Morning came around sooner than any of them would have liked. Not that they had to get up particularly early or anything, but the boys did enjoy their sleep.

Lay, though, had always been an early riser, so was up, cleaned and dressed before anyone else – he didn’t take a buddy with him when he went to shower and brush his teeth, but he figured, what the others didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

He sat in the middle of the grass, guitar on his knee as he strummed lightly to whatever popped into his head.

He was so caught up in himself that he didn’t notice Baekhyun come and sit down next to him. It was only when the other boy started to sing that Lay even realised he was there. He shot the slightly shorter boy a smile as he played on, waiting until the song came to an end that Lay finally spoke up.

“G’Morning” he smiled, setting his guitar aside.

Baekhyun smiled, rubbing his left eye with his hand, “Morning” he half-yawned, “You’re up early”

“Yeah, I’m not one for sleeping in,” Lay smiled, “D’you need a bathroom buddy?” he asked.

Baekhyun nodded, “Yeah, if you don’t mind?”

“Not at all, let me just put this away” Lay gestured to his guitar.

The two of them got up and walked over to Lay’s tent, where he quickly put his guitar back in its case and put it inside the tent before they made their way to bathroom – it was then that Lay realised Baekhyun had been holding his toothbrush and toothpaste the entire time.

“I just thought” Baekhyun said as he put some toothpaste onto his toothbrush, “How did you come and do your thing this morning if you were the only one up?” he asked.

Lay smirked slightly, “I’m magic” he chuckled, “Okay, so I may have broken the rules a little bit, but you wouldn’t rat me out, right?”

“Well, only because it’s you, and I think you’re adorable” Baekhyun chuckled around a mouth full of toothpaste foam.

Lay hopped up so that he was sitting on the counter top beside the sink that Baekhyun was using, his legs swinging aimlessly.

“So what d’you think we’ll be doing today?” Baekhyun asked before rinsing out his mouth and cleaning off his toothbrush.

Lay gave him a small shrug, “I don’t know, but no doubt it’ll be something different than what we’ve done already. You know what Mr. Kim’s like” he said, hopping down from the sinks and letting Baekhyun link their arms as they began to walk back to the clearning.

“Yeah, hot” Baekhyun giggled, “Oh, you mean with his ideas~” he grinned innocently, making Lay roll his eyes, “But you have to admit, he is one fine piece of man. I wonder if he’s single”

“Baekhyun, you have a boyfriend” Lay raised an eyebrow, a small smile trying to fight its way onto his lips.

Baekhun waved him off, “I know, I know. But still, whoever ends up with him is one of the luckiest people ever. D’you think he’s into guys?”

“I don’t know? How do you go about asking your teacher if he’s gay or not?” Lay laughed. He hadn’t realised how fun it could be around Baekhyun, but the boy sure was something.

Baekhyun snickered, “Maybe I’ll ask him before we head back home” he grinned, “What do you think? Should I call out our poor teach on his uality?”

“I wouldn’t, I think he has enough to deal with, keeping an eye on us lot” Lay grinned back, “Oh look, Kyungsoo and Kai are up”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened slightly before he smirked and grabbed Lay’s hand, pulling the latter into the tree line and moving so that they had a good view of the two in the clearing. He put a finger to his lips before pointing at Kai and Kyungsoo, gesturing for Lay to be quiet and listen.

The two of them watched as Kai bit his lip nervously and took Kyungsoo’s hand in his own.

“Did you sleep well?” the younger of the two asked.

Kyungsoo nodded, “I did. So, uh, did you mean it? What you said last night?” he asked, looking down at his and Kai’s interlocked hands.

“You mean when I said, I love you?” Kai smiled, “Of course I meant it. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t. Did... Did you mean it, too? When you said it back?”

“I did” Kyungsoo smiled softly, finally looking back up at Kai.

Kai beamed cutely, making Kyungsoo chuckle before he pulled the younger in for a kiss.

Baekhyun let out a loud “Awwwwww” at the sight, making the two kissing’s heads snap up and effectively giving away his and Lay’s position.

“YAH! Byun Baekhyun, get your over here, right now!” Kyungsoo called out.

