---

"How many times have I told you not to chew with your mouth open?" Sehun asks and shakes his head in amusement whilst crossing his legs under the table. His eyes trail over the newspaper in his hands before he takes a sip of coffee. For a second, all he hears is the sound of his watch ticking as well as Jongin humming to himself across the table. It's not until another wet slurping noise fills the air that Sehun sighs loudly. "Jongin."

Jongin only chews his mouthful of cereal, trying not to spit everything out across the table as he tries his hardest not to laugh. He forces himself to swallow when he worries he might actually spit his food out after Sehun sends him a stern look from behind the newspaper. Jongin figures that he's allowed to annoy Sehun as much as he wants, considering the latter woke him up an hour before they were initially supposed to get up. Jongin only recalls Sehun saying something about needing to get them both cleaned up before Jongin found himself drifting in and out of sleep whilst sitting in the tub shortly after (which Sehun was 100% okay with, given that it saved him twenty minutes of cleaning up the floor).

Much to Jongin's irritation, Sehun wouldn't let him go back to sleep afterwards, which explains why the former nearly fell asleep face down in his cereal bowl earlier. But even though Jongin is still deathly tired, there's still a certain buzzing in his nerves that refuses to leave. Jongin figures that it's his excitement about visiting Luhan's house later and the tenderness between his legs that's preventing him from crashing on the couch. "But it's funny," he giggles before picking up the bowl and bringing it to his lips. He downs the rest of the milk before wiping his mouth and hopping off the chair. "Are you still angry??" he mutters before standing behind Sehun's chair and tugging on the latter's blond strands.

Sehun sighs and puts the paper down on the table. He isn't even sure how long it took to apologize and explain the entire situation to the mailman (who turned out to be a woman in her early 20's, much to Sehun's horror) last night after Jongin unlocked the door and chased her all the way to her car. Sehun still recalls practically dragging Jongin back inside the house by the ear after she drove off in a hurry, before he proceeded to lecture Jongin about wearing clothes when talking to people at all times, as well as the dangers of running outside completely (Sehun is suddenly glad the entire thing happened at one in the morning, since he figures he would be dealing with police reports right now otherwise). On the other hand, Sehun figures he made a huge mistake by scolding Jongin with the latter being as exhausted as he was, given the fact that Jongin responded by burying himself under the blanket on the couch and flat out refused to come out until Sehun promised him that he loved him.

"A little," Sehun says, mainly to tease Jongin, and it works, since Jongin proceeds to scramble into his lap less than two seconds later. "You're heavy--"

"You love me, right? Right?" Jongin pokes Sehun square in the chest whilst swinging his legs back and forth. Sehun's hair is still damp as he presses their foreheads together. "You're not angry, right?" he whines whilst fiddling with Sehun's tie. Jongin briefly wonders if ties are simply collars for humans, but he doesn't bother asking Sehun about it. A thought hits him and he grins. "If I call you 'babe', will you love me more???"

Sehun raises an eyebrow before he sighs. "Where'd you-"

"The nice lady from yesterday," Jongin says and rests his chin on Sehun's shoulder. "Anyway, you're not angry, right? Right? Right? Ri--"

"Sheesh, you weigh a ton," Sehun groans and gently shoves Jongin off of his lap before his thighs can get crushed. "I'm just glad nobody else was there to see it," he mumbles and fixes his hair before placing his cup in the sink. Since he managed to convince Jongin to take a bath earlier, they're both already dressed, which Sehun is thankful for when he checks his watch. "If we leave early, we might have time to pick up a gift, if you'd like." He ruffles Jongin's damp hair when Jongin's ears twitch in excitement.

Jongin skips over to the other side of the table and picks up his empty bowl (Sehun is sort of really surprised he managed to wolf down three bowls of cereal considering how much candy he ate last night) before placing it in the sink on top of Sehun's cup. Jongin isn't exactly sure what to get Luhan, since Luhan will appreciate just about anything he's given (except stuffed cats, which Jongin learned the hard way two years ago). Jongin figures he'll need to think of something great whilst he watches Sehun walk over to the shelf and grab his car keys.

"You ready?" Sehun chuckles as he picks up his briefcase and proceeds to walk into the hallway. He has to stop and adjust his belt before continuing towards the front door, only to blink when he sees the look on Jongin's face. "Uh, what's the ma-"

"Can we do it again?" Jongin asks as he walks over and kneads Sehun's tie, until Sehun swats his hand away. A low whine leaves his lips when Sehun only sends him a look. "Please? Please? You said some other day yesterday, remember? Remember?" He pokes Sehun's cheek over and over, only to pout when Sehun shakes his head. "Pleasepleaseplease--"

"I remember," Sehun chuckles and he has to pretend like he isn't screaming internally when Jongin proceeds to rub the tip of his tail against his thigh. "We're already late and Baekhyun's expecting me early today," he says apologetically whilst patting Jongin's head. He flinches and nearly ends up stabbing Jongin in the stomach with his car keys after the latter whines again, before pressing their chests together. "Seriously, Baekhyun's gonna be pissed-"

"Why can't we do it," Jongin huffs and attempts to pull Sehun towards the living room, only for Sehun to gently yank his hand back. "How about in your office?" he asks, resting his chin on Sehun's shoulder, his voice making the latter shiver. When Sehun simply shakes his head, he squawks. "Why not?!?!" His ears glumly flatten before Sehun his hair. "You have a couch in your office, right?? Why can't we do it on your couch???" he huffs whilst tracing invisible patterns into Sehun's chest. Jongin really doesn't see the point of having a couch in your room if you're not going to use it. 

Sehun shoves his car keys in his pocket before placing a hand on the small of Jongin's back. "Do you have any idea what my boss is going to do to me?" he chuckles, even though he's inwardly dying at the thought of his boss walking in on them. The thought, as well as the inevitable look on Baekhyun's face when he turns up late, is enough for Sehun to plant a kiss on Jongin's forehead before gesturing at the door. 

