Jongin actually had the brilliant idea of escaping in the middle of the night. Sure, Yunho probably activated the alarm until morning, yet he had to risk everything if he wanted to get back home before dawn. It was something incomprehensible, him spending those hours stuck by Taemin’s side and appearing the following day at school with the same clothes. They'd think he really hit rock bottom like the rumors of him being poor weren't enough.

Good thing he had taken a shower back at University but his hair still smelled from helping at the restaurant and he was attempting sleep in the same street clothes his brother abandoned him in, right there at the Lee home. Minho offered his but Jongin was too stubborn to change and preferred to keep everything on and deal with it. Better than only in underwear or accepting clothes from Taemin’s supposedly new best friend. 

It was annoying, in a way, to be taken the title. Then he recalled Chanyeol had done the same with Taemin’s, so maybe it was only fair that they switched places after the two lost contact.

Either way, he could already see fingers pointed at him for looking straight out of a homeless district with messy hair, stained clothes and an overall moody attitude nobody dared tackle with. However, he knew they were more than happy on making fun of him behind his back.

The course of action involved getting out of the bedroom. Luckily, for him, mere moments before they decided to all get in there and relax, Taemin excused himself to the bathroom while Minho dozed off rapidly under the warmth of his blanket.

The man was the most tired out of them, hating in a way the cramped room since he was used to his studio back in Japan: huge and single-roomed, wide from up to the sides and enough space for both his working schedule and for Minho to breathe. He rarely dreamed (or did not remember details) because his eyelids were either made of lead or feathery light and gave him insomnias. Good thing it was the first that evening, else, Jongin could not have tiptoed his way around the makeshift bed and out in the hallway. It struck him more than once that, maybe, the photographer was pretending not to hear him. From how he did not flinch at all, him softly breathing and his fingers uncurled over the pillow made Jongin gain more courage and hurry down the hallway.

“Where are you going?”

If memory hadn’t been fading Jongin, he would have easily remembered earlier that the bathroom was the last room before taking the corner and heading towards the living room, achieving freedom. Taemin stood by the doorframe, scrutinizing Jongin’s frozen figure that slowly lowered one of his legs in mid-run and spun around.

“You done? I need to go too.” He scoffed the excuse, leaning against the wall and showing only his back to the other. Arms crossed, Jongin constantly cursed his fortune.

How in the world was he always the one blamed for everything and put in detention when in fact he had done absolutely nothing wrong? Alright, maybe not really nothing since there was no human without a trace of sin, yet it happened so often that Jongin thought the deities had long decided to use him as the permanent cast for their variety show in which humans went through all sorts of hilarious challenges. Kind of like Running Man with strangers and a lot more ‘why do you hate me so much you buttholes?’ from Jongin’s side.

“Yeah, whatever, don’t take long,” Taemin brushed by Jongin’s shoulder, his arms also folded over his chest and a pout daring to show before Jongin when he turned just to see his glaring face “just don’t leave. I’m pretending it’s all mushy between us so my parents don’t get upset, got it?”

It wasn’t the intonation or the way Taemin looked extremely cute while speaking, it was mostly guilt that hit Jongin again. True, they weren’t getting along anymore and it was futile to continue playing characters who no longer fit the script. As Taemin said, the parents knew none of that. For them, seeing the two rejoice every second and bring back some of the past moments in an upgraded present version made their life better and assured them both children were doing just as well. As Jongin grabbed the bathroom’s door handle, he watched Taemin ready to get back inside the bedroom before their eyes locked one last time.

“May I take a shower?”

Taemin blinked once, scratching the back of his neck before he nodded and rushed back to Jongin. In under a minute, he pulled out some fresh towels, placed on top of them some products Jongin could use (Minho’s shower gel and shampoo since his were off limits) and even brought him the clothes they suggested earlier, leaving Jongin all alone in the bathroom.

Only his thoughts and bare body, stripped of everything, Jongin could finally feel his muscles relax and his head clear. That shower was exactly what he needed to make peace and hope for a good night sleep.

Well, hope is the key word.

Scrubbing his arms and legs, barely his back and perfectly his chest, Jongin stopped for a second and mumbled about still not being comfortable enough in there, about how Minho boasted with all the great moments he spent with Taemin – the same moments he missed, same moments Jongin could never get back. It was bitter, as bitter as the shampoo that drained in his eyes while trying to wash it off, enough to make him rub them and think again ‘of course’. Why would anything remotely in his favor ever happen?

