~~~

The first thing that Jongin registers is the ice cold gust of wind that enters through the wide open door and passes through the hallway, but he barely even feels it due to the immense heat coursing through his veins. For at the door is not, in fact, his Father, ready to strangle him for failing to open the door after the first doorbell ring, but, of course, none other than Sehun, who looks awfully cold as he stands unmoving by the doorsill, and it takes Jongin an embarrassingly long time to even bring himself to open his mouth (not that he has any idea what to say, but still). Except he never gets to (which he's thankful for, since he figures his words would come out sounding dry and garbled anyway), because the next thing Jongin knows, his face is being pressed against what he assumes to be the crook of Sehun's neck after the latter grabs his wrists and pulls him in for a bone crushing hug (quite literally, actually, which makes Jongin wonder if Sehun is even aware of how awfully tight his hugs are. Not that he minds).

"Thanks for being so quick," Sehun mumbles under his breath after loosening his grip, and he chuckles a little when the brunet squawks. "And are you in the middle of cooking?" he asks when he gets a whiff of the cheese and tomato filled air. His eyebrows furrow. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

Trying to process the fact that Sehun came to his doorstep, voluntarily, as well, Jongin clears his throat to get his mind back on track. "No, of course not," he squabbles, desperately not wanting Sehun to turn around and leave. "And sheesh, sorry, you could've called me or something," he mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck in shame.

"It's okay, it's not like it's too cold out here or anything," Sehun chuckles sarcastically and the brunet fights the urge to slap his lips off. Clearly frozen, he sends Jongin a look that practically screams 'Let me in already', but the brunet doesn't get a chance to reply when a high-pitched, sort of familiar voice subsequently fills the air.

"Dad, Jongin left his dinner out for you, it's on the table," Jungah says right before turning the corner before she steps out into the hallway. "If you want me to, I can re-heat it. Jesus, Jongin, shut the dumb door, it's cold as hell in he-" She cuts herself off when she looks up, only to lock eyes with Sehun, and she seems to stare at him like an extraterrestrial being before her expression soon morphs into one of pure distaste. "What the hell are you doing here."

Not knowing what to do, or say, Sehun sends a small nod in Jungah's direction. When her expression doesn't shift, he reaches up and rubs the back of his neck. "Uh...hi...again," he says awkwardly, fixating his gaze on the flower pot to her left, just by her waist.

Jongin bites his lip before he curses under his breath. . "Listen, Jungah, I probably-"

"Get outta here," Jungah yells and Jongin steps between her and Sehun in the nick of time after she runs over and attempts to slam the door right in the latter's face. Instead, she ends up whacking the brunet in the back of the head but she seems to pay it no mind as she continues to glare daggers at Sehun and honestly, the latter would feel somewhat threatened by her gaze if it wasn't for the fact that she looks like an angry Boo from Monsters Inc.

"Look," Jongin exclaims, putting his hands up before Jungah gets the chance to murder Sehun for real. "I'll explain everything later, I promise," he says with a pointed look at Jungah, who doesn't look very convinced. "Just...Jesus Christ, close the frigging door before I die of hypothermia." He visibly shivers before motioning for Sehun to step inside, which the latter does (although he looks a bit sceptical at first, but Jongin figures the cold ended up getting the best of him).

The second Sehun steps inside the dimly lit hallway, the heat inside the house makes his entire body feel like it's about to melt, and he scrambles to remove his coat, which Jongin takes and hangs up on one of the clothes hangers. After thanking him, Sehun lets his eyes roam around his surroundings, and nearly chuckles because it's just like he remembers it. Well, except for the fact that back then, Jungah wasn't looking as pissed off as she is right now, and Sehun bites his lip. "Yes, it does."

Jungah's gaze falters for a moment and she blinks in confusion. "What?"

"Getting tackled hurts like hell, yes," Sehun chuckles before sending Jungah one of his trademark smiles, and to Jongin's (un-)surprise, her hostile glare seems to soften significantly (which in turn only makes Jongin wonder how on Earth Sehun does it so well). He reaches up and adjusts his collar before running a hand through his hair and placing his duffel bag aside.

Clearly confused, Jungah her head to the side, even though she seems to be relaxing significantly (Jongin doesn't know if it's due to Sehun's eyes, the latter's laid back and confident body language or simply the fact that she figured out that she's no match for someone like Sehun to begin with, so she might as well give up). "Wait, what?"

"It's the first thing you asked me when we met like, what, one a half weeks ago? For the first time." Sehun shoots Jungah another smile and the brunet's jaw nearly hits the floor because how on Earth does he remember that??? "Remember?"

Jungah scratches the back of her head, confusion apparent on her face before her eyes light up. "Yeah, I think so," she says before nodding at Jongin. "While he was asleep, right?" she adds with a laugh, signalling the disappearance of her hostility, much to both Sehun and Jongin's relief. Despite that, she still eyes Sehun warily. "Still, the hell are you doing here?"

"Needed to see the love of my life and couldn't wait 'til tomorrow," Sehun says simply before dipping down and kissing Jongin's forehead lovingly, to which the latter replies with a startled squawk. "Which apparently called for three consecutive rings on the bell," he adds with a loud laugh and it takes every fiber in Jongin's being not to knee him in the crotch.

"Shut it," Jongin growls, feeling his face heat up, and he's sort of glad that it's pretty dark in the hallway because the last thing he wants is for Jungah to see him blush. He's blushed plenty of times in front of Jongdae and Baekhyun (which were all awful enough) but he figures he draws the line at sporting a beetroot colored face while standing six feet away from his own sister for reasons he can't explain. "I tried my best to get here, you were just impatient, that's all," he says lowly before Sehun ruffles his hair, much to his embarrassment.

Despite the confusion still written all over Jungah's face, even in the darkness, Jongin can see her lips quickly curling into a wide smile. "Bullcrap," she exclaims rather boldly before pointing an accusing finger at Jongin. "He and I bickered for like a minute over who had to answer the door, but then I got a call from a friend, and he just stood there like a dead flower, refusing to answer the door for whatever reason," she says with an eyeroll. "So this man is not to be trusted." She cackles after Sehun emits a loud, hearty laugh of his own.

Why the couldn't it have been Dad instead? Jongin thinks to himself before he feels his face heat up even more. "Jungah," he groans in agony, dragging a hand down his face as Sehun and Jungah continue to emit unattractive guffaws. He makes a mental note to launch them both into outer space first chance he gets. But since there's another question plaguing his mind, he decides to let that wait. "How'd you even get here so quick? I mean-"

"Well, somebody didn't bother reading the texts I sent," Sehun mumbles and Jongin is immediately reminded of how his pocket buzzed before tending to the door.

Jongin blinks before his hand scrambles to retrieve his phone from his pocket.

(10 minutes ago) Oh Sehun

Yeols dad gave me a ride

(10 minutes ago) Oh Sehun

Im coming over if that's okay

(10 minutes ago) Oh Sehun

Need to see you for a bit ~

(7 minutes ago) Oh Sehun

Okay were pulling up to your house now

(6 minutes ago) Oh Sehun

Answer the door!!

(4 minutes ago) Oh Sehun

Either youre sleeping at half past ten or you dont wanna see me

(4 minutes ago) Oh Sehun

Which one is it??? hehe

(4 minutes ago) Oh Sehun

JONGIN

(4 minutes ago) Oh Sehun

DUDE

(3 minutes ago) Oh Sehun

Its freaking cold outside let me innnnnnnnnn

Mumbling a half-assed apology under his breath, Jongin puts his phone away. "Sorry, I tho-"

"Take your shoes off," Jungah commands, pointing at Sehun with a stern glare. "If you're gonna come here uninvited, you better follow the simple household rules," she adds and watches as Sehun puts his hands up in defeat before he proceeds to unlace his shoes and put them aside. "Not there, on the shoe rack!" 