Jongin huffs before skipping towards the hallway and sitting cross legged on the floor. Sehun scratches him behind the ear whilst he (half-assedly) puts his shoes on. "Can I do it with Baekhyun, then?" he asks after tying the laces and standing up. He stares at his reflection for a while and nearly falls into a trance whilst watching his ears move on his head. 

Sehun blinks. "No, why?" he asks, wondering if he heard Jongin correctly as he puts on his own shoes.

"Cause you won't do it with me," Jongin pouts as he gives Sehun a tight squeeze. "So I'll just do it with Baekhyun until you say yes," he adds, Sehun's perfume nearly lulling him to sleep. In fact, Jongin figures that he would have ended up falling asleep whilst standing up if Sehun didn't turn around and ruffle his hair. "It makes sense, right???"

Running a hand through his hair, Sehun presses his lips together. "That's...not really how it works," he says slowly, fighting the urge to squish Jongin's cheeks together when the latter proceeds to stare at him like he's got three heads. On a side note, Sehun really doesn't want to be the one explaining the whole situation to Baekhyun's husband if Jongin were to go through with his plan. He checks his watch and figures that Baekhyun will definitely slander him the second he walks in the door.

"It's not?" Jongin stares wide eyed at Sehun, who shakes his head. He only scratches the back of his head in puzzlement before shrugging and nearly tackling Sehun into the door. "Okay," he hums whilst clinging onto Sehun's back when the latter unlocks the door (and nearly stumbles and falls on his face). "That means I only get to do it with you, and you with me, right? Right?" he asks before skipping ahead of the blond and towards the car.

Sehun only nods before unlocking his car and watching as Jongin sleepily crawls into the passenger seat. "You could say that, yeah," he says, ignoring the way his chest flutters as he jams the key in the ignition.

--

"I wanna give them," Jongin squees, pointing to the colorful flowers in Sehun's hand. "Can I? Can I? I picked them out, so I'm supposed to give them," he adds and attempts to swipe the bouquet, only for Sehun to shake his head. "Why not? Why can't I give it?" He nearly trips over a rock lying in his path and swats Sehun's arm when the latter chuckles slightly.

Sehun shrugs. "I don't want you eating them before we get a chance to say hello," he laughs and eyes the large bouquet in his hands, which is neatly wrapped with white cellophane, tied with a bow, and filled to the brim with flowers in all colors of the rainbow. Sehun clearly recalls telling Jongin to hurry up whilst the latter picked out flowers in the field by their local flower shop earlier, mainly because Jongin spent more time simply sitting cross legged in the middle of the field whilst spending more time smelling the flowers than he did actually picking them (and catching bugs, of course). "You can hand it over when we get there, okay?" He really doesn't want to be late, so he tightens his grip around the bottle of wine in his other hand before checking his watch.

"I won't eat them," Jongin squawks, not even believing his own words when his eyes unconsciously land on the bouquet again, which only leads Sehun to believe that he ended up picking his own favorites instead of Luhan's. "Pleasepleaseplease--" He beams when Sehun sighs, the latter telling him not to drop the bouquet as he carefully hands it over. "Luhan's mother is really nice, but she can be mean, and his brother sonds kinda weird, just so you know," he hums whilst he skips ahead of Sehun, towards the gate to Luhan's house, which he practically throws open in his excited state.

"I'll keep that in mind," Sehun hums before walking up the steps to of the front porch. The entire yard is full of cobwebs and skeletons, and a bright orange pumpkins with faces carved into them sit on the patio. He has to grab Jongin's wrist when the latter almost rushes off towards a (most likely empty) candy bowl sitting a few feet away. "Remember your manners, okay?" he says and ruffles Jongin's hair. "I don't-"

"Can you get that for me?" Jongin asks, barely able to reach a plastic bat hanging from the roof, and Sehun emits the loudest sigh of relief Jongin has ever heard when he barely manages to catch the bouquet after it slips out of his grip. Ignoring Sehun's remarks of 'That's not edible', Jongin stands on his tip toes and places his free hand against the door for support. He squawks in surprise when the door suddenly swings open, which nearly causes him to stumble forward and fall flat on his face.

"Hey, you made it!" Luhan exclaims after he opens the door, too excited to even acknowledge the fact that he nearly knocked heads with Jongin just now, before he points to the bat. "That's not real, you know, we don't have bats in Manhattan, idiot--" He clamps his mouth shut when his mother appears beside him. He mumbles a low 'Sorry' before she politely greets Sehun and Jongin. "Uh, yeah, this is my Mom," he mumbles, clearly embarrassed after she goes on to compliment Sehun's looks, before his entire face lights up. "Are those--"

Jongin nods. "They're for you!" he squees before literally dumping the bouquet, which is so large that is covers Luhan's entire face, in the latter's arms. He subsequently zooms past the threshold, only for Sehun to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Take your shoes off first," Sehun chuckles, ruffling Jongin's hair, before he hands the bottle of wine to Luhan's mother. He adjusts his blouse before helping Jongin remove his jacket. "Now," he says whilst hanging it up on a hanger, "remember what I told y-" He blinks when he looks to his right, only to realize that Jongin is nowhere to be seen.

"Okay, so like, Dad isn't here 'cause he's on some weird business trip," Luhan says as he carries the bouquet into the kitchen, Jongin following suit. Whilst his mother prepares a vase, he unconsciously picks up a bright pink flower before biting the entire thing off, which earns him a harsh scolding. After his mother yanks the bouquet out of his hands, he beams. "Hey, what's that?" He points to the bottle sitting on the counter.

Luhan's mother sees the curious glint in her son's eyes and she immediately places a hand on top of the opening. "It's wine," she hums after putting the flowers in a vase, and Sehun doesn't miss the way she hides it out of Jongin and Luhan's sight before she starts preparing plates. After Sehun offers to lend her a hand, she sends him a grateful smile before she turns to face Luhan and Jongin. "In other words, off limits for kittens." Both she and Sehun chuckle loudly when both Jongin and Luhan blink.