“It’s okay, at least you’re still trustworthy,” the smug reflected in the steamy mirror was directed at the spot between his legs, shaking lightly his hips as the dangling member just… hang there and wondered when the idiot he was unfortunately stuck to would stop jiggling him. 

;;;

For the third time (or fourth, he lost count after the second anyway), Jongin pulled meters away and tried to stop the sneeze from destroying the quiet house.

Taemin’s locks were too long and they were constantly tickling his face. No matter how many times he tried to back off, they always seemed to crawl back to his unsuspecting nose like Medusa’s hair. He changed positions, only for their bottoms to brush, just like back at the restaurant, in a much more intimate way since the only thing parting them were two pairs of loose pants shaping their apple bottoms. None had jeans to harden their asses and it made Jongin even more uncomfortable than the hair.

Taemin seemed to feel the same, instantly scooting closer to the wall and kicking Jongin’s leg instead when he tried to stretch. It didn’t help that the latter had longer limbs and he had to keep a fetal position, knees bent and his waist hurting.

It was still better than before, Jongin tried to reassure himself, much-much better and it was worth the sacrifice. He smelled nice and that shower really refreshed his spirit, so it was time to get another kind of sponge and erase most of that day and start anew. That was until the only source of light coming from a yellow lamp by the bedside shone on Minho’s face, creating shadows in a way that freaked Jongin out. Enough for him to face the hair once more and this time lightly sneeze over Taemin’s head.

At least there was no weird creature in the night staring at him with hollow eyes. Why would Taemin keep that light on anyway?

Then it hit him.

It wasn’t because he was still afraid of the dark like in their fragile youth, was it? He could understand why back then because it terrified him too yet acted tough so scary cat Taemin felt safe. The monster under the same bed they shared on a regular basis during their first years haunted them until Taemin’s mother bought a lamp that had a soothing golden halo and made everything prettier.

Except for Minho’s face as it proved that night. It kind of amused Jongin for he could further use it as teasing material.

Taemin wondered why Jongin was smiling like a fool and he could only figure that out because of his teeth dazzling in the dark. He wanted to argue about the sneezing thing (ewww, germs on his hair!), yet that face showed it was intentional and he no longer had energy to deal with it. Closing his eyes and placing his hands under his head, he decided to let it go and try to sleep.

Jongin’s smile faded, his heart racing faster when he saw Taemin eyeing him in darkness, visible only because of the lamp. He closed his eyes too, keeping a distance to avoid as much of Taemin as possible (and the hair of doom).

That is how they ended up rolling in bed for over an hour, each shifting positions, accidentally kicking and punching one another every time they wanted to avoid any contact and at one point, Taemin grabbed his pillow, shoved it at his feet and jumped there. Jongin's shower eliminated any foul odor anyway. It wasn’t the case with Taemin’s socks as Jongin had to snuggle with his pillow while holding to his nose, using his best technique of 'the toilets at the restaurant cannot compare' to further ignore it.

Ten minutes into their awkward position, they finally settled down and tranquility veiled them.

There, in the pitch of the night, of shared dreams and heat, where even the slightest sound resonated powerfully until the entire house shook with force, one such noise disrupted the environment with a stinky bang.

Jongin successfully farted straight on Taemin’s face.

“YOU ING BASTARD---!!!” Taemin half yelled as he kicked Jongin straight in the back, snatched two pillows and commenced to murder his childhood acquaintance. Both pillows hit Jongin’s face with the speed of light, making him see stars before Taemin went on top of him, straddled Jongin on spot with his legs and called him names, all in the angriest whisper Jongin had ever heard.

Minho clicked his tongue, pulled the blanket over his head and decided to face the wall, still stuck in dreamland while a crime occurred in the same chamber.

'It was natural!' Jongin thought. How could he go against nature? He didn’t mean to let out the gas that early and planned to keep it until one of them fell asleep when it didn’t matter anymore. He wanted to put blame on mama Lee's cooking or even that blasted shower that made him chill but Jongin knew, oh he knew, the boy on top applying pressure under his belt was mainly his fault.

