“My mouth feels like sandpaper,” Yoo Youngjae complained as he looked through Choi Youngjae’s closet to find something to wear.

“Well if you hadn’t tried eating cantaloupe, that wouldn’t have happened,” Jaebum commented from his place on the bed.

“Well if I’d known eating cantaloupe would make my mouth feel like sandpaper, I wouldn’t have done it,” Youngjae countered. He settled on a black T-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans and pulled them out of the closet. “Allergies ing .”

“Trust me, there's nothing you can say about allergies that the other Youngjae hasn't complained to me about a thousand times.”

“I'm sure I could find something.” Youngjae started ing the nightshirt he was wearing.

“Please don't try.”

Youngjae didn't respond. Instead, he was distractedly poking at his stomach. “This kid has no abs.”

“You have no abs.”

“I do too.”

“Youngjae, I've seen you shirtless. You do not have abs.”

Youngjae put his hands on his hips. “Yeah, I do. I’ve been working out. You just can't tell because I'm currently inhabiting the body of a child.”

“Sure, Youngjae.”

“I'm not lying!”

“I believe you.”

“I worked hard for those abs…” Youngjae pouted as he finished changing. Jaebum watched quietly, and he couldn't help but think how weird that pout looked on Choi Youngjae's usually smiling face, and how nice it was to be able to have an actual face-to-face conversation with Yoo Youngjae again, even if it wasn't technically his face.

“What?” Youngjae asked. Jaebum realized that he'd been staring.

“I was just thinking about how much I missed you,” he said.

“Aww, I missed you too.” Youngjae smiled. It was the kind of smile that would have been cute and endearing on his usual face but felt subtly off on this one. “Now let’s get going. I want my phone back.”

“Wow.” Jaebum deadpanned. “You really know how to sweet-talk a guy.”

“It’s one of my many talents.”

Jaebum rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right after common sense.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The pout was back and Jaebum was once again struck with how weird it looked.

“Nothing.” Jaebum stood up. “You’re right. We should get going.”

Youngjae continued to pout as Jaebum went around the room gathering his things. While he was at it, he made sure to grab Choi Youngjae’s phone and charger, figuring he’d be happy to have something of his own for however long he was stuck with BAP. He was just about finished when he heard Youngjae yawn behind him.

“Tired?” he asked, turning to him.

“I think the Benadryl’s kicking in.”

Jaebum smiled. “Come on,” he said. “You can nap on the bus.”

“Bus? We’re not-” Youngjae yawned again. “-driving?”

“We don’t have a car,” Jaebum explained as he started for the front door.

“Oh.” Youngjae followed him out. “I better not get robbed while I’m asleep.”

“Don’t worry,” Jaebum assured him. “I’ll protect you.”

“You better,” Youngjae said. “I won’t forgive you if you don’t.”

Jaebum laughed and led him out the door and down the street. By the time they got to the bus stop, Youngjae’s feet were dragging and he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. Fortunately, they didn’t have long to wait. The bus showed up shortly after they did.

Jaebum led Youngjae to a seat, thanking any diety that might be listening that the bus was practically empty. He flinched when he felt Youngjae’s head rest on his shoulder, nuzzling into him a little before growing heavy as Youngjae fell asleep. Normally he would have protested. If the boy sitting next to him really was Choi Youngjae, he probably still would have. After all, they were two grown men, both of whom had an image to maintain. What would people think of them being so close in such a public space?

But this time was different. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t seen Yoo Youngjae in so long, or maybe the emptiness of the bus lulled him into some sense of security, but the desire to be close to his boyfriend--to just feel him again--outweighed his usual caution.

He only wished it was Yoo Youngjae’s body pressed against his, instead of just his mind.