"I'm not a kitten!" Jongin loudly squawks, seemingly not noticing Sehun putting a finger to his lips, before his ears flatten. "I'm 22 so I'm an adult, which means I'm allowed to do adult things," he says, a proud grin spreading across his face before he puts his hands on hips. His ears twitch when he suddenly smells something cooking, and he feels his stomach growl when he sees the two steaming pots on the stove.

Luhan walks over to one of the chairs before perching himself on the edge, a huff leaving his lips when his mother sends him a look. "Mom, you know I hate sitting like you people, not everyone has one of these, you know," he retorts and points to his fluffy, orange tail, only to scramble into a proper sitting position after she threatens to skip dessert. "So like, anyway, I'm three years older than you--" He points to Jongin, who blinks. "So I'm technically more adultier than you." He rocks back and forth to the point of nearly toppling backwards. "It's true! Besides, I threw all my toys away years ago, so yeah."

Jongin skips over and grabs Sehun's arm when Luhan's mother tells Luhan to set the table, which the latter does after a brief protest. Jongin's ears twitch as he watches Luhan place four plates on the table, along with four glasses and silverware. Even though Jongin sort of hates her for referring to him as a kitten, he can't help but sneak occasional glances at the black bottle sitting on the counter. He has no idea what wine is or what it tastes like, but Jongin feels his tail sway back and forth in curiosity whilst Luhan finishes setting the table. 

"Since you didn't see the pictures I sent, lemme show you my candy!" Luhan says, gesturing up the stairs as he practically bounces up and down in excitement. "No stealing, though, or I'll cut you," he adds only half jokingly, which earns him another scolding. "Okay, fine, since you let me ride in your car, I'll let you have one, but just one."

The mention of candy makes Jongin's eyes light up and he's about to skip towards the staircase when Sehun places a hand on his shoulder. "He said I could have one!" he huffs. "Didn't you hear???"

"Wait until after dinner or you'll spoil your appetite," Sehun says. He doesn't even need to follow them upstairs to know that Jongin will most certainly return with a full stomach and no appetite at all whatsoever. When Jongin only huffs angrily, Sehun pulls him close before pressing a loving kiss on the top of his head. However, he immediately regrets doing so in front of Luhan after he looks up and sees Luhan's eyes flash. 

"...Oh, right, that reminds me!" Luhan exclaims loudly, seemingly forgetting all about the candy as he points to Jongin. "Did you see the thing I sent?" he asks, his tail swaying back and forth so vigorously that he nearly knocks over one of the glasses. 

Jongin blinks, a wave of shyness coming over him when Luhan's mother turns her head to look at him politely. He unconsciously moves closer to Sehun before playing with his fingers. "Uh, you mean the pictures??" he asks, blinking when Luhan shakes his head. 

"Not those, I meant the other thing, the video!" Luhan says, swinging his legs back and forth as he sits on the edge of the table. "Y'know, the one where they-" He cuts himself off when Sehun sends him a sharp glare. "It's not like I sent it to you! If anyone's getting spoiled here, it's him!" He points to Jongin before his mother tells him to lower his voice. "I mean, I could send it to you if you wanted me to--"

"Didn't you have a brother?" Sehun asks politely, attempting to keep a straight face whilst Jongin fiddles with his watch. 

Luhan blinks again before nodding. "Yup, but he's visiting his girlfriend right now," he says before a -eating grin spreads across his entire face. He doesn't get a chance to say anything else, though, much to Sehun's relief, before his mother places the two pots on the table. "Finally, I'm starving."

Sehun makes sure to keep a tight grip on Jongin's shoulder before the latter can rush towards the table, and it's not until he tells Jongin to wait until she finishes setting everything up that Jongin huffs impatiently. When she gestures at them to take a seat, Jongin practically crashes right into the table as he scrambles to sit cross legged on one of the chairs, mouth watering as he eyes the steaming, black pots before him (stealing Baekhyun's milk carton from the break room earlier didn't exactly fill him up). Ears twitching in anticipation, Jongin blindly reaches for the handle to the biggest pot, but he doesn't get a chance to grab it and slide it towards him when Sehun quickly flies forward and grabs his wrist. As Sehun proceeds to scold Jongin for being rude and nearly hurting himself (The mere thought of Jongin suffering third degree burns is enough to give Sehun nightmares), Jongin only slumps in his seat, since he really doesn't understand why he's being called rude for being hungry, all whilst Luhan chuckles from across the table.

"I burned myself on a hot plate once, I thought my frickin' finger was gonna fall off," Luhan mumbles, both feet on the chair as he restlessly drums his fingers against his knees. Jongin can tell that he's also practically starving to death, and the latter can't help the loud giggle that escapes his lips when Luhan grows so impatient that he indiscreetly swipes a handful of tomato slices from the salad bowl, which earns him a harsh scolding from his mother. "Oh, and it's guests first, by the way, so be my guest!" he says and cackles at his own joke to the point that he nearly falls off his chair.

Luhan's mother sets the wine bottle down on the table, and whilst Luhan eyes it curiously, Jongin proceeds to grab the wooden spoon and help himself to the homemade stew. Sehun has to stop him when his plate nearly overflows, much to Luhan's (and his mother's) amusement, and Jongin stabs at the steamed vegetables and cuts of meat with his fork before shoving it in his mouth without a second thought. Jongin soon figures that he probably should have waited for his food to cool down, though, because the loud shriek of pain that leaves his lips after he burns his tongue has both Sehun and Luhan (and Luhan's mother, embarrassingly enough) turning their heads to stare at him.

"Be careful, dear," Luhan's mother softly says whilst Sehun, who only sighs, subsequently stirs the pot.

"S-Sorry," Jongin mutters, hoping the tip of his tongue doesn't fall off as he pours himself a glass of water. He downs it in under two seconds before wiping his mouth. Next to him, Sehun carefully unscrews the cork to the wine bottle and Jongin finds himself scooching closer until he's pretty much clinging onto Sehun's arm like a baby koala. 