“Sorry!” the muffled apology came with gasping as Jongin finally clutched Taemin’s wrist and used all of his remaining force to make him listen. “I’m sorry! Sorry!” Taemin slowly switched from a trembling maniac to a trembling teary eyed kid dropping the pillows.

“You're impossible! You know that?” Taemin still whispered, still kept his voice as low as possible, not to wake up anybody else. “You come back in my life like a ing tornado and spare no one.”

Jongin’s fingers loosened, using them instead to lift his torso and better face the other, even if the lamp’s light wasn’t enough to fully take in Taemin’s features. He didn’t know if he was already crying or on the verge of weeping and him asking that not being of any help. Yes, he had done some bad things those days but it wasn’t like Taemin hadn’t acted like a brat either, always like a proud little who cared for nothing and nobody and pissed on authority. Then again, Taemin never cried. Not even on the playground when they ate sand or their parents scolded them for their naughty acts, Jongin wasn't sure if Taemin ever cried around people since he had never done so with him. Also, people don't stay the same, so Taemin might as well become a crybaby over the years.

“I was the one who came back in your life?” but it was rather annoying to be accused, once more, of something he hadn’t done “You’re the one who suddenly showed at my doorstep, in the same goddamn house, on the same goddamn street and in the same goddamn school. Shouldn’t I be the one to feel betrayed in here?”

Taemin shut while the other spoke, trying to catch Jongin’s expression. He could only see part of his face, not enough to recognize if the other was judging him again or actually pitying him.

Even after years, years in which he wondered how his friend was doing, the same silly friend all forget about when they hit their teens and no longer bring in discussions if they weren’t by their side, Taemin still wanted to build something they never got to have.

“Want to start over then?” the proposal took Jongin by surprise, nervous as the weight of Taemin’s body became noticeable. The honey head placed his pinky in front of Jongin, a gentle smile replacing the agape mouth from before. “Start over like we never knew of the other until now.”

Jongin wrapped his pinky around Taemin’s, trying not to laugh at the whole ritual.

“Sounds good…,” he murmured softly before he cleared his throat and whispered “yeah, why not?”

Taemin nodded, let go and showed a thumb up instead. He also wanted to get off the other, which he then went on to do, only to lose his balance from the blanket tangled around his foot. If Jongin had not been alert, Taemin would have landed straight over Minho, crushing the unsuspecting man and probably wake up his parents from all the commotion.

Instead, his back sank over Jongin's left arm in the mattress, fingers attached this time to Jongin’s shoulder while his friend's right elbow joined Taemin’s side and their lips clashed for a second.

Curious how in that second they both exhaled over their lips and none parted, Jongin even foolishly pressing again to better taste Taemin's lips before he nuzzled his nose over his forehead, swallowing hard and letting out a prolonged sigh.

Maybe it was the horror realization that sent them in a whirlwind of mixed emotions and disgusted faces that split both in their respective spots and finally gave them enough space. Or the bed suddenly becoming uncomfortable, suddenly wishing they had a wall made of pillows between them.

None could sleep.

Taemin spent his night touching his lips, wondering what was that about.

Jongin on the other hand stared at the ceiling, his arm under his head, both satisfied and equally scared. The monster under the bed seemed like a pea he could squish under his palm compared to the fear that washed him over the entire night. What the hell has he done?

As both continued to wonder, the only sound was that of their restless hearts and Minho murmuring in his sleep about football.

;;;

Breakfast was relatively silent. The Lees minded their business, mother cooking and father reading the newspaper. Minho was the one shining the strongest, grinning and chatting like there was no tomorrow and looking like a fine dandy ready to wander the streets more like a playboy slash gentleman, if that was possible, than a photographer looking for a cheap studio to rent in a timely fashion. His optimist didn’t transfer at all to the two slumped figures, both scrambling their brains on how not to breathe the same air.

Jongin wanted to go home and even dared ask that during breakfast, only to find out that Taemin had indeed enrolled at the same University at him and the same classes, practically making the two colleagues. He also talked with Yunho beforehand and the sleepover turned out to be his suggestion rather than something the Lees insisted upon out of their own initiative.

He continued to feel like crap while Mr. Lee drove them both to school, his cheek red from sticking to the car window the entire trip. Jongin’s body wasn’t better either, hurting from getting a rabid Taemin apply him a lesson on two on what happens when he cannot control certain muscles in certain areas.

