“According to Terrans, it’s a little cliché that we Moladhi are so attracted to pretty things. They say that birds from their original planet used to like shiny things too. I say, what’s so bad about liking something pretty? I guess that’s also part of why I really liked Kibum from the start. Maybe a part of me realized he was Almighty Key. Probably not but I can hope. I think it’s just nice because he always really seems to listen to me when I talk. Even my own family mostly just nods along when I have something to say, but Kibum listens and even tells me things too. Come to think of it, more people have been talking to me this semester as well. It’s nice. I bet Kibum has something to do with it. I should thank him later.

-First-year female Moladhi Psitassi

 

                The owner of The Stars Align said he would back Kibum up, regardless of what happened, but it was cold comfort. Everyone was talk until push came to shove and Kibum wasn’t one to really believe until he’d experienced it for himself. Needless to say, things started to get interesting first thing on Monday…

                “Kibum!” He looked around and noticed Jinki waving at him from the entrance to the dorms again. At least that hadn’t changed anyway.

                “Hey,” he waved, stuffing his hands in his pockets and falling into step beside the other man. He could feel Jinki’s eyes on him, asking silent questions. When he didn’t offer any information, his companion was forced to ask.

                “So? How did the weekend go?” he wondered, keeping his voice chipper and light.

                Kibum raised a brow when he looked at Jinki and then noticed a couple people looking their way. “Fine,” he commented making sure to meet everyone’s gaze. He wasn’t ashamed of what he was doing or worried about what they thought of him and he’d rather they know that early.

                “You sure?” Jinki pressed, drawing closer as he noticed Kibum looking around.

                He nudged the second year to get him to step back a bit and then answered, “Positive.”

                “Hmm,” Jinki hummed, rubbing his shoulder almost like he was a little hurt. But it didn’t last. “Oh! Did you check the forum? You have an official fan club now,” he laughed with a grin.

                Kibum frowned and gave Jinki a sidelong look. “Which me?”

                It was a surprising question by the way Jinki’s face scrunched up. One hand gestured towards the entirety of Kibum and he blurted, “You.”

                That made him snort. “Sure.” Almighty Key had a following, of course. They were literally fabulous, as intended. But Kibum?

                When he saw that Kibum didn’t really believe him, Jinki theatrically rolled his eyes. “They’re the same person, you know? Just two very different sides of him.”

                “Yeah, yeah,” Kibum waved off, more to get Jinki to stop talking rather than because he actually believed him. He frowned suddenly though when he saw a familiar face ahead. “Isn’t that Larad?”

                “Huh?” Jinki chirped, turning his attention towards the canteen entrance. “Oh! Morning Larad!” he called, all sunshine and warmth. As they drew closer, he commented on what Kibum was already thinking. “You’re not usually here for breakfast. What’s up?”

                Larad laughed once and nodded towards the inside of the canteen. “Guess,” he chuckled with a shake of his head.

                “Henry?” Kibum warranted, eyes narrowed suspiciously while he looked around the Varium.

                “Who else?” the taller man chuckled as he waved them inside, his sheer presence helping to create a buffer that kept most at bay for the time being. Varium that chose to model Terrans often presented as larger than average ones, making them some of the more inherently intimidating individuals on campus. Right up there with fully grown male Moladhi who averaged six to six and a half feet in height.

                When they approached the table, Henry and Ercite were waiting for them, having staked out a place near the wall so they wouldn’t be in the very center of the area. Henry saw them and immediately stood up, “Kibum! Over here,” he called, gesturing firmly for the seat next to him.

                Wary, Kibum automatically took the seat next to Ercite instead, hearing the snort from Larad behind. This was probably his seat but he likely wouldn’t fight him on it and at least the Dawbn was more thoughtful in their questions. That didn’t mean he wasn’t privy to Henry’s disappointed pout though. For a second, it looked like Henry was going to move and sit at the head of the table, but Jinki slid himself into that spot with a look at his friend.

                “But-” Henry started to complain, gently shaking Jinki’s arm.

                “Sit down,” Jinki laughed, pushing on Henry’s shoulder towards the seat across from Kibum.

                “But you never tell me anything and- whoa!” he yelped when Larad pushed on his other shoulder, quickly settling him in place so he’d stop drawing so much attention. Henry paused to glare at the Varium for all of half a second before he shifted his attention back to Jinki. “And he’s finally here and now all he’ll do is glare at me.” He stopped talking and looked over to see Kibum doing exactly that, albeit a milder version than usual. “See?!” he exclaimed, pointing at the other Terran while he looked at Jinki.

