~~~

6:00 PM

Walking up the few steps leading to the front porch, Jongin rummages through his pockets in search of his keys. A cold gust of wind passes, promptly messing up his hair, and he shivers despite Sehun's coat keeping him warm.

"Try not to toss me into the bathroom this time," Sehun says only half jokingly, standing behind Jongin. He bites his lip. "Is anybody home?"

Jongin blinks at the unexpected question. Why would he care? "Uh, no," he says, still digging through his pockets. "Jungah's at her ballet recital and Dad's at work."

"And your Mom?" Sehun asks, playing with a strand of Jongin's hair from behind.

"Business trip, as usual," Jongin mutters before finally locating his keys at the bottom of his right pocket. He wastes no time in inserting the key in the lock before opening the door, letting Sehun step inside first before closing it behind him.

Jongin watches Sehun remove his shoes, a thought suddenly hitting him. "Sehun?"

Sehun promptly pauses untying his shoes. "Yeah?" he replies, turning his head to look at the brunet.

"Don't you, uh," Jongin mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't you have practice today?"

"Training isn't always obligatory, Jongin," Sehun chuckles before carefully placing his shoes by the wall and standing up. "You only do it if you feel like it," he adds, taking a step forward and kissing Jongin's forehead, making the latter blush.

Clearing his throat, Jongin blinks. "So-"

"Let's just say you're way more fun to be around than my team," Sehun says without a hint of remorse in his voice and Jongin almost cries.

Jongin scrambles to remove Sehun's coat before handing it to the latter. "Here," he mumbles and watches as the taller proceeds to hang it up on one of the many clothes hangers. 

"Your exam's tomorrow, right? Sehun asks, allowing himself to be dragged towards the stairs by Jongin. "Easy now," he chuckles, coming to a halt on the first step. The last thing he wants is for Jongin to accidentally tug on his arm a little too roughly, in turn causing him to nearly break his arm on the stairs like he did yesterday. 

Jongin huffs in impatience and wastes no time in placing a hand on Sehun's back, promptly pushing him up the stairs from behind. "Yeah, it's tomorrow, why do you ask?" he asks and grunts under Sehun's weight when the latter makes no attempt to even climb up the steps himself. "Come on, Sehun!"

"Want me to help you study?" Sehun asks, easily bouncing up the last few steps and pulling Jongin up the stairs by the arm, nearly causing the latter to stumble and fall flat on his face. "What do you say?"

"Um." Jongin scratches the back of his neck. As good as he thinks he is academically, he's heard quite a lot about Sehun's braininess which in turn causes him to feel quite...inferior, to say the least. Not that he knows what Sehun is like as a study buddy, of course. "I uh, I don't know," he mumbles, leaning against the newel post.

Sehun pats Jongin's shoulder. "What's it about?" he asks, dragging Jongin towards the latter's room. 

Opening the door to his bedroom, Jongin shoves Sehun inside before closing it and locking it, just in case. The fact that they're both alone in his house makes Jongin's nerves tingle for some reason. "Can't remember," he mumbles, letting his backpack fall to the floor with a thud before walking over to his bed and throwing himself down on the mattress. 

Laying beside Jongin, Sehun cards his fingers through the brunet's hair. "So lazy," he hums, nearly getting the wind knocked out of him when Jongin suddenly whacks him in the ribs. 

"," Jongin chuckles while reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "I'm gonna post those God awful pictures you took of me," he adds, opening up Facebook. He figures his profile could use an update after nearly two year's worth of inactivity.

"M hmm," Sehun hums, rubbing his chest area. "Jesus dude, take it easy next time or you'll break something for real," he groans.

Ignoring Sehun's pained whimper next to him, Jongin opens up his camera roll and squawks when he sees the pictures from earlier. "Okay, first of all, I look awful, and second of all, why're most of them purple-ish?" he asks, squinting his eyes to get a closer look. "My hair looks freaking black," he adds and fights the urge to groan. He's always despised his natural hair color.

"You look as cute as always," Sehun chuckles before rolling over onto his stomach so he can see Jongin's screen better. "Hey, you need to post that one, too," he interjects when Jongin deliberately skips the picture of him by the gate. "And it's just the filter, your hair's still as brown as ever, don't worry."

Sighing internally, Jongin selects all three pictures and bites his lip when he tries to think of a witty caption. He decides not to apply a filter onto any of the photos since he figures Sehun has fulfilled that step already by using the filter app earlier. 

After three whole minutes of deciding what to do, Jongin promptly gives up on trying to come up with a caption and moves onto the location and tagged people. He looks over at Sehun, whom has apparently fallen asleep beside him. "Hey, what was the park called?" he asks, nudging the taller.

Lifting his head a little, Sehun mumbles a low, barely coherent 'I dunno' before moving to lay back down again, but he suddenly shoots up like a bullet when he sees Jongin clicking on the 'Tag People' option. "Don't," he says, grabbing Jongin's arm maybe a little too tightly.

