---

"Remember, no stealing, I've counted every single piece so I'll know if you take more than one," Luhan says for the five hundredth time as he watches Jongin explore the upper floor. "Mom bought that for me, isn't it awesome?" he chuckles when Jongin picks up a lantern shaped like a ghost. Luhan leans against the wall outside his room whilst his tail sways restlessly, only to fly forward and yank Jongin backwards when he reaches for a closed door. "That's Mom and Dad's room, they say it's off limits!" he squawks.

Jongin huffs. If there's two things that completely pique his curiosity every time he sees and hears it, it's the word 'stuff' and closed doors, and his ears twitch in curiosity as he eyes the wooden door before him. It's not until the strong smell of women's perfume hits his nose that he gags and rushes inside Luhan's room. The smell of candy immediately makes his eyes twinkle and Jongin's eyes quickly land on the underside of Luhan's bed, but he doesn't get a chance to get on all fours and check it out when Luhan scrambles in front of him.

"I earned it so I get to take it out," Luhan hisses and he makes sure to keep Jongin at an arm's distance before bending down and sticking his hand underneath his bed. He proceeds to pull out a blue pillowcase full of colorful candies and Jongin briefly wonders if it's worth risking their friendship by grabbing as many taffies as he can and running out of the house. "Some people gave me pennies and toothbrushes, but I gave those to Dad," he adds, running a hand through his auburn hair with a proud smile whilst he watches Jongin pick and prod amongst the pile. "Y'know, I'm glad Mom let me add the hook, since it probably got me way more candy."

Eyes roaming around the colorful pile before him, Jongin moves into a cross legged position on the carpet. There's so much candy inside the pillowcase that he has trouble knowing where to look. He has no idea what type of candy Sehun likes, but Jongin soon settles for a blue piece of candy that looks a lot like the ones he received (and that Sehun used) yesterday. Jongin stuffs it in his pocket after getting Luhan's approval, and after a full minute of intense bickering, Jongin manages to convince Luhan to give him a piece, as well. After unwrapping a yellow taffy and popping it in his mouth, Jongin tosses the wrapper over his shoulder before standing up and looking around the room. It looks almost the same as it did years ago, aside from the fact Luhan must have convinced his mother to put a TV in his room, but other than that, Jongin figures that everything is in its usual place.

"Sorry about Mom," Luhan huffs, stuffing three pieces of chocolate in his mouth before wiping his hands on his blanket. "You're lucky Sehun isn't as overprotective and embarrassing as she is sometimes," he adds with an eye roll. He walks over to the large, beige cat tree sitting in a corner, which has gotten progressively more worn out and faded since Jongin last saw it, before sitting himself down on the hammock. "He sure is scary when he's mad, just saying." Whilst Luhan might have been small enough to fit inside the rather tiny hammock as a 14 year old, Jongin finds himself giggling at the way Luhan's long legs stick out, as well as how the latter practically has to squeeze himself into a decently comfortable position. 

Jongin shrugs. "He's not my dad, though," he mumbles and suddenly feels awfully thirsty. Since he's much too shy to go downstairs and ask Luhan's mother for a glass of water, he opts to smack his lips together instead. He hears Sehun laughing downstairs, which sort of makes him feel all squishy on the inside.

"Isn't he?" Luhan asks, brows raised as he asks Jongin to toss him another piece of candy, after warning the latter not to steal anything. "I mean, he kinda is? You're technically his wife, like Mom is to Dad, and he takes care of you and stuff," he says before running the tips of his fingers along the surface of the scratching board attached to one of the posts. It doesn't take him long to notice Jongin wetting his lips, and he hurriedly swallows before sending the latter a smirk. "You thirsty?"

Jongin blinks. "But I thought he was my--" He cuts himself off, since he doesn't understand how Sehun could possibly be both his father and boyfriend at the same time. He squashes the thought before nodding vigorously. He watches as Luhan suddenly descends the cat tree before the latter reaches underneath his bed and smirks again. Jongin only blinks in awe. "Where did you--"

"I'm nifty, my friend," Luhan chuckles as he holds up the full glass of wine with one hand. Jongin worries he might drop it as he sets it down on the floor between them. The bittersweet aroma immediately fills the small room and Jongin doesn't know if he loves it or hates it as he scooches closer. "I don't think Mom will mind, it's not like it's poison," he adds, dramatically throwing his hands out in front of Jongin's face at the last word. Jongin flinches and Luhan emits a loud sigh of relief when the former barely avoids kicking the glass over. "Well, good thing you have a best friend who can sense when you're thirsty, right??"

Scratching the back of his twitching ear, Jongin bites his lip. His entire body is buzzing with curiosity, but something makes him bite his lip in reluctance. "What if--" He flinches when he accidentally knocks over a cup sitting on a stool behind him (which only makes him realize how small Luhan's room really is). "I mean..."

Luhan huffs before rolling his eyes and chuckling. "I thought you were thirsty," he says before picking up a chocolate bar and biting half of it off in one swift motion. He's also eyeing the red liquid with stars in his eyes. "Or was I wrong?" he asks, crumbs falling from his mouth as he speaks with his mouth open.

"I am," Jongin whines, not even realizing he's scooching even closer until his toes nudge the foot of the glass. "But what if--" He bites his lip reluctantly, remembering how unwilling Sehun was to let him have a taste earlier. "What if Sehun gets mad?" he asks, crossing his legs as he taps the rim of the glass, which is sporting a faded, red lip mark. Jongin knows for a fact that his curiosity is definitely going to end up getting the best of him, and he doesn't even need to ask to know that Luhan is thinking the same exact thing. 

Sighing, Luhan shrugs. "What harm can it do?" he sighs before sending Jongin a look. "I mean, it's just a drink, right? Why would Sehun get mad at you for that? Does he get mad at you for drinking water and milk?" He raises an eyebrow at Jongin, who slowly shakes his head. "Exactly." He chuckles before his lips. "It makes no sense! Like, I know Mom and Dad don't get mad at me for drinking those things, I mean, they don't get mad at me for drinking milk since I'm allergic, but still, what difference does it make? It just smells funny, that's all, I think." Staring at the glass, he points to Jongin. "You go first, in case it is, like, poisoned or something."

Jongin stares at the glass, which is so full he worries it might spill all over him if he so much as touches it. He keeps one ear pointed in the direction of the staircase, in case Sehun might magically hear what they're talking about and yell at them, and the other pointed at Luhan as the latter stares at him in anticipation. Jongin bites his lip in hesitation even when he doesn't hear anything that sounds like Sehun running up the stairs, but it's not until he hears the familiar sound of Sehun's laughter that he picks up the glass. A bird subsequently flies into the window, which makes them both jump, but Luhan doesn't even pay it any attention, which Jongin figures should say something about how excited the former really is.

Tail swaying, Jongin wrinkles his nose when the smell of sour grapes hits him, and he nearly tosses the glass away from him until Luhan sends him a look. Before Jongin knows it, he's bringing the glass, which is a lot heavier than he expected, to his lips and he doesn't even make it past a small sip before Luhan stops him. Jongin watches Luhan take the glass back before wiping his lips. Surprisingly enough, he can only taste its sweetness and it sort of reminds Jongin of a fruit drink one of his foster mothers gave him once. The thought only makes his ears twitch as he watches Luhan take a sip of his own.

"I mean, this is my Mom's and I'm her son, so I get dibs on most of it," Luhan says and his lips. He also doesn't seem all that bothered by the sour taste and smell. Jongin only squawks when he proceeds to down half the glass in one swig. Although he clearly regrets it when his entire face erupts in a grimace, and he sets the glass down before sticking his tongue, which is dark red, out. "Okay, note to self, drink slowly--" He coughs before pointing to the glass. "Or it'll burn your insides, just saying."

Jongin tries his hardest not to laugh as he picks up the glass, which is now a whole lot lighter, and he doesn't even realize he's downed the entire thing until he opens his eyes and sees that it's empty. He wipes his mouth, wincing when he briefly feels his tongue and chest burning. To say that he's no longer thirsty would be an understatement, and Jongin watches as Luhan smacks his lips a few times before the latter stands up. Jongin figures he should probably tell Luhan to remind his mother to get him a bigger room, since Luhan nearly stumbles over his own two feet whilst walking over to the closet. 