                “Best be glad Kibum is not a Moladhi,” Ercite commented dryly, looking up at Henry.

                “Huh?” he chirped in confusion, glancing down at the Dawbn. Ercite clacked their mouth closed with a sharp shutting noise and Henry yelped, yanking his hand back to hold it near his chest.

                Kibum couldn’t help it. He laughed and smiled at the Dawbn, unsurprised when they winked at him. “Oh come now,” he drawled, thinning his mouth in a disappointed frown that he barely managed to hold in place. “Biting is strictly a last resort. You never know where something has been,” he shrugged, tilting his head and giving Henry another side-eyed look.

                Henry grumbled under his breath before looking to Jinki for help. “Look at how he treats me. He’s insufferable,” he complained, a quiet whining tone to his voice.

                Larad elbowed him in the ribs and snorted, “Laying it on a little thick this morning, don’t you think?”

                He coughed once and adopted a shy, sheepish smile while looking up at the Varium. “Maybe a little,” he admitted, wrinkling his nose and laughing.

                Jinki reached out and touched Henry’s head in a combined motion of a light smack and a pet. “Go ahead and start eating,” he instructed, gesturing towards the trays already stacked with food. “You too,” he added, brushing at Kibum with his fingertips.

                “Oh!” he flinched in surprise. “I thought it was theirs,” he admitted, pointing at the other three.

                Leaning in close, Jinki whispered, “You might have noticed they’re a little bit curious so they wanted to hear from you first. Hence,” he explained, gesturing at the table. “That and having a group is rather nice for cover, don’t you think?” he winked, keeping his attention focused on the table and not on the rest of the room at large.

                Kibum had to admit it was nice not having anyone else randomly come up to try and pry information out of him. He could still feel eyes on him watching, and he knew students were leaning closer, their ears stretched as they attempted to listen in. At least for the morning, he could pretend that things were mostly normal. Not to mention someone had raided the fruit cart for pickings and he carefully snagged a beautifully orange arancia. He’d had a chance to try fresh fruit when he was younger, but it was still an expensive commodity in the stores. His guardian had sometimes previously bought them for weekends and special occasions but when Kibum started living by himself, the best he could get was the canned stuff. If he was lucky.

                He felt eyes on him and noticed Jinki watching him with a gentle smile. Almost shy, he turned away and addressed the group, but Kibum was almost certain the comment was for him. “I hear Obsidi is trying to get the agriculture department to grow a batch of fragolas so they can synth them into the new round of dishes next month.”

                “Oh!” Henry perked up, grinning broadly. “The artificial ones aren’t bad but you can’t beat the fresh ones,” he sighed, happily content with that news.

                As was Kibum. His mouth literally watered at the thought of the delectable sweet red berry. For his ninth birthday, his mother had managed to get two that were covered in chocolate. She said he could have both but he demanded she eat one with him. Ever since then, they had been one of his favorite fruits. He ducked his head to hide the smile that threatened to come and focused on peeling the orange one in front of him instead.

                Breakfast was otherwise an interesting affair. Henry kept trying to ask questions related to the developing situation with Kibum but Jinki had quite a knack for shunting the conversation in a different direction with Larad and Ercite helping guide the topic after the fact. Even when he didn’t necessarily want to talk about a particular subject…

                “So Kibum, what’s going on-” Henry started to ask.

                “Oh!” Jinki gasped, snapping his fingers like he just remembered something. “Don’t we have a test next week? In astrophysics?”

                Henry stopped and frowned. “No. I think the professor said we had a quiz but not a test next week.”

                “Ah. Right,” Jinki mused, tapping his bottom lip thoughtfully. “I think you said you had a test next week,” he amended, turning his attention to Kibum.

                “Huh?” he blinked, caught off guard.

                “Right. You did mention you were trying to figure out how to help him study for the Terran biology test coming up,” Ercite chimed in, pointing at Kibum themself.

                A dark cloud settled over Kibum at the reminder and he huffed.

                “He keeps avoiding studying with me,” Jinki lamented.

                “What? Why?” Henry asked, waving his hand in front of Kibum’s face to draw his attention.

                “I hear it’s his worst subject,” Larad commented, leaning close to keep his voice low as he explained it to Henry.

                Kibum narrowed his eyes and glared at Jinki who merely shrugged. “It’s true, isn’t it?”

