A minute later they were standing on the sidewalk with the bags, staring up at the temporary home.

Donghae found the key in his backpack and walked up the driveway to the side door. It took a moment, but he unlocked the door and helped Eunhyuk carry everything in.

The side door opened to the kitchen. The appliances and all the cabinets covered one wall, with an island in the center. Large windows looked out over the backyard, which had a deck patio and the swimming pool Donghae was looking forward to. Eunhyuk went straight through the kitchen to the dining room, but Donghae rolled their suitcases to the end of the island and noticed a note sitting on the polished countertop. In English, it said:

“Hello! Thank you for renting our home! We’re sorry, but the pool has a hole and the repairman will not be able to fix it during your stay here. The hot tub is still working though! Sorry again for any trouble. If you need to contact us…”

Donghae picked out the most important parts – that the pool was broken, but he could appease Eunhyuk with a hot tub. Putting the note back down in case they actually needed those emergency numbers, Donghae went to find Eunhyuk. The elder was just stepping in from outside when Donghae entered the dining room. He had a small frown on his face and when he noticed Donghae, he said, “There’s no water in the pool. Why?”

Donghae explained that it was broken and couldn’t hold water. “But the hot tub works!” he exclaimed cheerfully. “Maybe there will be a few chilly days and it would be better to warm up, yeah?”

Eunhyuk shrugged, nodding to himself as if he was trying to convince himself that he wasn’t disappointed. “Aish, I’m too tired to think about this right now!” he pouted after a moment. “This house is too big~ where are the bedrooms?”

Eunhyuk padded through the dining room to the living room. A fireplace was against one wall, with a large screen TV mounted on another. A few loveseats were placed facing either. Donghae could imagine that with the fireplace lit, the room would probably be cozy…especially if they were together on a loveseat. “They’re probably upstairs,” he commented lightly as he looked around, passing through the room.” “American homes are set up weird.”

The only other exit out of the living room led to a hallway. To the right, Donghae could see their suitcases at the end of the kitchen island. To the left were stairs and a screen door, which looked like it led to the screened in porch. Curious, Donghae opened a door under the stairs to see if it was a closet. It was a tiny bathroom with just a toilet and sink. The ceiling of the room was sloped because of the stairs, and Donghae couldn’t help but think that it looked like a very uncomfortable space.

Eunhyuk sidled up behind him, appraising the small room quickly. “Eww, it’s tiny,” he commented lightly, moving away to head upstairs. “I hope that’s not the only one. Why do Americans make the houses so big but the bathrooms so small?”

Donghae followed his hyung upstairs after closing the bathroom door. The steps creaked under their weight, sounding ominously loud in the otherwise quiet house. Donghae had a sudden thought that if the entire Suju team had been there, there would be so much talking and laughter that the creaking would never have been heard.

“Oh, three bedrooms? That means we can have our own!” Eunhyuk praised once they reached the second floor. Two of the bedrooms were smaller, facing the backyard. The master bedroom and the second bathroom looked out over the street. “I want this one~” Eunhyuk called, pouncing on the bed. Donghae just shrugged, glancing at the queen-sized bed with scathing envy. There was plenty of room on there for him.

“I’ll leave you to your sleep then, hyung,” he replied, getting a muffled sound in return. Walking into the closest bedroom Donghae plopped down on the bed, closed his eyes, and was fast asleep.

Donghae woke in the morning to the sound of chittering birds and an arm pressing against his ribs painfully. And he was pretty darn sure that the arm wasn’t his. “Hyukkie~” he moaned, “it’s my job to wake you up like this~!” His hyung just shifted, and Donghae could feel a sigh breeze across his shoulder blades, rustling his loose T-shirt. The arm that was slung over his ribs tightened momentarily as Eunhyuk stretched like a cat, writhing as he tried to pop tense joints without actually moving. Suddenly wide awake, Donghae twisted to lay on his back, running his fingers along Eunhyuk’s arm, which was now over his stomach. He tickled the fine hairs there and Eunhyuk growled as if to say, “Leave me alone!” The elder boy shifted a little and Donghae guided his head to rest on his shoulder. His hyung immediately snuggled up to him, and Donghae had to admit that it was so much better when Eunhyuk came into his arms out of free will.

Donghae wrapped an arm around his hyung, placing a chaste kiss on dyed red locks. His Hyukkie let out a tiny sigh, and Donghae had to hold himself back from going further. This wasn’t a concert stage where hundreds of fans would swoon if he and Hyukkie shared a half kiss, letting the air around them charge with . This was his hyung, who was cuddled up beside him because he was tired and sore and they were in an unfamiliar place. Feeling bad, Donghae began to lightly rub his friend’s back, easing the muscles there with gentle but insistent circles. Eunhyuk nuzzled into his side, and Donghae began to wonder why in the world he had an armful of Eunhyuk when usually the elder was telling him to go away and get out of his bed.

Whatever the occasion, Donghae couldn’t say he minded. Using both arms, he gave his hyung a light squeeze and another chaste kiss. One hand continued to rub circles as the other slid up to play with Eunhyuk’s hair. Donghae liked how the red highlights shone in the morning sun coming in from the bedroom windows, even though his darker roots were already beginning to come in.

