversized gray sweater of yours," Sehun says, "I can't help it, you're just too cute."

"And Baek calls me a sap," Jongin tuts before giggling. 

"Stop being so goddamn irresistable then," Sehun sing-songs before cursing under his breath. "Ah, damn it."

Jongin blinks. "What happened?" he asks, trying his best to control the blush that's threatening to spread across his entire body.

"Vivi bit me," Sehun hisses. "Feisty little ."

"Oh, he's there with you?" 

"Yup," Sehun hums. "So I'm not too lonely."

Jongin blinks before sighing in expasteration. "Look, I'm sorry, I-"

"No, I didn't mean it that way," Sehun interrupts, "you have your reasons, I understand. I meant in general, it gets a tad bit lonely here sometimes."

Biting his lip, Jongin runs a hand through his hair. "I'll bet it does, your place is gigantic," he says and swallows when a longing feeling settles in the pit of his stomach. "But it's a good thing you have Vivi, isn't it?"

"I'm glad I have him," Sehun says, "I'm petting him right now, actually. He's in my lap."

The image of Sehun and Vivi cuddling together pops into Jongin's head and he erupts in an ear-to-ear grin. "I'll make sure to come by very soon, don't worry."

"You better," Sehun says in a stern voice, "or I'll die from boredom. Well, either that or all the ghosts might kill me."

Jongin bursts into laughter before sitting up and leaning back against the bed frame. "Ghosts? Sehun, don't tell me you believe in the-"

"My mom always told me this weird- story about some old butler dude who committed suicide in one of our six basements over a hundred years ago," Sehun chuckles. "Now, I don't believe in the supernatural, but sometimes, at night, I hear-"

"Cut it out, you moron!" Jongin exclaims before letting out a giggle. "If there's anyone you should fear more than that dead guy, it's Chanyeol and nobody else."

"Yeol's a good guy, I don't get what you have against him," Sehun whines and clears his throat. "Okay, let me rephrase that; he's actually a really good-hearted guy, it's just that...you know, the thing with his parents and stuff. I would act the same way if I were him. Anyone would."

Jongin shrugs before sighing. "Yeah, I guess. I'm not sure if I would, but yeah."

"Point is, you should give him a shot. He's not nearly as cold as he looks. I mean, I get why you're apprehensive but I need you to give him a chance. For me, okay? And if he so much as lays a finger on you, I swear I'll kick his ."

"Sure, you do that," Jongin laughs. "But okay, I guess. I mean, he did apologize for what happened at the café this morning, which honestly surprised me. Not to mention he shook my hand as well."

"Yeah, I saw that. I didn't think he'd do it either, to be honest. I mean, I don't think his opinion about you has changed that much, so to say, but the fact that he apologized for what he did is a gigantic step," Sehun says. "Anyway, hey, I forgot to ask earlier - would you like to join me?"

Jongin blinks. "Join you?"

"Yeah, you know, Christmas shopping? Christmas is only five days away."

"I know that," Jongin giggles before he feels his entire chest swell with euphoria. "And yeah, sure, I'd love to!"

"Perfect! Have you done yours?" Sehun asks. 

"My shopping? Well," Jongin starts and rubs the back of his neck. "I've begun."

"Then you're one whole step ahead of me," Sehun tuts. "No fair. But hey, are you free tomorrow? What time do you end?"

"Um." Jongin quickly presses the Home button and opens his Calendar app. "I'm free," he says while returning to his and Sehun's call. "And I'm pretty sure I end at 2:00."

"Awesome, I get off at 11:30 on Mondays, something to keep in mind," Sehun chuckles. "I'll pick you up at around 2:30 since my father's company is launching some huge- event, so I'll be running a little late."

Jongin grabs a pillow and presses it close to his chest before his heart has a chance to break through his ribcage. "Yeah, that's fine. And an event? What kind of event?"

"I really don't know, but he asked me to attend it," Sehun says in a bored tone. "So I'll be going. Which , since I'd much rather be with you instead."

Blushing, Jongin fidgets with the seams on the pillow. "If you father told you you need to go, you need to go," he says and curses when he accidentally rips out a thread. "You can think of me while you're there, so you don't die from boredom," he adds, only half-jokingly.

"You know damn good and well I'll be thinking of you," Sehun says in a serious tone, "you don't even need to mention it. I mean, I'd think of you regardless, so."

Jongin fights the urge to squeal into the reciever. "You're so sappy."

"And you're so cute."

"You've already said that like, thrice!"

"Nothing wrong with saying it again!"

Jongin shakes his head in disbelief. This guy, I swear. "Hey," he says, changing the subject, "whatever you do, do not tell Baek. Y'know, about tomorrow."

"Why not?" Sehun asks in a confused tone. "I mean, I wasn't planning on it either way, but how come?"

"It's nothing serious." Jongin runs a hand through his hair. "It's just that he's a, well, how do we put this...a shopaholic?"

Sehun is silent for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. "I'm not surprised, he seems like the exuberant type."