"To think that they made such a big deal over essentially fruit juice," Luhan scoffs whilst he rummages through his closet. "Man, what a letdown." He puts on a black pirate hat before slipping into a vest of the same color, and Jongin's ears perk up when he proceeds to put a silver hook on his hand. "It's just plastic, but it's so much cooler than not having a hook at all, don'tcha think?" he chuckles before standing on his tiptoes.

Humming to himself, Jongin runs his tongue across his lips. He figures he should ask Luhan for another piece of pie after a wave of fatigue washes over him so unexpectedly that he has to grab onto the edge of the TV table for support. Jongin doesn't get a chance to ask for more pie, however, when the feeling disappears without a trace, but he doesn't get a chance to feel relieved about it, because before he knows it, he's scrambling to his feet and opening the window after he worries he might sweat to death. 

As he feels the cold air hit his face, Jongin sees the crow that flew into the window a minute ago, and he figures he might be able to grab it if he climbs out onto the roof. He's about to place a foot on Luhan's bedside table and hoist himself up when something cold and wet hits him right in the face, which startles Jongin to the point that he stumbles backwards and nearly slips on one of Luhan's comic books lying on the floor.

Covering his eyes, Jongin peeks through a crack between his fingers and scoffs when he sees Luhan laughing loudly. "What was that for--"

"Your scream just now, do you know how loud that was?" Luhan practically yells and he flops down on his bed whilst emitting a string of laughs that nearly has Jongin ripping his own ears off, whilst the latter fights the urge to point out that Luhan is most likely speaking much louder than he is. His mother yells at them to keep it down and he snickers. "Anyway, my brother got me these last week and I suddenly got this urge to use them," he says after calming down ever so slightly before getting to his feet and changing out of his costume. Jongin doesn't miss the way he nearly stumbles face first into his closet in the process. "Here, he got me two, so you can use this one--"

Jongin raises an eyebrow and he's about to ask Luhan what he's talking about when he suddenly registers a bright green object flying towards his face, and he shrieks again when he just barely manages to catch it with one hand. After assuring himself that he hasn't gotten his forehead crushed, Jongin takes a look at the plastic water gun in his hand and blinks. It reminds him a lot of the long, brown guns - the ones used by people, in the nature documentaries he tends to watch with Sehun from time to time.

"What is th--" Jongin flinches when Luhan proceeds to fire his own gun, and Jongin squawks when he subsequently feels his entire ear getting drenched with water. It runs down the back of his head and it's not until Jongin feels it trailing down his back that he springs off the floor.

The next thing Jongin knows, he's chasing Luhan all throughout the upper floor (whilst trying not trip over his own two feet), until Luhan somehow manages to corner him (which sort of makes Jongin irritated, since he has no idea why his legs suddenly chose to betray him by flat out refusing to make him run properly). Through his hair, which is practically sticking to his forehead as it drips with water, Jongin sees Luhan standing in front of him, the latter cocking his gun. It's not until Luhan suddenly fires that Jongin quickly jumps aside, only to collide with an open door, promptly closing it under his weight as he watches water droplets trickling down the wall. 

"Jongin, are you slamming doors?" Jongin hears Sehun calling from downstairs, and for some reason, Jongin finds himself bursting into a fit of giggles, Luhan following suit. Jongin figures he must have slammed his back against the door a little too forcefully just now, because he suddenly finds himself unable to stand upright. He slowly sinks down the floor into a cross legged position whilst inspecting the gun in his hands. The water barrel is nearly empty and Jongin pouts as he eyes Luhan's gun, which is pretty much still full to the brim.

Luhan dries his hair by shaking his head back and forth, nearly losing his balance as he does, and he plays with his own gun before sending Jongin a cheeky grin. "Wanna use this on 'em?" he asks, his eyes already flashing, his tail nearly falling off from how hard he's wagging it back and forth. He only huffs when Jongin blinks. "Come on, it's hot as hell in here anyway, they'll just be thankful that we're doing them a favor, right?" He proceeds to tug at his collar, only to jump when he suddenly hiccups. Luhan doesn't even hesitate before squirting water right between Jongin's eyes when the latter bursts into laughter at the sudden noise.

Playing with his toes, Jongin mumbles something incoherent under his breath. No matter how hard he tries, he can't bring himself to think of a reason not to go downstairs and cool down Sehun and Luhan's mother with their water guns, since, as much as he doesn't want to admit that Luhan is right, the temperature in the entire house must have increased by a hundred degrees. In fact, Jongin wonders how on Earth he could have possibly missed it as he, too, reaches up and unconsciously tugs at the collar of his soaked blouse. It almost scares Jongin how much he's suddenly unable to think for longer than 20 seconds before he feels his head clouding over, and he finds himself nodding vigorously before Luhan beams.

"It's a favor on our part, so if anything, they should be thankful," Luhan chuckles and helps Jongin to his feet, only to squawk when the latter stumbles and nearly crashes right into him. "No more pie for you or you'll get all crazy," he says with a laugh and Jongin doesn't miss the way he mixes up a few words halfway through his sentence, but Luhan doesn't seem to notice as he dramatically gestures down the stairs.

As he approaches the stairs, Jongin briefly wonders if he should just ask Luhan to carry him downstairs to the kitchen instead, since his head is spinning so much he figures possibly tripping and breaking his neck definitely isn't out of the equation, especially if he chooses to take the stairs three at a time like always. Jongin sort of worries Luhan might have poisoned him with his candy, but he gives up on plotting his revenge against the brunet when his head starts spinning again. After a minor inner meltdown, Jongin resorts to cling onto the railing for dear life as he descends the staircase one step a minute. He barely manages to catch a framed photo of whom he assumes is Luhan's older brother as it falls from its hook, after he briefly loses his balance and scrambles for something to grab onto.

Luhan puts a finger to his lips when they reach the bottom a minute later, and he gestures at the latter to stand behind him. When they peek their heads around the corner, they immediately notice Sehun, who is sitting with his back to them, and Luhan's mother as she wraps the batch of leftover pie with saran wrap. Jongin can barely stifle his giggle as he eyes the (empty) water gun in his hands, before both him and Luhan scramble to hide behind the wall when Sehun suddenly gets out of his chair and stretches his legs.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back," Sehun says to Luhan's mother, who politely hums something in response, before he pours himself glass of water and downs it all in one swig. He really regrets sitting in the same position for an hour straight since his legs feel like they're about to fall off any second. For a brief moment, he feels sort of worried, since the upper floor has been dead silent for nearly five minutes. But Sehun doesn't get a chance to think about it any longer when he suddenly feels something cold and wet hit the back of his neck, which makes him jump five feet in the air. Loud giggles subsequently fill the air and Sehun doesn't even know why he's surprised when he sees Jongin and Luhan practically rolling around on the floor in laughter. 

"Man, I was right, you really are scary when you're angry," Luhan cackles and attempts to fire at Sehun's face, missing the latter's hair by an inch. He tries again, only to groan when he realizes that his water gun is empty. "I'm outta water," he practically yells whilst scrambling to his feet and dashing off towards the bathroom, all while ignoring his mother telling him to be careful. He manages to yell something along the lines of 'I'm fine, Mom, jeez' over his shoulder before slipping on his own sock, narrowly avoiding landing flat on his face after he tumbles to the floor.

It takes Sehun five whole minutes to calm Jongin down after the latter subsequently bursts into a series of loud laughter. After a few more minutes, Jongin goes completely silent and Sehun doesn't even bother protesting when the shorter climbs into his lap. They both turn their heads towards the bathroom when the sound of a bathtub being filled is heard, and Sehun can only watch as Luhan's mother excuses herself before rushing over. Sehun finds himself tuning her out whilst he cards his fingers through Jongin's silky smooth hair, his fluffy ear tickling Sehun's cheek as he leans backwards and rests his head on Sehun's shoulder. 

