It was their last day in Germany and they still hadn't gotten a day off. Most of the members had given up, accepting that they wouldn't be able to enjoy Germany's beauty this time. For their last day, they were meant to be packing; they were leaving tonight. They were forbidden to go out of the hotel anyway so everyone was (disappointedly) getting ready for their departure. Xiumin hadn't been too upset, to be honest, when he learnt that they weren't going to be able to go sightseeing. He had been looking forward to it a bit having been affected by the enthusiasm of his dongsaengs, but he had originally had a feeling that the managers wouldn't allow them to do anything fun. They rarely did. He had also checked the schedule as well, and knew that they were tight-packed (they had a ridiculous amount of concerts and meetings to attend); they wouldn't be able to have much free time in the months that followed. 

So yeah, Xiumin hadn't been extremely affected by the news. But Luhan had. The younger boy had done a lot of research into tourist attractions and areas around Germany which he wanted to visit. He had even printed out maps and directions to be used for when they went for the trip. Luhan had been talking about it for ages, even muttering about it in his sleep once. So when he find out that they wouldn't be allowed to explore, Luhan had gotten angry. He had confronted the managers on the issue, insisting that it wasn't fair that got no free time but had been severely reprimanded without an actual explanation from the managers who told Luhan to stop being a baby. Since then, Luhan had been irritated and sulky, ignoring everyone while he stayed in an extra room originally for the managers. Xiumin had decided to give the boy some space to let him cool off. The other members had listened to Xiumin, agreeing to give the boy his space. 

And so, Xiumin was now packing in his and Luhan's (former?) room. They would be leaving in around 8 hours and Xiumin wanted to relax for a bit so it was better to get the packing out of the way first. He was just about done, zipping the bag up when Suho came into the room, his face ashen and upset. "Minseok hyung." the leader said urgently. Xiumin looked up. "What is it?" He asked taking in Suho's conflicted expression. "Luhan hyung, he's, he got angry. Tao went up to him to ask whether the boy had a shirt. When he saw that Luhan wasn't packing, he for being lazy. According to Tao, Luhan threw a newspaper at him angrily and told him to leave." Suho explained. Xiumin's eyebrows furrowed. "And, it's not like it was anything serious, it's just a bit worrying. I mean, you would have thought that he would have gotten over the not being allowed to go out thing by now." Suho rambled on. Xiumin stepped in, placing a placating hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll talk to him." He assured, giving the boy a comforting smile. Suho let out a deep breath and smiled. "Thanks hyung." He let out, his tone relaxed. Xiumin nodded in reply as he left the room. 

~

Luhan's door was closed and no sound came to the outside. Xiumin knocked. "Luhan? Can you open the door?" He called out. No response came. "Luhan." Xiumin knocked again. No response again. Xiumin decided to try something else. "Lu-ge." Xiumin said, loudly and clearly. "Open the door. Open the door, Lu-ge. Pleaseeee." 

Suddenly shuffling was heard from the inside and Xiumin watched in anticipation as the door opened to reveal Luhan. The boy had a (fake) emotionless expression on his face. His body was tense and stiff as he glanced at Xiumin. "What do you want?" Luhan asked Xiumin, his voice sounding bored and unaffected. Xiumin gave him a bright smile. "To talk. I just want to talk." He said. "Can I come in?" Luhan bit his lip slightly before putting on an unaffected mask again, turning around and nodding. Xiumin walked into the room, closing the door behind firmly behind him. 

Luhan was lying on the bed, on his phone, probably playing temple run or something. Xiumin sat down on the bed next to him. He began to poke the boy's stomach lightly. Luhan ignored him. Xiumin leaned in closer to Luhan's face. "Lu-ge. Why are you ignoring me? Lu-ge. Lu-ge. Lu-ge." Xiumin said repeatedly as he poked the boy. Luhan huffed. "What do you want?" He asked, in an annoyed tone. Xiumin smiled and laid down next to him. "Luhan. Why are you so upset?" He asked softly. Luhan just scoffed. "It's unfair. They always control us. It's like we're not even human to them sometimes. We have needs too. We can't just work all the time." Luhan complained. Xiumin smiled. "I know it's hard. But this is what we signed up for- this is the life of idols." Xiumin said before hastily adding. "Don't worry though- next time we're here, we'll definitely explore Germany." 

Luhan just sighed, a sad and disappointed sigh that made Xiumin frown. "Hey, Luhan. Don't be upset." Xiumin said softly placing a hand on the younger boy's cheek. Luhan looked up. "I was really excited." Luhan whispered softly. Xiumin nodded. "I know. But there's nothing we can do about it." Xiumin said sadly, patting the boy. Luhan nodded, sighing once again. "I know, it's just a shame." the boy whispered turning around so his body was sideways. Xiumin turned with him, wrapping an arm around the boy, trying to comfort him. 

"Minseok-ah." Luhan spoke up after a while. "Hmm?" Xiumin hummed. "It's not what I expected." Luhan said softly. "What isn't?" Xiumin asked even though he knew what Luhan was talking about- the life of an idol. "Being an idol." Luhan replied, his voice barely above a whisper. Xiumin gave the boy kisses on his shoulder, sweet and gentle, not knowing how to reply to that. Luhan shivered under his touch before turning around. He smiled at Xiumin, a genuine one and kissed him on the lips. "I should probably apologize to Zitao, huh?" Luhan mumbled between their kisses. "Yeah." Xiumin breathed back. Luhan smirked before leaning in again. "Later." 

~~~

dude i swear all my chapters end with them freaking kissing

i have a lot of hw to do so it's kind of short- sorry!

also, this is one of the last chapters in the growl era

thanks for comments and subs-much appreciated. 

Bye!