Finger hovering above Sehun's name, Jongin blinks in surprise and confusion. "...Why not?"

"Because," Sehun starts and closes his mouth again. "Just...please, don't, okay?" he adds, biting his cheek, making sure to keep his eyes on Jongin's phone in case the latter chooses to tag him anyway. 

"O...kay," Jongin mumbles, drawing out the last syllable to a dramatic extent before pressing 'Cancel' and returning to the caption. When he still can't think of anything witty to type, he mumbles a 'screw it' before proceeding to click on a handful of random emojis instead. "Is this okay?" he asks, practically shoving his phone in Sehun's face.

Blinking, Sehun nods. "Who's that adorable little boy in all those pictures?" he asks smugly and chuckles when Jongin closes his eyes in frustration. "Not you, since you're not that adorable," he adds jokingly, laying his head back down again after checking one last time to make sure Jongin hasn't tagged him in the post.

Tapping 'Upload', Jongin watches his feed refresh itself before his post appears at the top of the page, and he beams before tapping Sehun on the shoulder. "Sehun, wake up, look!"

Kim Jongin

6:42 PM

"😜🤘😘😸🌿🐇🌟🌟"

Sehun stares at the pictures for a while before he lets out a chuckle. "What's a bunny got to do with it," he mumbles, ruffling Jongin's hair.

"I didn't know what to write," Jongin squawks before turning his phone off and placing it beside him on the bed. "You try coming up with something more clever," he mumbles before laying down next to Sehun, a wave of fatigue overcoming him. He's seconds away from dozing off, along with Sehun, when a sound rings through the air that nearly scares the living daylights out of both of them.

"Whatthe," Sehun wheezes, gripping his chest in fear. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he looks at Jongin, who scrambles for his phone. "What was that?"

Jongin turns his phone on and nearly cries when he sees the few words on the screen. Oh my ing God.

Facebook

(3 seconds ago) Byun Baekhyun liked your post.

Craning his neck to get a better view, Sehun laughs a little. "That was...quick."

Feeling himself getting queasy all over again, Jongin promptly turns off his phone and is about to throw it to the other side of the bed when a noise, the same one they just heard, fills the air and he bites his lip before looking at his screen. 

Facebook

(Just now) Byun Baekhyun commented on your post: "Tell Sehun I think he's a great photographer hehe :3 😄😄😄"

God, Jongin thinks, swallowing the lump in his throat. Why can't you just leave me alone. He continues to stare at the words until his screen goes dark, and he jumps a little when he suddenly hears Sehun's voice behind his shoulder.

"Delete it."

Jongin blinks. "What?"

"Delete it," Sehun repeats, gesturing to the phone. "Please," he adds when Jongin stares at him like he's grown a second head.

"Uh," Jongin mumbles and lets out a squawk of surprise when Sehun suddenly grabs his phone, and he watches with wide eyes as the latter proceeds to unlock his phone, click on the notification and delete Baekhyun's comment. "Sehun, what are you-"

"Did you need any help with studying, by the way?" Sehun asks casually as he hands Jongin, who shakes his head, his phone back. When Jongin continues to stare, as speechless as ever, he shrugs before rolling onto his stomach. "Man, your bed's comfy, I could lie here all day if I could."

Clearing his throat, Jongin blinks one more time before tossing his phone aside and crawling over to join Sehun. There's a rock hard feeling settling in the pit of his gut and all he wants to do is to get as close to Sehun as possible. He proceeds to lie down and rest his head on Sehun's shoulder blade, however, he misses slightly and ends up lying with his head on the small of Sehun's back. He closes his eyes, hoping Sehun isn't ticklish.

Breathing out a small sigh of relief when he gets comfy, Jongin lets his eyes slip shut and he's on the brink of dozing off when a buzzing sound to his right nearly causes him to fall off the bed in surprise, and he sits up like a bullet, eyes wide. 

"Could you get that for me, babe," Sehun mumbles, barely coherent, before lazily gesturing to his back pocket without lifting his head. 

Averting his gaze (and blushing a little when his eyes land on Sehun's posterior), Jongin spots the outline of what has to be Sehun's cell phone before reaching into the latter's pocket and swiftly pulling it out. It's a little bit dented and there are a few cracks here and there, but other than that, it's practically as good as new. 

Figuring it's either Junmyeon or Chanyeol texting Sehun about God knows what, probably something football related, Jongin wastes no time in pressing the Home button.

And briefly feels his blood run ice cold.

Messenger 

Byun Baekhyun  7 PM

Sehunnn why'd Jongin remove my comment?????????? T T

Jongin feels fireworks going off in his head (and not the good kind) and he throws Sehun's phone to the other side of the bed like it's a poisonous animal, feeling every nerve in his body buzz with a sense of dread and agony. 

