~~~

Jungah stares at the phone for a whole minute before she erupts into a grin that’s way too wide for her face. “He’s so into you,” she squeals, grabbing Jongin’s shoulders and shaking him not so gently. “Talk about overreacting on your part,” she adds with a sly grin before picking up the dye box.

“You’re acting like we barely know each other,” Jongin says shyly, re-reading Sehun’s message again. The amount of emojis in the latter’s text makes his lip curl upwards. He feels all his previous worries fly out the window when his eyes skim through the words on the screen a third time.

“It’s true, though,” Jungah says with a shrug, “you don’t.” She blinks before fiddling with one of her pigtails. “Although what on Earth could he want at this hour?” she mumbles, mainly to herself. “It’s like, late as heck.”

Jongin shrugs. He honestly doesn’t know what Sehun could possibly want from him at 11:30 at night but honestly, that’s the least of his issues right now. All he wants right now is to see Sehun - to hold his hand and inhale his scent over and over. He hurries to type out a reply, just in case Sehun might be waiting for a reply this very second.

To: Sehunnie~

sure!!! i’ll be right over!~ 😊😊🏃

“I have no idea,” Jongin says, pressing ‘Send’. “But I guess we’ll find out,” he adds absentmindedly. He wonders if Sehun is in the middle of training right now, since he vaguely remembers overhearing the latter saying he’d go train alone. Now, despite the fact that Jongin is convinced that Sehun is the most confident and strong person he’s ever met, he won’t deny that the thought of Sehun alone in the field at this hour makes his skin crawl for reasons unknown.

“You named him ‘Sehunnie’?” Jungah asks, eyes twinkling. “That’s adorable!”

“It wasn’t me, it was him,” Jongin blurts out before he can stop himself. He blushes a little and scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah.”

Eyes wandering around his room, his gaze lands on his closet and he suddenly feels extremely self conscious about his attire. It’s nothing too unpresentable; a pair of black skinny jeans and a gray hoodie, but the urge to change into something more representable is growing stronger by the second and he bites his cheek.

One thought leads to another and he suddenly feels awfully self conscious about his face. Not his face overall, perhaps, but the fact that he isn’t wearing any makeup and he hates himself for feeling the need to wear makeup whenever he’s with Sehun. He tries convincing himself that Sehun’s looks most likely aren’t at their peak, either, considering the fact that the latter just finished four hours of practice. But even so, Jongin furrows his eyebrows in contemplation.

“You look fine,” Jungah says, effectively snapping Jongin out of his trance. “I mean, I think your eyebrows could use some filling in and your face could use at least two layers of foundation but other than that, you’re good to go,” she adds with a grin and a thumbs up. Jongin doesn’t know if he should thank her or whack her upside the head.

“So what you’re saying is, I look downright awful,” Jongin groans, running a hand through his hair. He eyes his phone and quickly shoots Jungah a glance of ‘what the hell do I do?’ before tapping his foot impatiently. “There’s like, no time, he’s probably standing there right now, I don’t wanna keep him waiting, he’ll get bored and leave-”

“You might arrive a little bit late, but who the heck cares?” Jungah asks, raising an eyebrow. “If he can’t appreciate the fact that you put in extra care, time and effort into making yourself look y just for him, he isn’t worth keeping,” she adds and blinks when Jongin emits a squawk of surprise. “What?”

Jongin drags a hand down his face. “Don’t say it like that,” he moans in agony, running a hand through his hair in a stressed manner. “I have to leave right now, otherwise he’ll get bored and leave and never want to talk to me ever again-”

“It’s true and you know it,” Jungah says, putting her hands up to silence him. “I’m gonna make sure you look good for your weird- night out with your man, don’t worry,” she adds, grabbing Jongin’s wrist and pulling him towards the bathroom. “Gee, what’d you eat for breakfast today? Cement?” she grunts.

“How can you be so sure?” Jongin mumbles under his breath, although he isn’t too nervous because he figures that if Jungah can dye his hair a different color and not make it look like a complete and utter train wreck, she’s more than capable of making his face look good, as well. At least he hopes. “No seriously, how can you be so sure?” he repeats and yelps when he promptly trips over a dictionary lying on the floor. “Damn it, quit pulling!”

“You can always trust your sister to help you look your best,” Jungah says confidently before sighing when Jongin remains nailed to the floor. She moves to stand behind him instead. “Now pick up your feet, dude, you’ve got a date soon and you don’t wanna keep your man waiting!” Placing both her hands on his back, she proceeds to (not so gently) shove him into the bathroom before slamming the door shut.