"Sorry, my bad," Sehun chuckles as he picks up his shoes and carefully places them on said rack, on which a dozen pink ballerina shoes, as well as a handful of navy blue shoes, are sitting. He looks at Jungah with a pointed glare. "Good enough?"

Jungah seems to inspect Sehun's shoes for a second before she nods, although somewhat reluctantly. "Fine," she simply says before sending Sehun a deadly look. "But you owe me an explanation later," she adds, turning around and walking back to the kitchen.

With a sigh of exasperation, given that Jungah is treating Sehun's arrival like an extraterrestrial being arriving from Jupiter, Jongin runs a hand through his hair. As much as he could jump for joy at the idea of Sehun staying the night, the fact that Jungah has to be under the same roof during the entire thing sort of puts him on edge for reasons unknown, but Jongin doesn't even get a chance to think about it any further when Sehun suddenly grabs his hand and walks with him towards the room ahead.

When Sehun and Jongin step into the kitchen, Jungah turns around and gestures dramatically with her arms. "This is the kitchen. Welcome," she deadpans but she quickly bursts into a fit of giggles when Sehun subsequently sports an over dramatic, impressed look. "Make yourself at home," she adds and Jongin nearly facepalms because it looks as if she's eyeing Sehun as if he's about to steal something and take off.

"Thank you, Miss," Sehun chuckles before slowly walking around the room. Even though he's already stepped foot inside Jongin's house on two separate occasions, both of those occasions were filled with darkness and spur of the moment-ness, so he's never really gotten a chance to actually see it for himself. It's a cozy kitchen, for sure, and he nearly bursts into a fit of giggles when he spots the four clay poodle statues sitting on the windowsill. Upon closer inspection, he's at least 99% sure they were made by a child and, after reaching out and gently picking one up and turning it over, he can't help but smile when he notices the words 'KIM JONGIN' engraved in the material.

"Jongin made those," Jungah says, nearly causing Sehun to drop the figure in surprise, before she skips over to the window. "These are our dogs." She points to them before chuckling a little. "He made them back in like, second grade," she hums, her lips suddenly curling into a smile. "Hey, did you know he ate some of the brown modelling paste during his Arts class because he thought it was chocolate?" 

Sehun blinks. He doesn't know much about clay, let alone crafting or sculpting in general, but he knows for a fact that consuming modelling clay would be at the bottom of his list of things he wants to do in his lifetime. "Seriously?" His eyebrows furrow. "That sounds awful, Christ," he mutters, setting the dog back down, careful not to drop it because if he's going to go out on a limb, he'd say Jungah would probably, no definitely, karate chop his hand off if he does.

"Yeah, I mean, I never even thought it was humanly possible to mistake modelling clay for chocolate, did you?" Jungah asks in astonishment before shaking her head in disbelief. "I mean-"

"Guys, I'm standing right here," Jongin deadpans (honestly, he doesn't want to think that Jungah actually forgot about him, but with her, you can never be too sure) as he rolls his eyes. He isn't even embarrassed about the fact that he (allegedly) happened to eat said non-toxic material, solely because he was eight years of age at the time, and he can't bring himself to care (on the other hand, he makes a mental note to have a serious discussion with his Mother in a few weeks about spilling the beans to Jungah). On the other hand, he's way too wrapped up in following Sehun with his eyes as the latter moves around the room; he moves with an air of confidence surrounding him, which instantly changes the atmosphere in the spacious kitchen, and it takes Jongin an embarrassingly long time to realize that the taller is wearing a light gray hoodie that perfectly accenturates his broad shoulders, chest and abs and Jongin has to imagine what it must've felt like to have modelling clay travel down his throat in order to distract himself.

Turning around, Sehun, being the overly dramatic being he is, widens his eyes in surprise before he places a hand on his chest for dramatic effect, and Jongin nearly rolls his eyes again when Sehun proceeds to stare at him as if he appeared out of thin air behind them. Of course.

"Hey, there's that smell again," Jungah says, taking a whiff of the air which reeks of whatever bottle of perfume Sehun douses himself with on a daily basis. "Is it you?" she asks, looking at Sehun.

Sehun shrugs dramatically. "Maybe, and I hope you meant that in a good way," he says before walking over to Jongin, who looks like he's contemplating his entire existence, and kisses the latter on the forehead. "Don't look so sad," he coos, pinching the brunet's cheek.

Slapping Sehun's hand away, Jongin mutters something incoherent under his breath, only for his knees to nearly give in when his gaze flickers down and lands on the word 'STARDIUM' printed on the taller's hoodie, on his chest. "I'm not sad," he grumbles, whacking Sehun in the chest and ignoring the way his palm seems to tingle afterwards. He's about to say something else when Sehun suddenly envelopes him in a hug, and even though Jongin knows that Sehun is probably squeezing the life out of him, he barely even feels it since the taller's hoodie makes it feel like he's being headbutted by a giant, squishy pillow.

"No, it smells good," Jungah says, reassuringly as she turns on the tea kettle. "Before you ask, I always have a cup of tea before my ballet rehearsals. Anyway, you kinda smell like my Dad," she adds before turning around and grinning. "It's just that, you know, when Jongin came home he smelled just like you, so I got confused." She shrugs. "Okay, since Jongin's busy dying, I'll ask instead; would you like some coffee, tea, juice, water, cookies, ramen, toast-" Her eyes land on the neglected box of lasagna still sitting on the table. "Lasagna?" She wrinkles her nose in disgust.

With his face buried in the crook of Jongin' neck, Sehun gives the former's exposed skin a small kiss. "I don't drink tea or juice," he starts, lifting his head and turning to look at Jungah. He seems to ponder his choices for a while before he sends her a nod. "Black, one sugar, please," he says and he's about to tighten his hold around Jongin's waist when his eyes suddenly land on the box on the table.

"I was gonna leave it for our Dad to eat, he should be home soon," Jungah says in a disgusted tone before walking over and reaching for the box of lasagna, presumably to throw it in the trash. However, she never gets a chance to when Sehun puts a hand in the air, and she looks up. "You...uh, you want this?" she asks, flabbergasted, almost as if she can't believe somebody like Sehun would even think the thought of putting the orange-y goop before her inside his body. "Are you serious?"

Slowly letting go of Jongin, since his stomach happens to be dangerously empty at the moment, Sehun nods a little before elegantly sliding onto one of the chairs. He slides the box towards himself and reaches for the fork lying neglected a few feet away. "Yeah," he hums, feeling his mouth water when he takes a look at the cheesy goodness before him. "If it's not poisoned, that is," he adds only half jokingly, shooting Jungah and Jongin, who looks like he's on the brink of retching, a look.

"I guess you'll find out," Jungah says simply and nearly bursts into laughter when Sehun only shrugs nonchalantly before stabbing at the food with the fork and shovelling it in his mouth. She watches, both in pure disgust and fascination, almost as if she's expecting him to spit it out and run to the bathroom to choke it back up any second. "How...gross." 