"I mean, I like him for it, don't get me wrong or anything," Jongin says, fighting the urge to laugh himself, "but yeah. Don't tell him. Once he starts, you can't get him to stop. Seriously, I'm not kidding, last year he made me wait for him for four hours straight because he couldn't decide on which shirt to buy."

"Wow, sounds like Baek," Sehun sniggers. "Thanks for the heads up."

"I wonder if Chanyeol will be able to handle it."

"Yeol's actually pretty interested in fashion," Sehun says, "but he never does any shopping himself. Come to think of it, I don't think he's ever shopped for anything in his entire life."

Jongin's eyes widen. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." Sehun chuckles. "He has an...what do you people call it; an assistant?"

"Whoa, that's so cool," Jongin exclaims. "Like a personal assistant? That's basically a butler!"

"I...guess, yeah."

"Let's see if Baek's love for shopping will rub off on him, then," Jongin sniggers before clearing his throat. Fidgeting again, he lowers his voice. "Hey, Sehun?"

"Hm?"

"I hope I'm not annoying you; you know, since I constantly talk about Baek, and I guess Chanyeol as well," Jongin says, biting his lip in worry. "I can stop if you want."

Sehun is silent for a while. "It's fine," he says in a reassuring tone. "I think Baekhyun's a really nice guy, and well, I also like the idea of him and Chanyeol together, so it's alright."

Jongin nods and mentally punches himself in the face when he realizes Sehun can't see it. "Speaking of which, Baek hasn't contacted me since I got off the bus an hour or so ago, which is weird."

"He's probably with his brother," Sehun says. 

Jongin blinks in confusion before it hits him. "Oh, right, um. Yeah, here's the thing, the thing he said about his brother and all," he says, scratches the back of his head. "It's not true."

"Eh? So he lied?" Sehun asks in surprise.

"Well, yes, but," Jongin says, "he didn't do it to be rude or anything. I mean, I don't know for sure, but I have a pretty good idea as to why he chose to say it."

"Why, though? I mean, all I did was suggest that he take one of my cars," Sehun starts before he quickly goes silent. "Oh."

"Yeah," Jongin says. 

"He's still worried about that?"

"What? He obviously likes Chanyeol, he doesn't want to, well, scare him away," Jongin says before sighing. "Since Chanyeol made it pretty clear he despises, well, to quote him, 'self-centered gold diggers'. That and middle class men."

"Okay, he definitely had a good reason to lie," Sehun says, "but still. That was after Chanyeol freaking kissed him. But we'll see what happens. Hopefully they'll warm up to each other."

"Of course they will," Jongin says. "Or at least I hope."

"Changing the subject completely," Sehun chuckles, "what would you like for Christmas?"

Jongin blinks. "Uh, I'm not sure."

"Think a little!"

"I really don't know!" Jongin bites his lip as he thinks. "I'd like to get better at Math, that's for sure."

Sehun bursts out laughing. "That's...specific."

"I can't think of anything else," Jongin says guiltily, "I'm sorry."

"That's okay, it's hard to come up with things off the top of your head anyway," Sehun says, "if you think of anything, though, let me know!"

Jongin giggles before turning off the loudspeaker. Pressing the phone to his ear, he stretches. "I will. Now I'll ask you the same thing."

"What would I like for Christmas? Uh, this is gonna sound really stupid," Sehun says sheepishly, "but nothing, really."

"That's because you already have everything," Jongin sniggers. "No but come on Hun, there must be something!"

"No, really, I don't know! I'll probably think of something soon, so don't worry," Sehun says as a matter-of-factly. 

"Do you see the snow outside?" Jongin asks in excitement before getting off his bed and running to the window. "It's still there! Look, look!"

"Jongin, I know what snow looks li-"

"Look!" 

Jongin hears Sehun mumble something along the lines of 'alright' before he hears a rustling noise, which he assumes is Sehun standing up from his chair (or whatever it is he's sitting on), closely followed by a noise which closely resembles that of (big) curtains being pulled back. 

"It's beautiful."

Jongin grins. "Isn't it? Hey, have you ever been in a snowball fight before?"

"Nope," Sehun says, "have you?"

"I have! It's super fun, we should try it sometime! Maybe even with Baek!"

Sehun shudders. "That sounds awfully...cold. And wet. And gross."

"It is, but it's fun! Come on, we need to have one, you and me, on or before Christmas, no ifs, ands, or buts!" Jongin squeals. "Please!"

"Sure," Sehun chuckles. "If it makes you happy, then I'm all for it."

"Thanks, you're the best," Jongin blurts out before awkwardly clearing his throat. "That was...weird, sorry."

"God, I wish you were here," Sehun sighs, "everything's so quiet around here."

"I'll be there before you know it," Jongin giggles. "Just hang on a bit."

"I don't think I can," Sehun whines, "I miss your hugs."

Jongin shakes his head in disbelief. "Hug Vivi and pretend he's me!"

"I can't, he left after I got up to check the window," Sehun says. "I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow. If I make it that long, that is."