12:04 PM

Opening the GPS app on his phone, Jongin types in the address Sehun sent him a minute ago and breathes out a sigh of relief upon realizing the sports center isn’t all that far away from the bus stop he’s currently standing at. He doesn’t want to call Sehun and ask for directions in fear of the latter finding him annoying, so he opts to it up and search for the place himself, regardless of how difficult navigating in the dark may be.

He zips his jacket and shudders when a cold gust of wind passes, and he shudders even more when a drop of water trickles down his neck from his scalp, and he hopes to God it won’t leave a brown streak in its path. He hadn’t even had time to dry his hair after Jungah finished dyeing it for him less than an hour ago, as he promptly refused anything that could possibly lead to him arriving even more late than he already was. That is, after she finished applying half of her entire makeup kit onto his face and he reaches up and gently pats his cheek, groaning when he sees a considerable amount of silver shimmer on the tip of his index finger. He hopes it’s too dark for Sehun to notice because he most definitely didn’t look this shimmery and glittery when he looked at himself in the mirror earlier.

Phone in hand, he proceeds to walk down the narrow path. There isn’t a tree in sight and the street lamps lining the street are as good as burnt out, and he has to lower the brightness on his phone to save his eyes from permanent damage when his screen threatens to burn his eyes.

Despite the fact that his chest is filled with warmth and excitement, the starstruck look on Baekhyun’s face earlier still continues to haunt him and he has to pinch himself to get the image to go away. To add insult to injury, the thought of Sehun and the latter’s negligence from earlier quickly replaces the face of Baekhyun, as well as his short conversation with those girls in the cafeteria. Jongin knows he’s most likely overreacting, but he still feels queasy whenever he thinks about it. He chooses to keep his gaze fixated on the path he’s walking down as a form of distraction.

Sehun hasn’t replied to his text but Jongin figures it’s because he’s in the showers; a third mental image popping up in his head and he lets out a cough of embarrassment, or for some other reason he isn’t sure about. Either way, Jongin is sure Sehun has his reasons.

After walking for another ten minutes, Jongin briefly worries if he’s been misguided before his eyes land on a cube-looking building a yard away. Picking up speed, he contemplates whether or not he should text Sehun and let the latter know he’s here, but quickly decides against it given that Sehun hasn’t even replied to his recent text. His face feels a tad bit heavy from the excessive amounts of foundation Jungah caked on his face earlier and he hopes none of it has oxidized yet. Despite feeling self conscious about how his face might look, he won’t deny that the thought of being back to brunet reassures him quite a bit.

He jogs towards the building and stops by the dimly lit area by the door. There isn’t a single person in sight and he subconsciously moves away from the illuminated area to his right in fear of somebody (some crazy murderer, he thinks) in the dark spotting him.

Looking up, Jongin barely makes out the words ‘SPORTS HALL’ written in big letters on a sign hanging above the door and he shoves his phone back into his pocket. Despite knowing he’s supposed to meet Sehun by one of the fields, he doesn’t see a single field in sight and he blames the darkness. He hears a dog barking in the distance and instinctively moves closer to the brick wall and even further away from the light.

Jongin stands there for what feels like an eternity, a worrying feeling settling in his chest when he continues to wait, only for nothing to happen. He hasn’t received any new texts or messages from Sehun and he bites his lip. He curses Jungah and her godforsaken determination because in all honesty, Jongin would rather hang out with Sehun while being barefaced and a little tired looking than making Sehun wait and possibly leaving out of boredom. Any day, Jongin thinks and swallows the lump in his throat.

When he waits for another five minutes, Jongin leans against what he thinks is the wall (or it’s a trash can, he isn’t really sure) and pulls out his phone. I guess I’ll talk about it tomorrow, he thinks to himself while checking the bus times. He figures that if he were to leave, he should leave right now because he definitely doesn’t want to miss the last bus.

Breathing out a sigh of relief when he sees his bus leaves in forty five minutes, he’s about to turn off his phone when a sharp sense of pain courses through the right side of his head and he hisses, stumbling back a little bit, away from the light and into the darkness.

Jongin rubs the sore spot on his head, which is pretty much his whole head, and squeezes his eyes shut. He really hopes his hand isn’t a shade of brown thanks to the hair dye. “What the f-”

“Who’s there?”