                “Maybe,” he grumbled, crossing his arms and looking away. But that also meant looking at part of the room at large and there were still plenty of curious gazes turned in their direction. He flinched back slightly and then shifted his attention to the mostly empty tray in front of him.

                Henry knocked on the table to make him look up and gestured at the Dawbn. “If you don’t want Jinki helping you, Ercite’s pretty knowledgeable in that subject.”

                Ercite raised their hand and nodded. “Lots of Terran friends in the family. And Varium,” they added with a grinning glance at Larad who preened in quiet satisfaction.

                Kibum waved one hand dismissively and responded, “I’ll be fine.” He jerked in surprise when something lightly tapped the side of his head. Looking over, he saw Jinki’s hand hovering in the air, fingers partially curled as if he’d flicked him. Kibum didn’t even know how to school his features until he really noticed Jinki’s playfully amused face.

                “I’ve been dying to see how you would react to that,” he admitted, pulling his hand back as his smile turned sheepish and apologetic.

                Still mulling it over, Kibum furrowed his brows and asked, “Did you just flick me in the head?”

                “Yes,” Jinki responded with a nod and zero hesitation.

                “Huh,” he chirped back, reaching over and returning the favor, albeit harder – and not exactly intentionally so.

                “Ow!” Jinki winced, holding the corner of his forehead with one eye closed, indicating it obviously stung.

                “Oops!” Kibum flinched, drawing his hands back with an aggrieved grimace. He’d ‘played’ as such with his guardian’s kids sometimes but developing Varium had different response patterns and that was quite obvious now.

                “You okay, Jinki?” Henry asked, leaning over to make sure he was.

                Jinki nodded quickly, blinking tears out of the one eye. “Ayah, he’s got a good flick. Remind me not to get into a competition with him in the future,” he forced a laugh, still keeping the one eye mostly closed as he nodded at Kibum.

                “Sorry,” he whispered, almost ready to reach out and smooth down the spot he’d hit.

                That inclination vanished when Henry gasped, “Did you just apologize?”

                Kibum pursed his lips and looked at the other Terran with a glare again. It didn’t last. Ercite made a quiet motion at Larad towards Henry. The Varium reached over and flicked the Terran in the forehead. Henry yelped and grabbed his forehead almost theatrically with an affronted look at Larad. And Kibum laughed. He couldn’t help it. None of their antics made all that much sense to him but they, at the very least, seemed genuine. Or at least they seemed to genuinely care about each other. And even when they were hurt, it appeared to be in good fun. All of which made him laugh, his mouth hiding behind his hand and his face turned down as he tried to cover it.

                “You have a nice laugh,” Jinki complimented, his slightly watery eyes dancing as the corners of his mouth turned up.

                Surprised, Kibum looked over, his fist still in front of his mouth. “Hmm?” he hummed, certain he’d heard right but not really believing it.

                “Ooohhh!” Henry hummed with a suggestive grin, making both Jinki and Kibum look in his direction. “Oof!” he coughed again as Larad elbowed him in the ribs like before. “Larad!” he complained, turning to hit the Varium’s shoulder and arm playfully with both fists. “Why are you being so mean to me today?!” he complained, though his voice was quiet.

                Inexplicably, Kibum felt his cheeks warming more than usual and when he glanced over at Jinki to see how the other man was reacting, the shy smile that always reached his eyes making the heat grow stronger. Kibum swallowed and then coughed once, forcing a look at his watch. It wasn’t quite time for class but it was getting close enough. “Oh! Look at the time!” he exclaimed, brushing at the front of his uniform reflexively as he stood up.

                “Leaving already?” Ercite asked, a sly quirk to their crystalline mouth while they looked up at him.

                “Gotta go to class,” he explained. Nodding his head once, he added, “Thank you for breakfast.” And before anyone could say anything else, he turned to leave, heading for the wall so he could just follow that instead of walking through the middle of the room.

                “Wait up, Kibum!” Jinki called, scrambling to follow after him.

                Kibum continued to walk away without looking back but then he heard a quiet uneven sound and Jinki’s gasp. Something made him look back and he inhaled quickly when he saw the second year awkwardly stumbling towards him, a look of concerned panic on his face.

                He could have moved out of the way and let Jinki just fumble by. He had done so to others in the past in their drunken or otherwise uncoordinated attempts or accidents. But… he braced himself and reached out, his right hand catching the flailing left hand while his other hooked under Jinki’s right arm. Momentum carried the second year forward, his face bumping into Kibum’s chest while the other flailing hand grabbed onto his shoulder and upper arm.