Scratching the back of his head, Jongin slowly makes his way over to one of the seats and stands behind it. To his surprise, more than half of the box is empty and he presses his lips together in disgust. There's no mess anywhere, inevitably, and the longer Jongin watches Sehun indulge in the poor excuse for pasta, the more he wonders if he's misjudged it, and he mentally slaps himself. Every move, from Sehun raising his fork to his lips to the latter putting it in his mouth, almost seems rehearsed as the taller continues to shovel the food in his mouth with elegant fingers and equally elegant movements. Jongin sort of hates himself for finding something as simple as Sehun eating so immensely captivating, but he does, nonetheless, and he doesn't know how to feel about that.

When he looks to the right, he sees Jungah retrieving a box of coffee powder from the pantry. "I can make the coffee, if you want," he says, but Jungah quickly puts a hand in the air, right in front of his face, when he takes a step towards her.

"Sit down and keep your man company," Jungah orders, her stern tone leaving Jongin no choice but to comply. "Not to mention I don't want you making the coffee, anyway, we all know what happened last month," she adds under her breath while ripping the package open, and Jongin prays to God Sehun didn't hear it.

Inevitably (and much to the brunet's displeasure), Sehun does hear it, and the latter briefly stills, the fork mere inches from his lips as he whips his head up and looks at Jungah in curiosity. "What happened? What did he do?" he asks and Jongin fights the urge to stab him with the utensil.

"Glad you asked," Jungah says, as if she had been waiting for Sehun to ask, as she retrieves a teacup from the cupboard above her head. "Well, basically, Jongin was in charge of making our Dad his morning coffee, but since we didn't have any in the pantry, he told him to go fetch some from the cupboard in the garage, where we just so happen to keep the garden soil." She fills up the cup to the brim and turns around just in time to see Sehun's eyes widen in surprise. "And well, the rest is history," she adds, placing her cup of tea on the table across from Sehun. "On the other hand, it's probably somebody else's fault for keeping the freaking garden soil and coffee powder in unlabeled bags, but still, they're like on the opposite sides of the garage." She shakes her head in amusement.

Sehun blinks. "That sounds awful," he mutters before shoving the fork in his mouth. The thought of drinking filtered garden soil mixed with sugar is enough to make him want to puke. Next to him, the brunet looks like he's on the brink of a mental breakdown and he pats his shoulder. "Don't worry, I probably would've done the same thing if I were in your shoes," he chuckles, because it's true.

Jongin shivers. He clearly remembers getting a face full of the steaming hot liquid after his Father spat it out in a blind fit (not that Jongin blames him), which was closely followed by a two hour cold water therapy session led by his Mother, and honestly, Jongin thought he'd forgotten about it entirely until Jungah brought it up. And, as much as the event wasn't as embarrassing more than it was painful, the fact that Sehun has to know about it makes Jongin want to crawl under the table and hide. 

Pouring the ground up coffee into the coffee machine, Jungah puts the package back in the pantry before turning the machine on. "This should only take a minute or so," she hums, turning around just in time to see Sehun polishing off the contents of the box. "Jesus Christ, I still don't get how you could even bring yourself to eat that...thing," she mumbles, walking over and grabbing the box before proceeding to toss it in the bin. "You must have a stomach of steel."

"Nah, I was just starving after practice," Sehun laughs as he watches Jungah put a coffee cup underneath the filter of the machine. "It was tasty, though, so thank you," he adds and moves his chair away from the table a little bit before facing Jongin, who looks awfully lonely while fidgeting with his hands under the table. "C'mere."

At first Jongin is extremely reluctant, the reason being that he really doesn't like the idea of Jungah seeing this (mainly due to the inevitable humiliation of it all on his part), but one more look at Sehun with his arms outstretched, not to mention the latter's gaze which is practically pulling him in, and Jongin finds himself standing up and getting out of his chair and, before he knows it, he's walking towards Sehun and carefully lowering himself until he's sitting in the taller's lap. At first, the brunet worries if he's putting too much weight on Sehun and he's about to shift to get into a more comfortable position for the both of them when Sehun suddenly snakes his arms around his waist, securely holding him in place.

Jungah fills the cup with coffee before turning around, a smile spreading across her face when she sees how snug the brunet is in Sehun's lap. "That's so freaking cute," she squees, setting the cup on the table and grabbing her phone off the counter, and Jongin barely even gets a chance to register what she's doing before three separate camera clicks are heard, and she smiles at her screen for a bit before turning her phone off. "Hopefully he doesn't fall asleep there, or you'll have to carry him upstairs to bed later," she chuckles before bending over the table and stirring her tea with her spoon.

"I doubt he will," Sehun says, Jongin's hair. The latter reminds him a lot of how a baby usually sits in their parent's lap, which Sehun would find sort of adorable if it wasn't for the fact that said baby is actually an 18 year-old, 140 pound fully grown male. "People don't tend to doze off after a two hour power nap," he adds with a laugh and a kiss on the top of the brunet's head, which tastes like strawberry.

When the coffee machine suddenly emits a loud noise, Jungah walks over to it and fills the cup with coffee before handing it to Sehun, who graciously accepts it with a thanks, before she opens the pantry door and retrieves a sugar cube. Turning around, she tosses it at Sehun, who just barely manages to avoid whacking Jongin in the head with his elbow as he catches it in one hand. She watches Sehun drop the sugar cube into the cup and sits down herself. "Pretty impressive."

"Thanks," Sehun says with a shrug before raising the cup to his lips and carefully taking a sip, and his perfume mixed with the scent of freshly brewed coffee is making Jongin's brain go haywire. "Doesn't taste like garden soil," he adds with a humorless chuckle at which, surprisingly, Jungah laughs a little.

"Good to hear," Jungah hums as she takes a sip of her tea, nearly spitting it out in a fit of cackles when Jongin groans in agony. "Shut it, you could kill someone with that stuff," she mumbles before taking another sip. 

"It wasn't even intentional!" Jongin exclaims a little louder than necessary, sitting up like a bullet in Sehun's lap as he flails his arms in all directions and Sehun is seriously glad he wasn't holding the cup in his hands or he'd go home with second degree burns. He leans back against Sehun's chest and turns his face so he's burying it in the crook of the taller's neck. As worried as he is that he might be putting too much weight on Sehun's legs, Jongin won't deny that Sehun makes a great pillow.

Checking the time on her phone, Jungah only shrugs. "What do you mean by the whole nap thing, anyway?" she asks Sehun, apparently ignoring Jongin's remark.

"Don't you dare," Jongin growls and Sehun promptly closes his mouth. "Look, when does your ballet thing start?" he asks, lifting his head to look at Jungah, as if he doesn't already know.

"Half an hour, so I should probably go soon," Jungah says, finishing the remainder of her tea before putting the cup back on the table. "Why're you in such a rush to get me outta here, anyway?" she asks, the smugness in her tone instantly making Jongin squirm in embarrassment. "Nevermind, don't tell me, I don't wanna know." She puts her hands up and flinches a little when her phone suddenly rings. As she stands up to fetch it, she nearly spits out her tea in laughter when Sehun bounces his leg to the beat of the music. "I'm guessing you like Katy Perry?"

Sehun nods absentmindedly as he taps his toes to the beat of the song and Jongin tries his best not to cringe to death. "I actually met her once back in like, 2015," he says casually and nearly falls off his chair (which he's thankful he doesn't do for Jongin's sake) in surprise when Jungah nearly tackles him, and it takes him a few seconds to assure himself that they're not in the middle of an earthquake. "What the-"

"You did? Oh my God, oh my God-" Jungah flails her hands in all directions and Sehun and Jongin are promptly reminded of why they avoid (female) music fans at all costs. She leans in uncomfortably close and ignores the brunet when he tries shoving her away. "What was she like? Did you get her autograph? Was she nice? Did you get a picture?"