Sehun effortlessly removes the cork before placing it on the table next to his plate (he's just glad he didn't pull a Baekhyun, with the cork flying clear across the room and through a window, which the latter did at one of their office parties). He's about to pour himself a glass when Jongin suddenly nuzzles his face into his arm, which nearly makes him drop the bottle. "Jongin, sit up," he lowly says, only to blink when Jongin grabs the cork and proceeds to chew on it. Sehun mutters an apology to Luhan's mother, who thankfully doesn't seem bothered, before pouring himself a glass. "Jongin, cut it out-"

"I don't think you can eat that," Luhan says, bouncing up and down as he waits for his mother to hand him the spoon. He blinks when Jongin sticks his tongue out with a grimace. "That bad, huh?" he chuckles whilst dumping four entire spoonfuls of stew on his plate, which earns him another scolding for being greedy. "Mom, what's wrong with being hungry?!" he squawks, only put a handful of potatoes back in the pot with a huff.

"Tastes weird," Jongin mutters as he eyes the brown cork, which feels spongey in his hand. Even though he hates the sour taste, he won't deny that he finds himself rather intruigued by the sweetness lacing his tongue. Even so, the bitter sourness refuses to leave his tongue, so he huffs before tossing the cork across away from him. Jongin doesn't even register Sehun's harsh scolding whilst he watches, clearly amused, as it bounces off and across the table. Sehun is suddenly thankful for Luhan's killer reflexes, since the latter instinctively jumps out of his seat, catching the cork in mid-air before it can hit the wall (since that would definitely leave a permanent, red stain). Afterwards, Jongin pokes at his food as he watches Luhan practically inhale his own stew, before poking Sehun's arm.

Sehun briefly stops chewing to look at Jongin, who is practically gliding out of his seat whilst clinging to his arm. "What is it?" He blinks and quickly swallows his food when he sees the grin on Jongin's face. Sehun shakes his head before taking a sip of red wine, hoping Jongin will leave it at that and resume eating, only to sigh when the latter does the exact opposite. "Jongin, stop-"

"Feed me," Jongin whines, grabbing his fork and practically shoving it in Sehun's face. The latter only sends him a look before Luhan laughs loudly, only for his mother to subsequently scold him. "Pleasepleaseplease--" He pouts when Sehun shakes his head again. "Why not????" 

"What're you guys talking about?" Luhan asks and thankfully his mother doesn't notice him talking with his mouth full. "We went to the butterfly park yesterday!" he exclaims, his face lighting up as he pulls out his phone. "Who wants to see pictures???"

Sehun sends Luhan a smile before nodding slightly. "Sure," he says, picking up his wine glass. It's not until Jongin tugs on his sleeve that he sighs in defeat and picks up his fork. He can feel Luhan's mother looking at them and he mutters a low apology in her direction as he brings the fork to Jongin's lips, the latter taking a big bite before chewing happily. The bright grin that spreads across Jongin's entire face sort of makes Sehun want to cry, but he won't even try to deny that there's something slightly strange about spoonfeeding a fully grown male in front of his friend and their mother. Across the table, Luhan holds up a photo of a blue butterfly and Sehun nods politely. "That's very pretty."

Luhan doesn't seem to notice Sehun's reply, because he's too busy staring at Jongin as the latter tugs on Sehun's sleeve again. It's not until Sehun sighs and feeds him a second time that his mouth falls open. "No way," he says before scoffing. "When I tried getting my Mom to do that, she just told me to 'eat normally like a regular cat and not a kitten'," he grumbles before stabbing a potato with his fork so forcefully that it flies off his plate and lands on the table. "Stop laughing, Jongin, you --" He slaps a hand over his mouth when his mother sends him a glare.

Luhan's mother only shakes her head. "No phones at the table," she says before sending Sehun, who is busy trying to calm Jongin down as the latter laughs loudly, an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that," she says, a small smile creeping up her lips when Jongin buries his face in Sehun's shoulder. "He seems very fond of you."

Sehun clears his throat before nodding. "Yeah," he says, fighting the urge to smack Jongin's hand away when the latter fidgets with his tie. He goes on to praise her cooking, to which she replies with a polite thanks, which is closely followed by Sehun nearly spilling out his entire glass of wine when Jongin attempts to grab it. "Jongin, stop it--"

"I wanna taste," Jongin says, swatting the glass, after the smell of the wine tickles his nose. He attempts to swipe it again, only to miss and nearly fall into Sehun's lap. "Please???"

"That ain't for kittens," Luhan snickers whilst mimicking his mother's voice (surprisingly well, Sehun thinks), which only makes her laugh. Jongin can easily make out the equally curious glint in his eyes, though, his orange tail swaying curiously as he stares at the wine glass in Sehun's hand.

Sehun shakes his head before placing his glass as far away from Jongin as possible. Now that Sehun thinks about it, he isn't even sure what the rule is when it comes to hybrids and alcohol. He figures that if it's anything like the ones for people, then Jongin is technically allowed to drink it (he was wrong about the chocolate, after all), but Sehun knows for a fact that he (probably) won't be giving Jongin any alcohol as of right now (and ever). "Eat your food," he hums before shoving his own fork in his mouth. 

"But it's cold," Jongin whines and Sehun scolds him again when he proceeds to poke at his food with his fingers. It's pretty much stone cold at this point, which Jongin figures is on the same level of unappetizing as it being scalding hot.

"Hey, does anyone wanna see 'em or not??" Luhan scoffs and holds up a blurry picture of a purple butterfly, which makes Jongin's ears twitch. "This one made me think of you, since it always flew away whenever people got too close to it," he adds with a loud laugh, nearly falling backwards when he rocks back and forth in his chair. "I actually saw one that looked just like it shortly after. Man, did it taste delicious--"

Jongin hears Luhan's mother asking Sehun questions about his work, and Jongin manages to tune out their boring conversation (he's never understood humans and their tendency to find enjoyment in simply sitting still and moving their mouths) before picking up his glass and inspecting his reflection at the bottom. He sort of feels jealous, because he doesn't think he's ever actually consumed a butterfly before. However, his envy soon disappears when his eyes light up. "I caught a fish last night! It was huge!" he says with a grin, nearly smacking Sehun in the face when he stretches his arms out as widely as he can. He leaves out the part about taking a dip in order to catch it, since he figures falling in the water after nearly getting the soul scared out of him doesn't count.