So they were messaging each other, he thinks, clenching his jaw to keep himself from yelling at the top of his lungs and thus waking Sehun, if the latter is even asleep, that is. Jongin reaches up and tugs on his collar when he feels his throat constrict and he prays he doesn't die of asphyxiation. On second though, he actually half hopes he does, because dying would be much less painless than what he's currently feeling.

Sehun, sensing something wrong due to the brunet's silence, sits up and rubs his eyes. He shoots Jongin a look before averting his gaze and spotting his phone lying a good two feet away, and he blinks in surprise, his expression melting into one of worry when he sees Jongin's lowered head (and gaze). "Who was it? What's the matter?"

Jongin doesn't say anything. Because quite frankly, there's way too much going on inside his head for him to be able to think straight, much less utter a single word. He lowers his head even more, his bangs falling in his face and effectively obscuring his vision, which he's thankful for because if he's going to be completely honest, he doesn't want to look at anybody right now.

One half of the brunet is telling him to get up and run away and the other half of him is mentally slapping himself silly for feeling the way he does. The overflow of emotions in his system causes a bright pink blush to bloom across his cheeks, making his heart tremble, and it's not until he hears (and feels) Sehun's phone vibrate a second time that he clenches his jaw. He mentally slaps himself for the nth time when he sees his vision getting blurry.

Sehun practically scrambles over to Jongin when a teardrop falls from the latter's eye and lands on the blanket. " Jongin, what's the matter? What happened?"

Cursing under his breath, Jongin hurries to wipe his eyes. “Nothing,” he mumbles and curses loudly when his voice cracks. He honestly wouldn’t even flinch if Sehun were to stand up and walk right out of the house (also while admitting he loves Baekhyun), because honestly, based on Jongin's own personal experience, comforting crying people can be a real challenge, which is why the warm feeling that spreads across his body when Sehun quickly embraces him comes as a huge surprise.

“What’s the matter?” Sehun asks in a low yet soothing tone. When Jongin doesn’t say anything and lowers his head even more, he reaches out and wipes away a tear trailing down the brunet’s cheek. His cheek is so incredibly hot and Sehun nearly flinches like he’s been burned.

Jongin has to turn his face away so he’s looking in the opposite direction, away from Sehun’s phone lying a few feet away, and takes a deep breath as he attempts to pull himself together, with very little success. “Nothing, I’m tired.”

Visibly swallowing, Sehun bites his lip as he tries his best to get Jongin to look at him without making the latter uncomfortable, which is proven to be an awfully difficult task considering the fact that the brunet is apparently doing all he can to avoid his eyes.

“You keep saying that. Hey, come on, look at me,” Sehun tries again, placing his middle and index finger under Jongin’s chin in an attempt to tilt his head towards him, only for the brunet to turn his face away again. “I don’t- , I don’t know what to do, Jongin,” he adds, a slight hint of distress in his voice as he runs a hand through his hair. His phone buzzes a few feet away and he instinctively grabs it.

Pressing the Home button, Sehun watches as his screen lights up and bites his lip in irritation because Chanyeol (or Junmyeon, but it’s mostly the former) could not have picked a worse time to text him, and he blinks when he reads the words, or rather, message, on his phone, which is definitely not from neither Chanyeol nor Junmyeon.

Messenger

Byun Baekhyun 7:06 PM

I tried out that game you recommended btw!!! I at it so far but let’s cross our fingers that I’ll improve!!! 👍🙏🙏😅😩😩😄

After reading the message, Sehun is just about to turn his phone off and toss his phone to the side when he sees another drop of water fall from above, closely followed by a second, and then a third, and his lips quickly form an ‘o’ shape. He hurries to turn his phone off (which he had, stupidly enough, chosen to hold in Jongin’s line of vision the whole time) before carelessly tossing it over his shoulder.

Jongin’s body is stiff (yet soft because of his shirt) under his touch and Sehun quickly wraps his arms even tighter around the brunet when a series of loud sobs fill the air. Part of him doesn’t know what to do, because he has no idea what is and what isn’t within the brunet’s comfort zone quite yet, so Sehun opts to lean his head on Jongin’s shoulder, which is shaking so much he has to lift his head to save himself a concussion.

As they sit on the bed in silence for many, many minutes, Sehun feels his sleeve gradually getting more and more damp as Jongin’s tears continue to fall, but he doesn’t even bother moving his arms away because, as cheesy as it may sound, he would rather hug the brunet until his problems and tears disappear than break their embrace because of a few stains. Even though Jongin is surprisingly still, with his hands covering his face, Sehun can tell he’s trying his very hardest (and somewhat failing) to maintain a steady composure which in turn makes his shoulders shake even more.

They remain in that position for what feels like forever; Sehun letting Jongin release his inner emotions as he holds him as tight as he can, until Sehun feels the brunet’s shoulders still, and he loosens his grip around Jongin ever so slightly. Looking down, he notices that an area on the baby blue covers has gotten significantly darker, rather gray-ish, and he swallows.