"You're such a drama queen, Sehun," Jongin sighs in expasteration but he smiles anyway.

"And you love me for it," Sehun says as a matter-of-factly and chuckles.

"It's true," Jongin sighs, tracing invisible patterns on his pillow, "it's true. I do. Despite the fact that you're scared of ghosts."

"I'm not," Sehun squawks. "It's my mother's story, not mine!"

"Still, you felt the need to tell me. Hey, what do you know, that butler ghost dude might be crushing on you, for all you know. Maybe that's why he's so eager to escape from the basement," Jongin guffaws.

"In that case, he can off."

Jongin blinks. "Huh?"

"I have you, idiot," Sehun chuckles. "Besides, you can't hug a ghost."

"That's true," Jongin nods, feeling himself blush. Damn you Sehun, not only are you a drama queen, you're the king of corniness as well.

"That, or do other things."

Jongin raises an eyebrow before crawling back to bed. "Other things?" he asks, innocently.

Sehun chuckles low in his throat. "Nevermind. You're too young, you won't understand."

"I'm only a year younger than you!" Jongin squeals.

"Still. Nevermind. God, you're so ing cute," Sehun coos and and chuckles loudly when he hears Jongin's agonized whine. "What, it's true!"

"And you're still a drama queen."

Sehun hums something in reply before he falls silent. "Look, I hate to say this, but I gotta go."

Jongin's face falls and he grips his pillow even tighter. "Really? Why? Has the butler ghost guy finally caught up with you?" he chuckles.

"Yeah, he's got me and is currently dragging me down to the basement," Sehun says in a sarcastic tone before clearing his throat. "No, but seriously, I gotta go; I have to cram for a Chemistry exam, not to mention I have a three-hour long lecture right after."

With a sigh, Jongin removes the pillow from his chest before rolling over so he's lying on his stomach. "And here I was thinking I'd get to talk to you until dawn," he mumbles.

"Maybe some other time, I promise. Just not when I have a test first thing the next morning, alright?" Sehun says in a soothing tone.

"But you're like, even smarter than Baek, if that's even possible," Jongin whines, "don't tell me you need study even more!"

"Unfortunately, I do," Sehun sighs. "Working for an honor roll really is time consuming."

Jongin bites his lip. "I get it. I should probably hit the hay, my first lesson starts at eight."

"Literature?"

"Yeah - how'd you know?"

"I just do," Sehun says smugly. "I gotta feed and walk Vivi as well, which'll take a while."

"Where do you walk him?"

"Around the house, it takes about half an hour to walk through the entire garden," Sehun chuckles. "It's nice, though."

"I bet it is, your garden's a goddamn wonderland!"

Sehun chuckles before sighing. "I really need to go, I'm sorry we couldn't talk for very long, I really would've kept going if it wasn't for this damned exam. But I'll see you tomorrow, right? At 2:30?"

Jongin nods, lips curling upwards. "I understand, and yes."

"Great," Sehun hums. "Good night, and sweet dreams. Don't stay up too late or you'll never make it through your Literature class."

Reaching for his charger, Jongin plugs it into his phone before lying back down on the bed again. "I won't and you know it. I'm mad tired anyway. Think of me while you're studying later, okay?"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to do that."

Jongin blinks. "Why not?"

"Because I want an A+ on this exam, I don't want your gorgeous face to distract me or I'll end up flunking it," Sehun chuckles but his tone is dead serious. Jongin gulps.

"Ah, okay. I get it. But still. Since I'll be dreaming of you, you should dream of me, alright?"

"I'll always be dreaming of you, you don't even need to ask," Sehun says as a matter-of-factly.

Gripping his phone even tighter, Jongin feels his face grow hot. It's not until he hears Vivi barking in the background that he chuckles. "I guess you should get going now, he seems to be growing impatient."

"Yeah," Sehun sighs. "He's nibbling on the cuffs of my pants, he does that when he gets irritated." Muttering a harsh 'cut it out', he clears his throat. "If I don't hang up in three seconds, he'll tear my pants apart, so I will." 

Jongin chuckles, a wave of fatigue washing over him. "You probably have three hundred identical ones somewhere in that big- house of yours, but yeah, you probably should. Unfortunately."

"See you tomorrow," Sehun says in a calm voice, "love you."

Jongin doesn't get a chance to reply when he hears Sehun hissing in pain before the line cuts off. So Vivi finally managed to chew through his pants, Jongin thinks before shaking his head in amusement. It's not until his brain manages to process Sehun's last two words that he feels a million butterflies settle in his stomach. He really said it. For a split second, Jongin feels guilty for not getting to say 'love you too' but he quickly dismisses the thought before moving to crawl under the covers. With a yawn, he turns his phone off and places it on his nightstand, stomach still buzzing with excitement.

It's not until Jongin is on the verge of sleep that Baekhyun's words pop up in his head and he feels a numbing sensation engulf his body. Damn it. However, he doesn't get to think about it any further when a strong wave of sleep overcomes him, and he's out like a light less than ten seconds later.

❧