"You still weigh a ton, don't forget that," Sehun chuckles and hopes he doesn't get his face slashed when he playfully pokes Jongin's sides. He almost wishes he had gotten his face ruined, though, since the loud scream that leaves Jongin's lips subsequently has Sehun worrying about the state of his eardrums. "Not so loud, we're still guests, you know," he says, only to blink when he hears a loud hiccup. 

"Whoopsies," Jongin says before he slaps a hand over his mouth, before giggling loudly. The sour taste from the wine still lingers on his tongue, and now that he thinks about it, he doesn't even realize how much his entire body is buzzing with energy until he eyes his water gun, which is empty and lying on the floor. Jongin hears Luhan arguing with his mother about whether or not he's allowed to refill his water gun in the bathtub, before his head starts spinning and clouding over simultaneously. As much as Jongin's brain wants him to spring off his chair and run a hundred laps around Luhan's house, his body simply isn't having it for reasons unknown. Jongin makes a mental note to avoid sweet things for at least a week (correction, a day), a tired hum leaving his lips when he feels his entire head growing heavy. 

"You tired?" Sehun asks, his words muffled as he kisses Jongin's hair. He eyes the window and blinks when he notices how dark it is outside. After checking his watch and hearing a concerningly loud splashing noise coming from the bathroom, his eyes roam around the dimly lit kitchen before he snakes an arm around Jongin's waist. Sehun deliberately avoids resting a hand on Jongin's thigh in fear of the latter possibly getting any ideas, even though it's definitely difficult, almost impossible. "Try not to fall asleep, okay?" he hums into the crook of Jongin's neck whilst the latter plays with his fingers.

Hiccuping again, Jongin mumbles something along the lines of 'Okay', even though a wave of fatigue washes over him less than five seconds later. He isn't sure if it's the sleep deprivation or declining sugar rush that's messing with his head, but either way, he finds himself unable to keep his eyes open for longer than five seconds before they slip shut. When Sehun lightly nudges him to stay awake, Jongin only whines, and he seriously hates Sehun's lap for being as comfy as it is.

In an attempt at keeping himself occupied, Jongin turns around so he's facing Sehun. Jongin isn't even sure why his brain is running at a million miles per hour whilst his body feels like it's being tramped by an elephant; it sort of makes him panic and he attempts to calm himself down by tugging on Sehun's hair. It only keeps him entertained for a minute, though, which only makes Jongin huff in annoyance, but his eyes quickly light up when he spots the shiny crystal in Sehun's pocket. Jongin doesn't touch it in fear of contaminating its shininess, so he simply pokes Sehun's cheek instead. "It's pretty, right?? Right??"

Sehun gently swats Jongin's hand away before nodding. "It is," he hums and he can't help but think that there's something different about Jongin's voice. He dismisses the thought, though. "But I'm still mad at you for taking it without asking first," he says and instantly regrets it when Jongin's ears droop. "You should always ask somebody before--" He cuts himself off when Jongin hiccups again, and it's not until the distinct smell of red wine mixed with candy fills the small space between them that Sehun blinks. "Did you steal her glass?" he asks sternly.

Jongin shakes his head vigorously, and he really wishes he'd done so a little slower when he nearly passes out from lightheadedness. "I-- It was Luhan, he--" He hiccups again and fiddles with Sehun's tie. "It was him, he stole it from--" He hiccups again. "--her." A feeling of agitation hits him out of nowhere and it's not until he feels his head growing heavy again that he mewls in irritation. "Stop being mad, I hate when you're mad." He angrily jabs Sehun square in the chest and nearly falls off the latter's lap when a sudden fatigue hits him.

Sehun isn't even listening, since he's fully preoccupied with frantically searching the web for side effects of alcohol consumption in cat hybrids to listen. Whilst he keeps Jongin at an arm's distance to save his chest from permanent bruising, Sehun exhales in relief when he reads that there are two well known side effects to alhocol consumption when it comes to cat hybrids; extreme fatigue or extreme hyperactiveness, with both of them being the two most common. It's not until he reads that said side effects tend to wear off as quickly as they come, and usually without any following nausea, that Sehun puts his phone away and looks up at Jongin. Sehun figures that he doesn't even need to guess which side of the spectrum Jongin falls under when Jongin actually does fall asleep, and Sehun thankfully manages to grab him before he can slide off his lap and hit the floor.

"Stop being mad," Jongin whines, only hissing when his fatigue takes the form of a dull headache, which seems to worsen every time he speaks. He figures that the only way to feel better is to not speak at all, and even though Jongin would rather choose Sehun's lap over any other place to sleep, he hates the thought of sleeping sitting up. So, without as much as a word, Jongin fumbles out of Sehun's lap, nearly falling backwards when he stands up. He barely registers Sehun's squawk of surprise when he proceeds to climb onto the table and stand on top of it. 

It doesn't take long for Jongin to pick up on the warm spot on the tablecloth from the pots earlier, and he simply gets on all fours before crawling over to it and practically flopping down with a dull thud (Jongin may or may not have forgotten that tabletops aren't nearly as soft as a mattress). Thankfully, his headache disappears seconds later and Jongin doesn't even realize he's unconsciously kneading the orange tablecloth whilst purring low in his throat until he opens his eyes shortly after. However, the harsh light only triggers another series of painful headaches and he hurriedly squeezes his eyes shut. The tabletop is stone hard and a little too flat for his liking, but Jongin already knows that getting up and flopping down on Luhan's bed is out of the question, so he simply sighs.

"Jongin, get off the table, for God's sake," Sehun hisses before another loud splashing noise fills the house. "I know you're tired and all but I'm serious, if you don't get off the table right this instant, I'll--" He doesn't even bother finishing his sentence when Jongin simply curls up and wraps his tail around his ankle, and it's not until Jongin proceeds to grab the tablecloth before placing it on top of him like a blanket that Sehun buries his face in his hands. Since Jongin isn't facing him, Sehun has no idea if Jongin is actually sleeping or simply pretending to be asleep to mess with him, but it's not until a crow flies in through one of the open windows in the kitchen, which is closely followed by Jongin curling up even more, that Sehun figures he knows the answer.

Almost as if on cue, the bathroom door bursts open before Luhan, who is soaking wet from head to toe and stumbling with each step, practically flies into the kitchen like an orange bullet, and Sehun only blinks when Luhan proceeds to shoot the stressed animal with his water gun several times. He misses every time, though, which only causes his grin of amusement to disappear before a predatory scowl appears on his face, ears flattening and tail wagging vigorously as he keeps his eyes glued on the black bird. Sehun figures that Luhan doesn't even know that he and Jongin are also in the kitchen when Luhan emits a loud hiss before literally flying through the air, swiping at the bird and missing it by an inch.

One swipe quickly turns into two, which turns into three and four, and after a few seconds, Sehun finds himself attempting to calm Luhan down, along with the latter's mother, after he climbs onto the counter and falls (and ends up bringing half the contents of the fine china plates down, as well). Luhan doesn't even seem to notice anything but the bird he's trying to catch, which soon becomes apparent when it flies onto the ceiling lamp, which has Sehun flying over and yanking Luhan off the kitchen table by the back of the shirt when he jumps onto the table and nearly steps on Jongin's hand. Jongin is, surprisingly enough, still asleep, which Sehun is sort of really thankful for, since he doesn't think he would be able handle with both of them at once (even with the help of Luhan's mother).

As black feathers continue to fall from the ceiling, Sehun ends up contemplating if he should wake Jongin up and either let the latter sleep somewhere else or simply tell him that it's time to leave, especially when the bird flies past him and misses his face with its sharp claws by five inches. If Sehun has learned anything today, it's that Jongin definitely wasn't lying when he said he was tired, and that Luhan definitely is a great hunter (he sometimes moves at such fast speeds that Sehun briefly wonders if he's in two places at once), since Luhan has been reduced to nothing but an orange flash as he zooms around the kitchen and destroys pretty much every single thing in his path. Jongin suddenly stirs in his sleep and Sehun inwardly screams, because the last thing he wants right now is for Jongin to wake up and throw another temper tantrum over Luhan rushing around everywhere.