Luhan blinks. "Really?" he asks, only to hum when Jongin nods. "You should've sent a picture," he adds before pointing to Jongin's plate. The latter immediately gets the hint and Luhan beams when Jongin slides his plate across the table. "Anyway, what did you think of the thing I sent? Y'know, the video?" 

Jongin reaches out and grabs the salt and pepper shakers, which are shaped like little sheep. He turns the white one over and blinks when he ends up dumping salt all over his palm. "It was...fine, I...guess," he mumbles, the subsequent coiling in his gut promptly disappearing in his hurry to clean it all up before Sehun can see it (he's lucky that Sehun is all wrapped up in conversation with Luhan's mother, and Jongin figures he was wrong about insulting humans just now). Jongin some off of his palm and Luhan immediately bursts into laughter when Jongin's entire face shrivels up at the salty taste. Figuring his sleep deprivation must be catching up with him, Jongin rests his head on the table until Sehun tells him to sit up. 

"Did you watch it together?" Luhan asks, grooming his left ear as he uses his right hand to pick up a piece of meat with his fork. "Mom gets mad if I put too much of that stuff on my food, I dunno why," he adds and points to the white sheep shaker. He quickly stuffs three potatoes in his mouth at once before brushing his hands together. "Is the pie in the fridge? Can I????" He huffs when his mother only tells him to be patient. "But I'm done and so is he!" He gestures at Jongin, who isn't even sitting with a plate in front of him. "And Sehun's like...sort of halfway-ish done, so it counts!"

Swinging his legs back and forth, Jongin feels his mouth water at the thought of pie, even though he doesn't think he's ever had it before. "I also want pie," he mutters to himself whilst tracing invisible circles into the Halloween themed tablecloth. He hopes that it's at least somewhat sweet, since he can barely keep his eyes open whilst he leans on Sehun's shoulder. It's not until Sehun wipes his mouth with his napkin before putting his utensils down that Luhan springs out of his seat like a bullet, which makes Jongin look up.

"Okay, pie time!" Luhan squeals before grabbing both his and Jongin's empty plates and skipping over to the counter. He dumps them in the sink before practically tearing the fridge door open. "Mom makes like, the best apple pie you've ever freaking tasted, I could seriously live off of this stuff," he adds and Jongin's ears perk up when he proceeds to retreive a large, white pan covered in tin foil. When his mother only scolds him for being impatient, he pouts. "Mom, I'm complimenting you--!"

Jongin watches Luhan with curious eyes before he hums sleepily, only to nuzzle his face in Sehun's arm when Luhan's mother sends him a sweet smile. It's not until she stands up and begins clearing everybody's plates, after politely assuring Sehun that she doesn't need a hand, that Jongin lazily scans his surroundings. His eyes land on the entrance to the living room and Jongin sees an orange pumpkin with a weird face carved into it, as well as a row of skulls with candles in them, and a ton of other decorations both sitting on the window sills and hanging from the ceiling lights. Whilst he hears Luhan balling up the tin foil to his left (a noise that nearly makes Jongin want to rip his ears off), Jongin lazily paws at Sehun's tie, hoping he doesn't fall asleep whilst sitting up.

After a minute, however, Jongin feels his legs starting to cramp up as a result of sitting still for so long, so he hops off the chair and walks towards the living room. He has no idea why anybody would decorate their house from the inside, since Halloween is best spent outside, but Jongin forgets all about it when he approaches a few orange string-like objects hanging from the large chandelier. Feeling too tired to stand, he simply sits cross legged on the fuzzy carpet with the strings an inch from his face. It's not until he cranes his neck and sees the shiny crystals in the chandelier above that he unconsciously wags his tail back and forth. It almost reminds him of the girl's piercing, and Jongin finds himself reaching out and tugging on the strings, stars filling his eyes when the chandelier gently sways back and forth whilst making a light clinking noise.

Luhan's mother hears the noise and turns around to look at Jongin sitting on the floor. "Be careful with that, dear," she chuckles before going back to helping Luhan mix the whipped cream.

"That thing's pretty much broken already, after my brother kicked his soccer ball right into it, it was hil-a-rious," Luhan cackles, only to squawk when he accidentally turns up the mixer speed, which in turn causes whipped cream to stain his face.

Sehun puts his glass down and sends Jongin a look. "Get over here," he says sternly, gesturing at Jongin's empty seat.

Jongin only hums something in response, too mesmerized by the lights reflecting in the shining crystals above to listen. One crystal in particular catches his eye; the biggest one, which is sort of shaped like a heart, Jongin thinks, and his ears perk up when he figures he could give it to Sehun as a present. He also figures that the only way to do so is to somehow get the entire chandelier down to the carpet. So, with that thought in mind, Jongin gives the stings another harsh tug, hoping they don't snap off as the chandelier continues to swing back and forth. It still refuses to come off the ceiling, so Jongin huffs and figures that he might as well jump up and grab the crystal he wants, since the strings seem to be betraying him, anyway.

With his eyes locked on the shiny object, Jongin jumps three feet in the air, successfully managing to swipe the crystal after grabbing onto one of the golden arms to the chandelier. He swiftly lands back down on the carpet, his entire body buzzing with excitement as he eyes the shiny crystal in his hands.

Luhan only stares, jaw practically hitting the floor as he points. "That was so cool," he squawks, a hint of envy in his voice as he briefly forgets to focus on the mixer, which nearly results in whipped cream flying in his face again. "Why can't I jump like that? No fair." He pouts, ears flattening slightly before he hands the mixer to his mother and skips to the living room. He blinks when the loud sound of a chair scraping against the floor fills the room, and he briefly halts when Sehun walks past him. 