Baekhyun let out a squeak and pushed Lay out in front of him to lessen the blow that was bound to come from Kyungsoo.

“Hey!” Lay huffed as he was pushed out into the clearing to look at a furious Kyungsoo and a obviously embarrassed Kai, “It was all Baekhyun, I swear!” he said, holding his hands up in defence.

Kyungsoo’s face softened slightly, “It’s alright sweetie, I know” he smiled, before turning to where Baekhyun had just emerged from the trees. “Byun Baekhyun, I swear to Crowley, if you don’t explain yourself in the next three seconds, I’ll be setting the hell hounds loose!”

“You know, hell hounds aren’t actually real, I mean if you told me you were going to wish for the goblins to come and take me away, right now, then I’d be pretty scared, although David Bowie is pretty cool, it was just those pink things that freaked me out, I mean, seriously why would they eve-”

“BAEKHYUN!” Kyungsoo cut him off, making Baekhyun let out an eep in fright as the younger’s fist came into contact with his arm.

“I’m telling Yeollie!” Baekhyun whined, as Lay rubbed his arm soothingly.

Kyungsoo only rolled his eyes, “Chanyeol’s just as afraid of me as you are” he pointed out with a smirk, “And you deserved that, you shouldn’t have been snooping”

“In my defence, it was really cute to see Kai step up and talk about with you!” Baekhyun shot back, “Do you know how long he was to me about how much he loved you, it was so annoying... Seriously... But now you’re all cute and kissy and I just... Soo~” he grinned, pulling the boy into an unexpected hug.

Kyungsoo laughed, rolling his eyes as he hugged the elder back.

“Are they always like this?” Lay asked Kai from the sidelines.

“Yup” Kai sighed, folding his arms, they were probably going to be like that for a while.

--

Luhan sighed happily as the warm water from the shower poured over his body. Showers were one thing he always loved. The way the water would just pour over you and loosen up your tight muscles, relax you in ways that other things just couldn’t. He loved the way that you could just lose yourself as you went into your imagination or sang a song whilst you got clean and relaxed all at once – though he had to admit, you couldn’t beat a bath every now and again – yes, he loved showers.

What took him a while to get used to, however, was showering with another person. It’d been nine days that he’d been there, and still sharing a shower with another person wasn’t something he was used to. Especially when that person at that moment in time, happened to be Oh Sehun.

“You know you’ve just been stood there, not moving, for the past five minutes, right?” Sehun’s voice snapped him out of his reverie.

Luhan’s eyes snapped open as he looked wide-eyed at the younger, “Oh my god, don’t look at me!” He squeaked, covering himself with his hands, making Sehun laugh.

“You do realise this isn’t the first time I’ve seen you , right?” The younger pointed out, “I think we’ve already crossed that bridge”

Luhan groaned slightly, “This is not the reality I wanted...”

“Don’t worry, Lu. I think we can both agree you’re pretty hot, so you’ve got nothing to worry about” Sehun smirked, washing shampoo out of his hair.

Luhan stood still under the spray, watching Sehun in shock, “Did you... Did you just... Wait, what?”

“Stop thinking so much” the younger smirked, shutting off the water and grabbing Luhan’s wrist, pulling the shocked boy forward and planting a kiss on his cheek.

“What are you doing?” Luhan gasped, too shocked to move back.

Sehun laughed lightly as he moved out of the showers to wrap a towel around himself, “Well, I’ve been thinking. Either I can pretend like I don’t find you attractive and after this trip go back to how we were before, or, I can just show you that I think I’m starting to like you, a lot actually, and hope for the best. So, wish me luck” he winked with a chuckle before disappearing around the corner to get dry and dressed, leaving a totally confused and flustered Luhan in his wake.

Sehun smiled to himself as he dried himself off with the towel and pulled on his boxers. Since he’d kissed Luhan on the cheek the night before, he’d been thinking a lot about their relationship. He wasn’t an idiot, after his talk with Xiumin, he started to pay more attention to how the elder acted with him, and although it wasn’t obvious, Luhan did watch him and act differently towards him than he had previously. And it wasn’t different in the sense that they’d only decided to be nice to each other finally, but in the sense that there was more to it, even if Luhan didn’t realise it himself just yet.

