[Topp Dogg]

(Twelve Years Earlier)

Twelve year old Park Sehyuk sat in the living room of the Home for boys, watching as the adults filled out the paperwork for the new kid. He was short and thin, his eyes cast down to the floor so that he wouldn't see anyone. Sehyuk recognized the distant, dazed expression, having seen it countless times over his life in the Home. This was a kid who had seen bad things, instead of simply abandoned at birth. Watching the other boy, he wanted to know his story. Feeling butterflies in his stomach at the thought of meeting the other boy, he smiled. He was cute, but Sehyuk would never mention it. He would simply try to befriend him, instead of chasing him off by hitting on him. 

Leaning back on the couch and pretending to read the health magazine on the coffee table, he glanced at the other boy as he was led over to the bedrooms. Although he still wondered who the other boy was, he would have to wait until another time for the subject. Right now he needed to get settled in and become comfortable with everything. Introductions would come later.  

At dinner that evening, Sehyuk glanced at the new boy, seeing that he had settled next to Kidoh, the boy who had come to them from Australia four years before. Sehyuk didn't know him very well, so he wouldn't be of any help with introductions. Picking at his food, he didn't feel much like eating, since his curiosity had taken over. He managed to eat half of his meal, noticing Sangdo staring at him in a questioning manner. He shook his head at his friend, knowing this wasn't the time nor place to talk about his curiousity about the other boy. 

He made it through the meal, excusing himself quietly and walking to his bedroom. He froze when he saw the bags sitting by the bed next to his. He laughed to himself at the irony of it all. The new guy was his new roommate. Lying back on his bed, he took out one of school books to study. He may as well look busy until the other boy came in. He ignored the text messages he recieved from Sangdo, knowing that they were about earlier. He wasn't ready to explain to his friend that the reason he hadn't been eating and had been nervous was because he was attracted to the new boy. Sangdo might not take that very well. 

Sehyuk tried to ignore the door opening while he was doing his homework. The other boy walked in quietly, ping his bag and pulling out folded up clothes. As Sehyuk watched from around his book, he noticed that the other boy was setting all of his clothes on his bed. He was obviously unsure of where to put them. 

"You can have the drawers on the left," he finally spoke to the other boy, smiling. "There are twelve of them, and the six on that side are yours," he smiled at him, but simply got a blank stare in return. 

The other boy nodded, glancing at Sehyuk before he began placing his clothes into the dresser. Pulling out his pajamas, he finally spoke. 

"Um...where's a shower?" He asked the question softly, looking down at his clothes again. 

Sehyuk took a deep breath, smiling at him. "It's down to the left...at the end of the hall." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. They didn't make any sense. "I can show you, if you want." 

The other boy shook his head, the tiniest hint of a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. "It's okay. I'll find it myself. Thanks, though." Before Sehyuk could say anything else, the other boy left the room. Sehyuk turned his attention back to his homework, trying not to think about the other boy, who was still a mystery to him. 

A few minutes later, he returned, glancing at Sehyuk. "I couldn't find it," he was still speaking softly, and this time he looked embarrassed. 

Sehyuk stood to his feet, smiling at him. "I'll show you. My name's Sehyuk, by the way." 

The other boy glanced at him, his eyes still distant. "Jenissi." 

"It's nice to meet you, Jenissi," Sehyuk answered softly, suddenly becoming shy. He had never heard that name before, and it had a nice ring to it.

They walked in silence until they reached the showers, where Jenissi smiled at him softly. "Thank you, Sehyuk." Before he could reply, Jenissi was gone. 

Over the next few months, Sehyuk tried to befriend his roommate, but it took over a year for him to get through Jenissi's built up walls. However, once the walls began to come down, they stayed down. Jenissi finally began to become his friend, and they formed a strong bond. Sehyuk still wondered what his story was and how he had come to live at the Home, but he never asked. He found out hater that Jenissi had come from an abusive home, but there seemed to be more to the story than he was letting on. However, it was easy enough for him to simply ignore the past and stay his friend. The closer they became, the more Sehyuk began to fall for his friend. That was one secret he would never let out. He knew that might chase him off for good. 

(Twelve Years Later)

Jenissi sighed as he closed his car door and walked into his apartment building. He was tired, and ready to crash out on his bed. Fumbling for the keys, he unlocked the door and stepped into the living room. Walking over to the closet, he saw that his friend's jacket was lying on the floor of the closet. Smiling, he reached down an picked it up. Sehyuk wasn't the most tidy person in the world, and it showed from his lack of care for making sure his jacket stayed on the hanger. Closing the door, he made his way into the kitchen to find something to cook for dinner. Looking around in the refrigerator, he didn't see anything that looked good, so he texted Sehyuk, asking him to pick up something for dinner on his way home. He grinned when he got a smiley face reply, shaking his head as he walked to the restroom and the shower. 

When Sehyuk got home with the food, his breath caught in his throat. Jenissi was standing shirtless in the bedroom, his back muscles rippling as he searched for a teeshirt. He was definitely enjoying the view.

"I brought dinner," Sehyuk said, smiling when he turned around. He normally wasn't effected by Jenissi's body, until he was shirtless. That was Sehyuk's weakness, and he couldn't help it. 

"Cool," Jenissi replied, pulling a teeshirt over his head. "Thanks, dude. I'm starving."

"Me, too," Sehyuk answered, grinning. He wasn't sure if it was for food, or his friend. "Let's eat." 

Jenissi nodded, helping to pull the food out of the bags. Sehyuk wanted to slap himself for still being so deeply effected by the other man, after knowing him for the past twelve years. The evening passed like any other day, until Jenissi brought up something that made Sehyuk's heart sink. 

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