“Ah, you brought donuts?”

“Lee Seokmin is approximately the size of a lollipop.” Soonyoung stretched a little. “I spent half my time in China working out. We’ll look silly, the two of us, me like a gorilla on steroids and him like a pre-teen. Where is he?”

“Still asleep, I think.” Minghao suddenly smiled, throwing his arms around Soonyoung. “Hey. Thanks. I missed you lots while you were in China.”

“I missed you too.” Soonyoung hugged him tightly a moment. “Hey, by the way… I’m sorry, last time, we didn’t get to have a proper talk or goodbye. I meant to apologize. Also… about, back then, um…”

Minghao waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. It was only a crush, anyway.”

“All the same. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t accept your feelings then or now.”

“I know.” He grinned. “It’s cause you and him, you work well together. You’re soulmates, I knew it even back then. Honestly, I don’t wanna come between that. Besides, I have a boyfriend now. We’ve been dating, since the fire actually.”

“Really? What’s his name?”

Minghao blushed, hard. “Don’t tell Seokmin.”

“I won’t.”

“A certain Wen Junhui is…”

Soonyoung broke out into a grin. “Amazing. Double date, soon.”

“If Seokmin knew I was dating Jun of all people, there’d be hell to pay.”

“I’ll pacify him.”

“Can you?” Minghao suddenly went a little paler. “He’s not the same man you left, Soonyoung. He’s different. He’s older and he’s hurt. He’s not the same. He’s… less.”

Soonyoung directed an elongated sigh at Seokmin’s bedroom door. “Guess I’ll just have to fall in love with him all over again.”

“Okay, gross. You wanna be sappy, please do it after I’m gone. Is this my coffee?”

“Does it say latte on it?”

“It says cappuccino.”

“Take your hands off my cappuccino then.”

Minghao grinned, taking away the cup that said latte. “You know what? You’re not the same, either.”

Soonyoung grinned brightly. “You’re right. I’m not. But I’m still me.”

“I gotta run for work. Thanks, Soonyoung. Will I see you later?”

“Sure.”

“…you came.”

“Said I would.”

“You didn’t say you’d appear in my bed beside me.”

“If you really hate it, I’ll get out.”

“Why’d you come in, anyway?”

“It looked cosy and warm, and you looked super lonely.”

“Have you secretly turned into a ert while you were away?”

“That is within the realm of possibility. But consider this. The man I’ve loved for years confessed to me yesterday that he loves me too. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t take that opportunity to be next to him again?”

“You remembered that and came back, huh…”

“Yup.” Soonyoung’s arms s around Seokmin’s torso. “So you should be a forgiving host and let me snuggle.”

“You changed.”

“Minghao said the same thing.”

“That treacherous snake let you in just like that…”

“Don’t be angry at Hao. Are you really angry? I’ll leave if you’re that angry.”

“Don’t leave.” Seokmin’s hand reached out to grip Soonyoung’s arm for a mo