Snapping his head up, Jongin’s eyes widen a little bit when he squints his eyes even more and barely makes out the silhouette of a person a few feet away, in the doorway. Ignoring the pounding in his head, he proceeds to take a step forward to see better.

However, he doesn’t even get a chance to move his foot when he suddenly feels like his eyes are being stabbed with a fire torch and he lets out a shriek before scrambling to cover his eyes with his hands. “ing hell, what the -”

“There’s something about you and always feeling the need to hide in the darkness at all times,” Sehun chuckles before shutting off the flashlight on his phone. “You shouldn’t do that, you can get into all sorts of trouble if people can’t see you,” he adds, gesturing at the brunet, who’s busy cradling his head. “Like that, for example.”

“Why the hell’d you open the door on my face,” Jongin croak-garbles, rubbing his temple. “You idiot,” he hisses when he feels like cranium is going to explode. “.”

“I was just about to text you and let you know I was running a little late so you wouldn’t have to stick around and wait in the cold,” Sehun says casually, putting his phone away. He suddenly blinks. “I didn’t know you were gonna be standing right by the door,” he exclaims defensively. “Besides, I told you to meet me by the field, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, well I have no goddamn clue where these fields of yours are, not when it’s pitch black out, genius,” Jongin mumbles, still rubbing his head. “I could barely even see the goddamn building.” He slowly removes his hand from his head. “Open the door slower next time!” he huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. He blinks in surprise when a warm sensation travels up his spine, the pain in his head briefly disappearing without a trace. “What-”

“Hey,” Sehun mumbles into Jongin’s hair, wrapping his arms around the latter’s waist and pulling him close. However, he flinches like he’s been burned less than three seconds later. “Damn, what’s that smell?” he mumbles, sticking his tongue out. Jongin thinks it looks rather adorable.

Jongin blinks. “What smell?”

“You smell like a meth lab operated by idiots.” Sehun coughs into the crook of his arm. “Jesus Christ. What is that?” He coughs again, a white cloud of smoke appearing and disappearing into the air.

Scratching his neck, Jongin presses his lips together. “I uh, dyed my hair,” he says sheepishly. Sehun is still only partially illuminated in front of him and he reaches out and grabs the latter’s arm when a cold breeze passes by.

“Again?” Sehun asks in amusement. “What color is it now? Pink? Blue? Oh, please tell me it’s green!” he says excitedly, running a hand through his own hair.

“First of all, that’d look absolutely atrocious,” Jongin deadpans, shaking his head. “And second of all, no, it’s just uh, brown,” he adds and attempts his best smile even though he knows Sehun probably can’t see it.

Sehun hums something in reply before shuddering a little. “I can barely see you,” he mumbles before tugging on the brunet’s arm. “Let’s go inside for a second, okay?”

Before Jongin has a chance to reply, a blast of warm air hits him square in the face and he blinks at the change in temperature. He looks up and blinks again, this time in bewilderment, when he lays his eyes on Sehun. In all honesty, he doesn’t think he’ll ever stop fawning over the taller’s appearance no matter what. It’s not my fault he looks like a runway model 24/7, Jongin thinks, eyes trailing over Sehun’s attire, which consists of a navy blue sweater and a pair of black pants, as well as the godforsaken leather jacket Jongin has grown to love. Sehun has a large bag slung over his shoulder, presumably his training stuff, and he’s as bright eyed as he always is, even though it’s nearly midnight. He doesn’t look sweaty or exhausted in the least despite the fact that he’s been training vigorously for the past four hours and Jongin seriously wonders how he manages to cover it up so well. It’s a Sehun thing, it must be.

The door closes next to them and Jongin keeps his gaze fixated on the polished tile floor, and he bites his cheek when he leans against the wall, suddenly feeling cornered. Sehun’s gaze is threatening to burn holes in his body and he clears his throat before turning his face away. “Um.”

“What?” Sehun asks, raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow. Jongin figures he recently got them done.

“Nothing,” Jongin blurts out, running a hand through his hair. It’s extremely soft and silky, a contrast to how matted and downright messy it was when it was white and he makes a mental note to thank Jungah for suggesting the idea to him. “It’s just that...uh, what are we doing here?”

“You’re so cute,” Sehun coos, gesturing at Jongin’s cheeks, which are dusted in a shade of coral pink. “And I wanted to see your pretty face better,” he adds and chuckles when Jongin swallows. “You can’t blame me.”

