~~~

Jongin barely has time to process the words on the screen before he hears footsteps behind him, which he hopes belong to Sehun, and he whirls around, despite not being able to see anything, mind in a daze.

“Okay, so like, I can’t really see you right now,” Jongin hears Sehun say, “but I’m gonna assume you’re somewhere closeby.”

The blond swallows and tries to calm his racing heart. He definitely isn’t paying attention. “Um.”

“I didn’t get attacked, by the way,” Sehun chuckles as his hands fumble around in the darkness in search of the blond, his fingers wrapping around the latter’s wrist when his fingertips graze against the material of his own jacket. “What’s the matter?” he asks after a few seconds of complete silence. He sees the faint light of his phone screen barely illuminating Jongin’s face in the dark, an unreadable expression on the latter’s features.

“That’s uh, that’s good,” Jongin mumbles absentmindedly and nearly smacks himself in the face. One half of him is screaming at him to act as if nothing happened but the other half of him desperately wants to shove the phone in Sehun’s face and question him about what he’d just read. However, Jongin doesn’t need to, because the next thing he knows, he feels the phone leave his hand and he blinks.

The next few moments are filled with utter silence and Jongin honestly doesn’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. For the first time in a while, he wishes it were sunny out, or at least that the useless godforsaken streetlamp behind them would work because not being able to see Sehun’s expression as the latter, Jongin assumes, takes a turn to read the message makes the blond want to rip his own hair out. The bubbly feeling in his stomach does absolutely nothing to console him as he exhales as quietly as he can. The longer he stands there, nailed to the ground, unmoving, the greater his anxiety becomes and he has to shove his hands in the pockets of his jacket to stop himself from running over and punching the wall. In fact, he’s dangerously close to doing just that when he hears Sehun’s voice.

“Now, I guess?”

Jongin blinks. For God’s sake. “Huh-”

“I was planning on making it a little more, well, interesting than this, so to say,” Sehun chuckles, and if it wasn’t dark out Jongin would be able to see the taller rubbing his neck sheepishly. “But since Junmyeon had to ruin it, I guess I’ll do it now.”

“What do you-”

“Kim Jongin, I, Oh Sehun - the jock, the single playboy, the stud, the womanizer; despite despising women with all my heart, am in love with you.”

It takes Jongin a full minute to process Sehun’s words and when he does, he nearly scrambles to remove the latter’s jacket in fear of it getting drenched with sweat as a result of his body feeling like it’s been lit on fire on the inside. It’s not until he takes a few (much needed considering the fact that Oh Sehun just...confessed to him???) breaths of air and successfully manages to stop the spinning in his head that he snorts. “Do you even realize how corny and unromantic that was.”

Sehun scoffs. “What’d you want me to do,” he snickers, “get down on one knee and ask you out to dinner?”

Jongin blinks. “Who on Earth proposes before the dinner?”

“At least help me out a bit,” Sehun whines as he shoves his phone in his pocket. His voice suddenly turns smug. “Hey, you know what, if you want corny and unromantic,” he snickers before taking a step forward.

“What in God’s name are you tal-” Jongin’s sentence promptly ends in a loud squawk, which is closely followed by a semi terrified squawk when he feels suddenly feels a pair of strong arms wrap around his back and under his thighs and, before he gets a chance to even register the fact that he’s been lifted at least three feet off the ground (at lightning speed for that matter), he emits a rather unattractive squawk when Sehun proceeds to spin him around on the spot, all while the latter mumbles an occasional, overdramatic ‘I love ya’ into the blond’s neck, much to the latter’s embarrassment (yet he can’t stop the feeling of security that washes over him as Sehun holds him close, even though he feels like his brain is gradually being reduced to a pile of goop). Jongin emits yet another squawk of surprise and scrambles to grab onto what he thinks is Sehun’s shirt for dear life when the latter lifts him even higher and the blond suddenly feels like a five year old who’s being spun around by his father. Dear God, please tell me nobody’s around to hear or see this.

Sehun finally stops and (gently, thankfully) places Jongin on the ground again after what feels like hours of intense spinning and the latter has to grab onto Sehun’s wrist to stop himself from toppling over, the ground feeling like it’s being pulled out from underneath his shoes as soon as he gets back on his feet. The side of his neck still tingles and he thinks he can still feel Sehun’s warm breath tickle his skin, but he hurries to focus on other things before his thoughts spur out of control.