Leaning away slightly, Sehun nods, regretting even bringing it up in the first place. Honestly, he doesn't even remember much of the event, except that his friends for days on end after he told them his sisters forced him to go to Katy Perry's concert and Sehun hasn't lived it down ever since (on the other hand, his liking towards Perry's music hasn't faltered a bit, strangley enough). "I mean, my sisters made me go since my Mom didn't trust them on their own at a concert, so yeah." He brushes a lock of hair out of Jongin's forehead, trying to avoid Jungah's piercing gaze. "It was nice, nonetheless," he adds before she has a chance to ask, leaning forward (which is awfully difficult with the brunet in his lap) and grabbing his coffee cup. "Aren't you gonna get that?" he asks after a while, gesturing at Jungah's phone, which is still ringing.

"The concert?" Jungah asks, ignoring her phone to the fullest as she continues to ogle Sehun. "Wait, but then...I mean-"

"My youngest sister got a VIP pass to meet her for her birthday, so she brought my other sisters, as well as me, along, too," Sehun hums, taking a sip. "I mean, the thing was, my sister only recieved four passes, but, believe it or not, Katy let me meet her backstage, too, 'cause she thought I was handsome," he adds with a laugh. He knows for a fact that the same people who for attending a Katy Perry concert would bawl their eyes out if he told them he got to meet the singer face to face backstage.

"Wait, so," Jungah says, scratching the back of her head. "You didn't have a VIP pass to begin with, but you got to meet her anyway solely because you were-" She cuts herself off and emits a frustrated groan. "That's so unfair, holy crap!" she hollers, promptly reminding Jongin once again about why he avoids music fans at all costs.

Sehun shrugs, patting Jongin's shoulder reassuringly when the latter pouts a little. "She barely paid any attention to me, anyway, since I wasn't really a fan at the time, and it wasn't birthday, but still." He presses his lips together and takes another sip of the bitter liquid. "And before you ask, yes, her rack is as big as everybody says," he adds and nearly spills out his coffee when Jongin smacks him in the waist with a loud squawk, closely followed by Jungah's string of unattractive guffaws across the table. "It's true! Come on, everybody asks that!"

As she's doubled over, grabbing onto the edge of the counter for support, Jungah emits a few more giggles before she stands up straight and shakes her head in disbelief. "Man, I'm starting to think I misjudged you all along," she says, wiping her eyes carefully, as if not to get any mascara on her fingers. "So now we know where you've got your eyes set," she adds and blinks when the brunet slaps Sehun in the arm. "Calm down, for God's sake, it's not like he confessed to dating her or anything."

Barely managing to dodge Jongin's palm as it comes flying towards his face, which nearly causes him to drop the cup in his hand, Sehun grabs Jongin's wrist with his other hand and holds him in place whilst the latter grumbles a series of incoherencies under his breath. "Before you ask, I don't think I'd be able to date somebody two inches shorter than me," he chuckles, the mental image of the singer's 5'10" self flooding his mind and he shudders. She wasn't even wearing any heels at the time.

"But I'm two inches shorter than you!" Jongin suddenly squawks, nearly causing both Sehun and Jungah to choke on their beverages laughing.

"You're not a girl, nitwit," Jungah giggles, fanning her face so her eye makeup won't run. "Anyway, you shouldn't worry, a lot of gay men enjoy staring at s, isn't that right? I mean, that's what I've heard," she says, gesturing at Sehun. "I mean, except for this one, he freaking covers his eyes whenever he seems a female Sims ," she adds with a pointed look at Jongin and the latter makes a mental note to fling her into the deepest parts of space first chance he gets.

Sehun, apparently in deep thought, shrugs after a minute. "I...guess, I haven't heard that before," he says, patting the top of Jongin's head in reassurance. "But I definitely don't," he adds, mainly because he doesn't want his coffee to end up all over them if the brunet were to slap the cup out of his hand. On the other hand, he isn't exactly lying, because even though he definitely isn't as sensitive as Jongin apparently is when it comes to the female anatomy, he won't deny that he also finds it pretty off-putting for obvious reasons.

"It's okay to admit you stare at s, though," Jungah says casually, ignoring her phone, which has gone silent a long time ago. "I mean, even straight girls do," she adds for emphasis and she's about to say something else when she notices Jongin hiding his face in the crook of Sehun's neck. "Jeez, what a buzzkill, you can't even talk about s around here with him turning red as a tomato," she huffs in disappointment before her phone lights up.

"Answer the darn thing already," Jongin mumbles in irritation when Jungah's phone goes off again, a little annoyed that there's no pillow anywhere in sight to cover his head with, the reason being that he detests 'I Kissed A Girl', let alone Katy Perry (at least he does now), although picturing Sehun standing around awkwardly amongst thousands of screaming fangirls at Katy Perry's concert is enough to make the brunet chuckle a little. When Jungah does the opposite, he rolls his eyes and rests his head on Sehun's chest (now that he thinks about it, he's practically lying down on and spreading himself out across the taller's lap, and Jongin hopes Sehun doesn't mind). He hears Sehun take a sip above him and Jongin prays to God he doesn't end up getting burning hot coffee all over himself as a result of Sehun accidentally flinching (because of Jungah), because he's already been scalded by said liquid once in his life, and Jongin figures that's more than enough.

Jungah sends Jongin a look that practically screams 'You're not a fan so you have no say in this' before she rolls her eyes and picks up her phone and brings it to her ear. Jongin tries his hardest to block out her words because honestly, all he wants right now is for her to leave the house.

Coincidentally enough, Jongin's wishes end up coming true, because after a few moments, Jungah hangs up the phone and Jongin barely registers her saying something along the lines of 'Change in schedule, gotta rush' before she grabs her bag off one of the chairs and rushes into the hallway, and neither Jongin nor Sehun barely get a chance to say their goodbyes before Jungah is out the door and halfway towards the gate outside.

Sehun blinks. "Okay," he mumbles, and it comes out sounding more like a drawn out, confused question than a statement. He takes a sip of coffee before putting it back on the table and wrinkling his nose. "Ech, this stuff is way too strong," he says before sliding the cup away. 

With a squawk, Jongin sits up and mutters a half assed apology when he accidentally puts a little too much weight on Sehun's sensitive region, which promptly makes the latter hiss in pain. "You asked for it!"

Wincing, Sehun sends Jongin a look. "One doesn't ask for someone to crush their-"

"No," Jongin blurts out, placing a hand over Sehun's mouth. "I meant the frigging coffee, you asked for it black and with one sugar and she made it, what's your problem?" he asks, shaking his head in disbelief. "And uh...sorry about all that, by the way, she can get like that sometimes...yeah."

Reaching up, Sehun hastily removes Jongin's hand from his mouth. "I dunno, my sister makes it differently," he says simply before shrugging a little. "Not to mention lasagna and coffee don't sit well together," he adds with a grimace as he points to his abdominal area, and honestly, Jongin can't be bothered to protest because he knows for a fact that it's true. "And it's fine, I'm actually kinda jealous of you, to be honest, I'd give anything to have a little sister like her, mine are way too, well, mild-mannered."

"I can't believe you actually ate the damned thing," Jongin mutters, reaching out and running a hand through Sehun's flawlessly styled locks. Even though he knows the latter puts God knows how many products in his hair on a regular basis, the strands feel so incredibly soft under his touch and, as cheesy as it sounds, Jongin wouldn't be surprised if an angel regularly styles Sehun's hair. On another note, he almost laughs out loud because if Sehun were to be forced to live with somebody like Jungah for more than 24 hours, Jongin is certain that the taller would change his mind.