                Awkwardly, Jinki looked up and apologized, “Sorry,” as he got his feet under him and stood up. “Thanks,” he offered, a breath of fresh air that was quickly whisked away.

                Jinki’s balance was relatively quick to return but his hands were slow to leave and Kibum felt them, hot and heavy against him, just like the weight of others’ gazes turned towards them. As Kim Kibum, he didn’t like this spotlight. It burned too bright and made him feel small and vulnerable. With far too many eyes on him, he gasped and pulled back, breaking their contact as fast as possible. He didn’t say anything when he looked down and essentially fled, hurrying off towards his class as quickly as he could, his stomach in knots and pulse racing.

                “Wait up, Kibum,” Jinki called, jogging after him all too soon.

                Kibum headed for a quiet alcove as opposed to his class directly. When they reached a spot of relative privacy, he whirled on Jinki and hissed, “Why did you do that?”

                Taken aback, Jinki drew up short and flinched. “Do what?” he asked in bafflement.

                “Fall like that,” Kibum responded, his gaze wary and arms crossed.

                Honest confusion flashed across Jinki’s face again. “Because I tripped,” he explained uncertainly, a hesitant frown working its way across his features.

                “But why?” he asked again, undeterred.

                Jinki shrugged and laughed once, a slightly forced sound, though that could have been because of the response Kibum was giving him. “You might have noticed I do that sometimes. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve fallen in the canteen,” he added with an embarrassed laugh as he smiled and rubbed at the back of his neck. “At least I wasn’t carrying food this time,” he added, shrugging helplessly.

                Kibum looked him over and tilted his head in confusion. “You mean it was an accident?” he asked suspiciously.

                “Well, yeah,” the other man answered with a quick nod. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you did I?” he asked, face shifting suddenly to concern as he drew closer like he was going to look Kibum over to be certain.

                “I’m fine!” Kibum gasped, taking a step back and sticking his hands out in front of him in reactive warding.

                “Oh! Sorry!” Jinki reacted in turn, stopping short and pulling his hands close, clasping them together in front of him. “Thanks for helping me, by the way. You’d think with all the grav jumping and low grav gymnastics I help with, I’d be more coordinated off the court,” he admitted in embarrassment, one hand coming free to rub at the back of his head again while his eyes practically disappeared in the resultant smile.

                “Ah,” was all Kibum could muster, nodding along before he looked over Jinki’s shoulder at the students passing by. “Okay. Well. I’m glad you’re okay,” he mumbled quickly, waving once as he started to walk around the other man. “I’m gonna go to class now.”

                “Yeah! You should,” Jinki laughed and nodded, stepping out of the way and gesturing for him to go first. “Study hard, Kibum! You can do it!” he cheered, one fist rising up in support. The first year laughed once and gave one parting wave in response. “I’ll be here after class!” Jinki added, making Kibum duck his head and hide his face with one hand.

                The man obviously didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. And with comments like those, people were sure to start thinking they were more than a mentor and mentee. Wouldn’t they? Although that could also have something to do with those video clips from before too… Anyway! He had other things to worry about right now! Like class and work later.

                 At least class was easy. There wasn’t much time for gossiping and as soon as the bell rang, it was easy enough to flee to where Jinki was outside the classroom anyway. Though while some people were tactful enough not to try and bother him while he was with the second year, other students were willfully oblivious.

                “Kibum!”

                “Oh no,” he groaned, catching Jinki’s attention as they both looked to follow the voice.

                Psitassi, in all her multicolored glory, was rushing through the hall towards them. The Moladhi was taller than both of them, as was typical for her species, and she grabbed Kibum’s shoulders in both hands, shaking him in mild affront. “Why didn’t you tell me you were-”

                Kibum immediately put a hand up to clap it over her beaked mouth, muffling the sound of ‘Almighty Key’ in the process. “Psitassi,” he exhaled, giving her an annoyed look. He was surprised to notice Jinki’s hand on one of Psitassi’s wrists in his periphery though.

               “Sorry,” she giggled, lowering her voice and removing her hands to look at the second year beside him. “Hey Jinki,” she nodded before turning her attention back to the other Terran. “But seriously. When Crawven, of all Moladhi,” she gasped, practically enthralled, “asked me to find out where you kept going after school, I was very confused at first.” It was true. Her confusion seemed genuine.