It was then that Sehun realised he either needed to just man up and try his hand at making sure they didn’t go back to how they were – and with hope became a lot closer – or just act like nothing had changed between them and let it go back to the crappy thing they had before.

By the time he was dressed, Luhan was beside him, drying off and getting his clothes and shoes on with a towel over his head, so he could dry his hair after.

Sehun smiled slightly at the sight as Luhan stood up. He moved over to the shorter boy and took a hold of the towel, moving it gently to dry Luhan’s hair. Luhan didn’t say anything as Sehun went about drying his hair, he just stayed still and let him do it. His hands resting ever so carefully on Sehun’s hips.

“Sehun” Luhan said after a long while, “You can’t like me”

Sehun rolled his eyes, “I’m pretty sure I can like whoever I want to” he pointed out, “But go ahead, humour me. Why can’t I like you?” he asked.

“I just... Sehun, this isn’t going to happen. Me, you... it’s not... we’re not... We wouldn’t work. We’ve be horrible to each other for way too long for it to be sorted out in the space of nine days. And I... I’m sorry, but I don’t like you in that way. I just... I’m sorry, we can’t be anything” Luhan sighed, his eyes on the floor as Sehun continued to dry his hair with the towel, his hands unfaltering.

Sehun smiled a small smile, “We wouldn’t work, huh? Tell me then, what have we been doing for the past week? Have we been playing? Because this, being nice to each other, actually getting along, all the looks and touches, I’m pretty sure that’s proof that we would work. I’m not stupid, Lu, I know we can’t just magically be together, but people work at things. As for you not liking me, well, you do. You just don’t realise you do. So I’ll wait” he said, bringing his fingers to Luhan’s chin and making the elder look up at him.

“Don’t be like this, please... I don’t. We won’t work, okay?! We can’t! I don’t like you like that and I won’t ever... So stop, because I don’t want to hurt you, Sehun-ah. Just, don’t...” Luhan sighed, looking into the younger’s eyes.

But Sehun only smiled and shook his head slightly, “You can say that all you like, I’m not giving up” he said softly, leaning forward so that his lips were a breath away from Luhan’s, “We should get back to the clearning, come on” and with that, he took Luhan’s hand and lead the way out of the shower room.

--

“All for freedom and for pleasure, nothing ever lasts forever~ Everybody wants to rule the world!” Chanyeol sang to himself as he skipped around the grassy area of the clearing. Baekhyun was watching him with a fond smile from the sidelines when Kris came and sat beside him.

“Oh, if it isn’t the Iron Giant” Baekhyun smiled, “What can I do you for?”

Kris shot him an incredulous look before turning to look back at Chanyeol with an amused smile, “How long have you and Taozi been friends?” he asked, not taking his eyes off of Chanyeol, who had now taken to slow dancing with himself.

“I don’t know, just under a year or so?” Baekyhun shrugged, “Why?”

Kris glanced at the younger boy, “I was just wondering, has he ever, you know, talked about me?”

“Oh, I see what this is” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “You fancy the pants off our little panda and you want to know if he likes you back?” he smirked, “Why don’t you just ask Luhan or Lay to ask him for you?”

“I... That’s not... I mean, I... Fine, alright I like him. But I can’t ask them because they’d just take the piss” Kris groaned.

Baekhyun smirked again, “And you think I won’t?” he laughed, “Oh honey” he smiled, wrapping an arm around Kris and pulling him close, so that Kris’s head was resting in his lap, “You really are dense, aren’t you?” he chuckled as he started to run his fingers through Kris’s hair.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” Baekhyun said, “That you and him are so caught up in liking the other, that you’re the only people that can’t tell how much you like each other” he shook his head, “He likes you, Kris. A lot actually, so man up and just tell him how you feel”

Kris sighed, “I don’t know, Byun, what if I get it all wrong and he just ends up hating me?”