Jongin almost wishes he’d stayed outside in the freezing cold because the amount of heat inside the building is dangerously close to making him break out into a sweat and he fights the urge to remove his jacket. He seriously hopes the makeup Jungah chose for him is waterproof. “How...how was training?” he asks, desperately wanting to change the subject completely.

“It wasn’t really training, so to say,” Sehun says, eyes softening a little. “Just me running back and forth on the field while tossing semi deflated balls into baskets of various sizes.” He beams. “Oh, and I also ran up and down that hill right behind you a handful of times,” he adds, pointing to the right. Jongin can’t see anything besides their reflections in the glass door.

Talk about killer stamina, Jongin thinks before clearing his throat, still looking at the floor. “That’s uh, that’s good,” he mumbles, shoving his hands in his pockets. As much as he’d love to say everything that’s on his mind, which is a lot, Sehun’s gaze is enough to reduce him to a stammering, fidgety mess and he doesn’t know if he hates it or loves it.

When Sehun doesn’t say anything for a couple of seconds, Jongin instinctively looks up, a semi confused expression on his face. A wave of self consciousness hits him when Sehun proceeds to eye every inch of his face while not saying a single word. Jongin almost reaches up and pats his cheeks, just to make sure his makeup isn’t a splotchy mess, but quickly decides against it. Sehun continues to stare, an unidentifiable expression on his face and in his eyes, and Jongin worries his knees might give in if he continues. “Uh. Sehun?”

Tearing his eyes away from Jongin’s face, Sehun shoots the brunet a curious glance. “Yeah?”

Jongin blinks, instinctively looking at his feet again. “Nothing.”

“Has anybody ever told you how gorgeous you look in eyeliner?” Sehun asks, voice void of sarcasm, and Jongin almost cries. “Because you do,” he adds when Jongin squirms.

Jongin half heartedly wishes somebody would open the doors and let in some fresh air because he fears he might drown in his own body heat if Sehun continues to beat him with his gaze. “Uh. No, actually, maybe Jungah at some point, but otherwise no,” he stammers, avoiding Sehun’s gaze. Come to think of it, his eyelids feel sticky from the eyeliner Jungah had (half-assedly) applied on him three minutes before he had to run to the bus. His breath hitches in his throat when Sehun suddenly extracts his hand. “Uh, what are you-”

“Hold still,” Sehun says lowly, reaching out and gently swiping the tip of his thumb across the corner of Jongin’s eye, the latter nearly collapsing at the touch. “There, perfect,” he says triumphantly before taking a step back, much to Jongin’s relief. He continues to stare at the brunet, eyes practically glimmering with adoration. “Jeez, you really are beautiful.”

Ignoring the tingling in his temple, Jongin feels his worries subside. “You can’t just say things like that,” he groans, practically throwing himself at Sehun, the latter stumbling backwards a little. “You can’t just- Jesus,” he mumbles into Sehun’s hair, the strong smell of hair gel tingling his senses with every inhale.

Patting the small of Jongin’s back, Sehun shrugs before chuckling low in his throat. “Like I said, you can’t blame me, I’m just speaking the truth,” he mumbles before moving his bag out of the way and pressing a kiss on the side of the brunet’s neck. “Your hair still smells horrendous,” he says with a wrinkle of his nose, leaning away to get away from the strong chemical-y odor.

Christ, he’s not letting this go. Pouting slightly at the loss of contact, Jongin heaves a dramatic sigh of exasperation. “Whaddya want me to do, rip my hair out?” he grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest. Averting his gaze so he’s (sort of) looking at Sehun, he blinks in surprise when he notices Sehun’s left shoulder is dusted with a shimmery, powder-like substance. Oh, .

Sehun raises an eyebrow when he notices Jongin’s perplexed stare. “Is there something on my face?” he asks in amusement, gesturing at his face dramatically.

“Well yeah, uh,” Jongin stammers, scratching his neck. “More like on your, uh, shoulder,” he adds sheepishly, looking away.

“Huh?” Turning his head so he’s looking down at his shoulder, Sehun emits a squawk of surprise when he sees the silver and white mess on his jacket. Thank God it’s leather, he thinks before proceeding to brush it off. “What was all that?” he asks when he’s done, shooting Jongin an unreadable glare.

