Vanilla Latte

~ 1,200 words

Rated : G

Genre : Oneshot, Fluff

Kai-centric, slight Sehun/Kai, implicit Sehun/?

It was their first day-off in a really long time. Since their debut, EXO had not had any proper rest. If they weren’t  promoting, the twelve boys spent all their time in recording booths or dance studios tirelessly rehearsing the new routines for their upcoming album. It used to be harder, though, and such tiny breaks were like sent from heaven. Today still felt a bit unreal.

Jongin was not used to being the first one to wake up. Last night, he had not managed to sleep as well as he had expected. He had this dance step in his mind that he was dying to show to their choreographer for their new title song. As he was afraid of forgetting it, he kept wriggling in his bed with his eyes closed, ruffling the sheets while picturing the steps until Kyungsoo startled him with an angry “yah!” from the other side of the room. That was when he eventually decided to put his body to rest.

While he was starting to fall asleep, he suddenly opened his eyes when he thought he had heard the front door of the apartment. He then returned to dreamland after trying unsuccessfully to recognize the voices outside, whispering to each other.

Usually, Jongin was the third from last to join everyone in the kitchen for breakfast, before Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Appointed by his fellow members who were already eating, he was always the one in charge of storming the room of those two to kick their asses out of bed.

This morning, however, everyone was sleeping late and Jongin woke up to a silent apartment.

On his way to the kitchen, Jongin noticed Suho sleeping soundly on the couch, wrapped up from head to toe in his double-layered blanket. It felt incredibly hot in the living room as the heater was set to maximum. The tanned boy rubbed his eyes while shaking his head. He was going to lower the thermostat when he heard the other boy shifting, turning on the other side and sinking more into the couch. Jongin just sighed and continued his way.

Nobody questioned why Suho sometimes had to sleep in the living room. Jongin had been the first one to know the reason. The other members realized it not so long after him without even asking. While everyone knew the truth behind Suho’s weird behavior, the leader only claimed in front of their manager that sometimes, he just felt like spending the night alone on the couch because it felt warmer and more comfortable even though the living room was just prone to drafts and the sofa was too hard. Fortunately, their manager never gave it a second thought. He probably thought Suho and his roommate just had a childish fight resulting on them sleeping in separate rooms. But who could ever get into a fight with Suho, really ? Actually, the generous leader had just agreed to comply to his spoiled roommate’s demands and  give him some space on ‘certain’ occasions.

Jongin sloppily headed towards the fridge from which he took out a carton of orange juice and poured himself a glass. He sat at the bar table and stared into space for a while.

After a few minutes, he heard the sound of a door opening and the floor creaking. He turned his head and saw Sehun making his way to the kitchen.

“Good morning.“ Jongin said softly.

“Hi.” The younger boy answered in a clear voice, smiling before heading straight for the coffee machine.

Jongin silently watched Sehun busying himself while resting his chin on his crossed arms. Sehun’s hair was a bit messy. He was wearing a blue T-shirt slightly too big for him and a pair of black boxers.  Once he was done, the maknae grabbed a clean glass and went to the fridge before filling it with cold green tea. Then, he turned around to face Jongin and leaned his free hand on the bar while drinking. The sleepy boy looked over at his friend causing their eyes to meet. Sehun automatically looked away towards the window. Jongin sat up. He stared at the clock and scratched his head.

While waiting for the coffee to brew, Sehun struck up the conversation by asking what his friend was planning to do today.

“ I’m having lunch with my mom.” Jongin immediately answered.

Sehun quietly nodded.

“What about you ?” Jongin asked.

The younger boy pretended he was thinking, sticking his tongue out like he always did.

“M is back –“

Jongin bit his tongue, stopping himself from blurting out that he ‘already knew’.

“– so I’m thinking of hanging out with them this afternoon.”

Jongin also nodded. Then he took his stare off the younger boy, turning towards the kitchen counter and watched the coffee dripping into the pot, breathing its warm and comforting smell.

The two boys remained silent, taking in the peaceful atmosphere until the maknae noticed his coffee was almost ready and pulled a mug from the cupboard. Each member had their own personal mug and Sehun’s looked excessively cute and girly : pink with dots and what looked like a chibi version of himself with sparkly eyes making a V-sign.

Jongin just resumed watching him.

Sehun turned around, his mouth half-opened as he was going to ask Jongin for something. As if he had read his mind, Jongin automatically handed the vanilla syrup standing on the bar between other syrups and sugar to the younger boy before he even had the chance to say anything. Sehun raised an eyebrow, a bit taken aback. He took the syrup and thanked him anyway. His back turned to the older boy, he could still feel Jongin’s heavy stare and picture Jongin's knowing smirk in his head.

Jongin knew Sehun too well. Jongin also realized he knew too well what was going on and the thought made him slightly uncomfortable. He wondered if Sehun felt the same.

After Sehun was done heating some milk and preparing what looked undeniably like a perfect vanilla latte, he went back to his green tea and faced Jongin again. Sehun left the pink mug alone on the kitchen counter for a moment.

The two boys exchanged a glance. Jongin smirked again while Sehun just avoided his reaction. Both of them quietly sipped on their drink. As he stared at Sehun who was deliberately trying to wear a blank expression, Jongin suddenly thought that the air now smelled awfully sweet like sugar, vanilla, and...

“Had a good night ?” Sehun asked, interrupting Jongin’s train of thoughts.

“Quite restless, actually. You ?” Jongin smiled.

“Me too.” The maknae let out a sigh before quickly putting his now empty glass in the sink. He carefully took the steamy pink mug and left the kitchen without adding a word. Jongin snorted.

Jongin did not even ask why Sehun brought his vanilla latte to his room rather than drinking it in the kitchen with him while waiting for the others. After all, as his best friend, he knew Sehun actually hated coffee.