“Whoa there Mr. Negative, slow down” Baekhyun chuckled, “You’re over thinking it. Just, I don’t know, go for the old gentleman routine and ask him on a date. If it goes well, give him a cheeky snog and ask him on a second until you feel confident enough to ask him to be your little lover boy” he suggested, “Or, go modern times and just walk up to him say ‘Yo, I want you to be my boy, you get me?’ then nod like the y giant you are and just wait for him to say yes and you guys just get all up in each other and play tonsil tennis. Simples”

Kris looked up from where he was laying to raise an eyebrow at Baekhyun, “Your mind scares me sometimes” he voiced, “Seriously. Can’t you try and get him to confess first, you know so that I know you’re not lying?”

“Why would I be lying?! I’m not that mean you know!” Baekhyun huffed indignantly.

Kris scoffed, earning himself a smack on the forehead, “Ow! Alright, you’re not mean, gees, no need to hit me!” he pouted, “Fine, I’ll think about it okay? I just... need time”

“Yeah, because you’ve not had enough time already” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “Look, the way I see it, you guys can either just lay your cards on the table and have it all out, or keep dancing around each other until one of you just gives up and falls for someone else. The choice is yours, sweetie, so do what you gotta do”

Kris let out a drawn breath, “Alright, I’ll talk to him soon. Just not yet, let me just think about what I’ll say and then I’ll talk to him, okay?”

“Okay” Baekhyun smiled at the elder as Chanyeol came skipping over.

“Kris, why are you laying on my boyfriend?” Chanyeol asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kris chuckled up at the other tall boy, “He made me” he grinned cockily.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes before looking up at Chanyeol with a smile, “He’s having a crisis” he explained, “He’s being an unnecessary drama queen”

“Am not” Kris pouted.

“Dude, don’t pout, it’s creepy” Chanyeol laughed before leaning down to kiss Baekhyun, making Kris’s face scrunch up in distaste as Chanyeol pulled back. “Don’t like it? Don’t look” Chanyeol smirked, moving to sit beside Baekhyun.

Letting out a huff of air, Kris sat up, “I’m gonna go and think about what I should say. I’ll catch you later” he said as he got to his feet, shooting them both a wave before running off to his tent.

“Should I ask?” Chanyeol asked, leaning against Baekhyun slightly.

“Boy drama” Baekhyun laughed, “Tao and Kris stuff, you know, the usual”

Chanyeol laughed, “So why did he come to you about it?”

“Thinks his mates’ll laugh at him” Baekhyun grinned, “He’s such a dork, I swear, but he’s adorable. He’s adorkable, haha”

“And this, right here, is one of the many reasons I love you” Chanyeol laughed, throwing an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders.

--

“Sir, you know you’ve still not told us what we’re doing today” Chen pointed out as the twelve of them sat down for a late lunch.

Suho gave Chen a somewhat strained smile, “Yes, well, that’s because our activity for the day can’t start until it’s dark” he said, being met with eleven confused faces as he did, “We’re star gazing” he explained.

“Oh that’s so cool!” Tao beamed, “I’ve always wanted to star gaze, but you never get the chance to in the city”

Luhan rolled his eyes as he took a bite of his sandwich, “Tao, the only stars you’ve mentioned before are the ones you see on TV or hear on the radio, what are you on about...”

“What are you on about?!” Tao scoffed, “Maybe you just don’t listen”

Lay chuckled, “He has a point, TaoTao” he said, patting the boy on the knee before moving to lean back against the log Suho was sat on.

“Why are you all against me?!” Tao whined, grabbing his sandwich and tearing a chuck off with his teeth.

Baekhyun laughed softly, “Oh BabyTao, they have a point... I’ve never heard you mention the stars, it’s mainly just Gucci and how you think Kris is handsome. Woops, did I just say that? My bad. Chanyeol, pass me a bottle of water, please” He smirked, “Thanks, baby”

Tao had practically frozen in his spot, sandwich halfway to his mouth. Kris was almost the same, though his eyes were wide and he was looking between Baekhyun and Tao as though he couldn’t believe his ears.

“So, how’s everyone enjoying the trip so far?” Lay coughed awkwardly, only to be ignored as everyone gaped at Baekhyun, who had a proud looking smile on his face.

What came to a shock for them all, though, was when Xiumin launched at Baekhyun and pulled him into a tight embrace.