Taemin on the other hand couldn’t, for the love of everything that he found dear, explain what happened. The only stamina he had left allowed him to stay as far away from Jongin as possible. He kind of felt lighter the moment he saw Chanyeol from afar meeting the other, only to stay still for a full minute, trying once more to figure out what happened to the giant to suddenly dropping to the ground.

Shaking his head, Taemin jumped on spot and sported a wide smile as he went on to finally meet his classmates. He only got a tour around the school and some other boring introductory stuff, including being presented to all the teachers and so on the same day he ended up working at Onew’s, burning his hand and then sharing the most awkward kiss ever with Jongin.

No, he shall not think about it anymore. It was an accident and nothing more, no matter how fuzzy it felt. It wasn’t like it had been his first kiss either.

But it still felt weird and would continue to haunt him throughout day.

What a miserable life.

;;;

Yunho was busy as always at the office when he received a call. Fixing his tie and hair, he answered politely and once he heard the voice on the other line, he exploded in giggles and other cute like actions that made Changmin stop what he was doing and just stare at his partner.

“Yes, yes, is that so?”

He continued watching Yunho as he turned around in his chair and laughed at the phone. He wondered what made him so happy despite the doubled workload. Some of them were Changmin’s since he felt too lazy that day to work and decided to play something while leaving everything in Yunho’s hands. So it was unusual for Yunho to keep Changmin interested but it didn’t last long. He returned to his game and ignored the older one.

That lasted only one minute as an evil cackle made Changmin almost break his neck searching for its source since he was extremely sure it hadn’t come from him.

Yunho was facing the ceiling standing, one hand on his hip while he continued to produce the wickedest noise Changmin heard.

He slowly got up from his chair and as he scampered out of the office with the bathroom pretext, he heard Yunho shout “THEY SLEPT TOGETHER???” before he slammed the door behind and decided it was best to go home and call it a day.

Having Yunho as a colleague was challenging.

;;;

Speaking of colleagues, Jongin watched them all whispering topless or only in their underwear in front of the showers.

He was surprised not to meet Taemin. He thought he might have skipped classes or something. He couldn’t be lost around the building, right? Worrying more for Chanyeol’s sanity, who acted mild around him every break (that was new), Jongin spent his day as always, dancing and studying various new techniques. At the end, he took a bit more to gather his stuff before he headed to the lockers and was gleaming just at the thought of a quick shower and then heading to work at the restaurant, which he could actually enjoy this time around since Chanyeol promised to join him.

“What’s wrong?” the closest to him happened to be a smaller boy with blue highlights in his black fringe they nicknamed Chipmunk for his helium quality voice. He dragged Jongin near the chattering crowd, both of his hands clasping Jongin’s head until he finally saw the problem.

“There’s a girl!” Chipmunk spoke with still a rather high note, pointing desperate fingers to the single working shower. “There’s a freaking girl in there, what are we going to do?! Who let her in here?”

The crowd nodded and continued chatting, all worried on how to approach the damsel in distress and kindly tell her the girls’ locker room was on the other side of the hallway. They all admired part of her back showing and her soaked tousled hair cascading her shoulders in a dirty blonde, all wrapped by the steam coming from the shower. Chipmunk even bit over his lower lip, flustered when part of a juicy stern connected to long skinny legs came into his view.

Jongin wanted to slap all of them.

Already shirtless, he pulled his pants and underwear down, courageously strutting forward. They wanted to stop the idiot from scaring the girl but they were equally scared of interfering, so it was best to let the moron get a beating from their female guest.

Glued on Jongin, they all gasped when he dared turn on the shower beside the girl and start washing too, oblivious to the fact that anybody could see his glorious body and more importantly, the girl could scream terrified after encountering a guy there. They couldn’t allow Jongin to the innocence of her eyes, now could they?

Just as they were about to advance and get Jongin out of there, the lady turned her head down at Jongin. They all remained paralyzed by the doors, waiting for that scream any moment now. What followed instead made them all their heads to the same direction and explode in cruel laughter.

“Guess a part of you didn’t grow,” Taemin’s deep voice startled Jongin as he was ogling his dangling friend and snickered a malicious “Too bad.”