In an nth attempt to get Jongin to look at him, because the latter choosing to hide his face is quickly making Sehun more and more anxious, Sehun reaches out and gently wraps his fingers around the brunet’s wrist and slowly removes them from his face, and blinks in surprise when Jongin doesn’t even protest. Sehun figures it’s either because he has, thankfully, gained the brunet’s trust or simply because the latter is too exhausted from crying his eyes out to even bother stopping him.

Letting go of Jongin’s wrist, Sehun reaches out and places two fingers under the brunet’s chin, which is so wet that he nearly flinches, before slowly, oh so slowly, turning his head so their eyes lock. Sehun already feels a trail of saltiness travelling down his palm and down his wrist but he barely even pays it any attention.

“Jesus Christ,” Sehun says under his breath, voice barely audible, when he finally processes what he’s seeing.

Jongin’s his face is so wet Sehun swears you could use his cheeks as a mirror, his eyes are red rimmed and just as wet and glassy as his face, and Sehun’s heart trembles just a tad bit when he continues to stare into Jongin’s eyes and notices the area underneath them twitch. Averting his gaze, Sehun swallows when he sees the brunet’s lips quivering as he struggles to regain control of his breathing. All in all, it’s probably the saddest sight Sehun has ever seen in his life, which is saying a lot, since he was there to witness his teammate getting his nose punched right in last month.

Sehun waits patiently for Jongin to speak but he never does, so he opts to break the ice himself.

“Is that why you’ve been acting like this lately?” Sehun asks, removing his fingers from Jongin’s chin to grab the latter’s hand instead. His hand feels wet and slippery but he pays it no mind.

Swallowing, Jongin reaches up and wipes at his face and eyes with his sleeve before nodding ever so subtly. Even though he’s letting Sehun hold his hand, Sehun can tell he’s still avoiding looking him in the eyes.

“Christ,” Sehun mumbles, biting his lip, before squeezing Jongin’s hand. The latter still isn’t looking at him and he reaches out and runs his free hand through Jongin’s hair. “Please look at me.”

Taking a deep, and shaky, breath, Jongin bites his lip before turning his head to look at Sehun again, and there’s something about the way the latter is staring at him with so much sincerity, worry and adoration all at once that he instinctively looks away. He keeps his mouth shut, not wanting to mess things up even more since he figures crying his eyes out in front of Sehun is probably on the latter’s list of things that are bound to scare him away for good.

“Jongin,” Sehun says lowly when Jongin remains as silent as ever. Despite the latter being roughly the same size as him (although he’s a tad bit smaller), Sehun gulps when he leans away and sees just how tiny Jongin looks, but he figures it’s because he’s keeping his head lowered and cowering a little. “It’s not like that- Jesus, I don’t even- I don’t know what-”

“Sorry, I’m being stupid,” Jongin says, making Sehun blink a little because he definitely hadn’t expected Jongin to speak, before hastily wiping his entire face and clearing his throat as he regains his composure alarmingly fast. “Sorry,” he says again, feeling himself blush. He doesn’t know why, but for some reason he sneaks a glance at Sehun’s phone, which in turn reminds him of Baekhyun and the latter’s message(s), and he mutters a low ‘damn it’ when he feels his lower lip quiver, his vision becoming blurred all over again.

Squeezing Jongin’s hand, Sehun watches as a few more tears fall from Jongin’s eyes and onto the blanket below. It’s almost shocking, how different Jongin is and looks compared to how he was only an hour or so ago. The brunet was practically a hyper, violent (but in a good way, of course) ball of energy and the last thing Sehun expected was for him to break down like this, all vulnerable and teary faced.

“You’re not stupid, don’t worry,” Sehun says softly, wiping away a tear making its way down Jongin’s pink cheek. He doesn’t know if he should say the words that are on his tongue in fear of making Jongin feel even worse, but he opts to do it anyway since the silence is starting to drive him nuts. “I know what you’re thinking, there’s nothing going on between us, I promise, I always try to ignore his texts-”

“Why do you even message him in the first place?” Jongin asks in a shaky voice, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, which is pretty much drenched to the very last thread, and he mentally slaps himself in the face when he realizes just how foolish he sounds. “Wait, ignore th-”

“He always messages me first,” Sehun says, biting his lip. “Every time, it’s always him; I try to ignore him the best I can but he always continues and, you know, I sort of feel obligated to reply sometimes because.” He scratches the back of his neck. “He is my friend, after all,” he adds and sighs when Jongin visibly gulps.

Taking a deep breath, Jongin rolls up his drenched sleeve and winces when he feels the cold wetness seeping into his skin. “How long have you been-” He promptly closes his mouth, lowering his head again. “Nevermind.”

“Since the day he messaged me your phone number,” Sehun says, leaning his head on Jongin’s shoulder. “He’s been messaging me non-stop since then, I don’t know what to do,” he adds with a small sigh. He leans in and kisses Jongin’s temple when the latter doesn’t say anything.