“See?” Sehun laughs when he hears Jongin staggering and struggling to stay vertical. “Good thing I didn’t do that, right?” he cackles when the blond only murmurs a low ‘piss off’. “Hey, if someone filmed that it might’ve ended up on some cheesy romantic soap opera, don’t you think?”

That’s one soap opera I wouldn’t be caught dead watching. Trying to stop his surroundings from spinning, Jongin feels himself blush before he quickly lets go of Sehun’s jacket. He finds it immensely difficult to believe that the guy who devotes nearly an entire week to running up and down a field while nearly tackling people to death is the same guy who’d just spun him around like a woman while confessing his love in probably the most embarrassing way known to man. How. How?!  “Uh, I...guess?”

“In all seriousness, though,” Sehun says, voice suddenly dropping two octaves, before he takes a step towards the blond and as usual, locating the latter’s hand on the first try. “Don’t expect a fancy, thought-out confession on my part since I’m God awful at this stuff,” he chuckles before interlocking their fingers. “So you’ll have to make do with this.” Reaching out into the dark, he tucks a matted lock of hair behind the blond’s ear. “Kim Jongin, I really ing like you.”

Who even does the whole ear-tucking thingy anymore? Jongin thinks to himself before a feeling of warmth explodes inside his chest and he momentarily forgets that he’s standing out in minus two degree weather. There’s something about the way Sehun squeezes his hand slightly that instantly triggers his inner butterfly reflex and before he knows it, his stomach is filled to the brim with butterflies, a feeling he’d been missing, in all honesty. “I, uh.”

“I’d kiss you but I’d probably miss and end up placing my mouth in your hair or on your chin,” Sehun laughs, Jongin’s cheek with his thumb. “So you’ll have to wait.” He nearly jumps back when his finger rubs against something wet, and he doesn’t even need to think twice before reaching out and enveloping the blond in a bone crushing hug.

“I didn’t know if you were gay or not,” Jongin blurts out before he can stop himself, praying his voice isn’t too shaky. Again, he blames Sehun’s heavenly embraces for cutting off the filter between his brain and his mouth. “And you’re like, so popular, and I’m kind of, you know, me, even though I’ve had a few girls try to sneak in the bathrooms with me two years ago, but yeah, I had no idea."

Sehun is silent for a moment. “I am,” he says quietly, but confidently, nevertheless. One thought leads to another and he thinks of the way Junmyeon’s voice had changed when he’d told the latter Jongin was a guy, and not in a good sounding way, at least according to him. He quickly dismisses the thought, figuring he can deal with the consequences later. “And, not to sound corny, again, but my popularity and whatnot has nothing to do with my personality, like, at all. Besides, why would it matter, anyway?”

Jongin shrugs, although he can barely move his shoulders given Sehun’s tight embrace. “I kinda always knew you were different from the start, though,” he mumbles into the crook of the taller’s neck. “Since, you know, the way you text and the fact that you weren’t, in fact, a self-absorbed, pretentious douchebag. Like some people,” he adds.

“I like emoticons, what can I say,” Sehun chuckles, although in embarrassment, before clearing his throat. “And by ‘some people’, I’m assuming you mean-”

“Yeah,” Jongin interrupts. “Although I’m sure they’re fuzzy as hell on the inside, though,” he adds with a muffled laugh.

“Both of them love Animal Crossing, don’t you dare tell them I told you,” Sehun says sternly before chuckling a little. “Yeol at it and Myeon’s a fishing master. But yeah, some people choose to live up to certain standards, I guess.”  He runs a hand down the small of the blond’s back before continuing. “This is gonna sound like the biggest and most awful sob story of all time, but I was cautious since I thought you were straight and , not to mention your friends didn’t seem to like me very much.”

“Why on Earth’d you think I was straight?” Jongin blinks in surprise. He nearly groans at the mention of his best friends. “Baek and Dae tend to be absorbed in their own little world,” he says. “One that consists mainly of attractive dudes.” He nearly shakes his head in amusement. “So yeah, they’re nothing to go by. Even in dire situations.”