Reminded by the sun, Donghae started to wonder what time it was. Leaning forward in bed he started to look for a clock in the room, but Eunhyuk gave a light groan of protest so he laid back down. Remembering his cell phone, Donghae stretched and dug into his pockets, bringing his phone up to his face so he could see. He had almost a dozen texts from the Suju members and other friends who wished him safe travels. A few of them were from Siwon, who seemed to remember things he wanted to tell Donghae every few hours or so. Replying to all the polite messages, Donghae saved Siwon’s for last. He took a cute selca of himself and the sleeping Eunhyuk, adding to it the message, “Hyukkie is still tired~ the house is so big! Wish you and the others could have come too! :/”

He hit ‘send’ just as Eunhyuk in a breath and started stretching, rolling over onto his back and releasing Donghae from his sleepy grip. Donghae dropped his phone on the covers and followed Eunhyuk’s movement, leaning up on an elbow and resting his head on his hand. “Hyukkie~” he purred, patting his friend’s stomach, “it’s already the evening~ let’s go get food!”

At the mention of food, Eunhyuk lifted half an eyelid sleepily. “What are you feeding me?” he asked, yawning cutely in the process.

Instead of leaning over and kissing him senseless like he had the sudden urge to do, Donghae hefted himself into a sitting position. “Mm, dunno,” he replied. “I doubt there’s any good food in the house. Wanna walk around town and see what we can find?”

Eunhyuk groaned as he lifted himself into a sitting position as well. “That requires effort~” he whined, and Donghae laughed.

“Come on, lazy bum, let’s go explore. Maybe we’ll find some super yummy food that we can bring back to the house!”

“Hey, that’s lazy-hyung to you!” Eunhyuk shot back, but he was smiling when he slid off the bed and started to stretch. Donghae had to turn away after a moment. The sight of sunlight creating a halo around Eunhyuk as he stretched and the glimpse of the elder’s happy trail as his shirt rose up was just a tad too much for Donghae’s eager eyes and thin restraint.

“Think of it this way,” he said cheerfully as he rolled off the end of the bed and landed on his feet, “since we’re not touring, we don’t even need to put makeup on! Actually, it’d be a hassle if we did, because people might recognize us more easily with it on…”

“You think people would know us in a place like this? I mean, we didn’t announce that we would be here…” Eunhyuk padded off to get ready and Donghae ran a hand through his hair. He actually didn’t feel greasy or gross at all, despite having traveled for so long the day before.

Donghae left to wash his face in the downstairs bathroom just as Eunhyuk started to drag his suitcase upstairs. “Yah, just pick it up!” Donghae laughed when it thumped against a few steps, banging loudly. Eunhyuk just stuck out his tongue and mumbled something about not being able to get the handle down.

Donghae stripped out of his sweatshirt and T-shirt, throating them onto a couch. He smirked a little when he imagined the look his hyung would make when he saw that a ‘mess’ had already been made in their temporary home. Not that he would lift a finger to clean it himself, Donghae thought with a chuckle.

Splashing his face with water, Donghae scrubbed the sleep from his eyes as he grabbed clean clothes from his suitcase, having to scurry back when he realized he had forgotten his toothbrush. He heard a squeak from the floorboards upstairs and realized that it was slightly awkward to be the only two people in such a large space. Even if he yelled, would Eunhyuk be able to hear him? The thought made Donghae want to cling to his hyung.

Eunhyuk came tromping downstairs just as Donghae was folding his dirty clothes into a pile to be washed later. The younger had actually been so bored while waiting that he had decided to clean up after himself, having nothing else to do. “Do you have your wallet?” Eunhyuk reminded him in a singsong. Donghae flushed a little before searching through his dirty jean pockets for said wallet. “Do you have yours?” he shot back teasingly.

Eunhyuk shrugged. “Yeah, but do I really need it? Isn’t my dear dongsaeng treating me? You’re the one with the foreign credit card, anyways.” Donghae laughed when he realized that Eunhyuk was right.
Holding his arm out for Eunhyuk to take, Donghae said flamboyantly, “Then this shall all be my treat! And I’ll even let the lady pick our dining!”

Eunhyuk rolled his eyes, trying to hide his smile. “I don’t even know what there is to eat around here.” He took the offered arm, using it to shove Donghae playfully against the wall. “And I’m most definitely not a girl, you ! Get a real girlfriend, if you wanna go on a date so bad!”

Donghae pretended to consider his hyung’s words. “An American girlfriend?...Nah, long distance relationships . I think I’ll stick with my dear Hyukkie instead~!”

Trying to hide the fact that he was extremely pleased by his dongsaeng’s answer, Eunhyuk shoved Donghae again, this time in the direction of the door. “In that case, I want some really spicy Korean foods. I wonder if there’s an authentic restaurant around here?...” The elder left first, but waited for Donghae in the driveway.

Donghae rolled his eyes, grabbing the keys so he could lock the door behind them. “You always want Korean food!” he complained. “We’re in America! We should be eating hamburgers and pizza, not kimchi!”

“But I wanna~” Eunhyuk pouted, sticking out his bottom lip like a toddler. “And you said you’d treat me…”

Sighing, Donghae held out his hand for Eunhyuk to take as they started off down the sidewalk. “I’ll do my best,” he promised, and thought that the trouble would definitely be worth it when Eunhyuk laughed heartily and hugged his entire arm.