It’s the sound of obnoxious laughter that wakes Luhan up, forcing him out of his pleasant slumber.

For a moment, he blinks in confusion as he looks around at the living room, wondering why he had woken up here instead of his bed. His eyes land on the coffee table in front of him, where there’s an empty packet of biscuits - pilfered from Joonmyun’s secret stash - and what seems to be half a bag of chips. Across from him, on the other side of the room, the television is switched on to some variety show.

The audience in the show laughs again, harsh and loud to his ears. Thankfully, the remote control is within reach, on the couch next to him, and he grabs it, muting the sound. As he stares blankly at the screen, it occurs to him that, for once, the room isn't filled with the presence of the other members, walking or lounging around in varying states of undress.

There are dull, muffled sounds of gunfire and explosions coming from one of the rooms down the hall, punctuated with Jongin’s swearing and Sehun’s laughter.

Luhan recalls the reason for the near-empty dorm now. Yifan and Zitao had disappeared before lunch time to head down to shops with both Baekhyun and Chanyeol in tow. Jongdae and Joonmyun had decided upon stalking Kyungsoo at one of his secret cinema locations, and, judging by Sehun and Minseok’s muffled yelling from inside Jongin’s room, the other three had opted to stay in with his PS4 instead.

Which leaves Yixing, who is currently leaning against his side, warm and slightly heavy, and snoring. 

Luhan glances down, and grins to himself as he notices how Yixing is curled up on the couch. He’s lying on his side, across the couch, taking up almost half of the space even though his legs are tucked close together and his arms are wrapped around his own chest, hugging himself which he rests his head practically in Luhan’s lap. 

The way Yixing is sleeping reminds Luhan of a cat. For a brief moment, he’s tempted to snap a picture of this. But his neck feels sore and stiff from the odd angle that he had fallen asleep in, and he's thirsty and hungry. He considers waking Yixing up, getting off this couch and maybe dragging Minseok out for bubble tea.

But there’s something in the way that Yixing is sleeping that causes him to pause.

There’s always been a sort of cautiousness around Yixing, even when he’s off the stage and away from his straight-laced persona, making one of his jokes that sends all of them clinging to walls in bouts of laughter - but right now,Yixing looks… relaxed, unguarded. 

Of course, there are times where even that calm, unfazed demeanor is easily broken. Luhan recalls the times that that has happened. One example was when they had discovered how incredibly ticklish Yixing was; Yixing had clung to him, giggling like a child, while Luhan attempted to breathe into his ear while the initiators of this exercise had counted down the seconds gleefully.

Luhan purses his lips, and glances down at Yixing. An idea begins to form in his head, and he grins, before impulsively leaning down, and blows gently. 

Several seconds pass, before Yixing stirs, his eyebrows drawing together in a frown as he slowly wakes up.

“Luhan?” Tilting his chin up, Yixing’s eyes meet Luhan’s; they’re wide open, confused. “Did you just breathe into my ear?” he asks.

Luhan grins. “Yes.” He gives Yixing an impish look. “But I’m still not done yet.”

Yixing sputters. “What-- no -- wait,” he utters out weakly, but Luhan is already giggling and leaning over, trying to get close again, even though the angle is weird and awkward.

Laughing, Yixing tries to move out of the way, but Luhan is faster. He corners Yixing into one corner of the couch, and ends up almost climbing over him. Luhan manages to wrap his hands around Yixing’s wrists, and pins him down onto the seat. Before Yixing can throw him off, Luhan leans down, and blows a stream of air against his neck again.

“Wait-- h--hahah-- no-- help!” Yixing’s words lost between his gasps and giggles as Luhan relentlessly keeps up his attack. Letting out an undignified yelp, Yixing twists to escape and ends up slipping off the edge of couch onto the floor, dragging Luhan along with him. 

There’s a long silence that follows this. Luhan is almost afraid to move, pressed against Yixing’s chest, his heart pounding loudly in his ear. Beneath him, Yixing is trembling, and Luhan wonders if he’s hurt - or even worse, angry at Luhan for bringing the joke too far.

He lifts his head a little and looks down at Yixing--

--who is laughing, his body shaking with mirth as he flashes a grin at Luhan, his face void of any traces of anger.

“Should have seen your face,” Yixing says between chuckles while Luhan tries to look offended, and fails. He ends up smiling instead, relieved that Yixing seems to be unharmed by the fall.

Yixing is still beaming at him, his face bright and cheerful and Luhan can’t help but grin back. He tries to get up, but his arms are still trapped against Yixing’s body, whose own arms are wound around Luhan’s.