“Well you know,” Sehun says with a deliberate cough, “I caught you-”

“For the millionth time, I was staring at their clothes, you dolt,” Jongin groans before lightly smacking Sehun in the back. “If anything, that should serve as an explanation on its own,” he adds with a humorless chuckle. “Just like you, I’ve never dated a girl and don’t plan on doing so anytime soon. Anyway, I mean, you’re out there constantly getting attention from different females left and right and I guess I got...jealous? Since you didn’t seem to be bothered-” His sentence is abruptly cut off when Sehun lets out a loud laugh.

“My friend, I only put up with them 'cause I know it’s the only way for them to leave me the hell alone afterwards, not to mention it’s the safest thing to do,” Sehun snorts. “I remember back in 10th grade when this crazy made an entire blog dedicated to how cold hearted and how much of a prick and ungentlemanly I was for not smiling at her when I, kindly, may I add, declined her number. I mean sheesh, I hadn’t slept for three days because of an exam, I just couldn’t bring myself to fake a smile on that rare occasion like jeez, sorry,” he adds in an exasperated tone before running a hand through Jongin’s hair, which feels, strangely enough, significantly softer than it did before. “Point is, they’re shallow and I hate them. You, on the other hand,” he chuckles before leaning and pressing a gentle kiss on the blond’s forehead.

Jongin blushes. For someone who’s never dated in his life, he sure is smooth, he thinks and bites his lip. He figures it’s just another one of Sehun’s many, and seemingly endless, traits - traits that make Jongin love the taller that much more. He wants to say something along the lines of ‘I understand’ but instead, a series of ‘You’re so goddamn cheesy’ escape his lips and he clenches his jaw in irritation. Yup, no filter anywhere, that’s for sure.

Seemingly sensing the blond’s embarrassment, Sehun quickly changes the topic, much to Jongin’s relief. “Did you check their website, by the way?” he hums while running a hand through Jongin’s hair and untangling a few tangles with his fingers.

It takes Jongin a second to remember what Sehun is talking about. “Oh, uh, yeah, I did,” he babbles. Clearing his throat, he racks his brain for the times he’d barely managed to snap up before Junmyeon’s latest message showed up on Sehun’s phone. “They’re showing this home invasion one in like 40 minutes,” he mumbles and shivers at the thought of some crazy killer breaking into an unknowing person’s home and murdering them. He honestly doesn’t think he’ll ever comprehend why and how people find enjoyment in this stuff.

“Perfect!” Sehun chirps, the mellow excitement returning to his voice. Grabbing Jongin’s hand, he tugs on it lightly. “Shall we go?”

“My jacket’s around here somewhere and my bus card’s in one of the pockets,” Jongin mutters. “I mean, since you said-”

“We’re walking, silly,” Sehun chuckles and is about to head down the path when Jongin lets out a squawk of surprise. “Hm?”

“It’s like, one and a half miles,” Jongin whines. “Why can’t we just it up and search for my frigging jacket and take the bus? I mean, I’ll need it tomorrow and on the way home or I’ll freeze to death.”

Putting his hands up in defeat, even though Jongin can’t see it, Sehun chuckles. “Sure thing, if you wanna,” he hums before taking a few steps to the right. He’s about to squat down and proceed to (blindly) fumble around for the blond’s jacket when the overwhelming scent of bubble tea, to be exact, strawberry bubble tea, suddenly tingles his senses and he blinks in confusion. “Is it the café?” he mumbles, mainly to himself. “The hell is that, all of a sudden?” He’s about to reach out and look for the garment when Jongin speaks up.

“What?” Jongin asks in confusion, scratching the back of his head. “Are you cra-”

It’s not until Sehun emits a drawn out, disgusted groan of ‘the hell’s this on my shoe?’ that Jongin scrambles forward before grabbing Sehun’s wrist and hightailing it down the narrow path, jacket long forgotten.

~

May 3, 2012: "😘😘"

“That’s you? No way!”

“...Whaddya mean?”

"You look ten!" Sehun exclaims, eyes glued on his phone screen. "Jeez, it's so blurry, were you having an earthquake or something?"