Sehun laughs a little. “I was starving, I wasn’t really thinking,” he hums before lowering his head to give Jongin better access to his hair, which, if touched by anybody else on any other occasion, would leave them with at least ten broken bones. It’s not until he feels his bottom go numb that he squirms a little in his seat, only for his back to protest painfully under the brunet’s weight. “Let’s go upstairs now that she isn’t here,” he suggests, looking up and poking Jongin’s cheek.

“I’m not tired, though,” Jongin whines, but the drowsiness in his tone would lead just about anybody to believe otherwise, especially Sehun, who only pats him on the head.

“Yeah, well, my back is killing me, so get the hell up before I make you get up,” Sehun chuckles, and when Jongin doesn’t move an inch, he puts both hands on the latter’s back and hastily, but gently, shoves him until the brunet has no choice but to crawl out of his lap. “Thanks,” he mutters sarcastically, a sense of pain surging through his back when he slowly gets out of the chair himself, and he suddenly feels like an old man without his cane.

Jongin stretches for a moment before walking over to Jungah’s seat and grabbing her teacup, carefully placing it in the sink and rinsing it with water from the tap. He then proceeds to do the same with Sehun’s coffee cup after asking the latter if he’s finished and Jongin tries his best not to spill out half the contents of the cup as he makes his way over to the sink since it’s half full, and after placing it in the sink along with Jungah’s cup, he dries his hands on one of the towels before walking back to Sehun, who is standing and waiting by the newel post a few feet away.

“Good job,” Sehun laughs and yelps when Jongin subsequently smacks him on the arm. “By the way, you have Biology, don’t you?” he asks, dragging the brunet up the stairs by the arm without giving the latter a chance to protest.

Desperately trying not to trip (since that would definitely leave an ugly bruise in its wake), Jongin manages to choke out a barely coherent ‘Yeah’ before he actually does trip, and hadn’t it been for Sehun and the latter’s lightning quick reflexes, Jongin figures his leg would be turning blue already, but he barely gets a chance to think about it any further because the next thing he knows, they’re at the top of the stairs and Sehun is dragging him towards his room.

“Well then,” Sehun hums, letting go of Jongin’s arm and bouncing in the door (on that note, Jongin doesn’t think Sehun looks or sounds tired in the least, like he claimed to be earlier, but he assumes it’s the lasagna working its magic). “Quiz me,” he says simply before flinging himself down on Jongin’s bed and quickly getting comfortable.

Jongin, who hasn’t even made it past the threshold yet, clears his throat before entering the room himself, which is already starting to smell like Sehun’s perfume. “What do you mean?” he asks, turning his face away and facing his closet when he, too, sits down on the bed. He doesn’t know if it’s the overall emptiness of the house that is making his stomach churn the way it is, or something else, but either way, he can’t bring himself to look in Sehun’s direction for reasons unknown.

“Duh, I’ve got an exam next week and I haven’t been too absorbed in studying for the past few days,” Sehun says, rolling onto his back and breathing out a sigh of relief when he assures himself that his spine isn’t going to compress. “Although I’m not the best at this stuff, so don’t you dare laugh at me or else,” he adds, gesturing to Jongin’s backpack, which is sitting in the corner to their right.

Jongin bites his lip. Not because he’s ultimately reminded about the fact that he’s got a Biology exam coming up next week himself (definitely not), but because the thought of whether or not Sehun is as smart as everybody says he is suddenly hits him (although it’s primarily the former), and he clears his throat before slowly getting off the bed and walking towards his backpack. He tosses the book onto the bed and sits down again. “Which section?”

“Can’t remember,” Sehun says, apparently deep in thought for a minute before he smiles. “How about you?”

Blinking in confusion, Jongin racks his brain for an answer. “Uh, the human body, I think,” he mutters, opening the book and flipping to said section. A handful of rather graphic images greet him and he fights the urge to slam the book shut and run out of the room. In fact, he almost does slam the book shut, but not because the diagram of a ended up getting the best of him, but because Sehun suddenly sits up like a bullet next to him. “What-”

“That’s the one,” Sehun says enthusiastically before flopping back down onto the pillows again. “Go ahead.” He rolls over and puts his hands under his head.

Jongin bites his lip, seriously wondering why this, of all things, is on Sehun’s to-do list considering the fact that prom is less than 24 hours away. But he doesn’t question it, and he settles for the section that he knows he’s going to be tested on next week, figuring Sehun is going to be tested on the same exact thing. He’s about to open his mouth to ask Sehun a question after skimming across the many questions before him when the latter’s pocket buzzes, causing him to look up.

Sensing Jongin’s glare, Sehun slowly opens his eyes and sends the former a funny look. “What’s the matter?”

“Aren’t you gonna check that?” Jongin asks, scratching the back of his ear.

Shrugging, Sehun easily retrieves his phone from his pocket and barely glances at the screen for a solid second before he tosses it aside. “Just Yeol bragging about how he beat Jongdae’s score in 2048,” he says in an uninterested tone as he lies back down. “Go on.”

“Uh.” Jongin looks at the questions before him and presses his lips together. “So, uh...um, how uh, how many base pairs are there in a human genome?” he asks and mentally punches himself afterwards, because if Sehun really is as intelligent as everybody claims he is, Jongin would never have picked a question that even a second grader could answer. Damn it. “Hold on,” he says hurriedly, flipping through the pages for a more difficult question before Sehun gets a chance to laugh at him. “Lemme-”

“That’s a tough one,” Sehun hums and Jongin’s jaw nearly falls off in shock. “I actually don’t know.” He scratches the back of his neck sheepishly before clearing his throat and looking at Jongin expectedly. 

It takes Jongin a whole minute to register the fact that Oh Sehun, the wisest kid at school, doesn’t know how many base pairs there are in a human genome, and he would probably end up sitting motionless for the rest of his life is Sehun didn’t clear his throat. “Uh.” He hurriedly flips through a couple of pages and finally settles on an easier question, one he figures even a newborn would be able to answer. “Okay, I’ve got another one.”

Sehun nods, getting comfortable against the pillows. “Fire ahead.”

“What are the functions of the hormones secreted from the pituitary gland?” Jongin asks and wholeheartedly expects Sehun to blurt out the answer straight away, which is why the surprise that engulfs him when the taller only scratches his head in confusion comes as no surprise. “Are you serious-”

“What,” Sehun exclaims in exasperation. “I told you I hadn’t studied,” he huffs before crossing his arms over his shoulders. “I’m really trying here, you .” He murmurs something incoherent under his breath before sending Jongin a look of determination. “Another one, I promise I’ll get this one right."

Now, Jongin doesn’t consider himself highly intelligent, even though he’s got an IQ of 138 (to this day, he still wonders if that’s true or if he was simply hallucinating while checking his score after completing the IQ exam three years ago), but seeing Sehun stutter in confusion after being asked such simple questions honestly makes Jongin question himself, and he hurries to flip to another page. Even though Jongin is highly aware of how much of a slacker he is when it comes to studying for upcoming exams, he’d consider himself a study God compared to Sehun. “What’s the biggest part of the goddamn human brain?”

Sehun presses his lips together as he apparently plunges into deep thought. “Uh.” He blinks and rubs the back of his neck as he stares up at the ceiling. “The cerebellum?” he asks after a while and nearly falls off the bed in surprise when Jongin emits an inhuman sound.

