“Junmyeon, could you make the sauce while I fix the bread?” Kyungsoo asks over the music Baekhyun has blasting from the living room.

Junmyeon smiles and nods, knowing better than to try to talk over the others’ “singing”. (HEY CUPID HAS SHOT MY HEART!)

“This is a lot of food,” Junmyeon says, (just in time for Baekhyun’s excited ‘TURNED AROUND AND SHOT MY HEART’) “Do you usually make all this on your own?”

(“Baekhyun, turn that down!” “Never!”)

“Not really,” Kyungsoo answers. “I only cook for times like this, where we’re all going to be together for a few days. Otherwise, we order pizza.”

“But for other sleepovers? You cook this much?”

Kyungsoo hums. “Before today I was cooking for eight, so usually a large lasagna or something would cover it.”

“None of the others help?”

Kyungsoo snorts. “You’ve met them, right? There’s no way they’d be any help. They’d be in the way, and a safety hazard more than anything else.”

(“HER, HER, HER BODY PUNCH. PUT ‘EM UP PUT ‘EM UP PUT ‘EM UP.”)

Junmyeon purses his lips. “I don’t mind to help, since now you’ve got to cook for four more. But if I’m ever not around, I think Yixing is actually a pretty good cook as well.”

“You think?” Kyungsoo laughs.

“I’ve never had his cooking, but he feeds Taozi and Minseok pretty often, and they’ve never complained.”

“But why has he cooked for them and not you?”

Junmyeon eyes him over the pot of spaghetti sauce. “Don’t go getting any weird ideas. He’d do it if I let him.”

“So then why don’t you let him?”

Junmyeon stares into the pot, cracking a smile when Baekhyun and Jongdae sing off key on purpose. The others are slightly visible through the doorway, and he watches Yixing laugh for a moment before looking back at Kyungsoo. “I’m the cause of a lot of stress in Yixing’s life, and there’s not much I feel I can do to make it up to him.”

He turns to watch the others dance around while Baekhyun changes the song, and when the music starts back up again, it’s with Baekhyun finally (finally) singing with his real voice instead of a goofy one. When he turns back, Kyungsoo is observing him very carefully. (“Baby don’t cry, tonight, as the darkness passes”)

“What?” He asks, but Kyungsoo just shakes his head.

“You’re very interesting, Kim Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon blinks, but before he can figure out what to say to that, the sauce starts bubbling. “Ah, I think this is done. What about the bread?”

Kyungsoo nods but stays silent, moving the finished pieces of garlic bread onto a plate while Junmyeon spoons the spaghetti out onto the twelve plates on the table.

Sehun nearly tackles Junmyeon in his excitement to get to the table, but Junmyeon only laughs at his sheepish apologies and pats his head.

(“When you smile, sun shines…”)

Junmyeon calls for the others while Kyungsoo puts out silverware and Sehun stares down at his plate hungrily. He watches Junmyeon’s eyes screw up when he smiles at Jongdae across the table, and watches Yixing sneak some of his spaghetti onto Junmyeon’s plate when Junmyeon turns to wipe sauce off of Jongin’s mouth, and he thinks, yes, they’re going to fit right in.

(“So baby don’t cry, cry, because my love will protect you.”)

---                             

Junmyeon doesn’t sleep much, even when he’s not sharing a room with eleven other people. He’s always afraid his dad will come in while he’s sleeping, the lock removed long ago. He’s never spent a night away from his house, because asking his father for permission is a dangerous and pointless endeavor. When he does sleep, it’s only for a few hours and usually ends abruptly, most commonly the result of a nightmare.

Which is why he should have expected this, when he wakes up gasping in the middle of the night. He sits up, trying not to disturb Baekhyun and Chanyeol on either side of him. The three of them are sharing Baekhyun’s bed, while the rest of the boys are sprawled out on various surfaces throughout the room. Through the dark, Junmyeon could slightly make out Yifan’s feet sticking out over the armrest of the couch and Tao, Jongin, and Sehun curled up on a nest of blankets in the floor. He does a head count, there’s Jongdae on the blow up mattress with his head in Minseok’s lap, Luhan’s legs thrown over Jongdae’s back. Kyungsoo is curled up under the coffee table and Yixing is splayed across the two bean bag chairs, and the door is firmly closed, Junmyeon’s father nowhere in sight.

A hand on his waist startles him enough that he jumps and gasps, still not completely calmed down. He turns in the hand’s direction and finds Baekhyun staring at him with lidded eyes and thinly veiled concern. Junmyeon pats his hand and smiles reassuringly.

“I’m okay,” he whispers. “I just have to use the bathroom.”

Baekhyun doesn’t comment, but he does give Junmyeon a very unimpressed look. Junmyeon just pats his hand again as he crawls out of bed, careful to not jostle the bed too much and wake Chanyeol. He knows where the bathroom is and makes his way to it, actually going to the bathroom while he’s in there and then splashing his face with water from the sink. He doesn’t feel like going back to sleep now, when he’s going to keep wanting to turn to look over his shoulder to make sure he’s safe. And he doesn’t want to risk waking up from another nightmare in tears, which definitely will not be so easy to explain away.

But not sleeping will look suspicious, so Junmyeon makes his way back to Baekhyun’s room and climbs back into bed. Only now Chanyeol is awake too, and he’s helping Junmyeon get settled before Junmyeon can even ask why he’s not still asleep.

Chanyeol settles in behind him while Baekhyun turns on his side to face him.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Junmyeon flushes. “No, I just had to use the bathroom…”

Baekhyun bites his lip. “You were crying in your sleep, though.” Junmyeon looks away, and Baekhyun and Chanyeol move closer until Junmyeon is sandwiched in between them. “It’s okay to have nightmares sometimes, Jun. Lots of people have them. I heard Taozi has them all the time after he watches scary movies.”

Junmyeon pouts at him and hopes that’s enough of a response for Baekhyun to stop questioning him about it.

“Are you still scared?” Baekhyun asks, and Junmyeon nods a little hesitantly. Baekhyun hums and Chanyeol cuddles him a little closer. “Do you want me to sing to you?”

Junmyeon flushes again and buries his face in the pillow. “I don’t think that will help.”

Baekhyun grins at him a little mischievously. “I think you’re underestimating how calm and soothing my voice is. But I won’t do it if it’ll just make you uncomfortable.”

“Let him do it,” Chanyeol mumbles into the back of Junmyeon’s neck. “He woke me up by elbowing me really hard in the stomach. I need something to distract me from the pain.”

Junmyeon huffs a laugh as Baekhyun rolls his eyes. Baekhyun opens his arms up and Junmyeon shyly scoots forwards until his face is settled into Baekhyun’s neck, and then reaches back to pull Chanyeol forward until he’s squished between them. Baekhyun starts to sing, and Junmyeon smiles against Baekhyun’s chest.

His father couldn’t reach him right now even if he wanted to.

“I’m so lucky to have met you. If we meet again, I want to tell you

Fly to you, stay by my side

You’re beautiful”