“Thank you!” Xiumin yelled at the younger, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Do you know how long I’ve been wanted to say that?! Or anything!? Just to get those two to stop being little wusses and just admit they like each other?! You, Byun Baekhyun, are my new hero!”

And just like that, the tension was gone and everyone was laughing, even Tao and Kris, though they avoided looking at one another as they finished their lunch.

Suho rolled his eyes, but smiled softly as he felt Lay lean against his legs slightly.

“Alright then boys, so, you can just chill out, relax, do what you like until dinner time, Yixing, are you alright to help cook today?” Suho asked, being met with a nod, “then we’ll all go over to the activities area and lay down to see if anyone can spot any constellations. Sound good?” he smiled at them all.

“Yes, sir!” Chanyeol saluted, a grin on his face, making the others laugh.

Suho chuckled, “Alright then, have at it. If you need anything, just come find me, I’ll be around the clearing, or in my tent” he smiled, getting up and wandering off from the group as Lay watched after him.

Turning back, Lay caught Chen’s eye. The other boy was watching him carefully, a small smile on his lips. Lay smiled back slightly before letting his eyes move over to look at Sehun and Luhan.

Luhan was sat between Sehun’s legs, with his back pressed against the younger’s chest and was feeding Sehun bits of his sandwich every minute or so. The sight made Lay smile, Luhan could be such an idiot sometimes.

“So, how long d’you reckon we have until dinner?” Chen asked, pulling a tennis ball out from behind him.

Seriously, where did all these balls keep coming from?!

Xiumin rolled his eyes from where he was now sat beside Baekhyun, “We’ve literally just eaten.” He shook his head, “But I’d say a few hours, maybe?”

“I’m gonna go lay down for a while, I’m feeling a bit tired” Lay said after a moment or two, getting to his feet and stretching his arms above his head, “Someone give me a shout when I need to help Mr. Kim cook?”

“I’ll let you know” Chen smiled knowingly, “Have a nice rest”

Lay chuckled, “I will” he shot back before turning around and heading off into his tent, where he found Suho laying on his front, writing something down on a pad of paper.

Zipping up the tent behind him, Lay flopped down to his knees and crawled over to Suho.

“What you up to?” he asked, peaking over the elder’s shoulder.

Suho looked up at Lay and gave him a small smile, “Just working through the rest of the days. What we’ll be doing and so on. And then just working out what time we need to be up and packed on the last day”

“Sounds fun” Lay voiced sarcastically, before turning to lie on his back beside the elder, “the perks of being a teacher, I suppose”

Suho chuckled softly, “It’s not so bad, it meant I got to meet you, after all” he said without looking at the younger, still jotting things down on his note pad.

“You’re so cheesy” Lay laughed quietly, “But it can’t say much about me, because I seem to really like it” he added, closing his eyes and letting himself rest, having not gotten much sleep the night before for reasons unfathomable to him.

“I’m charming, and you know it” Suho chuckled, leaning over and kissing Lay on the cheek before going back to his work, but not before catching the smile the spread across the younger’s lips.

Lay let out a soft yawn, “Mm, charming indeed, love. Charming indeed” he smiled before drifting off into a much needed sleep.

--

Sehun chuckled as Luhan made yet another cheesy joke at Xiumin’s expense. The older boy was still sat between his legs, back pressed up to his chest and hands on his thighs. He didn’t know if Luhan realised that he’d been resting his hands on his thighs, or if they’d wandered there unconsciously, but he liked the way they felt, the elders thumb moving every so often as though him.

Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to Luhan’s ear, “So, have you thought about what I said at all?”

Luhan groaned slightly, pressing back against Sehun, “Why are you doing this?” he demanded in a whine.

“I told you, I’m not giving up. Okay, it might be a little sudden, but the Luhan I’ve gotten to know over the past nine days or so, is one that I’ve come to really like. And call me crazy, but if I see something I like, then I do my best to get it. So, I’m not giving up until you at least give me a chance.” Sehun smiled against Luhan’s ear, “What have you got to lose?”