"Stupid bird," Luhan growls, seemingly to himself, eyes flashing when the bird lands on the table three inches from Jongin's head. Cocking his now loaded gun, he fires at the crow, only to miss and end up squirting water right in Jongin's face instead. He mutters a low 'Whoopsies' when Jongin sits up and whines in irritation. "You were in the way of the the--" he hiccups before lazily pointing. "--the thing." He rushes towards the table to catch the bird before it can fly away, only to squawk when Jongin suddenly tackles him to the floor with a hiss.

Sehun and Luhan's mother both rush forward and attempt to yank them apart, but Jongin and Luhan seem not to notice them whilst they roll around on the messy floor and tug at each other's hair and claw each other's faces (Sehun is well aware of the dangerous of stepping between arguing felines). Inevitably, with Luhan being the only energetic one between the two, Jongin soon finds himself on his back with Luhan sitting on top of him, a predatory glint in the latter's eyes as his orange tails sways in agitation. Jongin is seconds away from clawing Luhan's eyes out for disturbing his sleep when he sees Sehun hovering above him. Jongin instantly feels his chest heating up and he promptly ignores Luhan's existence before beaming up at the blond.

"See? This looks like us yesterday," Jongin squees, not even aware of how loud he's talking until Sehun shushes him. "Doesn't it? Right?" He only giggles when Sehun clears his throat and mouths an apology to Luhan's mother (who is too busy sending her son strict glares to notice). "Right? Right?"

Luhan blinks, the deadly flash disappearing from his eyes as he looks at Jongin. "What looks like what?" he asks, cocking his head to the side whilst his gaze flickers back and forth between Sehun and Jongin. "What're you guys--"

Jongin stretches on the cold, tile floor before rolling onto his side and lazily poking Sehun's foot. He quickly wraps his arms around Sehun's legs, his headache gone without a trace whilst he hums to himself. "When we did it," he says and he lowkey expects Sehun to be happy, which is why he only blinks when Sehun sighs loudly.

"Did what?" Luhan blinks, his tail now swaying with curiosity as he promptly ignores his mother telling him to apologize for scratching Jongin. "What? Did what? C'mon, tell me, tell me, I gave you a piece of candy, now tell me!!" He's about to yank on Jongin's hair in impatience before the latter speaks.

"," Jongin replies whilst fiddling with the hem of Sehun's pants. He's honestly surprised that he even managed to remember the word, and he simply chuckles at Luhan's dumbfounded expression. "Yeah, you know, the film--"

"That's ???" Luhan squawks, his whole life seemingly flashing before his very eyes before he sends his mother a glare. "That means you lied to me," he huffs at her before crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. The curious glint doesn't leave his eyes, though, and he jabs Jongin's shoulder. "So that means your love is like, a lot better now, right? Right? Right? And it's all thanks to me!" He grins proudly before giving himself a loud round of applause. He looks up at Sehun before chuckling. "I told Jongin that since he's your princess, he's on the bottom, like, you're on top of him, like in the clip! I was right, right?"

Sehun simply clears his throat, refusing to look Luhan's mother in the eyes before he bends down and taps Jongin's shoulder. It doesn't take him long to figure out that Jongin has fallen asleep again, with his arms securely locked around his ankles, and it's not until Jongin curls up right on top of his feet that Sehun screams inwardly. "Jongin, I think it's best we head home since you're so tired," he lowly says and figures he might as well bolt himself to the floor forever when Jongin doesn't respond. "Jongin, come on-"

"Man, what a sleepyhead," Luhan whines, still buzzing with energy as he crawls forward and pokes Jongin's head. The latter only sighs in his sleep, which makes him shrug. "Y'know, we used to have sleepovers when we were younger and you wouldn't believe how long it took for him to get up! I once had time to wake up, eat breakfast and go to the zoo with my brother by the time he called me and asked me where the heck I was." He rolls his eyes before chuckling at the memory. "Like, he's such a deep sleeper too, man, like, Mom once came into my room and started vacuuming it while he was still in his sleeping bag and he didn't even wake up, isn't that crazy??? I mean, she didn't do it on purpose, obviously, but--" He whips his head aside when he hears what Sehun assumes is the bird flying about in the living room, and he's out of the kitchen in less than a second. His mother only sends Sehun an apologetic smile before running after him.

Sehun remains standing in the middle of the kitchen for what feels like forever until he runs a hand through his hair. Pots and pans, as well as porcelain plates (which miraculously enough didn't break in the fall) and God knows what else litter the floor and he briefly feels sorry for Luhan's mother before tapping Jongin's back. Jongin only responds by tightening his hold around Sehun's legs, nearly making the latter topple over. "Jongin, we're leaving, isn't that what you wanted?"

"I'm tired," mumbles, practically in his sleep. Even though his head is no longer threatening to combust, his entire body not only feels like it's being pressed down on a bed of needles, but also whilst heating up to a hundred degrees simultaneously. Based on what he has heard from his friends about being in heat, Jongin figures that he might as well be, too, if it wasn't for the fact that the kitchen is spinning, which Jongin only comes to realize after scrambling to tighten his grasp around Sehun's ankles before he can fall off the face of the Earth.

Sehun has to grab onto the nearest chair to prevent himself from falling over. He opens his mouth to speak, only to close it again and blink when a loud crashing sound fills the air, which is closely followed by Luhan's mother exclaiming Luhan's name. Sehun only sighs before bending down and ruffling Jongin's hair. "That's why we're going home, silly," he chuckles and tries his best to ignore Luhan's subsequent shriek of 'Mom, let me go!!!'. "Jongin, are you listening? Let's-"

"Can we sleep here?" Jongin murmurs and fights the impulse to tear his blouse into pieces when he feels what he assumes is lava flowing into every crevice of his organs. His shoulder is starting to ache from lying on his side but he pays it no mind as he lazily taps the floor next to him. "Can you sleep here?" he asks and nearly scares the living daylights out of himself when he hiccups, much to Sehun's amusement. After a minute, he has to twitch his ears in all directions in an attempt to cool himself down, which barely has any effect. "I wanna stay here and play with Luhan--"

Hearing Luhan's mother chasing Luhan all through the living room, Sehun runs a hand through his hair. "It's probably best if we sleep at home, don't you think?" he softly says, only to blink. "And I think it's a good idea if we leave right about now, to be honest," he adds and figurs that Jongin should stand himself corrected when a Halloween decoration comes flying towards the kitchen. Sehun watches as it slides across the floor and comes to a brief stop inches from Jongin's head. Sehun has to bend down and yank it out of Jongin's hands when he proceeds to grab it and unconsciously chew on it.

"But I'm not even tired!" Jongin exclaims and attempts to prove his point by getting up, only to lose his balance and crash right into Sehun before he can stand upright. "I think I ate too much food," he mumbles with a huff, kneading Sehun's chest and beaming when he presses his palm against the shiny crystal in the latter's suit pocket. Jongin nearly topples over again whilst he scrambles to rummage through his back pocket, and practically shoves the blue candy right in Sehun's face. "I got this for you!!!"

Sehun eyes the candy, the sharp wrapper mere inches from stabbing him in the eye, before ruffling Jongin's hair. He's halfway through unwrapping it, with Jongin watching with stars in his eyes, when a loud crashing noise (which is closely followed by a brief cracking noise), fills the air. Sehun only blinks (and seriously wishes he didn't just hear Jongin's all too casual remark of 'Luhan just broke its neck') before chewing up the blueberry flavored candy, only sighing in exasperation when Jongin proceeds to charge towards the living room. Sehun can only watch as Jongin trips over his own two feet before he tumbles down to the floor. As Sehun expected, Jongin doesn't seem bothered by nearly falling on his face. In fact, Jongin simply presses his hands into the soft carpet and it's not until he makes a move to lie down and curl up that Sehun walks over and taps his shoulder.

