“We’re never going to find anything for Chanyeol and Baekhyun in here,” Jongin complains four months later as he follows Kyungsoo through a store whose front advertises that they sell gifts for those who have everything. “We should have gone to the plant store—”

“Here. The perfect thing,” Kyungsoo grins, pulling Jongin away from eyeing a remote-controlled blimp with disgust. “Everyone needs one of these.”

Jongin rolls his eyes as Kyungsoo scrolls through the song options on a karaoke machine, but doesn’t protest as Kyungsoo picks a duet from Rent and laughs when the music fills the store.

“The filmmaker cannot see,” Kyungsoo belts, shoving the other microphone in Jongin’s face. Jongin laughs loudly at the elder’s perpetual lack of shame before providing the next line,

“And the songwriter cannot hear!”

“Yet I see Mimi everywhere!”

“Angel’s voice is in my ear!”

“Just tighten those shoulders,” Kyungsoo playfully squeezes Jongin’s arm with his free hand, earning another bright, genuine smile as Jongin refers to the lyrics on the screen.

“Just clench your jaw till you frown,”

“Just don’t let go or you may drown…”

Jongin launches himself into the chorus at full speed, moving a little bit to the music as Kyungsoo’s voice abruptly trails off after another line. It takes the younger a moment to notice, but when he looks back at Kyungsoo, his face is as pale as a sheet and the look in his eyes is something he hasn’t seen before as he stares across the store.

“What’s the matter?” he asks, huffing when Kyungsoo doesn’t respond. “It’s my voice, isn’t it? You hate my voice. I have a terrible voice, I know. You know, we can’t all have naturally smooth singing voices like you—”

“It’s Jongdae.”

Jongin blinks. “What?”

“It’s Jongdae. He’s walking right towards me.”

Jongin looks up to see an handsome man with high cheekbones and a kitten smile approaching them, accompanied by his equally attractive partner. The forgotten guitar riffs continue to blare from the speaker behind them.

“How are you, Kyungsoo?” the man Jongin assumes to be Jongdae asks with a gentle smile, and Kyungsoo swallows hard before responding.

“Fine, fine.”

“This is Kim Minseok,” Jongdae gestures to the man beside him. “Do Kyungsoo.”

“Minseok,” Kyungsoo stiffly greets, shaking the man’s hand before lapsing back into silence. Jongdae glances between him and Jongin expectantly.

“Kim Jongin, this is Kim Jongin,” he finally says. “Kim Jongdae and Minseok.”

“Hi,” Jongin says with as much warmth as he can muster despite the ice pricking at his heart.

“Nice to meet you,” Jongdae smiles in return. It’s a terrible moment. Kyungsoo looks as if he’s about to faint. “Well, see you,” he says after an unbearable second of awkwardness, waving slightly at them both.

“Yeah. Bye, Minseok,” Kyungsoo manages, watching the couple walk away. Jongin’s heart breaks just looking at his friend. 

“You okay?”

“I’m perfect,” Kyungsoo quips, looking very much like a cartoon character that’s just been struck on the head with a mallet. “He looked weird, he looked very weird. Didn’t you think he looked weird?”

“I’ve never seen him before.”

“Trust me, he looked weird. His legs looked heavier, too. Didn’t you think? He’s retaining water.”

“Kyungsoo.”

“What? The man saved everything.”

They end up visiting the plant store in the end, and Jongin pays for a potted fern as Kyungsoo stares blankly into a ficus. “You sure you’re okay?” Jongin asks again, thick brows drawing together as he looks at the shorter man.

“I’m fine. It had to happen at some point. In a city of eight million people you’re bound to run into your ex-husband. So it happened. And now I’m fine.” Jongin raises an eyebrow but nods, leading the way out of the store and back onto the street. “I mean, it was like a catharsis. I looked death in the face and shook its hand. And now I feel great. I really feel okay.”

—

“It works for me. It says ‘home,’” Chanyeol insists as Baekhyun groans and runs his hands through his hair.

“Okay, okay; we’ll let Jongin and Soo be the judge,” Baekhyun turns to Jongin with pleading eyes. “What do you think of it?”

Jongin and Kyungsoo both look at the object in question: a large wagon wheel that’s been made into a coffee table via a round plate of glass on the top. “It’s nice,” Kyungsoo shrugs, and Chanyeol grins victoriously. 

“Case closed.”

“Of course he thinks it’s nice! Jongin?”

Jongin glances between his best friend and the table before crinkling his nose and subtly shaking his head.

“Ha! See?”