Luhan sighed, tilting his head back to lean it against Sehun’s shoulder, “My sanity, maybe?” he answered, making the maknae chuckle.

“Yeah, well, I think you might already have lost that” Sehun said, moving his head to let his lips come to rest against Luhan’s milky neck, “So, what else you got?” he murmured against the warm skin.

Luhan closed his eyes, glad that most of the others had wandered off to do their own things, and Xiumin and Chen, who were still sat with them, were so caught up in their own conversation that they weren’t paying any attention to what he and Sehun were doing.

“Sehun, please...” Luhan whispered, “I can’t do this”

Sehun hummed, “Can’t do what?”

“I can’t... be with you. I can’t be what you want us to be. You don’t like me, you’re just confused...” the elder said, his voice quivering.

Sehun sighed against Luhan’s neck, making the elder shiver, “Okay, you can tell me you don’t like me, that fine. But you don’t tell me who I like. That’s my choice and mine only, you can’t tell me who I like or don’t like. And when I tell you that I like you, I’m not having you on, Luhan. I’m not playing, or joking, I’m being serious. And I mean it when I say I’m not going to give up. so you can deny, and deny and deny all you want, but I like you and there’s some part of you that likes me too, because if there wasn’t then you wouldn’t still be with me like this even after you found out how I feel about you” he said seriously.

“Why? Why not just move on? Because there are tons of people at school that want you, Sehun” Luhan pointed out, “So why me?”

At this, Sehun smiled again, “Because, Luhan, there’s more to you than that meets the eye. And I like that. And I don’t care if I could have any person in this world, because I’m only seeing you, it would seem. I can’t get you out of my head, so that must be saying something, eh?” he chuckled, “So just think about it, think about me and you and how we’d be that couple that everyone is jealous of and gossips about” he grinned.

“Attention seeker, much?” Luhan smiled, though he was obviously being playful, “But really, Sehun-ah. We wouldn’t work. There’s too much bad blood between us, too much to work through for it to be okay between us all of a sudden...”

Sehun shook his head softly, his lips grazing against Luhan’s neck, “I’m not asking for it to be. Rome wasn’t built in a day, Lu. All I’m asking is for you to think about it, to try.”

“I...” Luhan sighed, “Maybe. That’s the best I can give you right now. So, maybe, alright?”

Sehun smiled, “Alright, I can deal with maybe” he wrapped his arms tightly around Luhan’s waist, moving his face away from the elder’s neck to rest his chin on his shoulder.

Luhan hummed lightly, twisting his body around slightly to curl into Sehun’s hold as he closed his eyes, “I’m tired”

“Then rest” Sehun said softly.

--

By the time they’d eaten and the sunlight had faded into moonlight, the twelve of them were all lying on the grassy area of the clearing, staring up at the sky as the stars made themselves know.

“There’s The Big Dipper” Chanyeol said, his voice sounding rather calming in the darkness of the night.

Baekhyun smiled as he took the taller boy’s hand in his own, “And there’s Orion’s Belt”

Chanyeol turned to his boyfriend and beamed, bringing their joint hands up to kiss the back of Baekhyun’s before they both turned to look at the stars again.

Xiumin looked up at the sky, his eyes sparkling with joy as he did. He’d always loved the stars, but being from the city, the stars weren’t always so clear, and even if they were, it was nothing like how he was seeing them at that moment.

“It’s so pretty” he whispered to nobody in particular.

Chen, who wasn’t paying attention to the sky at all, smiled. He was watching the elder as his eyes shone with awe, “Yeah” he whispered, “pretty doesn’t cover it, I’d say beautiful”

Xiumin glanced at him, and the look Chen was giving him was enough to tell him the younger wasn’t talking about the stars.

Suho was lying beside Lay. Their hands were pressed against each other, their pinkies overlapping. The elder thanked the darkness for hiding their hands, and protecting their secret.

“It’s all kind of romantic” Lay mused quietly, so only Suho could catch his words.

Suho’s mouth quirked up on one side, “Yeah” he murmured back, “I didn’t think of that at all” he said.

Lay looked over to make sure nobody was looking their way before raising an eyebrow at the elder, who only smirked in return before looking back up at the sky, making Lay roll his eyes. But the younger couldn’t stop the grin that plastered his face as he did.