When Jongin only hums something in response, Sehun has to grab his arms before lifting him until he's in a (half-assed) sitting position, and Sehun figures that the stereotype about cats practically being liquids must be true, since Jongin quite literally spills back onto the carpet with a whine of protest. "Jongin, get up, we're leaving," Sehun says, worried that they might be bothering Luhan's mother with their very existence whilst he hears her yell something about blood on the couch. "Come on, we're leaving," he says again and successfully manages to pull Jongin to his feet. It soon becomes obvious that trying to get Jongin to walk to the door is out of the question, and Sehun ends up making his way towards the hallway whilst Jongin clings to his leg like a baby koala. At least I don't have to carry him, Sehun thinks before grabbing Jongin's jacket.

"I don't wanna," Jongin murmurs and lightly swats at his jacket after Sehun holds it up and tells him to put it on. He only crosses his arms over his chest in protest when Sehun sends him a look. "I don't wanna, it's too hot!" he whines, taking a step back and nearly tripping over a pair of Luhan's sneakers. If Jongin is going to be honest, he isn't really feeling hot anymore (he figures that maybe he's just looking for an excuse to get out of having to wear his jacket), he's just so tired that he thinks it's a mystery that he's able to stay on his feet for longer than thirty seconds without falling over. "It's too hot, I don't wanna--"

"Suit yourself," Sehun chuckles before playfully dumping Jongin's jacket right on top of the latter's head. He's about to yell goodbye to Luhan's mother, wherever she may be, before a hooded figure suddenly jumps out right in front of them, which practically has Jongin scrambling into Sehun's arms as they both jump five feet in the air.

The entire house is silent for a fraction of a second before a sound that Jongin knows can only belong to Luhan fills the air. Surely enough, when he looks over his shoulder, he sees none other than Luhan, whose high must have worn off recently, as he laughs his chin off on the hallway carpet. He's wearing a black hoodie that Jongin remembers his mother gifting him on his birthday, and Luhan has to stop laughing when he comes dangerously close to laughing himself to death. "Man, dear God, did you-- Your faces--" He nearly chokes on his own words and Jongin comes to the conclusion that laughing whilst attempting to speak is not a good idea. "Holy , your faces, that was gold, if only I knew how to take a proper video, you two would be all over the web," he adds whilst wiping tears from his eyes.

Jongin only sends Luhan an irritated look, but he doesn't even know why, since he soon realizes that the adrenaline must have scared the fatigue right out of him. As he unlatches himself from Sehun's shoulders, which he might have accidentally ended up crushing in surprise just now, Jongin feels his usual energy returning to his system as he bounces up and down (Sehun figures that whoever wrote the article he read online definitely wasn't lying about the side effects suddenly disappearing in the blink of an eye). "Did you get it???" he asks, eyes twinkling.

Luhan nods, a proud grin spreading across his entire face when he pulls out whatever is left of the crow from behind his back. As he holds it up in the air, both he and Jongin erupt into a fit of loud giggles when Sehun emits a noise of pure disgust. "Calm down, blondie, they're tasty once you get to try 'em," he chuckles before pointing to his oversized hoodie. "Mom made me change, I haven't worn this thing since I was basically a ," he adds and it's not until he takes a step forward into the light that Jongin notices the blood smeared across his face. "Hopefully you didn't steal any of my candy whilst I was M.I.A."

Jongin shakes his head and Sehun has to stifle a gag when a puddle of blood gradually forms by Luhan's (white) socks. "I didn't take anything," Jongin huffs and raises an eyebrow. "What does that even mean?" he asks, not even trying to hide how much his mouth is watering whilst he eyes the catch in Luhan's hand.

It's Luhan's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You dunno what a is?" he asks before taking a large bite, and Sehun has to place a hand on Jongin's shoulder when the latter attempts to rush forward. "That means you're basically still a ," he laughs and accidentally spits all over the place (Sehun is suddenly awfully glad that he's standing behind Jongin). He winces when he stumbles slightly. "Man, there must've been something in that pie, I knew she was trying to poison me--"

Sehun runs a hand down his face and it's not until Jongin proceeds to ask him what a is that he asks Jongin to put his shoes on. As Jongin practically flops onto the carpet below, Sehun eyes Luhan, who is happily chewing away. It's not until Luhan casually picks out an intestine before proceeding to slurp it like a strand of spaghetti that Sehun has to look away. "Must you do that right in front of us?" he asks in exasperation whilst letting Jongin lean against his leg.

"Don't tell me you're jealous." Genuine surprise laces Luhan's words before he swallows loudly. When Sehun only mutters a low 'Nevermind', he takes another bite before huffing. "Fine. You know I'm not much for sharing, but I'll let this one slide since I'm obviously better than you at hunting." And with that being said, he takes a step forward and the next two minutes are spent with Sehun practically slapping Luhan's lips off when the latter repeatedly attempts to shove the feathery carcass right in his face. "Mom always tells me to eat veggies I don't like since I've never tasted them, so why don't you follow the same rule?!?!"

Sehun slaps Luhan's hand away. He seriously wonders how somebody in their right mind could compare not wanting to eat certain vegetables to not wanting to be whacked in the face with a dead animal, but he keeps the thought to himself before telling Luhan to cut it out for the five hundredth time. In truth, Sehun is a lot more worried about which one of them will be the first to end up kicking Jongin in the head as they shuffle around (or rather, as Sehun attempts to save his own life whilst being cornered by Luhan), considering Jongin is still sitting on the floor. Thankfully, Luhan's mother comes around the corner and yanks Luhan back by the hood before Sehun can get his own face smeared with blood.

Sehun runs a hand through his hair and it's not until he hears Jongin whine that he sends Luhan a glare, the latter unbothered as he resumes eating. He bends down and is about to ask Jongin if he's alright when he notices the trail of blood trickling down Jongin's forehead, the latter squeezing his eyes shut in discomfort. The sound of his pulse quickening is drowned out when Luhan's mother proceeds to scold Luhan for messing up the floor before she forces Luhan to apologize. Her hair is damp, just like Luhan's, and Sehun figures she must have been cleaning up the bathroom judging by the cloth in her hand.

"I think it peed on me," Jongin mumbles and Sehun nearly collapses in relief as he proceeds to wipe his face. "Why do your face look so weird?" he asks, cocking his head aside before his palm clean. He stares at his shoes, which he barely managed to toe on before giving up, and slowly gets to his feet. "I'm tired, I wanna go home," he whines into Sehun's shoulder, not even bothering to keep his voice down when a wave of fatigue subsequently washes over him. If it wasn't for the fact that his legs feel like sponges, Jongin figures he would run upstairs and swipe Luhan's entire candy stash to keep himself energized.

Luhan only snickers to himself whilst his mother, who is clearly embarrassed, apologizes to both Sehun and Jongin as they finish putting their shoes on. "I'll see you tomorrow if my brother isn't taking me to his soccer game," Luhan says, words muffled as he bites down on the bird's neck. A low coo leaves his lips when Jongin grows so tired that he literally tries climbing up and into Sehun's arms. "Aren't you two the cutest," he squees before putting his free hand on his hip. "Why am I not in a relationship yet?!" he huffs and bites down on the bird's neck. When he fails to decapitate it, he emits a frustrated groan before slamming it against the wall and beaming when it actually works. Sehun figures that should probably answer his question. "Anyway, what're you two gonna do now???"

Sehun shrugs and squawks when Jongin nearly tackles them both into the door after he stumbles backwards. After shoving Jongin off, with the latter huffing in response, Sehun plants a kiss on his cheek instead (Apparently telling Jongin that he is, in fact, much too heavy to be carried like a baby isn't a good enough reason.). "Probably gonna put the little one straight to bed," he says and chuckles when Jongin inevitably attempts to slash his face for calling him 'little'.