“Block him,” Jongin blurts out and audibly curses. He wouldn’t be surprised if Sehun thought he was a straight up fool. “God damn it, nevermind-”

Sehun chuckles low in his throat, but his voice remains as serious as ever. “I can’t do that, he’s my friend, he’ll probably be hurt,” he hums, Jongin’s hand with his thumb. “But hey, if it makes you feel better, I’ll start replying less frequently, okay?” he asks, brushing the brunet’s bangs out of his face.

Jongin nods, feeling his mood lighten by a tiny amount. In all honesty, he’d rather Sehun told Baekhyun to off completely, forever and ever, but he figures that might be a tad bit too harsh. Either way, he doesn’t care, he just wants the heavy feeling in his chest to disappear and never come back. “Okay,” he mumbles, squeezing Sehun’s hand a little.

“I really wish you’d told me this sooner,” Sehun says, guilt lacing his voice as he continues to brush Jongin’s wispy bangs out of the latter’s face. “I really, really don’t like seeing you like this,” he adds, reaching up and Jongin’s cheekbone with his thumb. “Next time, if you’re feeling down or sad or anything like it, let me know, okay? I mean, I’m no gold-star therapist or anything, but I’ll certainly do my best.”

Swallowing, Jongin nods again, and it’s not until Sehun proceeds to pull him into his lap that he momentarily feels his head clearing up and his heart skip a beat, a feeling he recognizes as the feeling he’d felt when Sehun had messaged him for the very first time, and the thought alone makes his lip quiver, but this time for a different reason. “It’s just that...well, you stood behind him and...God, nevermind.”

Resting his chin on Jongin’s shoulder, Sehun presses a loving kiss on the brunet’s slightly exposed skin. “Envy is natural, don’t feel bad about it,” he mumbles into the crook of Jongin’s neck. The latter smells like strawberry shortcake and it makes his senses go crazy. “And it’s a little hard to demonstrate to someone how to properly pass or throw something without standing behind them, just saying.”

“I know, I know,” Jongin says quietly, fidgeting in his lap. Despite having the most toned body he’s ever seen in his life, Sehun’s lap is surprisingly soft and he moves around a little to get comfortable, hoping he doesn’t accidentally crush Sehun’s thighs in the process. “It’s just...nevermind,” he hums, playing with his fingers. His entire face feels cold from his (now dry) tears and he shivers a little.

“You smell like a bakery,” Sehun mumbles, snaking his arms around Jongin’s waist and pulling him closer. “There’s nothing to worry about, I promise,” he adds.

Smiling a little, Jongin bites his cheek. “Jungah’s hairspray,” he says lowly before leaning back against Sehun’s broad shoulders. He smells the latter’s perfume everywhere and he prays to God he doesn’t break out into a sweat. He figures he won’t, though, because he’s pretty sure he’s gotten rid of every single last drop of water in his system for now.

“And you promise?” he adds, biting his lip. He seriously feels like a character in a crappy romantic movie and he sort of hates himself for being such a fool, but he honestly can’t help it at this point, because Sehun has promised him, and now he has no reason to be worried anymore, and the thought makes his heart flutter.

“I promise,” Sehun says with a low chuckle. “I find him a little irritating to text with, to be quite honest,” he adds with a low hum. “He's just as energetic online as he is in real life. Don’t you dare tell him I told you this, though, or you’re toast, my friend.”

Jongin has to stifle a laugh because ‘a little irritating’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. He desperately wants to tell Sehun every little annoying thing Baekhyun has done when it comes to texting but he figures Sehun wouldn’t want to stick around for six hours and find out. He swallows and grips Sehun’s hand, refusing to look the latter in the eyes for reasons unknown.

“So you’re not hiding anything, right?” Jongin asks and because he’s facing away from Sehun, he misses the way the latter’s eyes flash. “Uh, because you know, that’s not good and uh, all couples should come clean at every chance,” he adds awkwardly. God, what a fool. “Um. Yeah.”

Sehun is silent for a full minute before replying. “That’s true,” he says simply before playing with Jongin’s shirt. From where he’s sitting, he can see Jongin’s eyelashes and he blinks because Dear God, are they long. “No but seriously, there’s no need to worry, I’m not interested in Baekhyun if that’s what’s bothering you,” he adds with a reassuring ruffle of Jongin’s hair.

Jongin is silent for a while and he yelps when a few strands of hair stab him in the eye. “Wait, so.” He brushes his hair out of his face. “He doesn’t like you?” he asks and ignores the way his heart trembles.

“I have no idea,” Sehun says, putting his hands up. “All I know is that if he does, it’s one sided on his part. I mean, I only bother texting him because we happen to like the same video game and because I sort of like his hair color, we really don’t have much in common,” he adds and instantly regrets it when Jongin stills.

Clearing his throat, Jongin swallows before relaxing, or at least attempting to. “I see,” he mumbles, grabbing Sehun’s hand and playing with the latter’s fingers. His fingers are gorgeous, he thinks before squirming a little when he feels his legs beginning to fall asleep, and he doesn’t know if he should laugh or be worried at the sound Sehun emits when he accidentally puts a little too much weight on a certain region.