Kai reached out and grabbed a hold of Kyungsoo, pulling the elder closer so that his head was pressed against Kai’s chest. Kyungsoo relaxed in Kai’s hold, listening to the steady beat of the younger’s heart.

If he was honest, he’d expected Kai’s heart to be beating a little erratically, given how nervous the younger usually was, but then he looked up to see Kai lost in the sight above them.

He bit down on his lip, trying not to smile at how adorable Kai could be, but he couldn’t help it when Kai spoke softly to him;

“I’m glad I got to share this with you” the younger boy whispered, glancing down at Kyungsoo with a shy smile.

“Me too, Jongin-ah” Kyungsoo smiled back.

Tao shivered slightly as the cool night air enveloped him rather suddenly. He loved looking at the stars, he really did, but he was starting to feel the cold, and he just needed something to warm him up. If he didn’t warm up soon, he thought he’d probably just head to bed.

“Hey, Taozi, are you alright?” Kris asked, his voice low and showing his concern.

Tao smiled, “Yeah, just a little cold, is all” he answered.

Kris nodded before opening his arms, “Come here” he said, gesturing for Tao to move closer to him.

“Huh?” Tao’s eyebrows shot up in a mix of confusion and embarrassment.

Kris sighed before moving over to Tao and wrapping him into a warm hug. Tao tensed a little before letting himself relax into Kris’s hold.

“Better?” Kris asked.

“Much” Tao smiled, “Thank you”

--

Luhan’s mouth was forming a little ‘o’ shape as he looked up at the blanket of glitter above him. The stars were so underrated, in his opinion. People took them for granted, because they were always there and shining down on you, except they weren’t, because most of them were long dead.

But like most things, they left something behind, to make sure they were never forgotten, so long as people looked. Their light kept on shining, and Luhan liked that. He liked that a lot.

He was lying next to Sehun, their arms pressed together, their shoed feet knocking against each other almost reflexively.

“I like the stars” Luhan said out of the blue, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them.

It wasn’t really disrupting the other boys, since they’d settled themselves a little distance away from the others, although Luhan would claim it was only a coincidence that they’d done so.

“What do you like about them?” Sehun asked. And if Luhan was honest, he wasn’t expecting the question, but it made him smile anyway.

He thought for a moment about how to answer before turning to look at Sehun. Their faces were a lot closer than he expected, their noses practically brushing together. But it was the fact that Sehun was looking right back at him that made his heart leap.

“I... Well, I like that they’re sort of inspirational. Everyone knows stars, right? Everyone talks about them like they’re these almighty things, but they’re not. They’re just balls of flaming gases, all the same really, and that’s kind of what makes them so amazing. But mostly, it’s that they’re a brilliant metaphor for how you can still make an impression long after you’re gone. And how what you leave behind you can still be effective” the elder explained, his eyes not moving away from Sehun’s.

Sehun didn’t say anything, he just looked at Luhan for a long time before leaning over and pressing their lips together.

He moved back after a moment or two to see Luhan’s eyes wide and confused.

“What did you do that for?” the elder asked, a little breathlessly.

Sehun shrugged, “I wanted to kiss you. I want to kiss you again now, too” he admitted softly.

“Okay” Luhan whispered, his voice barely audible.

Sehun raised an eyebrow, not having to voice the question on his mind before Luhan shook his head softly.

“It wouldn’t mean anything, mind” the elder said, but whether he was trying to convince Sehun, or himself, was unclear, “But... You, well, you can if you want to”

Sehun let out a incredulous laugh before moving to press their lips together again, smiling as he felt Luhan kiss him back this time.

Their lips moved together softly, their breaths mingling, Sehun’s tongue gently working its way into Luhan’s mouth as he moved onto his side and brought a hand to rest on Luhan’s waist, whilst his other arm held him up.

Luhan’s hands came to rest on either of Sehun’s cheeks as he tilted his head to give the taller boy access.

A quiet mewl left Luhan’s lips as he arched into Sehun’s touch.

And if Sehun had a reason to not give up before then, well, he just got a better one.