“What’s so awful about it?” Chanyeol whines.

“It’s so awful that there is no way to begin to explain what is so awful about it.”

“I don’t object to any of your things—”

“Look, if we had an extra room, you could put it in there with all your things, including your bar stools, and I would never have to see it—”

“You don’t like my bar stools?” Chanyeol gasps, stricken. Baekhyun looks at him. Of course he doesn’t like his bar stools. Chanyeol groans and turns to Kyungsoo for help, spotting his best friend now draped over a lone chair by the window, staring out like a forlorn figure in a Magritte painting.

“Kyungsoo?” he says, sighing when he doesn’t get a response. “Someone has to be on my side.”

“I’m on your side,” Baekhyun insists, grabbing his boyfriend’s arm and clinging to it. “I’m just trying to help you have good taste.”

“I have good taste.”

“Everyone in the world thinks they have a sense of humor and good taste but they don't all—”

Baekhyun stops talking when Kyungsoo suddenly stands up, looking angrily around the room.

“You know, we started out like this,” he says calmly, waving his hand around at the plethora of unpacked boxes. “Jongdae and I. We had blank walls. We hung things. We looked at swatches. And do you know what happens? Six years later you wind up singing Roger’s part of ‘What You Own’ in front of Minseok!”

His voice rises sharply, and Jongin takes a small step forward. “Kyungsoo, I know you're upset, but do we have to talk about this right now?”

“What’s wrong with right now? It’s the perfect time to talk about this,” the elder growls, becoming more and more upset. “I just want them to see the realities of what this leads to. Everything’s fine, everybody’s in love, everybody’s happy— and before you know it, you’re going to be screaming at each other over who owns this dish! This eight dollar dish will cost you a thousand dollars in phone calls to the law firm of that’s mine and this is yours.” 

He’s shouting now, and Baekhyun instinctually shrinks back into Chanyeol as the taller wraps an arm around his shoulders. “I mean it! Put your name in your books—”

“Kyungsoo—”

“—now, while you’re unpacking them, before they get all mixed up together and you can’t remember whose is whose. Because someday, believe it or not, you’re going to be fighting over who’s going to get this coffee table. This stupid, Roy Rogers, garage sale, wagon wheel coffee table!”

“I thought you liked it,” Chanyeol frowns as Kyungsoo makes his way to the door.

“I was being nice!” Kyungsoo yells before storming out and slamming the door behind him. The silence hanging over the room is thick and humid, and Jongin offers the bewildered couple a small smile in apology.

“He just bumped into Jongdae,” he explains before sighing and going after Kyungsoo, leaving Chanyeol and Baekhyun alone.

“I want you to know,” Baekhyun says after a moment, tilting his head to look up into the younger’s eyes with sincerity, “that I will never want that wagon wheel coffee table.”

—

“I know, I know. I shouldn’t have done that,” Kyungsoo sighs as he paces in front of the stoop, Jongin slowly walking  down the steps. 

“Kyungsoo, you have to find a way of not expressing every feeling you have every moment you have them.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. There are times and places for things.”

“Well, when you’re giving your next lecture series in social graces, let me know. I’ll sign up.”

Jongin scowls at him. “You don’t gave to get angry about it.”

“I think I’m entitled to a little anger when I’m being told how to live my life by Mister Hospital Corners.”

“You’re about to cross the line, Kyungsoo.”

“So what? Is that the end of the world? Crossing the line?” Kyungsoo steps up to the younger, and despite Jongin’s advantage in height, he feels small. “You know what your problem is? You stand too far behind the line. I don’t think you can even see the line from where you’re standing,”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jongin demands indignantly.

“I mean nothing bothers you! You never get upset about anything!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he huffs, stepping around Kyungsoo and folding his arms.

“What? You never get upset about Sehun. I never see it back up on you. How is that possible? Don’t you experience any feelings of loss?”

“I’ve experienced my loss!” Jongin shouts back, turning to face him again. “I’ve had my mourning period! I’m done with it!”

“What mourning period? One hour in Nordstrom. You bought a new watch and heartbreak flew right out the window.”

“I don’t have to take this from you,” Jongin hisses, storming back into the building with Kyungsoo on his heels.

“If you’re so over Sehun, why haven’t you been seeing anyone?”

“I see people!” Jongin snaps, turning and storming onto the street once again.