Jongin sees Luhan's baby blue socks in front of him as he attempts to bite down on the hard, shiny crystal, only to stop himself when he worries he might shatter every single tooth in his mouth. It's perfectly shaped like a love heart (at least the love hearts his foster sister used to make him watch her draw), which may or may not be making Jongin feel all squishy inside whilst he runs his finger along the solid edge. Now that he thinks about it, he's pretty sure he can see his own reflection in it, as well, and he's about to pull a funny face when he spots a pair of black pants next to Luhan's socks. Jongin blinks when he looks up and sees the strict expression on Sehun's face whilst the latter keeps his arms crossed over his chest, but Jongin only beams before holding up the shiny crystal. 

"Isn't it pretty???" Jongin squees, ears twitching when he notices the way Luhan's eyes twinkle. He can sort of catch a glimpse of Sehun's blond hair inside the crysta, which makes him hold it up in front of Sehun's face with a bright grin. "It's for you!!"

Sehun sends Jongin a stern look. "Give it back and say sorry," he says and tries not to scream when Jongin's ears subsequently flatten. If he's going to be honest, he's just thankful Jongin didn't fall and injure himself (and even worse, end up bringing the entire chandelier down with him in the process), and he only raises a strict brow when Jongin sends him another wide smile. "Now."

"Hey now, princes and princesses don't fight, that's like, rule number one," Luhan says, holding up an index finger before grabbing a fly in mid air and stuffing it in his mouth.

"Why?" Jongin asks, a pout on his face as he tries giving the crystal to Sehun again, only for the latter to point to Luhan's mother, who is sending him a soft smile. "But I took it and I'm giving it to you now!" He smiles again before quickly standing up. "See? Because looks like a heart and I love you so, so much!" he adds and places it in the pocket of Sehun's suit jacket. Its shiny, white color is a huge contrast to the black material and Jongin finds himself staring for what feels like forever, until Luhan squees.

"It's like he's carrying your love with him wherever he goes," Luhan says before jabbing Sehun's arm. "That's so clever, you could put it in a poetry book and sell it!" he squeals, seemingly more excited than Jongin as he skips around the room. He soon flops down on the carpet when he nearly passes out from dizziness. "Maybe I should keep one of those things in my room to lure birds to the window! Think it might work?"

Sehun only sighs before running a hand through his hair. He's torn between simply apologizing profusely to Luhan's mother whilst giving the crystal back and simply scolding Jongin and letting him keep it, mostly because of the way Luhan's mother is repeatedly assuring him that it's alright and that she just wasn't glad that Jongin hurt himself. Despite that, Sehun still finds himself attempting to give the crystal back to her in case she might possibly be able to fix it (whilst ignoring Jongin's crestfallen expression), only for her to shake her head and sincerely assure him that she won't be able to. Eventually, after a few more attempts and protests, Sehun huffs in defeat before apologizing anyway, and he isn't sure if he should yell at Jongin or hug him to bits when the latter envelopes him in a bone crushing hug.

"Dude, it's all fine," Luhan says, patting Sehun's shoulder. "We were planning on getting rid of that old thing, anyway, it takes up like, the entire ceiling. You can't even see all the insects up there cause of all the dumb shadows everywhere, it ," he adds and gesturing at the chandelier, which is still swaying ever so slightly. "Anyway, I hear birds on the roof so if we don't get to the pie in one second it's gonna get bloody." And with that being said, he skips towards the counter and his mother practically has to protect the batch of pie with her body before he has a chance to stick his face in it.

Jongin keeps his arms tightly wrapped around Sehun's torso, preventing the latter from moving his arms, as he watches Luhan prepare the whipped cream and vanilla sauce. He makes a mental note never to agree to let Sehun convince him to take a bath at six in the morning, since he's seconds away from falling asleep. The fact that they're standing on a fluffy, sheepskin carpet only makes Jongin that much drowsier, and he hums low in his throat before kneading Sehun's chest. "I'm tired, I wanna sleep," he whines into the crook of Sehun's neck.

"Hey Jongin, this big slice is mine, just saying," Luhan hollers from the kitchen, whipped cream staining his forehead when he turns around and points to the batch.

Jongin only hums something in response, ears flattening when he catches a whiff of Sehun's perfume. "I'm tired," he whines again, irritatedly pawing Sehun's chest. He sort of hates Sehun for forcing him to get up so early, since he figures he would be enjoying all of this much more if he was fully awake and refreshed. Even the sweet smell of vanilla, whipped cream and apple pie isn't enough to make Jongin feel less tired (even though his mouth may or may not be watering), which he sort of finds weird.

"You'll feel better after dessert," Sehun chuckles whilst softly kissing Jongin's cheek. He's proceeds to place a hand on the small of Jongin's back when Luhan happily places the pie on the kitchen table, but Sehun doesn't get a chance to usher Jongin into the kitchen when the latter lies down on the carpet without a warning. "What are you doing--"

"I'm tired," Jongin whines, not even bothering to keep his voice down as he picks at the fluffy, white material whilst curling up. Not only does the carpet look like a sheep, but it smells like one, too, which Jongin finds strange (and rather appetizing). All he wants to do is close his eyes and sleep the rest of the day away, and he can't stop himself from swatting Sehun's hand when the latter tries putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm tired--"

"Hey, no fair, when I tried sleeping on that thing, Dad just yelled at me for an hour," Luhan squawks. "Mom, why's he getting more privileges than me in my own house?!?!" he huffs, ignoring his mother's response before huffing again. He soon forgets all about it when he eyes the pie on the counter. "Just so everyone knows, most of the vanilla cream is mine, since I made it!" he adds loudly and is about to grab the knife to cut the pie when his mother stops him. "But--"

Sehun mouths an apology over his shoulder before he looks at Jongin in exasperation. A part of him actually wants to know what it feels like to lie down on a carpet made of fur, but he squashes the thought. "Jongin, get up," he says, only sighing when Jongin responds by squirming in protest. "You'll get to sleep when we get home, now get up--"

"But I'm tired," Jongin reorts and figures he'll need to run upstairs and swipe some of Luhan's candy to keep himself awake, since he could really use a sugar rush right about now. The idea only makes his chest heat up for reasons unknown, and Jongin continues tugging at the fluffy white carpet whilst Sehun hovers above him. It's definitely much more comfortable than lying on the couch at home, and Jongin's eyes suddenly light up. "Can we do it again?"