Pressing his lips together, Jongin lightly shoves Sehun's shoulder. The blond had made the decision to (and mistake of, as he quickly realized) dig to the bottom of Facebook to find his old account after Sehun had begged him to do so a little while ago. Jongin obliged considering the fact that they'd arrived a little too early to the theater and he'd rather sit and stare at Sehun's smile for half an hour rather than blankly stare at the wall. Jongin almost blushes at how downright weird he looks in every single picture (in his defense, they were taken three to four years ago, back when he had no idea how to take a proper picture of himself) and he nearly regrets showing Sehun his old profile since the latter seems to (overdramatically) fawn over every single picture that pops up on the screen whenever he swipes right. He's staring at every photo as if it's the eighth wonder of the world and Jongin doesn't know whether he should be thankful and blush or embarrassed and make a mental note to delete said account the minute he gets home that night. 

"Jesus, I barely even recognize myself," Jongin mumbles, averting his gaze and keeping it focused on the young man behind the counter selling tickets. He remembers just how shocked he'd been when he'd shoved his hand into his back pocket since his hands were starting to feel like they were going to fall off earlier, only for his fingertips to graze against something thin and quite solid. He still remembers, clear as day, how surprised he'd felt when he realized they were the two movie tickets Jungah had given him a few days ago. At first, he had no idea what they were doing in the pocket of his pants given the fact that he clearly remembered placing them in his backpack the minute she handed them to him, and it still sends a rush of warmth through his body knowing that she had placed them there, in his jeans, which were lying on the floor, most likely while he was busy grooming himself in the bathroom. 

As he watches the man behind the counter press a few buttons on the cash register, Jongin bites his lip. Thinking back to his and Jungah's conversation right before he went out the door still makes his gut churn uncomfortably and he wonders if he's got it in him to go up to her and thank her. As much as he doesn't want to, he won't deny that Sehun's words, his advice, has made him feel a lot, lot better about the whole situation. And for that he loves Sehun that much more.

Listening to Sehun's noises of surprise next to him, Jongin subconsciously leans onto the taller and rests his head on his shoulder. "Which one's it now?" he asks and nearly flinches when Sehun suddenly shoves his phone in his face.

January 14, 2015: "late night walks ~"

Jongin nearly buries his face in his hands. Instead, he chooses to bury it in Sehun's shoulder, a small blush creeping up his face. "My God."

"What, you don't like it?" Sehun chuckles loudly, earning him disapproving glares from the elderly couple across from them. Jongin is wholeheartedly worried in case they're waiting to be let in to watch the horror movie, just like he and Sehun. "It's not as blurry as the other ten thousand ones I've seen so far! By the way, bull, you're a selfie master, good Lord," he mumbles absentmindedly before scrolling past it. "And the caption, God, you're adorable!"

"If I remember correctly, I was walking my dog," Jongin mutters before reaching up and grabbing Sehun's wrist. "My selfie skills were much better then, fine, but seriously, cut it out already, people are staring," he adds, whisper-yelling. In his peripheral, he can barely make out at least twenty unfamiliar faces pointed in his and Sehun's direction, and he subconsciously turns his face away when he spots a little boy, who looks to be no older than twelve, gawking at Sehun like the latter has grown a second head. "Sehun!"

"Now, just a minute," Sehun says, seemingly unfazed, as he continues to scroll through the blond's (many) photo albums. He suddenly blinks before showing Jongin the screen. "Lemme guess, is this the guy you call 'Baek'?"

April 12, 2013: "bffs"

"Oh my ing God," Jongin mutters under his breath. He can feel the stares doubling by the second and he rustles Sehun's arm, nearly making the latter drop his phone. "Yes, that's him - Baek, the ugly one, now please; people are staring," he squabbles as quietly as he can, attempting to grab the phone out of Sehun's hand with no success.

"Cute caption," Sehun chuckles, crossing his legs and promptly ignoring Jongin's horrified squawk of 'Baek wrote it, not me!'. "This was actually uploaded on my birthday," he adds, his free hand reaching down and grabbing Jongin's hand, which is still wrapped around his wrist. His eyes suddenly light up when he swipes to the right. "Hey, is this her?"

November 20, 2013: "bc she forced me to take this pic"

Jongin swallows before nodding. "Yeah, that's her." Despite having forgotten that the photo even existed, he clearly remembers how irritated he'd been at Jungah, who'd pestered him for hours on end to take a selfie with him, to which he had given in, eventually. "A week before the divorce," he adds before he can stop himself, turning his face away. He nearly chuckles. Those were the times.