"He's technically almost just as tall as you, so in a sense, he's not really little," Luhan says before his face lights up. "So are you guys gonna have now?" he asks and nearly chokes when his mother squawks and whacks him in the back. "What's wrong with that?! You know, I deserve like, 100% of the credit around here since I was the one who convinced them to do it! And they said their in love-ness was much better now, anyway!" He points at Jongin and Sehun, who both blink. "Admit it, if I didn't bring up the whole film thing, you wouldn't have done it, right???" he asks and subsequently sends them both a look that Sehun can only decipher as 'Please say yes so Mom doesn't kill me'. "Right?!"

When Luhan's mother only starts apologizing all over again, Sehun swallows. As much as he just wants to tell Luhan to go to bed, he won't even try to deny that there is a certain truth to Luhan's words, but Sehun doesn't think he'll ever find himself telling Luhan that he was right, at least not about this. When Jongin only whines in fatigue, Sehun shrugs apologetically and is about to pick up Jongin's jacket, which the latter dropped in the commotion, when Luhan speaks.

"Anyway, you two better not break up or this whole prince and princess thing is officially ruined," Luhan says with a startling amount of seriousness in his voice before he takes another bite and begins chewing. He only huffs when his mother attempts to shush him, so he goes silent. For four seconds, that is. "I actually think you two are like, perfect for each other, it's kind of like a, what's it called--" He furrows his eyebrows before smiling again. "It's kind of like a miracle!" he exclaims and goes on to praise his inner poet before looking up and seeing Sehun's expression. "I mean, Jongin always told me about how much he hated his old families and how annoying they were, except one, I guess, but other than that he'd just complain and complain and complain and complain, and he hasn't ever complained about you! Isn't that awesome?" He sends Sehun a grin.

It takes Sehun a minute to process Luhan's words as he stands awkwardly with his hand on the door handle, and when he does, he finds himself simply nodding before unconsciously pulling Jongin, who has practically fallen asleep standing up, closer. He hears Luhan's mother scolding her son for 'making the guests uncomfortable', and no matter how many times Sehun tries assuring her that he isn't the slightest bit angry, she only walks over to the fridge, promptly ignoring Luhan's loud squawks of envy when she subsequently hands Jongin the batch of leftover pie. Sehun hears her stammer something about being 'sorry for the inconvenience they caused', before Sehun finds himself stopping Jongin from eating the entire thing after the latter, conveniently enough, wakes up.

"Hey, no fair!!!!!" Luhan yells and angrily bites down on whatever is left of the bird as he watches Jongin's eyes fill with stars. He quickly grows quiet before shrugging. "At least he's enjoying my masterpiece," he adds and Sehun fights the urge to remind him that he only helped with making the whipped cream and vanilla sauce. "But it's true, right?? You know, that it's a miracle that you two got to know each other, right?? I think it is!!"

Sehun wordlessly takes the batch of pie out of Jongin's hands when the latter practically drools all over it, before biting his lip. As much as he wants to say yes, he figures that being pushed into a freezing cold pond by one of your owner's friends is hardly miraculous, but he keeps the thought to himself before nodding. However, it's not until Sehun looks up and sees the looks on Luhan, Jongin and Luhan's mother's faces that he blinks. It doesn't Sehun long to realize that may or may not have said that out loud just now, and he mentally smacks himself silly. "Sorry, I meant--" He blinks before clearing his throat. "He, uh...hasn't exactly met the best people, I...guess-"

"Are you talking about Chanyeol?" Luhan asks, ripping off a claw and chewing it like a crisp. Sehun nearly cries when loud crunching noises emit from his mouth. "Was he the one who walked up to you and pushed you into the most-likely-shark-infested pond? Why didn't you tell me? Man, that guy's full of weirdness," he adds, looking at Jongin, whose eyes are wide with wonder. "I mean, first he nearly drowns you and then he nearly tries having with you--"

Sehun clenches his jaw, unable to conceal the sternness that laces his words when Jongin's ears twitch. "Luhan-"

"-but if you think about it,-"

"Luhan."

"-you and Jongin wouldn't even have met if it wasn't for Chanyeol," Luhan says before blood off his fingers and sending Sehun a look. "So who cares?" He raises an eyebrow when he notices Sehun's expression shift ever so slightly. "I mean, think about it, you wouldn't even know Jongin existed if that Chanyeol hadn't walked up to him and pushed him, and Jongin most likely would have been adopted by some other random family." He points to Jongin with a blood stained finger, but the latter is much too tired to even try to comprehend what he's talking about. "And then you wouldn't have been prince and princess! Isn't that weird???" He looks up at the ceiling, almost as if he's contemplating the entire universe.

Sehun has to hand the batch of pie back to Jongin when his arm suddenly aches, not even bothering to stop the latter as his ears perk up. "Yeah, that's...true," he mumbles, mainly to himself, as he rubs the back of his neck. He figures he deserves a prize for being able to endure standing in somebody's hallway for half an hour straight without complaints whatsoever. As Sehun watches Jongin break off a large piece of pie before he looks up at him with the most adorable mischeivous giggle Sehun has ever heard, Sehun has to lean against the doorframe so he doesn't topple over (in his defense, there's at least 600 pairs of shoes scattered all across the floor). It hits him that he should probably say something, so he clears his throat awkwardly. "But he was still a goddamn piece of ," he lowly says and can't help but clench his jaw in anger when Chanyeol's face pops into his head. No matter what adorable thing Jongin may do, or how grateful he might be for choosing to take Jongin in, Sehun knows that he will be taking his promise of never, ever giving Chanyeol credit for anything with him to the grave.

Luhan hums to himself and swats his mother's hands away after she proceeded to cover his ears. "Mom, I know what '' means, I'm not a kitten anymore," he groans before pulling up his hood, which makes his ears droop rather adorably, Sehun thinks. "I guess, but a good friend of mine once told me to see the light in every negative situation," he says before crossing his arms over his chest, the crow dangling from his fingers. "Guess who?" he asks, a smirk creeping up on his face.

Sehun blinks before rubbing the back of his head. He figures that if they're going to converse for another five hours, he might as well walk into the kitchen, grab a chair, walk back into the hallway and sit down, since his legs are beginning to ache. "Uh...your...your mother?" he asks and politely gestures at Luhan's mother, who sends him a smile. When Luhan only shakes his head, Sehun raises an eyebrow before playfully putting his hands up in defeat. "I give up."

Luhan fixes his hood when it droops and nearly covers his eyes. "The one who's currently gobbling up what's technically my pie," he says and chuckles when Sehun blinks.

Stuffing a squishy apple slice in his mouth, Jongin feels his ears perking up and it's not until he sees the look in Luhan's eyes that he feels his tail swaying back and forth. It took him a while to figure out what Luhan meant, but it soon hits Jongin that he actually did give Luhan said advice mere hours after Luhan came crying to him, after barely having escaped out of Jongdae's house nearly two months ago. Jongin wonders how he even remembers it, since he mainly recalls being esctatic over having found a new foster family only a few days prior. On the other hand, Jongin figures that he isn't exactly known for his swell memory, and a warm feeling floods his entire chest when Luhan sends him a grin. When he thinks about it even harder, Jongin also remembers convincing himself that his words of advice had no effect on Luhan whatsoever when the latter went on to curse the entire human race and assure Jongin that he would spend the rest of his life on the streets.

"You actually remembered that???" Jongin asks and he has to stuff another piece of pie in his mouth to prevent his insides from melting when Luhan chuckles.

"Dude, of course, trust is like, the most important thing to consider when you're signing the best friend contract," Luhan says as a matter-of-factly before looking at Sehun. "So like, Chanyeol , right, but like, you gotta give him at least 0.1% of the credit, right? I mean, it's not like it would kill you to give him credit, since you're doing a lot better than he is right now, right?" He stretches before spitting a few feathers out on the floor. 