Sehun blinks, a soundless squawk leaving his lips as he whirls around, only to exhale in relief when he sees Luhan and his mother bickering about who gets the claim most of the vanilla cream. He turns back and looks at Jongin whilst shaking his head vigorously. "Of course we can't," he squabbles before bending down and attempting to pull Jongin to his feet, and Sehun sort of regrets how harshly he subsequently slaps Jongin's hands away when the latter suddenly reaches for his belt buckle. "Get up right this instant-"

"But I wanna do it!" Jongin exclaims perhaps a little too loudly, considering the fact that Sehun nearly smacks his lips off subsequently. He rolls over and onto his stomach before tugging at the tufts of white fur in protest. He doesn't know what's stopping him from falling asleep right here and now since he can barely keep his eyes open. "I'm tired, I wanna sleep--"

"What are you guys talking about?" Luhan asks, a hint of impatience in his voice as he points to the steaming apple pie. "Hurry up already or it'll get cold! And that'll be on you!" 

Sehun mutters something incoherent under his breath before pointing to the table behind him. "Get up and stop being a baby," he says, not even bothering to hide the strictness in his tone when Jongin only continues to whine at his feet. "You heard what Luhan said-"

"I'm not a baby, I'm tired," Jongin whines, not even bothering to hide the irritation in his voice as he turns around and attempts to latch himself around Sehun's leg, only to whine when Sehun takes a step back.

Sehun puts a hand on his hip before running his other hand through his hair. "Jongin, this is humiliating."

"You woke me up early!" Jongin retorts, his fatigue threatening to send him spiralling off the edge as he grabs the edges of the carpet, and Sehun only runs a hand down his face when Jongin proceeds to cover himself with the fluffy, white material until he's wrapped up snug in the middle. It almost feels like he's floating on a cloud and Jongin figures he could sleep like this forever and never wake up.

"Can't blame him," Luhan chuckles before shrugging when Sehun sends him a look. "I nearly killed my brother once after he stormed into my room at four in the morning," he adds before laughing at Jongin, whose black ears, tail and feet are the only things sticking out outside the carpet "You look like a burrito! A cat burrito!" He cackles loudly and nearly flips the table clear across the kitchen when he nearly falls apart from impatience. "Can y'all hurry up already?!?!"

Sehun hears Luhan's mother harshly scolding Luhan before sighing again and nodding. "Yeah, I'm coming." He sends Jongin (or rather, the carpet with cat ears) a look, making sure to apologize profusely to Luhan's mother, as well as Luhan, after turning on his heel and walking back to the kitchen. Sehun takes a seat and downs the rest of his wine whilst crossing his legs under the table and helping her hand out plates. He finds himself sneaking glances at Jongin, who has most likely fallen asleep already, and Sehun doesn't know if he should coo or crawl under the table in embarrassment. He ends up doing neither of them, and Sehun simply tries focusing on cutting himself a slice of pie whilst Luhan practically quivers in anticipation.

"Jongin, you've never had Mom's apple pie, have you?" Luhan calls over his shoulder as he proceeds to literally place half of the whole pie on his plate, which Sehun figures he would have gotten away with if his mother wasn't sitting right next to him, since she immediately scolds him. "You're missing out, just saying," he adds before shoving a spoonful in his mouth and practically about how good it is. "Jongin, try it, you'll hurt Mom's feelings!"

"I'm tired," Jongin mumbles into the soft fur, only to toss the carpet off of him when he nearly dies of heatstroke. "Why can't you come over here instead?" he asks as he stares up at the shiny crystals hanging from the chandelier. There's so many of them that Jongin worries the entire thing might come crashing down right on top of his face, given how not so light his crystal to Sehun was. The sweet smells of vanilla and apples make his mouth water, but Jongin figures he isn't allowed to sit at the table with the fluffy carpet draped around him, so he remains exactly where he is.

Luhan blinks before shrugging casually. "I guess, why not," he says, seemingly ignoring both Sehun and his mother's protests whilst he grabs Jongin's plate and cuts up a (small) slice. He only nods when his mother tells him not to mess up the carpet before skipping off towards the living room.

Sehun watches as Jongin sits up before Luhan proceeds to dump the plate in his hands. When Jongin proceeds to shove literally the entire slice in his mouth, Sehun can't help but notice how adorable he looks with his ears sticking up in opposite directions with pieces of white fur from the carpet stuck to his tousled hair. Whilst he watches Luhan brush Jongin's ears off, Sehun nearly misses his mouth with his fork when Jongin lies on his back and proceeds to lazily swat at the now torn orange garlands hanging from the chandelier. The sight nearly sets Sehun's chest on fire and he doesn't even notice he's sipping air until he picks up his wine glass and brings it to his lips, only to realize that it's empty.

Hoping Luhan's mother didn't notice, Sehun clears his throat before picking up another piece of pie with his fork and dipping it in vanilla sauce. It's the tastiest apple pie he's ever had in his life and he makes sure to let her know, to which she replies with a cheerful thanks. Sehun swallows and washes it down with some water. It's not until he hears a faint ripping sound, only to see that Jongin has torn the entire garland in half, that he sighs and mutters another apology to Luhan's mother. She only shrugs casually with a laugh, which doesn't really put Sehun at ease.