Sensing Jongin's discomfort, Sehun furrows his eyebrows before promptly closing out Facebook and shoving his phone in his pocket. "I'm sorry," he says gently, tightening his grip on Jongin's hand and giving it a small squeeze, and the latter's lips curl upwards a tad bit. Looking up, he shoots the elderly couple a look of 'the hell're you two gawking at?' before rubbing the blond's arm and standing up. "Hey, wanna pick out some candy before we go in?"

The blond's head promptly snaps up at the mention of candy, his previous sadness disappearing without a trace and Sehun lets out a loud laugh. "Really?" he asks, the usual excitement returning to his voice, much to Sehun's relief. Mouth watering at the thought of his favorite snack, a wave of hunger suddenly hits him when he realized he hasn't consumed anything whatsoever since the small cup of bubble tea he'd drank an hour or so ago - which had come back up a short while later, anyway, so to say that he's starving would be an understatement. 

"Of course," Sehun chuckles, patting the blond on top of his head. He doesn't even get to utter another word before Jongin has sped out of the waiting room at lightning speed and he blinks in surprise. Simply shrugging at the handfuls of confused looking people sitting around them, he merely mutters an 'I dunno' before shaking his head in amusement and jogging down the narrow hallway to the right, after Jongin.

~

Sehun promptly halts when what feels like a thousand lights hit him square in the face. Blinking rapidly, he opens his eyes and his jaw nearly hits the floor when he sees just how big the store is; shelves stocked with candy line the walls, jellybean and bubblegum dispensers are located just about everywhere, a smoothie and soda machine is sitting to the right of the cashier and upon closer inspection, from his position at least ten feet away, Sehun can make out at least seven different flavors of popcorn; rainbow colored ones as well as alarmingly yellow ones. He's never liked popcorn (or any sugary or salty foods for that matter, and he blames it on 'the footballer life', as Jongin would surely call it), and the sight of said snack in every color of the rainbow is enough to make him turn his face away and stifle a gag. 

Overall, the room is quite welcoming, indeed, and Sehun moves aside in the nick of time to save his groin from permanent damage (as if Jongin hasn't done inflicted that already, but still) when a small boy suddenly turns the corner and nearly collides with him. Making sure there's nobody around the corner, Sehun takes a few steps into the room, he spots children of all ages everywhere, some with their parents and some with their friends. Looking up, he sees a TV hanging above the cashier, tonight's movie screenings on the screen. The movie he had convinced Jongin to watch is second on the list, since it's showing in twenty minutes, and Sehun checks his watch before shoving his hands in his pockets. Now that he thinks about it, he's awfully surprised he managed to successfully convince Jongin to watch a horror movie since he could practically feel the vibes of absolute terror radiating off of Jongin's body on their way to the theater. Being a major horror fan himself, saying Sehun was absolutely overjoyed when Jongin finally agreed to it would be an understatement, to say the least. 

The thought of Jongin sitting in his chair, face buried in his popcorn as his shoulders shake with fear, hits Sehun and the latter nearly cackles; the same, overprotective fatherly vibe creeping up on him again. He has no idea how the blond will react to the movie (now that Sehun thinks about, judging by the way Jongin was acting, he wouldnt be surprised if it's his first horror movie ever) but he sure hopes it'll be worth it. As long as he doesn't fall asleep, Sehun thinks and leans against the wall, gaze fixated on the endless rows of colorful soda cans lining the walls.

"Okay, I'm done!"

Jumping five feet in the air with a terrified squawk, Sehun apologizes profusely to an woman and her child after missing her face by a mere inch as a result of his hands practically flying out of his pockets at the unexpected sound of Jongin's voice. He stands there for a second, gripping his chest before blinking. "What-"

"I'm done!" Jongin chirps, waving a hand in front of Sehun's face. "Hey, you look sick, are you-"

The first thing Sehun notices is Jongin's grin, which is enough to make him weak in the knees and he has to lean against the wall in order not to collapse. However, he nearly does collapse in surprise when he averts his gaze and sees the pile of candy in the blond's hands. Three soda bottles, four bags of chips, six different bags of candy and what Sehun assumes is a lollipop rest in Jongin's arms and the latter is carrying so much Sehun can barely see his face, the only thing visible being the tip of his blond head. 

"What's the matter?" Jongin asks, slightly lowering his arms and staring at Sehun with a doe-like expression. "Did I get the wrong flavor of something? Is it too little? Do I need to get anything else?" he asks and Sehun nearly takes a step forward and squishes his cheeks together at the innocence in his voice. 