“Dude,” Sehun groans, leaning forward and whacking Jongin on the back. “Take it easy.” He gives Jongin a slight nudge when the latter doesn’t move. “Get off, you’re bruising my-”

“I like it here,” Jongin says, a wave of happiness washing over him as he proceeds to get off Sehun’s lap, only to lie down and rest his head in the latter’s lap. “I think I might stay here forever,” he adds, only half jokingly because Sehun’s lap is incredibly comfy. The latter shifts above him and he groans. “Don’t move.”

“Excuse you, Mr. Strawberry Hairspray,” Sehun scoffs before reaching down and poking Jongin’s sides, effectively making the latter get off his lap when he practically scrambles to the other side of the bed for dear life. He lets out a chuckle at the brunet’s face but his voice turns serious quickly after. “But hey, you’re not feeling sad anymore, are you?”

Jongin opens his mouth to speak but closes it again. In all honesty, he wants to say yes, because he still isn’t all too happy about the fact that Baekhyun’s messages are still on Sehun’s phone, but he also wants to say no because Sehun has promised him; Sehun isn’t hiding anything from him and he wants to jump for joy and run around the entire house in (semi) relief and happiness, but he doesn’t because seriously, that would be very, very strange.

Despite that, his lips curl upwards into a smirk. “I don’t know,” he says smugly, cocking his head to the side. He figures he probably looks like a complete and utter idiot right now but he’s honestly too ecstatic to care. “Am I?”

Sehun blinks before he, too, smirks ever so slightly. “You better not be.”

Pressing his lips together, Jongin raises a childish eyebrow. “What if I am?” he asks and squawks in surprise when Sehun suddenly, but gently, tackles him, and he lets out a low ‘oof!’ when his back hits the mattress. He barely even has a chance to blush at the fact that he’s lying on his back, on his bed, with Sehun hovering above him and beating him to death with his stare, when the latter flops down next to him. A sense of warmth suddenly engulfs him.

“Then I’ll lie right here next to you until you’re feeling happy again,” Sehun mumbles into the crook of Jongin’s neck as he pulls the latter closer to him. “Just so we’re clear,” he adds with a chuckle and nearly jumps out of his own skin, along with Jongin, when a loud banging noise fills the air. “What the he-”

Eyes wide in surprise, Jongin contemplates calling the police when he breathes out a sigh of relief. “My stick, it fell over,” he grumbles, briefly freeing himself from Sehun’s death grip to walk over to his closet and set his stick upright again, only for Sehun to grab his wrist and pull him back down again. “Sehun-”

“You can fix it later,” Sehun hums, resting his head on his hand as he runs a hand through Jongin’s hair. “Hey, are you thinking of, you know?”

Jongin sighs. “I can’t,” he says simply, rolling over on his side and burying his face in Sehun’s chest. He doesn’t think he’ll ever stop freaking out over the strong, masculine scent he’s grown to recognize and love.

Sehun blinks, raising an eyebrow. “Huh? Why not?”

“Because,” Jongin says, “I only play when I’m in desperate need of distraction.”

Nodding a little, Sehun chuckles. “Okay?”

“Yeah,” Jongin mumbles, nuzzling his entire face in Sehun’s shoulder.

“And you’re not in desperate need of distraction right now?” Sehun asks, dipping down and planting a kiss in Jongin’s hair. The taste of sweet strawberry tickles his taste buds.

Jongin bites his lip, because technically he is, given the fact that Sehun’s chest is less than half an inch away from his freaking face, but he shakes his head anyway. “Nope,” he says and blushes when Sehun’s words from a minute ago hit him. “And God, you’re so cheesy, stop it!”

Slightly confused, Sehun blinks. “What are you- Oh, that.” He chuckles low in his throat. “What can I say? It’s true.” He lies back down and wraps an arm around Jongin’s torso, pulling him closer. “Your discomfort would break my heart.”

“You said that earlier today,” Jongin groans, fighting the urge to bury his face in his hands. He definitely isn’t feeling sad anymore, that’s for sure. “God, just...just stop it, it’s embarrassing,” he mumbles, reaching out and brushing a piece of dust from Sehun’s shirt. “I like your shirt, by the way.”

“Recognize it?” Sehun laughs.

Jongin blinks before raising an eyebrow. He’s about to ask Sehun what on Earth he’s talking about when it finally hits him and this time, he does bury his face in his hands (as much as the pretty much non existent space between their bodies will allow). . “Oh my ing God-”

“I managed to get the milk stains out, but it took me a while,” Sehun chuckles, patting Jongin’s head. “Way to make a first impression,” he adds and lets out a loud cackle when Jongin emits a wail of embarrassment.