“Urm, Yixing? Can I have my hands back?”

Yixing shakes his head. “Nope,” he tells Luhan.

Startled, Luhan looks down at him. “Don’t tell me you’re actually mad at me?” he asks. Yixing’s expression gives away nothing. “Yixing?” he prods again.

A small dimple forms in Yixing’s cheek, as his lips curve slightly into a mischievous smile. It takes Luhan less than a second to realize what his bandmate is about to do.

“Yixing, no--” but it’s too late, as Yixing tightens his grip around Luhan’s arms and tilts his head slightly and going for the side of Luhan’s neck.

Squeezing his eyes tightly, Luhan tenses up, bracing himself. He can handle this. He’s done it before, after all, and his tolerance for being tickled is not as bad as Yixing , so there’s a slim chance that he can still survive--

The loud raspberry kiss that Yixing plants against his skin causes Luhan to yelp in the most unmanly way, startled by the change in tactics. He tries to pull away, but Yixing follows him, planting another noisy pbbrrpptt against his neck that sends Luhan squealing again, his dignity and pride forever shredded.

He tries to plead mercy, between giggles. It doesn’t work.

“Nope, can’t stop yet. It’s only fair that I do this back to you,” Yixing declares smugly into his ear. Unfazed, Luhan turns his head slightly to face him, ready to use his puppy eyes to convince Yixing to release him.

Instead, his lips end up brushing against something soft and warm, and he catches sight of Yixing’s eyes staring back at him, wide open in shock.

Jerking his head back, Luhan looks at Yixing, who’s staring at Luhan. “Uh--” Yixing begins, and pauses, biting his lower lip. Luhan watches the way he nibbles at it, the same lips that Luhan had kissed. “Well, that was new.”

Luhan clears his throat. “I’m sorry,” he babbles. “It was an accid--”

“I didn’t mind," Yixing interrupts him. Luhan blinks as the words sink in. “I mean, it’s you. And I… I like that it was with you.”

Surprised, Luhan peeks at Yixing from beneath his lashes.

“We could do it again,” Yixing continues shyly, looking a little hopeful. His cheeks are a little pink from his near-confession. “If you want to.”

Blushing now, Luhan bites at his lower lip. He doesn’t trust himself to speak, in case he blurts out the wrong thing and ends up ruining the moment, so he nods slowly.

The look of relief flashes across Yixing’s face. He leans closer and kisses Luhan. It’s a chaste kiss, at first, just a soft peck on the lips that leaves Luhan feeling dissatisfied - so when Yixing moves his head back, Luhan reaches up with his now-freed hands, sliding them behind Yixing’s neck and pulls him for a deeper, more passionate kiss.

Yixing responds to his eagerness with equal fervor, letting Luhan take control, before he pulls away slightly. Before Luhan had protested, Yixing is mouthing along his jawline, down towards his neck, pausing briefly to nip at his ear - that alone was enough to make Luhan’s toes curl and whimper - before sliding back up to capture Luhan’s lips again once more.

“Yixing,” he begs, sounding desperate and needy, his heart pounding loudly in his ears, blood rushing through his veins as he finds himself being pulled close, flushed against the other man’s hips--

The front door rattles, the sound of a key being inserted into the lock. Luhan pushes himself off Yixing so fast that he almost trips backwards over his feet while trying to regain his balance.

Zitao’s voice is the first thing that’s audible when the door opens. “--I wanted that plushie,” he’s saying, the pout evident in his voice. "Can you go back and buy it for me--” he adds, while Baekhyun and Chanyeol follow them in noisily, jostling and trying to race for the showers.

Yifan yells at the two of them while chastising Zitao about his poor choice in plushie designs -- but Luhan isn’t listening because he has his back turned against the group, busily clearing the coffee table and trying very, very hard to act casual. 

Yixing is back on top of the couch, his legs pulled up and tucked against his chest as he fusses over his mobile phone. His expression is impassive, and for a moment, Luhan’s heart sinks a little, thinking that perhaps Yixing intends to pretend as if nothing has happened between them. That they hadn’t been kissing, that Yixing hadn’t held him in his arms and told him that he liked kissing Luhan, and that he had liked it because it had been Luhan--

Yixing looks up then, catching his gaze.

The smile that he gives Luhan - shy and gentle, accompanied by the soft look in his eyes - says enough, dissipating his doubts, and Luhan spends the rest of the day walking around with a dreamy smile on his face, oblivious to everything else.