“No,” Jongin exclaims, nearly tossing the book in the air in exasperation. “Don’t you know anything? It’s the-”

“Wait, is it the pancreas?” Sehun asks, putting a hand in the air. “You know, that yellow chicken looking thing? It must be that!”

Jongin drags a hand down his face. “That’s part of the digestive system, you nut,” he groans. It’s safe to say I’m smarter than him when it comes to academics, he thinks and he honestly doesn’t know if he should feel happy or sad about that. “You know what a brain is, right?” he asks only half jokingly and he honestly expects Sehun to point to his foot or ear, so he’s mildly surprised when the latter points to his head. “Right. So what’s the biggest part of your brain?”

Sehun shrugs. “Your pillows are squishy-”

“Sehun, focus, come on,” Jongin exclaims, instantly regretting not asking Sehun to quiz him instead. Because even though he hasn’t studied, his memory sure is better than Sehun’s. That’s for sure. “You said the cerebellum, right? That’s half right.”

Grabbing one of the lacy pillows, Sehun places it under his head and gets comfortable. “What do you mean?” he asks, gaze fixated on the glow in the dark stars above.

“The word cerebellum is half right,” Jongin huffs, angling the book away from Sehun so the latter won’t see what’s written on the pages. "As in, the actual word." When the taller continues to make remarks about the squishiness of the pillows, he only sighs in irritation. “It’s the cerebrum, you dolt!”

“Ah, so that’s what that was,” Sehun hums, sitting up and reaching across Jongin’s desk, grabbing a comic book and opening it up. “Hey, I didn’t know you liked Superman,” he says absentmindedly, eyes trailing over the drawn boxes in front of him.

Jongin sighs. “I was supposed to quiz you,” he groans, running a hand through his hair. “There’s no way you’ll pass if you spend your time reading comics instead of studying your off, just saying,” he adds when Sehun doesn’t even look up from the pages. “Sehun!”

“But I said 'Cerebellum', didn’t I?” Sehun huffs, poking his head through the pages.

“Yeah, which was effing incorrect,” Jongin retorts with an eyeroll. He suddenly thinks back to what Yifan said, about how Sehun focused so much on his sport that he had no room left for anything else, and he is honestly starting to realize why. “At least put some effort into this, come on,” he groans, attempting to grab the comic book from Sehun’s hand, only for the latter to move it out of his reach at the last possible second.

Sehun stretches out his long limbs. “Yeah, well, since you’re such a brainiac, you tell me, then,” he says absentmindedly, using one hand to keep Jongin at a reasonable distance. “Enlighten me, Einstein.”

Jongin blinks. Is he for real. “The cerebrum’s divided into two hemispheres which are covered by cerebral cortex, which is an outer layer of gray matter, and like I said, it’s the biggest part of the human brain,” he says, eyeing Sehun intently, hoping the latter will at least absorb a fraction of the information. “And there are three billion base pairs in the human genome, how do you not know that?” He shakes his head in disbelief. “The pituitary gland secretes hormones that help control things such as growth, certain functions of the organs, thyroid glands and uh, metabolism, I’m pretty sure,” he adds, scratching the back of his head. He sighs in irritation when Sehun doesn’t even look up. “Are you even listening-”

Propping one foot up against the other, Sehun flips to another page. “I’m listening.”

Trying to find the words to say, Jongin runs a hand through his hair in awe. He hadn’t exactly expected Sehun to be on the level of Einstein, but he had certainly hoped the latter would be smarter than this. “Then...I mean- How- Why-” He clears his throat and blinks when he suddenly remembers something. “And the hormones secreted by the pituitary gland also help control blood pressure, if I’m not mistaken-” He cuts himself off when he feels somebody staring at him and when he looks up, sure enough, Sehun is staring him square in the eye and he blinks. “Uh, what are you-”

Sehun stares at Jongin for a few more moments and the latter figures he’s going to back to reading the comic book in his hand when he suddenly speaks. “You’re so ing gorgeous, you know that?”

Nearly choking on his own spit in surprise, it takes Jongin a few seconds to pull himself together and he hopes his face isn’t too red before he finally brings himself to open his mouth (seriously, he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to Sehun’s unexpected remarks, ever). “Uh. What?” he says dumbly, clearing his throat when he sees the glint in the taller’s eyes. “What’s....what-”

Turning the page, Sehun chuckles. “It’s true, though, don’t blame me,” he hums. “You are-”

“What’sthatgottodowithliterallyanything,” Jongin croak-garbles, tossing the textbook aside as he throws his hands in the air. It’s funny, though, he doesn’t know how many times Sehun has showered him with unexpected (cheesy) compliments, yet he finds himself blushing like a schoolgirl learning about for the first time, much to his dismay (and Sehun's delight, probably).

“I find intelligence extremely y,” Sehun says casually and Jongin nearly cries. “Anyway, go on, or was that all you had to ask?”

That’s ironic coming from the one who doesn’t know the difference between the cerebrum and the pancreas. It takes Jongin a minute to choke out the words (he’s definitely still not blushing at the word ‘Sexy’, not at all) and when he does, they come out sounding like a jumbled, garbled mess and he mentally smacks himself. “Um.”

“Since that seemed to be everything,” Sehun starts, closing the comic book and carefully putting back on Jongin’s desk. He’s about to open his mouth and continue when he sees the flabbergasted look on the brunet’s face. “What’s with you? Can’t a man read about Clark Kent without being judged?”

“Yes,” Jongin blurts out and clears his throat. “No, it’s just-” He rubs the back of his neck. How the do I say it. “It’s just that...people keep saying you’re sm- And you’re- Damn it, nevermind,” he mumbles, feeling a blush creep up his neck. As much as he finds Sehun’s lack of knowledge surprising, he really doesn’t want to hurt the latter’s feelings, so he closes his mouth in hopes of Sehun changing the subject.

Sehun looks at Jongin in awe before he sits up a little and crosses his arms over his chest. “May I add a little something to that?”

Jongin blinks. As long as he doesn't confuse an arm with a leg, it should fine, he thinks before biting his lip and nodding slowly, wondering if he’ll be bothered to correct Sehun afterwards. “Sure, I...guess.”

“First of all, the gray matter of the cerebral cortex covers the core of the white matter, which you didn’t mention,” Sehun says with no hint of cockiness in his voice. “You know what the white matter is, right? Myelinated axons? Anyway, the cortex is split into the neocortex and the allocortex, I think that’s important for you to know, as well, and along with the things you mentioned, the hormones secreted from the pituitary gland also aid with a few aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, nursing, water and salt concentration in the kidneys, body temperature regulation as well as pain relief,” he adds, leaning back against the pillows and staring up at the ceiling. “And I’m pretty sure the total length of the human genome is roughly three billion base pairs, so you got that right.” He shoots Jongin a grin, closely followed by a thumbs up. “A little more reading and you’re good to go!”

Jongin blinks, suddenly feeling himself flush because he hadn’t expected Sehun to say that, much less for the latter to school him on something so incredibly basic, and he clears his throat when he processes Sehun’s words fully. “Uh. Okay.” He blinks again and looks up at Sehun, who’s got a smile on his face. “Wait, what the fu- You knew? Wait, what the he-”

“Of course I did,” Sehun says simply, grabbing another comic book off Jongin’s desk.

“Then why’d you want me to quiz you?!” Jongin hollers, nearly causing the textbook to fall off the edge, and he catches it just in time. A few feet away, Sehun is reading one of his many Batman comic books, looking as peaceful as ever, and Jongin nearly rips his own hair out in confusion. “Sehun, what the fu-”

“Simple,” Sehun says, putting the comic book aside and sending Jongin a look. “I was quizzing you.” He sits up at lightning speed and quickly plants a kiss on Jongin’s forehead before flopping back down again. “You did awfully well, though,” he adds, picking up the comic book.