Jongin silently chews on an apple slice, which is so cold he worries his tongue might go numb. He watches Luhan argue with his mother about which one of them is supposed to clean up the mess in the kitchen, and Jongin doesn't even notice Sehun squeezing the life out of his hand until Sehun kisses the top of his head. It's not until Luhan's mother sternly tells Luhan to clean up both the blood in the hallway and the mess in the kitchen that Jongin nuzzles his face in the crook of Sehun's neck, nearly dropping the batch when he nearly trips over a pair of stilettos. When Jongin doesn't hear Sehun say anything, he turns around and pokes Sehun's cheek. "Why does your face look weird?? Are you angry??? He's just trying to help--"

Sehun snaps out of his trance and Jongin yelps when he accidentally squeezes the latter's hand painfully tight. Sehun simply shakes his head, figuring he needs some air after standing in the same spot for so long. "I'm not mad and I'm glad he's trying to help," he says quietly. Sehun figures that it doesn't take a genius to know that Jongin is more than eager to head home and go to bed, and he pats Jongin's head. 

Jongin blinks when Sehun tells him to thank both Luhan and his mother, and he picks up an apple slice before slowly nibbling on it (since he can't grab onto Sehun's hand whilst holding the pie and eating simultaneously). "Th...Thanks for the f-food," Jongin barely audibly murmurs, ears flattening shyly when she sends him a kind smile. When she proceeds to call him cute, he only scrambles to hide behind Sehun, who ruffles his hair. 

"...You know you're supposed to look at people when they're talking to you, right?" Luhan says and he ends up cackling for a whole minute before his mother promptly scolds him. "Mom, I'm literally quoting you right now, jeez--" He huffs and squawks when she tells him to say thank you and apologize.  "...But they came to our house and got food and candy, so why should I say--" He clamps his mouth shut when he sees the look on her face (Sehun fights the urge to tell him to never underestimate an angry mother). "Sorry for uh...shooting you guys with my water gun and uh...talking about ," he mumbles and huffs. It's not until Sehun opens the door that Luhan zooms forward and nearly tackles him in a bone crushing hug, and Sehun nearly topples over for the nth time. "Thanks for letting me stay with you guys and for making Jongin happy!! I thought you were kinda weird at first but you're actually really cool, aside from the fact that you're like, so freakin' scary when you're mad--"

Luhan's mother only huffs. "Lu Han, be nice," she says and Sehun only smiles back at her when she sends him another apologetic smile.

Jongin only bursts into a fit of giggles when Sehun pats Luhan's head, but it's not until Luhan stands on his tiptoes and proceeds to bury his face in the crook of Sehun's neck that Jongin emits an ear piercingly loud hiss, and Sehun thankfully manages to grab him and hold him in place before he can claw Luhan's entire face off. It takes Sehun five whole minutes to calm Jongin down and to get him to stop hissing at the brunet, and Jongin eventually gets so wound up that Sehun has to scratch him behind the ear for a full minute until he's no longer on the verge of a meltdown.

"Yup, it's confirmed, you guys are officially the prince and princess," Luhan says, cackling at his prank as he literally rolls around on the floor (in bird's blood, Sehun thinks and grimaces) and holds his stomach with laughter. His hyena-like howling only increases when he looks up and sees Jongin glaring daggers at him, ears flattened as he possessively kneads Sehun's chest. "Man, now I wish I had my own boyfriend," he glumly says, mainly to himself as he stands up, only to jump aside in the nick of time when Jongin lashes out and misses his eyes by an inch. "Sheesh, it's dangerous having a best friend sometimes--"

Sehun only apologizes and he goes on to comment on just how tired Jongin must be (which only results in Luhan's mother responding with a remark about how overly tired Luhan definitely is right now) before he unlocks the door.  After Sehun opens the door (and thanks Luhan's mother for the pie), he has to usher Jongin outside when the latter continues to send Luhan murderous looks, the latter only responding by grinning and waving frantically whilst yelling something along the lines of 'See ya soon!!! And by soon, I mean tomorrow morning!!!'.

--

Sehun manages to lure Jongin away from the door after threatening to keep the last few slices of pie all to himself, and Sehun suddenly wishes he'd brought his car since he doesn't think he'll be able to carry Jongin home if the latter were to lie himself down on the ground and fall asleep (and even worse, have another temper tantrum). Thankfully, the apple pie seems to be keeping Jongin on his feet and Sehun finds himself staring at the way Jongin's ears unconsciously twitch whilst he eats and hums to himself in contentment. It's nearly pitch black outside and Sehun can barely see his own hand in front of his face, but he manages to lead them both down the path before placing a hand on the small of Jongin's back.

Flinching, Jongin looks up at Sehun, only to blush slightly when he sees the fond glint in the latter's eyes. "I'm not sharing," he mumbles whilst stuffing another piece of pie in his mouth, even though his stomach is beginning to cramp up. A little girl runs up to him and asks him why he's still wearing his costume, only to cry and run away when he scowls at her.

Sehun blinks as he watches her rush off towards her father. "...What was that for?" he chuckles and playfully flicks Jongin's cheek. 

"I thought she wanted my pie," Jongin mumbles between loud chews, a wave of tiredness coming over him after he swallows the last bite. He proceeds to literally dump the empty bowl in Sehun's hands before running off towards the bridge. Once he's on it, Jongin makes sure to avoid standing too close to the bushes, in case the three scary teenagers from yesterday decide to come back. He hears Sehun telling him not to catch any fish since it's dark and he might fall in, but Jongin figures that Sehun doesn't have any reason to be worried, given the fact that he's so full that even thinking about eating a fish is enough to make Jongin want to vomit.

"Not too close to the edge, okay?" Sehun hums, his shoes clacking against the pale wood as he walks along the bridge. He seriously wonders what it is about this place and its tendency to be void of human life nearly every second of the day, but he figures it's a good thing, since he doesn't want Jongin stressing himself out over strangers. 

As the sun sets and briefly tints the entire pond a shade of gold, Jongin moves into a cross legged position as he feels the wind blowing against his ears and messing up his hair. Jongin makes a mental note to stay away from anything that might send his blood sugar soaring through the roof, considering the fact that his heart is racing so fast he worries he might end up suffering a nervous breakdown and toss himself off the bridge (he doesn't though, since Sehun will be angry). Luhan's words echo like a mantra in his head and even though Jongin tries keeping it to himself, he finds himself unable to when Sehun scooches closer and rests a hand on his back.

Jongin bites his lip, feeling the air around them growing colder as the sun's rays grow more and more saturated. "Do you think it's a miracle?" he asks whilst playing with his fingers, which have gone numb at this point. 

Sehun tears his eyes off the ripples in the calm water before looking at Jongin. "What do you mean?" he replies after a while and brushes a lock of black hair out of Jongin's face.

Shrugging (even though he knows for a fact that Sehun understood what he meant), Jongin rests his head on Sehun's shoulder. The shiny crystal is clearly visible and illuminating pretty much Sehun's entire face from its spot in the latter's suit jacket pocket (which, as Jongin notices, is located on the left side of Sehun's chest, right by the latter's heart, which sort of makes Jongin feel all squishy inside). Jongin figures that he would reach out and grab it if he wasn't on the verge of falling asleep. "You know, the thing Luhan said."

Sehun is silent for a moment, but his hands don't stop rubbing Jongin's back as they watch a flock of birds flying in circles up above. "What do you think?" he asks after a while, a certain softness to his voice before he looks at Jongin.

Jongin blushes slightly before clearing his throat. He has to flatten his ears when he worries the harsh winds might tear them right off his head. In truth, he doesn't really know what the word 'Miracle' means, considering the fact that he only picked up on the word and its definition once - whilst watching a Barbie movie with his foster sister. But then again, Jongin figures that Luhan has definitely watched the same movie, so he nods. "Yeah, I do," he hums, fiddling with Sehun's tie before practically spilling into the latter's lap. Jongin figures that he has absolutely no reason not to believe that he and Sehun are a result of a miracle, even though Jongin figures that miracles in real life are much less purple, pink and glitter riddled.

A strong breeze gets caught in one of the currents and Sehun hears the sound of water splashing against the rocks by the bushes. "Then that's what I think," he says and feels Jongin's hair tickling his face when the wind blows in the opposite direction. They sit in silence, with Jongin sleepily pawing at his own face, before Sehun reaches into his back pocket. "Here, I want to show you something."