“See people? Let me ask you something. Have you slept with one person since you broke up with Sehun?”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Jongin screams, glaring at Kyungsoo with angry tears pricking at his eyes. “That will prove I’m over Sehun? Because I somebody? Kyungsoo, you’re gonna have to move back to New Jersey because you’ve slept with everybody in New York, and I don’t see that turning Jongdae into a faint memory for you! Besides, I’ll make love to someone when it’s making love, not the way you do it, like you’re out for revenge or something!”

“Are you finished now?” Kyungsoo says softly, watching Jongin’s shoulders rise and fall with heavy breaths.

“Yes.”

“Then can I say something?”

Jongin takes a deep breath. “…yes.”

“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo breathes, pulling the younger into a bone-crushing hug. “I’m sorry…”

Jongin lets his eyes close as he wraps his arms around Kyungsoo’s muscular back, willing the residual tension in his shoulders to dissipate. “It’s alright. Come on, we should go back inside.”

Kyungsoo nods and takes his hand, and Jongin squeezes it reassuringly before leading the way back into the building. Chanyeol comes out before they can get in the door, hauling the wagon wheel behind him.

“Don’t say a word,” he pouts as he rolls it to the curb.

—

“It’s a monkey, it’s a monkey!” Chanyeol shouts. “Monkey see, monkey do!”

Jongin exasperatedly shakes his head no and keeps feverishly drawing on the pictionary board.

“An ape? Going ape.”

“It’s a baby!” Tao says, and Jongin excitedly points to him and writes the word “baby” on the paper before continuing to draw.

“Planet of the Apes!”

“Planet of the Apes?” Kyungsoo says, reaching a leg over to kick Chanyeol. “He already said it’s a baby. How about planet of the dopes.”

“Well it doesn’t look like a baby.”

“Thirty seconds,” calls Yifan, raising a defined eyebrow as he watches his date frantically draw arrows coming out of the baby’s mouth. 

“Big mouth, baby mouth, big baby mouth,” Kyungsoo and Tao guess, their words overlapping. “Martha Raye as a baby. Baby teeth, baby spittle, spit on a baby, baby burp. Burp the baby.”

“Baby ape!”

“Will you forget ape? It’s not an ape!”

“Baby fish, baby fish mouth!”

Kyungsoo shoots Chanyeol a look that could kill.

“Ten seconds.”

“Crying baby! Feed the baby, baby food!”

“Oh my god, Jongin, draw something resembling anything.”

“The baby’s crying because it’s wet and needs to be changed, it’s an unhappy baby it’s a…”

“That’s it. Time’s up,” Yifan calls. Jongin groans.

“Baby talk!”

“Baby talk? What’s that? That’s not a saying!” Chanyeol complains.

“Oh, but ‘baby fish mouth’ is sweeping the nation,” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes.

“Final score: our team, 110, you guys, sixty,” Baekhyun announces.

“I’m a terrible artist,” Jongin sighs, putting his marker down as Yifan gets up to wraps his arms around him.

“No,” the elder insists, smiling down at his boyfriend. “That’s a baby, and it’s clearly talking.” He presses a soft kiss to Jongin’s lips, and Kyungsoo glances away. “You’re wonderful.”

“Anybody for coffee? Baekhyun asks, pushing himself up off the floor as his guests chime their assent. 

“I’ll help you,” Jongin volunteers, smiling up at Yifan before following his best friend into the kitchen.

“It never looked like a baby to me,” Chanyeol grumbles.

“Where’s the bathroom?” Yixing asks, gracefully lifting himself off the carpet and straightening his clothes.

“Down the hall, to the right,” Baekhyun says before disappearing into the kitchen. Yixing leans down and presses a kiss to Kyungsoo’s lips before heading down the hallway, and Jongin pretends not to notice.

“Chanyeol, you were going to show me the cover art for your new book,” Kyungsoo says when he’s finished watching his date walk away. 

“Yeah, it’s in the den,” Chanyeol stands and leads the way into the next room.

“…does Yifan seem a little stuffy to you?” Kyungsoo half-whispers once they’ve got some semblance of privacy. 

“He’s a good guy,” Chanyeol says as he opens his laptop. You should talk to him, get to know him.”

“He’s too tall to talk to,” Kyungsoo says bitterly.

—

“Yixing’s a little young for Kyungsoo, don’t you think?”

“He’s young, but look what he’s done,” Baekhyun replies as he fills the coffee machine with water.

“What has he done? He makes sweets. Kyungsoo doesn’t even like sweets.”

“Yifan’s great,” Baekhyun changes the subject with a smirk.

“I know. He’s a grownup,” Jongin sighs, leaning against the counter. “I’ve never been with a grownup.”

“Mmm hmm.”

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