"Go to bed. It's late." Junmyeon comes out of the shower, too tired for another syllable. The night, they had a group talk with the members.

They are important once in a while. All of them share their problems, their ambitions, how far they've come together and that's the point of it, actually. Because each one of them needed that confirmation that they are not alone in this. Their problems, they'll find the way out together. And if not, they'll struggle together. Their ambitions, they needed to know that they are walking the same path, and will never be alone. It is their way to make the family stronger, because if not, they won't survive the industry. Even if they did, society would tear them apart.

"Hyung?" Sehun taps on his shoulder. Junmyeon had turned awfully quiet and it was frightening. Sehun knows that Junmyeon has those moments where he feels completely stressed out. Maybe it is one of those. 

"I'm not sleeping alone." Sehun grumbles, fingers tugging at Junmyeon's shirt. Junmyeon just shrugged indifferently.

"Sure." He misses–intentionally avoids–how Sehun brightens at the approval. It was childish, doesn't really mean anything like why would it but Junmyeon still felt the silly butterflies thingy in his guts. It’s just his dongsaeng being happy and that’s all there’s to it. 

Junmyeon is almost asleep. Sehun being the responsible maknae–once in a while–tucks both of them inside the blankets and moves closer, closer than their untold boundaries that both of them silently agreed to. But Junmyeon doesn't mind. Sehun is young. Junmyeon knows how he'd chalk up any questionable occurring in the morning—he was sleepy and tired, he doesn't remember anything. It is cruel, even for him. But well, leader duties.

Junmyeon is asleep now, snoring softly. Sehun smiles at his hyung. Sehun rubs his temples gently, careful not to awaken him, and brushes his fingers through his still wet hair. Sehun admires this hyung. This Kim Junmyeon who loves without anything in return. He wonders, even if his hyung feels something more for him, he would probably keep quiet till it fades away.   He doesn't know what came over him. But suddenly, kissing his hyung's forehead seemed so right and of course, he does it.

"Goodnight hyung."

Moving his body closer, Sehun buries his head on Junmyeon's chest, their heartbeats singing them to sleep.

And Oh Sehun is so foolish, Junmyeon thinks–wise awake. He really is. Yet, he understands the smallest of his touches with ease. Junmyeon should hate Sehun for hugging him close, he should hate the younger for kissing his forehead without permission, he should hate him for this mess. But alas, Junmyeon was foolish and oh so foolishly in love.

----

Junmyeon wakes up first, and doesn't waste another minute in bed. Music lessons today as well. He took the responsibility and he is not that useless of a leader to refuse it.

"Get up." He pokes Sehun on his chest, repeating the act several times before Sehun blinks.

"Five more minutes." Sehun mumbles, voice still heavy from his still dreaming phase. Junmyeon sighs again and inwardly gives a small smile. Sehun never changes–not that he wants him to. Nope. 

Sehun shows no signs of getting up and it is Junmyeon's turn to draw the wild card. "You want me to get a call from Sooman?" Neither of them likes guilt trips and Junmyeon feels sorry for always using that to his advantage. Well, whatever. That would mean Sehun still cares.

Sehun rubs his eyes and whimpers in annoyance, rolls around three times before getting up completely.

"So you still care." Junmyeon grins. "Good to know."

Sehun only shrugs. But Junmyeon knows all too well—hair can hide his ears but not his cheeks smeared with a rose-tinted blush. Sehun is definitely his cutest maknae.

"I'm going in for a ," Sehun mutters low, still not trusting his voice. "You go down."

Junmyeon smiles, ruffling Sehun's already messy bed-hair into a larger mess but cute nonetheless. "See you."

-----

When Sehun comes down, the first thing he does is scan the room with his nonexistent superman eyes for his Lois–sorry–Junmyeon. He finally sees him perched on the sofa corner giggling with Chanyeol at their phones. He marches not paying heed to the Jongin calling him to get his chicken and straight to the duo on the sofa. He peeks through them trying to see whatever they're laughing at–more specifically, whatever Chanyeol is laughing at. He catches a glimpse before Junmyeon turns around and Chanyeol locks his phone faster than lightning. But Sehun gets a good idea of what he saw. He obviously cannot mistake his shoulders with anyone else's. They're making fun of him?

"Uhh Sehun you...." Junmyeon struggles with the right words. "Had your breakfast?"

"Nope." He smiles bitterly. "Just lost my appetite."

Without another word, he is marching back again upstairs to their shared room but now it'll probably be his exclusive despair pit. Sehun bolts the door shut and jumps on Junmyeon's bed. He can still smell Junmyeon's scent lacing with the sheets and it triggered his heart more. He is so stupid. Here he is, like an idiot, letting himself to like-like a member of the group when he clearly knows it's prohibited in SM and god forbid they don't know about who the recipient of his unconditional admiration is. Junmyeon is a regular Korean guy, with good looks, extremely humble and pleasant person to be around. He tries his best to strengthen each of them–both physically and of course, emotionally. He is always there, like his elder brother but not quite. Sehun confronts himself, and maybe this time he won't lie with Junmyeon's scent in the bed. So he doesn't.

Junmyeon is his hyung. Their leader. What else is there to it? They always make fun of each other. It's a boy thing. So Sehun shouldn't be upset at Chanyeol for laughing at his photo in the phone. Nope. He shouldn't be upset that Junmyeon didn't say anything for him. He shakes his head. His mind was firm to believe that it's just a joke and it happens sometimes. Then there is his foolish heart disapproving at the wrong places and Sehun is frustrated. So he ignores.

He gets up and looks at himself in the mirror. All good. He opens the door, only to face Junmyeon looking at him with concern.

Sehun says nothing. But he smiles still.

Well, Junmyeon is not convinced. "Are you okay?" He says. "You're not sick, are you, Hunnie?"

There he goes. Good lord if he knew how badly Sehun hates his hyung for using that nickname when at the same time directing his leader-concern towards him. But he knows that's perfectly normal, yet he still gets angry.

"You seem to care." He is cold, and none of them likes it.

"You can tell me anything, Hunnie." Junmyeon still tries. "I'm always here, Hunnie. Please."

Just stop. "That's the problem." Sehun laughs but his tone holds no humour. "That is the problem, hyung. You're always here, yet you're the last person I'll tell."

If Junmyeon thought his leader duties are physically destructive, Sehun's words are like devasting, not just physically, because he couldn't feel his heart.

"Tell the others then, just be okay." In the end of day, he still is the leader of EXO. He doesn't work with his heart on the line. And Sehun hates him for that.