Grabbing a pillow above his head, Jongin promptly places it on top of his face to hide his reddening face. “Oh my Gooooooood,” he yells at the top of his lungs, although his voice is barely even audible thanks to the fabric. Trust Sehun to make every single conversation go from deep and serious to embarrassing as hell and cheesy in the span of two seconds. “I hate you-”

“You were the one who doused me in milk, not me!” Sehun exclaims. “If anything, I’m the one who should hate you,” he adds, shaking his head in disbelief, before removing the pillow from Jongin’s face, dipping down and kissing his cheek, which is hot as a result of the latter blushing so hard. “But you know I’d never.”

“How reassuring, Sehun, thank you.”

Shrugging, Sehun reaches across the bed and grabs his phone. When Jongin tenses, he chuckles a little. “Don’t worry, I’m just gonna-” He proceeds to clear Baekhyun’s messages from the screen before showing Jongin, who instantly feels better. “See?”

Jongin nods. “What time is it?” he asks, suddenly feeling extremely tired.

“Eight,” Sehun replies before lying back down. “I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted,” he adds, stretching out his long limbs, careful not to whack Jongin in the face with his arm.

“Same,” Jongin says before closing his eyes and letting his mind drift. His hand subconsciously scatters across the bed in search of Sehun’s and he interlocks their fingers, his nerves immediately settling at the touch.

Jongin is seconds away from falling asleep when he hears Sehun’s voice.

“Hey, Jongin?”

Murmuring a barely coherent ‘yeah?’, Jongin rolls over onto his back, while not letting go of Sehun’s hand. He stares up at the glow in the dark star stickers on the ceiling. I really need to take those down.

“Tell me you love me.”

Eyes widening a little bit at the unexpected request, Jongin bites his lip. He feels his face grow hot when he realizes he hasn’t said anything for a few seconds and clears his throat. “Why?”

“Because I want to hear it,” is all Sehun says before he rolls over and stares Jongin square in the eye, and there’s something about the way his eyes glitter that makes the brunet shiver.

Jongin doesn’t know if it’s the fatigue in his system threatening to shut his body down any minute or the fact that the butterflies in his stomach are going rather nuts right now (he settles for the latter), but he finds himself opening his mouth. “You love me,” he says and stifles a laugh when Sehun smacks him in the arm.

“Say it right, you moron,” Sehun scoffs in false hurt before lying back down again, staring at Jongin expectantly.

Deciding to continue whatever it is they’re doing, Jongin smirks a little. “You expect me to tell you I love you after calling me a ?” he tuts, shaking his head in disappointment. He doesn’t even get to utter another word when a certain weight on top of his lips effectively shuts him up, or to be precise, rendering him utterly speechless. For a few seconds, that is, because the next thing he knows, he’s squirming and flailing his limbs in all directions like a fish out of water. “Whatthewasthat!”

“I think most people would call that a kiss,” Sehun says, pulling away just in time to avoid being hit in the face. “But then again, don’t take my word for it, I could be wrong,” he adds with a laugh when Jongin squeezes his eyes shut in humiliation. “That was my apology, now let’s hear it.”

Still trying to overcome the shock he’s feeling, Jongin emits an unattractive series of incoherent garbles before dragging a hand down his face. Jesus Christ. “Uh,” he stammers and nearly falls off the edge of the bed when Sehun suddenly pokes his side. “Sehun, cut it out, you , God damn you-”

“Let’s hear it!” Sehun repeats, voice practically a whine. “Don’t hesitate-”

“Iwasn’tinghesitating!” Jongin babbles, reaching up and lightly whacking Sehun in the face. ing hell. He sighs in exasperation. “Iloveyou.”

Sehun blinks. “What was that?” he asks, leaning in. “I didn’t quite catch that,” he adds, leaning in to the point that Jongin’s lips tickle his ear.

“Iloveyouyou,” Jongin says in exasperation before dragging a hand down his face. “See? I said it, now-”

“One more try,” Sehun says, barely able to fight back a laugh. “And don’t call me a , if you please.”

Jongin doesn’t know if it’s the glittery look in Sehun’s eyes or the sincerity in the latter’s voice that makes him do it, but all of a sudden he finds himself gulping and turning his face away, a million different emotions crashing down on him all at once. “I love you.”

The first thing that hits Jongin is that he feels like he’s in a movie (an awfully corny one, at that), and he has to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing. The second thing that hits him is that Sehun hasn’t said anything for a minute straight and he almost cries.

“Sorry-” Jongin says, turning his face to look at Sehun, but he promptly shuts his mouth when he sees the starstruck expression on the latter’s face. Has he just seen a ghost? he thinks and nearly lets out a yelp when Sehun swoops down and presses a kiss on his forehead. “Sehun, what-”

“Man,” Sehun says, wrapping his arms around Jongin so hard he briefly wonders if the latter will die from asphyxiation. He doesn’t let go, though. “Man, you’re great,” he mumbles, lying next to Jongin and interlocking their fingers.