After that, Taemin took his towel, wiped the dripping water off his body and wrapped it afterwards around his waist, walking confidently out of the showers and earning the stares of the laughing men, all slowly closing their mouths and widening their eyes.

They were utterly shocked to find out the lady had no s... or it was actually a guy with all the package and that only occured to them when Taemin had to take the towel off and get dressed, eyes going to and fro between the showers and Taemin before laughing some more.

Jongin on the other hand stood there cemented to the floor, pale, wishing to squeeze down the drain, repeating “I’m a big boy shut up what do you know toothpick ” the entire time.

;;;

Minho’s ray of sunshine somehow morphed into an ugly cloud hovering above his head with every heavy step back to the Lees.

He searched everywhere, took some gorgeous photos and even met a girl that gave him her contact details if he ever needed more models in his life. What made him blue was the lack of finding any studio at an acceptable price. That usually wouldn’t bother him but he wanted to work right away and he knew Taemin wouldn’t have enough time to help him promote. He still waited for the day Minho could strip Taemin, give him a guitar, take a couple of wannabe artistic poses and print them in a huge format perfect for galleries. That wouldn’t happen soon but he still had the idea stuck in his imaginary idea book sketched in his head. Overall, it was a successful day.

That didn’t seem to lighten his mood though, which even Minho found strange.

He always made sure to lead a happy life, full of optimistic panoramas, rainbows and everything that was sugary nice in life. It was the same reason he enjoyed Taemin’s presence since he always filled him up with the same sensation of soaring accomplishments through lending his shoulder, even if he wasn’t paying attention 99,93% of the time. The remaining 0,02% was only when dancing or food were implied and Minho could only offer food and the last of 0,01% was dedicated to extreme sports that made even Minho fear for his dear life whenever he dared accompany the adrenaline junkie in one of his adventures, exploring the human resistance.

Minho shuddered before he took his shoes off. There was no sign of the parents as they were probably still working or shopping somewhere. They had a lot to unpack and move around, so empty cardboard boxes or scattered objects cramped in the corner packed the house.

Placing his coat over the hanger, he dropped on the sofa and pulled his phone out, browsing through his messages. Some were from his parents asking how his flight had been since he didn’t call them yet, one from his older brother asking whether they could meet soon and another from a friend they had to leave behind in Japan. The late hour flashed and he decided to give Taemin a call and find out where he was dwelling instead of wanting to take dinner with him. He was sweating just thinking Taemin lost his phone again from how long it took him to answer.

“Hello?”

Finally a response. From the way he sounded, Minho knew he was too into practicing to hear him. The subtle background music and Taemin hyperventilating in the phone painted a clearer picture. He could already imagine him squatting with the phone at his ear, damped clothes and hair, mouth wide opened and his eyes closed, long eyelashes and his pink lips driving anyone crazy.

“Oh, hey, are you staying late?” Minho adjusted his voice and cheerfully asked the one on the other line, hearing a weak chuckle in reply.

“Yes, sorry…,” there was a long pause in which Minho wanted to say so many things but didn’t have the guts “see you later then? Unless you're sleeping. Don’t worry, I’ll catch the last bus.”

“Alright then. Sure you don’t want to take dinner together?”

“Very,” he chuckled again, louder this time. Minho closed his eyes too, still imagining Taemin on the other line, now sitting on the floor and smiling at the blinding lights passing between the cracks of his fingers. “I’m such a ing moron… I blew it today.”

“I’m sure you’re great Taeminie, just make sure to hydrate and also learn to stop when you can’t take it anymore.”

“Ah, not with dancing, just…,” he paused again, longer this time, his voice switching to an almost whisper “never mind. See you!”

“Taemin,” he heard the infamous click that ended a conversation “…you can tell me anything.” He spoke softly, sighing at the screen.

Well, he had more free hours to himself. It wasn’t that bad of a deal… but he did enjoy loud, clumsy Taemin around.

A lot.

Hey guuuys, Lara/shin-oppa here... in a twist of irony, Cas burned her fingers this weekend with boiling oil because she had no Jongin to protect her (fine, she's an idiot) ><;;; hope she gets a speedy recovery and survives this painful week ♥

In the meantime, you're stuck with me again xD; hurray? Thank you for reading!