Jongin coughs in embarrassment. “Uh, it wasn’t my idea-”

“I’m flattered,” Sehun says, reaching out and squishing Jongin’s cheeks together. He immediately regrets it when he removes his hands and sees that his palms are absolutely covered in the silvery substance, to the point that every crease and detail of his palm is visible. “God damn it.”

Stifling a snicker, Jongin shrugs. “Should’ve known better,” is all he says before he shoves his hands in his pockets. His eyebrows furrow when he thinks of something. “Hey, you’re finished, right?”

Sehun his head to the side. “Yes?”

“But then,” Jongin mumbles, biting his lip, “why’d you-”

“Because I wanted to see you, silly,” Sehun cuts him off before reaching out and grabbing Jongin’s wrist, pulling him closer. “That’s a good enough reason, isn’t it?” he adds, using his other hand to swing the door open. “I’ve gotten a good look at you, so we can get going now!”

Shuddering when the freezing cold air hits him, although one could argue he barely feels it because of his reddening face, Jongin mumbles something incoherent before stepping out into the cold, out of the building. It’s just as dark as it was a couple of minutes ago and he can’t even see his own hand in front of his face. His hand subconsciously reaches for Sehun’s arm when the door slams shut behind them.

“At first I was worried you wouldn’t show up,” Sehun says to nobody in particular as they descend the few steps leading up to the building. “But then, right after I’d sent the text I thought, ‘the hell am I thinking, of course he’ll come’,” he adds, grabbing Jongin’s hand and interlocking their fingers.

Jongin swallows. Confident, much, he thinks before shoving his free hand in his pocket to spare it from the cold. “Really?” he asks dumbly, kicking a rock lying in the middle of the path. Sehun’s hand is so warm and he nearly melts when the latter rubs his own hand with his thumb. 

“Of course,” Sehun says as a matter-of-factly. “I’d hate to leave this place at this hour all alone,” he adds and clears his throat when Jongin doesn’t say anything. “I mean, I wanted to see you, of course, but you know-”

“I get it,” Jongin says, looking up at the sky. The night is peaceful and the sky is starry. It nearly takes his breath away.

They walk in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Sehun speaks up.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

Jongin snaps his head up. “Uh, yeah,” he says, looking up at the sky again. He counts at least twenty different stars, burning bright as ever. “Gorgeous.” He briefly tears his eyes away from the sight above him to spare a glance at the ground to make sure there aren’t any rocks for him to trip over. He figures tripping over a rock and falling face first onto the pavement wouldn’t leave a pleasant mark on Sehun.

“That one’s you,” Sehun says, pointing up at the sky. “See it? The really, really bright one over there,” he adds, giving Jongin’s hand a squeeze.

It’s so dark Jongin can barely see Sehun’s hand in the first place and quite frankly, he has no idea which star the latter is pointing at. “They all look the same,” he whines, doing his best to locate the star Sehun is referring to.

“That one.” Sehun points again. “In case you can’t see it, it’s the brightest one in the sky right now.” He inhales before continuing. “Do you stargaze a lot?”

Jongin blinks before clearing his throat. “No, not really,” he says, shuddering when a cold breeze passes. “Do you?”

“Yeah,” Sehun replies, still looking up at the twinkling lights above them, and Jongin momentarily worries that he’ll end up walking into a pole or tripping over a stone if he doesn’t watch where he’s going. “I use it as a form of therapy sometimes.” He shoots Jongin a smile, which the latter barely sees. “Y’know, when things get all too stressful and just too much, I kinda go outside and sit on this big rock outside my house and count the stars at night.” He looks up at the sky again. “It’s super effective, you should try it sometime.”

A stargazing football player, Jongin thinks and he fights the urge to giggle and scream in adoration at the same time. “I just might,” he hums, resting his head on Sehun’s shoulder, praying to God it’s not the one covered with highlighter. He’s never been one for astronomy and space because, quite frankly, the mere thought of outer space absolutely chills him to the bone, but after hearing Sehun’s words, he'll have to consider rethinking his opinions.

“You know what they say about couples and stars, right?” Sehun asks, using his free hand to ruffle Jongin’s hair as they make their way down the path. He doesn’t even give the brunet a chance to reply before continuing. Not that Jongin minds. “You look up at the sky and find two stars, one to represent each person, and hope that someday, they’ll align perfectly,” he adds before pointing to the stars again. “That bright one over there is you, which one do you think I am?”