"No seriously," Sehun blurts out whilst rubbing the back of his neck, "I really am sorry for--" He looks at Jongin again, who beams when he notices Sehun staring at him before waving cheerfully from his spot on the carpet. Sehun briefly feels the rest of his words dying in his throat and he hurriedly stuffs another piece of pie in his mouth. "...Uh, all this."

"It's no problem, really," Luhan's mother replies before tying her thick, black hair up in a ponytail. She goes on to thank Sehun for letting Luhan stay with him for two days straight, and it's not until she starts saying something about Luhan enjoying spending time with Jongin that Sehun (involuntarily) tunes her out, since he's too caught up with staring at Jongin whilst the latter attempts to chew on the garland, only to spit it out, to listen. 

Sehun comes to his senses a moment later and he nods awkwardly before pouring himself another glass of wine. "Uh, yeah, it's also not a...problem, he seems to make Jongin really happy," he says whilst sending her the most polite smile he can muster. He nearly ends up spilling wine all over his hand after he flinches as a result of Jongin standing up and skipping towards them. 

"Sehun, I'm tired," Jongin loudly whines and Sehun only shoves him away when he tries crawling into his lap. Not wanting Jongin to throw a tantrum, Sehun proceeds to spoonfeed him a piece of pie, which Jongin quickly chews up. It only works for a minute, though, and Jongin is back to emitting a series of whines whilst poking Sehun's arm repeatedly shortly after. "I'm tired, I wanna-"

"Hey, who wants to see my candy?" Luhan asks proudly whilst putting his hands on his hips. He ignores his mother telling him to lower his voice before pointing to Jongin. "I know you wanna see! And like I said, no stealing or I'll--" He clamps his mouth shut, promptly swallowing his upcoming threat when his mother threatens to give the rest of the pie to his brother.

Jongin pouts before practically draping himself across Sehun's shoulders whilst the latter continues to spoonfeed him. "Fine," he mumbles into Sehun's hair, which reeks of hairspray, before lifting his head and wrapping his lips around the fork. He wordlessly chews, trying to understand what Sehun and Luhan's mother are discussing before beaming. "But I want Sehun to come with us," he says and jabs Sehun's shoulder.

Luhan raises an eyebrow. "Uh, that just doubles the risk of you stealing from me," he laughs before shaking his head. "Sorry, but no can do, my friend."

Jongin pouts. "Why not?!" he huffs and tightens his grip around Sehun's shoulders. He isn't sure if his sugar rush is being delayed or not, because he feels a hint of fatigue still left in his brain. It's not a lot, but it's enough to make Jongin stomp his foot childishly. "But I want him to come with us!" he exclaims perhaps a little too loudly.

Luhan blinks as he watches Sehun swat Jongin's hand away when the latter attempts to swipe his wine glass. "But I want it to be just me and you," he says, ears and tail twitching in anticipation. "And I have stuff to tell you!! Please???"

Sehun mumbles a quick apology to Luhan's mother, who was in the middle of explaining something to him, before he turns around in his chair. "You heard him," he chuckles whilst ruffling Jongin's hair. He gently brushes a few pieces of white fur out of the black strands, all whilst Jongin continues to whine. "I'll check on you later, okay?"

Jongin eyes Sehun for a moment before slumping his shoulders and sighing loudly. "Okay," he mumbles, vanilla cream off his lips. "But you'll still love me, right? Right? Right?" He grins whilst poking Sehun's cheek with each word. Luhan only blinks.

Sehun mutters yet another apology to Luhan's mother, who doesn't seem at all bothered, before leaning in and kissing Jongin's temple. "Of course I will," he simply says and watches Jongin and Luhan nearly trampling each other to death whilst rushing up the stairs. He hears them rummaging about on the upper floor, presumably in Luhan's room, before clearing his throat and sending Luhan's mother an apologetic smile. "Uh, I'm sorry about-- Don't mind him, he's just a little tired--" He doesn't himself unable to finish his sentence when he hears Jongin's loud shriek a second later. It only reminds Sehun of the noise Jongin made when the latter ed in his arms last night, and Sehun doesn't even realize that he's practically breaking his fork in half until Luhan's mother chuckles. "Uh, I...sorry--"

"Lu Han, be nice," she calls when Luhan emits a loud, unattractive hyena-like guffaw shortly afterwards, and she simply shakes her head in amusement before sending Sehun a smile. "Like I said, he seems very fond of you." She gestures at the shiny crystal in Sehun's suit pocket, the latter only nodding. She's silent for a minute before smiling with kind eyes. "You know, Lu Han has told me all about him and how much fun he has staying with you two," she says whilst scraping vanilla sauce off her plate. "I mean, you know what they say about the difficulties of us and them living together?"

Sehun swallows before nodding slowly. All too well, he thinks. "Uh, yeah, I have," he replies, unconsciously ignoring her first remark.

"You must be very fond of him," she chuckles, only to sigh when a loud crashing noise is heard from upstairs. She scolds Luhan for the nth time before apologizing to Sehun and sending the latter a polite smile.

Sehun blinks, trying to ignore the fluttering in his chest as he eyes the empty plate in front of him. "Yeah, I--" He blinks again when a loud slamming noise nearly makes him jump, and he promptly yells at Jongin not to slam doors before looking at her. "I really am." He feels the crystal in his pocket weighing his suit jacket down, and he contemplates taking it out when he subsequently feels it warming up his chest from the inside. 

"That's good," she hums with a slow nod. "Because I can tell how fond he is of you." She chuckles when Sehun only stares at her. "Trust a mother to know that," she says, only to blink and go silent, and it doesn't take Sehun long to realize that her wine glass is missing. She doesn't seem to pay it any mind, however, before she stands up and picks up the batch of leftover pie. "I must have left on the counter whilst I helped Lu Han prepare the sauce," she hums.

Sehun sits motionless in his chair for what feels like forever until he sighs and shakes his head, because he knows exactly where her glass went. Surely enough, it's not sitting on the counter when he takes a look, and he mutter a low excuse before getting out of his chair.

---