Ignoring the way his chest coils with warmth, Jongin blinks. He seriously wonders if there might have been something in the lasagna. “What the hell-”

“Yeol told me Jongdae was busy studying for his Biology exam next week, and since, well, knowing you, I figured you hadn’t even opened the goddamn textbook yet so I decided to give you a push,” Sehun chuckles and puts his hands up when the brunet sends him a deadly look.

“By acting like an idiot?!” Jongin exclaims, dragging a hand down his face.

“Hey, it turns out you knew quite a bit already,” Sehun retorts. “Don’t blame me,” he adds with a snicker before closing the comic book and tossing it aside. “Your taste in comics is awful, just letting you know. Seriously? Batman?”

Does that make him smart or even more dumb? Jongin thinks and sighs in exasperation. So he played dumb in order to prove I wasn’t an idiot when in reality, he’s smart as hell. So much for being more intelligent than Oh Sehun. “Okay, well, now it’s my turn to quiz you, for real this time,” he mumbles, grabbing the textbook and flipping through the pages. He halts when Sehun sits up.

“I’m in twelfth grade, you silly goose,” Sehun chuckles, his laughter only growing when Jongin sends him a confused look. “We don’t have Biology, don’t you know?” He shakes his head in disbelief before patting Jongin’s shoulder. “Anyway, you’ll do great, don’t worry,” he adds with a wide grin, and Jongin fights the urge to smack it off his face.

Jongin’s eyes widen a little. “So wait, you-”

“It’s basic Science, Jongin” Sehun says before lying down again and patting the empty space next to him. “But in your defense, I was useless when it came to studying last year, too, so you’re not alone,” he hums as he cards his fingers through Jongin’s hair after the latter, after a great amount of hesitation, lies down beside him. “You should go blond again, by the way.”

Moving closer, Jongin nearly shivers when he feels Sehun’s body heat, not to mention the latter’s perfume, which is threatening to blow every fuse in his brain due to the proximity. He reaches out and traces invisible patterns onto the taller’s hoodie. “No way,” he mumbles as he drags his fingers across the soft, gray material. Honestly, he’s been doing his best to repress any memories from the short time he had blond hair, and to say that it’s a path he’s certainly unwilling to go down again would be an understatement. “You should, though,” he suddenly says and the mental image of Sehun’s profile picture on Facebook, where the latter had bleach blond hair, floods his brain.

“But you looked so beautiful in it,” Sehun coos before he clears his throat. “I mean, you still do, you always do, but still.” He lowers his head and kisses Jongin’s temple (mainly because he really doesn’t want Jongin to misinterpret it and end up kneeing him in the groin). “And Jesus Christ, you’re talking about my picture, right? ing hell, I need to change it, thanks for reminding me,” he mumbles, a hint of agony in his voice, before his eyebrows furrow. “And you’re okay, right?”

Blinking at the unexpected subject change, Jongin rolls over so he’s lying on his back before grabbing Sehun’s hand and interlocking their fingers. “What do you me- Oh, uh, yeah, I’m fine,” he says, shivering a little when he thinks back to how panic stricken he’d been when Yixing jumped him out of the blue earlier. “Can’t say the same for Yixing, though, since you probably scarred him for life,” he adds with a chuckle. It’s not until he places their hands on his chest that he realizes just how fast his heart is beating. Well then.

“Hey, come on, you would’ve done the same thing for me,” Sehun squawks and playfully flicks Jongin’s cheek when the latter only stays silent. “ off, you so would’ve, don’t lie to me,” he grumbles before the brunet’s hair. “I seriously thought you were gonna get dragged off by some psychotic serial killer, no kidding.”

Gaze fixated on the stickers on the ceiling, Jongin smiles a little. If only you knew how I felt. “What did you think of them, though?” he asks, playing with Sehun’s fingers and the watch on the latter’s wrist.

“Minseok and Yixing?” Sehun asks and laughs a little. “They seem...okay, I guess. I mean, I don’t appreciate being called or compared to the President, but other than that, they seem fine to me- Hey, cut it out!” He lets out a squawk when Jongin somehow (and hopefully accidentally) manages to press a button on his watch, which subsequently changes it to Tokyo time. “Dude, what’d you do,” he groans, promptly letting go of Jongin’s hand and rolling over onto his back as he attempts to set it back.

Apparently unfazed, Jongin shrugs. His hand feels awfully empty and he has to clasp them together in order not to freak out. “They’re good people, you just need to get to know them,” he says, closing his eyes. “Although I’d argue that Yixing’s probably forgotten even running into us in the first place by now, so in a way, you’re safe,” he adds with a laugh. Thinking about Minseok and Yixing reminds him of how he missed practice earlier today, and Jongin mentally curses when he realizes that if he hadn’t fallen asleep on the bleachers, he could’ve practiced with them for at least two hours. Damn it. “And that whole President thing was a joke, by the way!”

“I know,” Sehun retorts, clicking the button back into place and rolling over onto his side. “It’s just weird, that’s all, you’d know if you were in my place.” As he watches Jongin play with the strings on his hoodie (almost like a kitten, he thinks in awe), he makes sure to keep his watch out of the latter’s sight. “When’s your sister coming home, by the way? And your Dad?”

“Jungah usually sleeps over at her friend Amy’s house, so I don’t know if she’ll be back tonight, to be honest,” Jongin replies, suddenly feeling awfully sleepy. “And my Dad should be home any minute now, don’t know why he isn’t,” he adds, scooching closer to Sehun and burying his face in the crook of the latter’s arm. “What’re we gonna do about prom tomorrow, by the way?”

“You mean the limo?” Sehun chuckles before shrugging, because he honestly has no clue. “I mean, neither I, Myeon, Yeol, nor Kyungsoo have a permit, Yifan’s the only one who’s got one and honestly, I’d rather take the bus to and fro than step foot in his car, so I don’t really know. Not to mention I doubt Yifan’s even coming to begin with, thank God.” He runs his fingers through Jongin’s hair. “Why does it have to be so fancy, though?” he asks and leans away in the nick of time to avoid getting his nose smashed into his skull when Jongin sits up like a bullet. “Jesus C-”

“It’s prom!” Jongin exclaims, almost in an offended tone, as he stares at Sehun like a kicked puppy. “Why shouldn't it be fancy?”

Sehun laughs a little. “I’ll talk to Yifan tomorrow and try to sort this out if you guys want his car that badly.” He really isn’t in the mood for an hour-long discussion about prom so he decides to steer the conversation down a different path. Except he doesn’t get a chance to open his mouth when his phone suddenly buzzes and he instinctively retrieves it from his pocket, his lips quickly melting into a frown upon reading the few words on the screen.

In confusion, Jongin cranes his neck to get a better view of Sehun’s phone screen, and he barely makes out the words 'Can I be your Prom Queen?’ as well as ‘Love you xxxx’, followed by far too many heart and kissy emojis, as well as an icon belonging to some girl he’s (and presumably Sehun, too) never seen in his life before Sehun sighs. Even though he knows it’s inevitable, Jongin can’t help but bite the inside of his cheek in irritation when the taller’s phone buzzes again, and this time the brunet clearly makes out the words ‘Is it true you’re going to prom with a guy? What’s his name? What does he look like?’, and he wholeheartedly expects Sehun to put his phone away and move on with the conversation. Except the latter doesn’t, and Jongin watches as Sehun proceeds to type something, instantly piquing his curiosity.