Biting his lip, Jongin feels his chest swell with happiness and he subconsciously grabs Sehun’s hand a little tighter. Never did he think he’d ever enjoy being compared to a star, much less like the idea, but there’s something about Sehun’s voice that makes him reconsider it. He can barely make out Sehun’s index finger in the dark but he points up to the sky, too.

“You're that one,” Jongin says, pointing to the star closest to the one Sehun pointed at just now. They’re not perfectly aligned but they’re pretty close, and Jongin feels his lips curl upwards. The thought of Sehun - the strong, handsome football player with the confidence and pride of a lion, sitting alone outside, on a rock outside his house, while counting or staring at the stars above in peace and serenity makes Jongin's heart flutter for reasons he can’t explain. In fact, the thought makes him see Sehun in a whole new light and he unconsciously pulls the latter closer to him until their bodies are pressed together. “Will our stars align?”

“Well, they’re not completely aligned, so I’m not sure,” Sehun says with a furrow of his eyebrows. “But they don’t have to be,” he adds with a small smile, seeing the bus stop come into view. "But I'm sure they will, someday, somehow."

They sit down on the bench outside the bus stop, Jongin refusing to let go of Sehun’s hand, and proceed to sit in comfortable silence. The brunet is glad nobody else is waiting for the bus because at the moment, all he wants is some peace and quiet with Sehun.

A thought suddenly hits Jongin and he rests his head on Sehun’s shoulder. “Why are we here?” he asks, watching as Sehun places his bag next to him.

“One of life’s greatest mysteries, isn’t it,” Sehun hums, crossing his legs. “I don’t think I can give you a definite answer to that, I’m afraid,” he adds apologetically, playing with a strand of Jongin’s hair. “It turned out great, by the way, tell your sister I approve of her hairdresser skills.”

Jongin blinks. “No, I meant,” he starts, still a bit overwhelmed by Sehun’s unexpected choice of words, “why are we here, like, at the bus stop? I mean, to be precise, why are you here?” He furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “Don’t you live in like, the opposite direction?”

Sehun nods. “Yeah, I do.”

Clearing his throat, Jongin fights back the blush creeping up his neck. “But then.” He swallows, turning his face away. “Nevermind,” he mumbles, fidgeting in his lap and nearly flinching when Sehun runs his hand through his hair.

“I’m staying the night, silly,” Sehun says as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, still carding his fingers through Jongin’s silky smooth locks. “What did you think?” he adds, leaning in so their faces are dangerously close. Too close for Jongin’s liking, at least.

Trying to squash the feeling of both surprise and euphoria that explode in his chest, Jongin shrugs. “I...I don’t know,” he mumbles and he’s surprised at how much his voice wavers. The thought of having Sehun over, at his house, is enough for his heart to beat alarmingly fast and he prays he doesn’t suffer from a heart attack on the spot.

“I mean,” Sehun says, voice lower, more serious, this time. “Only if you want me to, that is.” He places his index and middle finger under Jongin’s chin and gently tilts the latter’s head so their eyes lock. “Listen. If you don’t want me to, I won’t.”

Mentally slapping himself in the face, Jongin curses himself and his godforsaken ability to make everything incredibly awkward before his hands scramble to wrap themselves around Sehun’s waist and he pulls the latter close, so close he worries he might suffocate Sehun to death. The smell of leather hits his nose and he buries his face in the taller’s jacket. “I want you to,” he mumbles, voice muffled and barely audible. “I want you to,” he repeats for good measure.

Sehun rests his arm on Jongin’s head and gently caresses the latter’s scalp with his fingertips. “Great,” he chuckles and wheezes a little when Jongin (subconsciously) tightens his hold around his waist. “Jesus, any tighter and I’ll be spending the night inside a coffin instead of your house,” he says only half jokingly, but there’s no bite in his voice.

Muttering a garbled string of ‘sorry’s, Jongin hurries to let go of Sehun’s waist (and thus freeing his airways) before clearing his throat and placing his hands in his lap. He’s suddenly struck by the thought of where Sehun is going to sleep and he furrows his eyebrows. Mom’s away but Dad’s got their room, Jungah’s got her room, Dad’s gonna go mad if he finds him sleeping on the couch in the living room tomorrow morning…

Wait. Jongin blinks and swallows the lump in his throat. God.

Jongin is so deep in thought that he doesn’t even realize Sehun has dragged him towards, and inside, the bus until the latter shoves him into an empty seat thirty seconds later.

~~~