Jongin blinks, trying to control his blush. “What-”

“Your face when you said that,” Sehun says, “was priceless, absolutely priceless.” He sits up when the sound of the front door opening and closing fills the air. “Hey, your door’s locked, right?”

Scratching the back of his head, Jongin nods. “Yeah? So?”

“No reason,” Sehun says quickly before lying back down and interlocking their fingers again. “I love you, too, if that wasn’t obvious enough already,” he adds and laughs a little when Jongin visibly blushes. “Stop blushing, damn it-”

“I can’t help it,” Jongin says way, way too loudly, causing Jungah to holler something along the lines of ‘Jongin, shut it!’ from downstairs. “You ,” he mumbles into Sehun’s chest, gently hitting the latter’s shoulder. Did he seriously choose to give up four hours of training for this?

Stretching out his limbs again, Sehun sits up and gets off the bed. “What time does your first lesson start tomorrow?” he asks before proceeding to remove his jeans. He doesn’t miss the way Jongin turns his face away as soon as his fingers touch the belt buckle.

“Uh, eight,” Jongin says awkwardly, keeping his gaze fixated on his closet. He hears the sound of a belt hitting the floor as Sehun slides his jeans down his legs and fights the urge to cough. “How...how about you?”

“Two thirty,” Sehun says, sliding his shirt over his head. “So I’ll make sure to keep your side warm tomorrow morning,” he adds jokingly and sighs when Jongin bites his lip. “Hard to believe you’re gay sometimes, you know that?”

Jongin blinks, turning to look at Sehun, and nearly screams when he’s greeted by the sight of the latter in nothing but his boxers and he honestly doesn’t know where to look first. He opts to lower his head and stare at his lap instead, hoping Sehun doesn’t see his blush. “...What do you mean?”

“Because you cover your eyes and blush like a schoolgirl the second you see another man’s bare- legs,” Sehun chuckles and tosses his shirt across the room, and Jongin’s jaw nearly hits the floor when it lands smack in the middle of his desk chair.

“Yeah, well,” Jongin starts, rubbing his neck. He instantly forgets his witty remark and closes his mouth when Sehun shoots him a disbelieving look. “Nevermind, Christ. Uh, go pick out a shirt if you’d like.”

Sehun shakes his head. “I don’t wanna,” he says simply before turning off the light, the room plunging into darkness, and successfully managing to find his way back to the bed. His hands fumble around for the covers and he grabs them before pulling them up to his chin.

Even though it’s completely dark inside the room, Sehun can feel the brunet’s gaze on him and he blinks. “What’s the matter?”

Jongin is silent for a while. He’s lucky it’s so dark because he knows Sehun would to hell and back if he saw how red his face is. He struggles to shove the image of Sehun’s bare, toned torso out of his head before clearing his throat.

“Nothing,” he mumbles, removing his shirt at lightning speed and crawling under the covers. He chooses to keep his jeans on for some reason.

From his spot a mere foot away, Jongin can feel the warmth radiating off of Sehun’s body and he swallows before turning to face the other way, closing his eyes and trying to doze off. He’s unsuccessful, though, because less than five seconds later his hand is itching to hold Sehun’s hand, but there’s a voice in his head that’s yelling for him not to get too close for unknown reasons, but he promptly tells that voice to shut up before rolling over and searching across the mattress for Sehun’s hand. He finds it a second later and hurries to grab it and interlock their fingers, all his previous worries disappearing without a trace.

His Father isn’t even home from work yet and he hears Jungah heating up dinner downstairs, and he feels like a fool for going to bed so early, but Jongin feels so at peace lying next to Sehun, even though his stomach is grumbling since he hasn’t eaten since one in the afternoon. Jongin makes sure to suppress that feeling, too, before inching closer to Sehun, ignoring the way his heart races when he feels the latter’s body heat, and burying his face in the crook of Sehun’s neck, his face mere millimeters from the taller’s collarbone.

Jongin is about to doze off into a deep slumber when he suddenly hears Sehun’s voice, making him jump a little.

“Jongin?”

Not even bothering looking up, Jongin squeezes Sehun’s hand. “Hm?”

“You’re not sad anymore, right?”

Dear God, Jongin (tiredly) thinks to himself before using his free hand to reach up and playfully tug on Sehun’s hair, the latter hissing. “Stop asking that all the time, are you gonna wake me up at three in the morning and ask me that, as well, or what?” he asks only half jokingly.

“Ouch,” Sehun grumbles under his breath as he rubs the sore spot on his scalp. “No but seriously, are you? You better not be,” he adds, wrapping an arm around Jongin’s waist, making their chests touch slightly, and the brunet tries not to yell at the top of his lungs.

“No, I’m not,” Jongin says groggily, nuzzling his face even deeper into Sehun’s shoulder with a small smile on his face, barely registering Jungah’s loud exclaim when she accidentally drops a plate in the kitchen before he’s plunged into a deep slumber.

~~~