As he finishes typing out a quick message, Sehun quickly hits ‘Send’ and instantly feels a rush of both dread and relief course through his veins when the word ‘Read’ appears underneath his message less than a second later. When he spots the brunet’s curious glare, he laughs a little before turning his phone around so Jongin can see.

(Just now) Oh Sehun

Yes, and that’s none of your or anybody else’s business, so do me a favor and quit messaging me already.

Jongin stares at the words for a minute before biting his lip. A feeling of happiness swells in his chest after reading the words before him and he finds himself scrambling for Sehun’s hand, which the latter takes without a second thought. He’s sort of really glad Sehun chose to leave out his name, because the last thing Jongin wants is for a thousand crazy, hormonal teenage girls to ruin his prom night by attacking him or harassing him until four in the morning. As cheesy as it sounds, and as much as he refused to believe it earlier, Jongin can’t help but feel as if the whole entire female population is after him and the idea makes him shiver.

Noticing Jongin’s discomfort, Sehun remains silent for a moment, not even bothering to check his phone when it buzzes before he carelessly tosses it aside and Jongin’s cheek with his thumb. “I hope you- I just don’t want them to-” He furrows his eyebrows.

“No, I get it,” Jongin blurts out and winces when he accidentally kicks the textbook lying neglected by his feet. Damn hardcover books. “It’s just...nevermind,” he mumbles, unable to find the words, either because he’s too tired to do so right now or because the softness of Sehun’s hoodie is starting to drive him crazy for real, and it’s the emotions surging through every capillary in his body that makes him sit up a bit before resting his head on Sehun’s chest and Jongin nearly screams at the top of his lungs because holy , he’s just like a life size pillow in human form.

(Thankfully) unfazed, Sehun only sighs before moving so he’s lying on his back for the sake of the brunet’s comfort. Normally, he would be repelled by the idea of having a heavy weight on top of his chest, but there’s something about it this time that makes him feel a certain calmness he didn’t even know he needed until now. With his gaze fixated on the green stickers above him, he cards his fingers through Jongin’s hair as the latter lies motionless on top of him. Downstairs, he hears the front door opening before it slams closed again. Inevitably, Jongin doesn’t bother saying hi or anything like it, and Sehun grabs Jongin’s hand when the latter emits a sigh of his own.

As calming as the silence may be, Sehun finds him growing antsy and a tad bit anxious after a few minutes and, in an attempt to break the ice in the least awkward way known to man, he clears his throat. “When does your first lesson start tomorrow?”

Shifting a little to get comfortable, Jongin gives Sehun’s hand a small squeeze. “At like, 10:30, but Miss was sick today so I doubt she’ll be here tomorrow,” he says and sighs in relief at the idea of having the day off tomorrow because there’s too much going on in his head as of right now for him to be able to drag himself to school. “What about you?” he asks, reaching up and tugging on the strings on Sehun’s hoodie a little.

“So you’re basically free all day tomorrow? Lucky you,” Sehun grumbles in envy, pouting a little. “Well, you see, Coach wants us to get as much training done as possible before Saturday, so from what I’ve heard, he’s made sure we all get the day off from lessons tomorrow so we can train,” he says and for some reason, he finds himself sighing a little at the thought of having to drag himself to practice.

“What’re you complaining about?” Jongin whines, tugging on one of the strings perhaps a little more forcefully than necessary, given Sehun’s squawk of surprise. “If I had the opportunity to train all day instead of sitting in class I’d take it in a heartbeat, don’t be irrational,” he adds, inspecting Sehun’s watch. “I won’t set it to Tokyo time this time, I swear to God,” he says bluntly when Sehun sends him a stern glare.

Sehun shrugs. “It’s hard to explain,” is all he says before a thought suddenly hits him and he furrows his eyebrows. “Hey uh, I...sorta wanna tell you something,” he says lowly, using his free hand to rub the back of his neck.

Looking up, Jongin raises an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“This might sound super random, but-” Sehun shakes his head and clears his throat, unsure of how to formulate himself. “Okay, damn it, I’d never, ever, in my entire life, be ashamed of you, I sincerely hope you know that,” he says after a while, giving Jongin’s hand a firm squeeze for good measure.

It takes Jongin’s head a while to wrap itself around Sehun’s words and what the latter is even talking about in the first place and, when he finally does, he swallows and unconsciously tightens his hold on Sehun’s hand. He’s never believed it himself, yet that doesn’t stop the warm feeling that erupts all across his chest. “You...uh, you heard?” he asks dumbly and mentally punches himself in the face. Nice. “Um, I mean-”

“That idiot talked as if I was outside the room and not less than ten feet away in the bathroom,” Sehun chuckles but his voice soon turns serious again. “Anyway, don’t listen to him, he’s just talking out of his .” He grits his teeth at the memory. He clearly remembers how dangerously close he came to throwing the door open, walking over to Yifan and strangling the latter on the spot but he figures that probably wouldn’t be the best thing to do, especially since he doesn’t find the idea of spending prom night locked up in a jail cell very appealing.

Jongin swallows. “I never trusted him,” he simply says, desperately wanting to change the subject, because thinking about Yifan is enough to set his nerves on fire for multiple reasons. “Anyway, I think my Dad’s home,” he adds after hearing the sounds of chairs scraping against wood downstairs.

“I mean hell, if anything, it would make more sense of you to be ashamed of me-” Sehun emits a loud squawk of surprise when Jongin suddenly punches him in the waist. “Okay, sorry, it’s just- Nevermind.” He clears his throat and places two fingers under the brunet’s chin, gently tilting his head so they’re looking at each other. “But you understand that, don’t you? I’d never be ashamed of you, I cross my heart and I hope to die.”

Tearing his eyes away in fear of Sehun seeing him blush, Jongin mutters a low ‘Yes’ before resting his head on the taller’s chest again. His brain is threatening to overflow with emotions and he has to close his eyes to get his head to stop spinning. As much as he wants to say something more, the exhaustion plaguing his mind is holding him back from doing so and he opts to give Sehun’s hand a tight squeeze in hopes of the latter getting the message. “I would never, either.”

Running a hand through Jongin’s hair, Sehun only nods in understanding (because honestly, his own brain is also on the brink of overflowing) before dipping down and pressing his lips against Jongin’s as much as their positions allow when the latter looks up. As Sehun listens to the embarrassed sounds of the brunet as the latter mumbles incoherencies under his breath, he listens to the commotion downstairs before he’s struck with the sudden urge to empty his bladder, so he gently nudges Jongin, who Sehun hopes hasn’t fallen asleep quite yet (or else he figures it’s going to get messy real fast).

After a few seconds, Jongin seems to snap out of his semi trance and he blinks. “Huh?”

“Gotta use the restroom,” Sehun mutters, nudging Jongin again when the latter refuses to move. “Come on,” he whines, letting go of the brunet’s hand and attempting to sit up to no avail. “Jongin-”

“Stay here,” Jongin mumbles, his voice muffled against Sehun’s chest, and he only emits a rather childish (a little too childish, perhaps, even for him) whine when Sehun finally manages to break free, and he watches as the latter stands up before heading towards the bathroom door a few feet away. “Hurry back, you big buzzkill,” he grumbles, leaning over the edge of the bed and picking up the comic book, the one Sehun read earlier, the one about Superman. “We told you not to eat the freaking lasagna,” he adds under his breath and he barely registers Sehun yelling something along the lines of ‘Shut up’ from inside the bathroom before he opens up the comic book and begins reading.

~~~