"No," Sehun practically yells before zooming forward at lightning speed and grabbing a lollipop as it falls from the pile in Jongin's arms, before it hits the floor. "No, it's fine," he chuckles when he sees Jongin's wide-eyed look, gently placing said lollipop back, on top of the pile. Jongin is staring at him with such a bright eyed expression that it takes Sehun every fiber in his being not to envelope him in a bone crushing hug, not caring if he ends up squashing the candy in the process.

"When does the movie start?" Jongin asks, snapping Sehun out of his mini trance. "The line isn't very long so I don't think we need to hurry," he adds with a grin before turning around and making his way towards the cashier. Sehun hopes to God he doesn't end lose his balance and trip and thus end up dropping everything on the floor. 

Running forward just in case Jongin actually does end up spilling something (again, you never know with Jongin, Sehun figures), Sehun stops at the counter and stifles a laugh when he sees the weirded out expression on the cashier's face at the sight of the blond's stash. "I'll have a water along with that," he says, pulling out his wallet and retrieving his credit card. He misses the way Jongin stares at him in awe. 

Typing in their orders and final payment (which takes a while), the woman shoots them both, mainly Jongin, an amused look. "We have a couple discount for a limited amount of time," she says before turning around and opening up a fridge and retreiving a bottle of water. "Is that something you might be interested in?" she adds, placing in on the counter. 

Clearing his throat, Jongin blushes before looking away. Despite things (he honestly doesn't know what to call everything) being somewhat settled by now, he doesn't think he'll ever get used to hearing the word 'couple' when he's within three feet of Sehun. "Uh, I uh, I don't-"

"Sounds good to me," Sehun says simply before shooting Jongin a nod. "How about you?" he asks, swiping his card before the blond has a chance to protest.

Blinking, Jongin emits a series of unattractive sputters before muttering a barely audible 'yeah sure, thanks'. As much as the word 'couple' makes him blush, it hits him that Sehun has probably just spent half his savings on the items on the counter, so Jongin figures a discount wouldn't hurt. He watches as Sehun proceeds to enter his PIN code and tries not to ogle the latter's hair which is, surprisingly enough, still perfectly styled, and Jongin serious wonders how he manages to look so incredibly sharp no matter the occasion. Come to think of it, Jongin was pretty surprised himself when he'd walked through the doors to the theater half an hour ago only to find out he didn't, in fact, look like roadkill upon rushing to the bathroom and checking himself in the mirror. 

"Which movie are you two going to watch?" the cashier asks, handing Sehun his receipt, which the latter promptly stuffs in his pocket without a sparing it a glance. 

"'The Conjuring'," Sehun replies and chuckles when Jongin visibly shudders. Man, is he adorable.

She seems to notice it, too, and seems to stifle a laugh herself. "He'll have to hold you extra tight, then," she says, shooting Jongin a wink before proceeding to tend to the next customers in line. 

"Trust me, I'll do my best," Sehun says before watching as Jongin hurries to collect his candy, which takes a while, before they both head off towards a red carpeted hallway, a sign with the word 'ROOM 3' written on it hanging above the door. As the ticket taker comes into view, he turns to face Jongin since he knows the latter has got the movie tickets. Or so he hopes. "Hey, want me to ho-" He doesn't even get to finish, his sentence ending in an exasperated 'oof' as Jongin, without a warning, proceeds to dump the entire contents of his arms in Sehun's hands. The latter is lucky (and surprised) he doesn't drop anything and he blinks as he watches Jongin rummage through his pockets in search of the tickets. The smell sugar and artificial flavoring hits his nose and Sehun nearly gags.

After a while, Jongin finally pulls out said tickets and quickly hands them to the man, who proceeds to rip them both in half before gesturing down the hallway. Sehun halfheartedly expects Jongin to turn around and take his candy back, so the sigh of expasteration that leaves his lips when the blond proceeds to skip down the hallway without another word comes as no surprise. Of course.

The ticket taker seems to shoot Sehun a look of both amusement and sympathy (and pity, Sehun thinks) as the latter, slowly, makes his way towards the hallway and Sehun groans when the corner of one of Jongin's many candy bags scratches his arm. The things you do for the person you love.