                “Excuse me?” Kibum commented, turning a head-tilted look on her.

                “Yeah,” she confirmed, tapping her bottom beak with a taloned fingertip. “I mean, he told me,” and then she raised both hands to her face in a shy, Terran equivalent of blushing fashion, “that I was the only one he knew that could help him with this.”

                Kibum shivered as her vocal cords went through a full range of pleased adoration, more accurately conveying precisely what she was feeling in that moment. He had to pinch himself to shed the lingering effects and he cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him with a surprised chirp. “And did you stop to wonder at all why he wanted to know this?” he asked, tone dry and annoyed.

                “Not particularly,” she admitted without guile, her dilated pupils constricting slightly when she paused. “I mean, it was Crawven that asked.” Kibum continued to look at her with a deadpan expression, a slight nod agreeing with her as he waited for the dots to connect. “Oh…” she trailed off after an extended pause. “Crawven. Who is friends with Boro and Kieran. The same Boro you got into a fight with not that long ago,” she continued, her hands and fingers talking in front of her as she made the desired connections. “That Crawven.”

                “Yeah,” Kibum agreed with a tight nod of his head.

                “But you’re-” she paused and lowered her voice before leaning closer to whisper, “Almighty Key. That’s amazing!” she gushed, super excited by this revelation.

                Kibum’s eye roll was so hard it almost pained him as he sighed. “Psitassi-”

                “It is amazing, Psitassi,” Jinki interjected, literally stepping in between them as he lightly grabbed the Moladhi’s arm and pushed her to turn with him to start walking down the hallway.

                “Hmm…” Kibum hummed softly to himself as he trailed them at a distance, listening in.

                “But don’t you think that if this was something Kibum wanted the school to know, he would have told them himself?” the second year prompted, looking up at the taller first-year student.

                “Probably,” she agreed with a hesitant nod. “But I still don’t understand why this isn’t a good thing. I mean,” she gestured, one hand moving to point in Kibum’s direction as her face expressed obvious awe.

                “And it could be,” Jinki consoled, agreeing with her though he held up a hand to stall any response. “But think of it this way. If someone suddenly found out that you had a crush on Crawven and went and announced it to the student body, how do you think that would make you feel?”

                It was difficult for Kibum to keep himself from laughing at the analogy since her crush on Crawven was almost universally known on campus. Especially since her answer was, “You mean it was supposed to be a secret?”

                Jinki had far more tact. “Exactly,” he agreed, shaking one finger at her in agreement.

                “Oh…” she cooed in disappointed understanding before turning back to look at Kibum. She didn’t realize he was so close though and flinched. “Kibum. I’m sorry,” she apologized earnestly, clasping her hands in front of her. “I wouldn’t want someone telling my secret either.”

                He was a hair’s breadth from laughing outright when he saw Jinki’s look warning him not to. Kibum opened his mouth and coughed instead, swallowing hard before he brushed at his uniform with one hand and shrugged. Without a word, he waved a hand at her almost like he was giving her a pass. It was just safer than trying to say anything with the way Jinki was watching him.

                Psitassi blinked several times, the feathers on her head fluffing up slightly after they’d flattened hard against her skull. She looked around to make sure no one else was nearby and inched closer to Kibum. “I know it’s supposed to be a secret, but would it be okay if I came by to watch you perform?”

                This time, Kibum’s tongue answered before he could think about it. “It’s not like I could stop you.” His hand gave a fluid dismissive wave but he froze when Jinki frowned at him, though it softened at the Moladhi’s response.

                “Really?!” she crooned excitedly, her feathers fluffing up completely. Kibum knew that usually only happened when a Moladhi was genuinely happy. “I’ll let the group know! They’ll be so happy to come too!” she announced, talking fast before running off with all the ecstatic energy of a kid escaping from a candy store.

                “Eh…” Kibum hummed, reaching after her half-heartedly before he gave up and then looked at Jinki with a crooked mouth. He gestured in the space that Psitassi had been in previously. “That one is a model example of the old Earth phrase: bird-brain.”

                “Be nice,” Jinki chided with a shake of his head and a disappointed furrow between his brows. His crossed arms didn’t help any either.

                “Like you?” Kibum teased, his hand shifting to point at Jinki.

                “Would it kill you to try?” he shot back, flashing a quick grin before waving his hand, warding off an answer. Kibum glared but the second year continued, “Besides. I thought you two were friends.”