~

Upon entering the dimly lit room, Jongin immediately scrambles to get a seat in the way back and Sehun follows him with an amused grin. The blond sits down in the middle of the row and makes sure to save a seat for Sehun before a couple of children get a chance to occupy it. Looking ahead, Jongin blinks when he sees the screen twenty feet away is nearly invisible due to the faint purple lights in the room. A minute later, he hears the buzz of children and other adults as they swarm into the room and proceed to take their seats. Jongin half hopes someone awfully tall gets the seat in front of his since he'll have an excuse not to watch the movie which, he fears, will no doubt be keeping him up all night. Despite it being his first ever horror movie (he watched one with Baekhyun and Jongdae a few years ago, but he'd covered his face with a blanket during three quarters of it), he'd be lying if he said all he felt was dread and agony. In fact, part of him actually feels a tad bit excited, and he doesn't know if it's the thrill of getting to experience something new that's starting to catch up with him, or simply the fact that Sehun is sitting less than three inches away and looking as godly as usual. In fact, Jongin is so caught up in ogling the taller that he comes dangerously close to dropping his two cans of soda on the floor. 

Placing his candy in his lap, Jongin ignores the rumbling in his stomach before proceeding to place his arm on the arm rest beside him, and he nearly flinches when he accidentally bumps elbows with Sehun. Torn between keeping his arm there and simply moving it in fear of taking up the entire arm rest, Jongin settles for the former for reasons he can't explain, and he nearly regrets doing so (because he figures hogging the arm rest at the movies wouldn't leave such a fleeting impression) until Sehun turns to look to him, eyes twinkling with something Jongin can only describe as pure adoration. Or so he hopes. Either way, it sends a rush of warmth down his spine.

"You excited?" Sehun asks, unscrewing the lid to his water bottle before tilting his head back and taking a big swig. Jongin does his best not to stare.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Jongin mumbles before ripping open a bag of gummy bears. His eyes instantly widen when he realizes Sehun definitely could've taken that the wrong way. "No, I mean, I'm excited," he babbles, flailing his arms around, nearly dropping the bag, "it's just, I'm uh, a little...scared." He mentally punches himself in the face. Nice. 

"I get you," Sehun chuckles as he places the bottle in the space in the arm rest. "Don't worry, some of my friends watched this movie last month and they said it wasn't all too creepy," he adds and snickers when Jongin shivers. 

"Let's hope so," Jongin mumbles before stuffing his face with a handful of gummy bears. Sehun only watches in astonishment. "Want one?" he asks, extending his hand when he feels Sehun's gaze burning holes in his head.

Sehun promptly shakes his head. "No thanks, I hate that stuff," he says sheepishly and blinks when Jongin stares at him like he's grown a second head. "What?"

"How?" Jongin asks, cocking his head to the side and Sehun nearly cackles because dear God, is he a child. "I mean- Oh, I get it, it's because you're a sports freak, right?" he says after a while before opening a can of soda and taking a swig. He nearly chokes when the carbonated liquid nearly travels down the wrong pipe.

Fighting the urge to retort with a 'you're a sports freak, too', Sehun stands up to let an elderly couple, the same one as before, pass by to get to their seats. He sits back down and shrugs. "Never really been a fan-"

"You and your teammates stuff your faces with salads and whatnot everyday," Jongin whines, stuffing a handful of gummy bears in his mouth. "It gets tiring to look at," he adds only half jokingly before the lights in the ceiling suddenly switch color and he sits up a little bit straighter. So it begins.

"So you admit," Sehun sniggers, leaning in and resting his head on Jongin's. The latter reeks of sugar and artificial flavored fruit (or it's the hairspray, he isn't really sure), yet for some reason Sehun doesn't find himself leaning away in disgust. "You watch me while you're eating?" he says, voice dropping two octaves (deliberately, of course) and Jongin nearly smacks his mouth off of his face.

"Shut up, it's not like you don't, don't lie," is all Jongin mumbles under his breath as he sinks lower into his chair and takes another swig of his Coke. He prays to God he doesn't end up burping or anything like it because he knows for a fact that Sehun will get up and run straight out of the room. He's suddenly gripped by guilt and he momentarily stops chewing. "Uh, you um, didn't have to do that, you know."

Sliding his jacket off, Sehun briefly pauses to look at the blonde. "What do you mean?"