                Kibum looked to the side and scratched at the back of his neck with a single finger before he tried to answer. “Mmm… more like acquaintances.”

                Jinki looked after where the Moladhi had been, skeptical. “Didn’t look like it to me. She adores you,” he pointed out, giving Kibum a dose of side-eye in return.

                “That’s not my fault,” he defended himself, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away with a slight sniff. Such a defense didn’t change Jinki’s expression though and it made Kibum feel oddly guilty. He scoffed and waved a hand as he threw a response out, “Everyone knows she’s the best gossip in the first years.”

                “Ah. So you use her then,” Jinki hummed, a disappointed sigh accompanying it.

                There it was again. Another strange twinge of guilt. “No,” he denied, turning a frustrated expression on Jinki. “I listen to her when she tells the group things.” He stopped there but it didn’t seem to be enough of an explanation for Jinki and the silence became uncomfortable to Kibum. “Okay. So maybe I ask some prying questions from time to time too and she sometimes finds out what I want to know,” he added, hands fluttering in front of him like trapped birds. Silence again followed as there was no additional reaction from the other man. “Ugh! And maybe I give her pieces of gossip to spread when there’s a call for it,” he added in growing frustration. And still, no response from Jinki. Just that same implacable look. “What?” he finally scowled, feeling awkward and uncomfortable. It got worse when Jinki chuckled at his reaction.

                “I’m sorry,” he apologized immediately, schooling his features as quickly as a Varium. “I was honestly curious how much you’d tell me before you had enough.”

                Kibum’s mouth opened of its own accord and he scowled. “You-” he started to say, pointing a finger at the older student before huffing and turning around, stalking away.

                Jinki jogged to catch up behind him with a quiet, “Wait!” Fingers caught his wrist lightly and he came to an immediate stop, looking down at the capturing hand and then up. “Sorry,” the second year apologized again, letting go immediately. “I just felt a little bad for her, that’s all.”

                “And what about me? I’m the one that’s caught in the middle of this because of her,” he reminded the older student, gesturing off the way she’d gone again. Jinki gave him a look that roughly equated to ‘Really?’ and Kibum sighed again. “Okay. Fine! I’ll bite. Why do you feel bad for her? And not me,” he added in a petty small voice that barely made it past his lips.

                Jinki literally laughed under his breath and smiled but didn’t comment on the last part. “According to Ercite, she’s from old money. Youngest in her family. Coddled and sheltered with no aspirations beyond finding a partner. The closest thing you’ll find to innocent among the Moladhi. Why do you think she comes across so much gossip?” he asked, brows rising intentionally.

                Kibum wrinkled his nose and scratched at his head without saying anything. He’d known she had money and he knew that Moladhi were also creatures that were drawn to beautiful things, but they additionally thrived on attention. It meant they were beautiful in some way too – Passeri had educated him extensively on that. Hence her adoration of Almighty Key. And honestly, among the Moladhi in their school, Crawven was a fine specimen, albeit an if you asked him. “So why’s she here then?” he grumbled, looking away.

                It was interesting to watch the thoughts go across Jinki’s face then. “I don’t personally know but Larad and Ercite think it’s probably just to keep her out of the way while her family works on setting her up with someone on this planet to further their connections. You know they’re thinking about establishing an eighth dome in the near future.”

                For a moment, Kibum paused and really looked at Jinki again. “You’re surprisingly in the know.”

                That got a chuckle out of Jinki and he gestured at himself with both hands. “Mentor and general facilitator to everyone that asks,” he explained with an accepting shrug.

                “Goody-goody,” he grumbled, sighing as he continued to look at the other Terran.

                “If you say so,” he accepted without offense. “Does that make you a charity case then?” he teased, leaning closer just a touch.

                Kibum pursed his lips and looked through narrowed eyes. “I still think you must be covering your in some way.”

                But Jinki straightened with a shake of his head and a wagging finger. “No. I’m covering yours. Speaking of which,” he intoned, focusing his attention once more. “Terran biology.”

                “Ack! Why are you doing this to me?!” he whined, looking up pitifully and closing his eyes.

                “Come on then,” Jinki laughed, lightly brushing his fingertips against Kibum’s back as if to guide him down the hall. “If we hurry,” he began when Kibum started walking along, looking at him as they went, “we can get a start before your class.”

                “I don’t like you,” he grumbled with a heavy exhale. Jinki chuckled and for some reason, it made Kibum want to smile in response. He didn’t but galaxies did he want to.