"That," Jongin mumbles, gesturing to the large pile of candy in his lap. For a second, he regrets buying so much but one low rumble of his stomach a second later and he instantly takes it back.

"You're right," Sehun says simply, leaning back in his chair and spreading his legs apart for comfort. Jongin does his best not to stare because that would, indeed, be very, very awkward. "I didn't. But I did anyway. Know why?" He places his right arm on the armrest and proceeds to grab the blond's hand. 

Turning his face away ever so slightly, Jongin clears his throat, earning him side eyed looks from the people sitting in front of him. "I uh, I don't-"

"Because-" Sehun promptly leans in and presses a kiss on Jongin's upper lip, and this time the latter nearly does smack his mouth off of his face; Sehun pulling away in the nick of time to avoid getting slapped when Jongin's open palm comes flying towards his face. "That's why," he says after a few seconds, and chuckles when Jongin doesn't say anything.

"Do you have any idea how corny you are," Jongin whines, picking up a tub of popcorn from the floor and removing the lid. "Speaking of corn, want one?" he asks, not even giving Sehun a chance to reply before proceeding to stuff at least sixty pieces of popcorn into the latter's mouth, making him sputter and cough.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Sehun lightly whacks Jongin's hand away. The taste of sugar and artificial food coloring absolutely burns his tongue and he fights the urge to lean over and spit it out. But he doesn't, of course, especially not with Jongin staring at him with an expectant gaze. "Man, how do you people eat this stuff?" he groans as quietly as he can, as to not disturb the woman with her child who proceed to take their seats beside him. The little girl is staring at him with a weirded out yet curious look but he ignores it.

Shoving the thought of how on Earth a ten year old looking girl managed to make it past the ticket ripper, Jongin shoves a handful of gummy bears into his mouth. She is staring at him with a look that he can only describe as the typical wide-eyed, distant child stare. It makes him shudder uncomfortably and he nearly turns his face so he's facing the screen when all of a sudden, she speaks.

"Can I have some?" she asks, gesturing to the tub of popcorn in Jongin's hands.

The blond blinks. "Uh. No, it's mine-"

"But you have like," she babbles, ignoring her Mother's scolding of 'Don't be rude', "so much!"

Chuckling, Sehun opens his mouth to speak only to let out a groan of pain when she elbows him square in the groin as she reaches across his lap to swipe Jongin's popcorn. As if Jongin hasn't done enough damage already. "Okay, dammit-"

"No," Jongin squawks, moving closer to wall so the candy in his lap is just out of her reach. He instantly regrets raising his voice when the woman in front of him turns around and shoots him a dirty look. 

Sehun blinks. "Just give her some," he says, reaching for a lollipop, only for Jongin to smack his hand away. "Come on-"

Moving even closer to the wall, Jongin presses his lips together. He's never really been one for sharing, to say the least. "No."

Which one's the kid? Sehun thinks before shaking his head in amusement. Dear God. "Don't be cruel, come on-"

Ignoring her Mother's astonished remark of 'Why on Earth did you buy so much food?', the girl points to a pink lollipop in Jongin's lap. "I want that one!"

Jongin shakes his head. "No!"

"Jongin," Sehun sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in slight irritation. "Please-"

"She should've bought her own stuff!"

"Jongin, come on-"

"The movie's like, two hours long, I'll get hungry!"

"She's like, ten, come on-"

"No, it's mine!"

"You've got enough in your lap to feed ten grown men!"

"But it's mine!"

"Right, and I paid for it," Sehun says in an expasterated tone before wordlessly grabbing two random lollipops from Jongin's lap and handing them over to the girl, whose eyes light up immediately. "Here you go, darling."

When Sehun turns back to him, Jongin blinks, the little girl long forgotten. "...'Darling'?"

Sehun stills for a second. "I grew up with four sisters, it just kind of...happens," he says sheepishly before the lights dim even more and he turns to face the screen excitedly when the opening credits show up on the screen. "Babe, look, it's starting!"

Ignoring the way his chest coils, Jongin thanks his lucky stars the darkness of the room conceals his reddening face almost perfectly. "Did you just call me-"

"Focus," Sehun says impatiently, not tearing his eyes off of the screen. 

Realizing he won't be getting through to Sehun for the next two hours or so, Jongin pouts before leaning back in his chair and stuffing his face with popcorn.

~~~