Jongin's ears perk up, figuring that he can officially add the word 'Something' to the list of words that always piques his curiosity, and he looks up at Sehun with wide, curious eyes. His tail sways back and forth in anticipation as he watches Sehun pull out his phone, and Jongin finds himself eyeing the camera lens, which is tinted a dazzling shade of gold thanks to the setting rays. "What is it???" he asks, feeling excitement creep into his veins as he attempts to crane his neck. "Lemme see, lemme see, lemme--" He blinks when Sehun lowers his phone until he's holding it up in front of his face. At first, Jongin has to blink the bright reflection out of his eyes before he blinks again. He points to the screen. "Is that..."

"That's right," Sehun laughs before eyeing the screen again. He managed to sneak a quick photo whilst he waited for Jongin to pick out Luhan's flowers, and now that Sehun thinks about it, this might be the first time he's actually taken a good look at it. Sehun can practically feel the blazing sun beating down on them (which wasn't exactly a walk in the park, given that they had already been out in the field for a half hour when he took the picture) whilst he stares at Jongin's face as the latter smells the flowers that they would later give to Luhan.

It's not until Sehun's eyes land on one flower in particular - a small, pale yellow flower that Jongin would later pick and put behind his ear since it reminded him of Sehun's blond hair, that Sehun feels a certain warmth spreading through his entire chest. He clearly remembers Jongin flat out refusing to add it to Luhan's bouquet when asked, since he wanted to keep "his most favorite flower" with him, until he ended up apologizing profusely to Sehun after accidentally losing it somewhere in the field ten minutes later. 

After Sehun calmed Jongin down by reassuring the latter that he at least didn't end up losing him in the field, Jongin went back to picking (or rather, smelling) flowers, whilst taking an occasional break to chase after a butterfly or stare at the birds soaring in the sky. Sometimes, Sehun would simply catch Jongin sitting cross legged in the middle of the field whilst surrounded by different kinds of flowers, as content as ever, and Sehun recalls the pang of guilt he felt when he walked up to Jongin and asked the latter to hurry up in fear of turning up at Luhan's house late.

"Those flowers are probably in Luhan's stomach right now," Jongin giggles, effectively ing Sehun out of his trance, as he points to his own stomach. "He'll get in trouble, though, since his mother doesn't let him eat flowers," he adds and takes another look at the picture, and Sehun has to put his phone away when Jongin reaches out and zooms in on the photo until he's staring at nothing but the flowers, which nearly makes him drool all over Sehun's lap.

Sehun blinks, and he's momentarily preoccupied with wondering exactly how Luhan's mother is supposedly against Luhan chewing up plants, while seemingly not having a single problem with Luhan wandering around the house whilst holding and eating massacred animals, but he squashes the thought. "I bet," he chuckles, and closes his eyes when a cold breeze hits him right in the face. Thankfully, it blows his hair back, which saves Sehun from dealing with a terrible hairdo later. A thought hits him and he smirks slightly. "Maybe I should teach you some chores, so you can be even more like Luhan, how does that sound?"

Inevitably, Jongin freezes and Sehun can't help the loud laugh that escapes his lips when Jongin shivers. He hates the thought of being forced to do the same things over and over, such as setting the table and cleaning things, and he honestly doesn't understand how Luhan can be okay with it (Maybe that's the price he pays for being allowed to hunt inside the house, Sehun figures). "I don't wanna," he simply says before stretching out his arms across Sehun's lap. The hard wood is threatening to split him down the middle but Jongin finds himself unwilling to move into a better position. "What did Luhan mean when he talked about Chanyeol???"

Sehun stills. He figures Jongin slept through that part of the conversation and he fights the urge to sigh. Figuring there's no reason to hide it, he shrugs. "He, uh, simply meant that I should give him the benefit of the doubt," he mutters before reaching behind him and grabbing Jongin's jacket. "Here, put this on, you'll freeze to death--"

"What does that mean?" Jongin asks, sighing in contentment when he successfully manages to block out the nasty breeze.

"He meant," Sehun blurts out, "that I shouldn't be as angry at Chanyeol because of a few good and...useful things he's done in the past." He clenches his jaw and forces  himself to focus on the black fur tufts on top Jongin's ears as they blow in the wind. He places a hand on Jongin's back to prevent his jacket from blowing off of him and into the water.

Jongin kneads Sehun's chest whilst purring slightly. "But that makes sense," he mumbles and Sehun is seriously torn between screaming at the top of his lungs and picking him up and hugging him. "Like, Luhan did bad things after Jongdae kicked him out but he chose to find his new family because he chose to be positive," he adds with a sleepy sigh. A seagull lands in the water a few feet away and even though he hears it bobbing up and down on the surface behind his back, Jongin doesn't want to leave Sehun's lap even if it means sacrificing a snack.

Sehun is silent for a minute. The seagull staring at him only reminds him of when Luhan nearly shoved the dead bird right in his face, and he winces. "That's not the same thing," he simply says after a while before Jongin's cheek with his thumb. He opens his mouth to speak, only to close it again. He figures, no, knows that no matter how much he tries explaining it to Jongin (and Luhan, for that matter), Jongin will most likely never understand, whether it be Luhan's logic or Chanyeol's antics, which Sehun is sort of okay with as long as he knows for a fact that Chanyeol is entirely out of the picture. Even though Sehun knows that he's doing more harm than good to himself thinking about it, he doesn't even need to think twice to know that he will never forgive Chanyeol nor give the latter credit for him meeting Jongin, no matter what.

"Can I have a glass of milk when we get home?" Jongin asks and also flinches when Sehun flinches. "Is that a yes???" He grins before reaching up and poking Sehun's cheek, which seems to be his favorite place to poke the latter, who swats his hand away.

Sehun simply chuckles low in his throat before leaning back on one hand, instantly feeling his nerves settle when he uses his other hand to scratch Jongin's ear. He's pretty sure that if he looks closely enough, he'll be able to see the faint, red markings from the fish Jongin caught three weeks ago. "We'll see," he hums and he proceeds to shift into a more comfortable position, since his leg is threatening to break off underneath Jongin's weight, but gives up when it becomes clear that Jongin has zero intentions of moving. "What happened to not scratching people you disagree with, by the way?" He sends Jongin a look.

Jongin only blinks before his ears flatten ever so slightly. "Luhan isn't a person," he mumbles and sighs when Sehun raises an eyebrow. Worrying he might have made Sehun angry just now (and earlier), Jongin scrambles to wrap his arms around Sehun's waist, nearly suffocating the latter in the process. "I didn't want you to become his boyfriend!" he practically wails whilst nuzzling his face in Sehun's chest. The mere thought of Sehun choosing to adopt Luhan instead on that very spot in the hallway nearly makes Jongin want to cry, so he forces himself to focus on the clouds moving across the sky above their heads.

After slowly prying Jongin off of him, Sehun simply pats Jongin's head before planting a reassuring kiss on his cheek. "That's not how it works, silly," he chuckles and slowly wipes away the tear rolling down Jongin's face after the latter looks at him. "We should probably put you to bed before you fall asleep out here and freeze to death," he says only half jokingly and he's about to stand up when Jongin speaks.

"But Luhan can be with us tomorrow, right?" Jongin asks, only sending Sehun another one of his irresistible puppy faces after Sehun only blinks. It's not until he's poked Sehun's face a total of fifty times that the latter finally caves, and Jongin emits a loud squeal of joy before springing to his feet and nearly toppling off the edge in surprise.

When Jongin proceeds to scamper off the bridge, Sehun slowly get up and brushes himself off. He picks up the empty bowl and Jongin's jacket. Sehun figures it's probably a good idea to let Luhan stay with them tomorrow, so he can give the bowl back, as well as use Luhan's phone to call the latter's mother and apologize for everything that went down tonight, since Sehun would be genuinely surprised if they ended up getting invited back to Luhan's house after all this. 

As he makes his way towards the park, where he hears Jongin attempting to scuffle up a tree, Sehun suddenly halts before reaching into his pocket. Over the sound of Jongin calling his name, Sehun unlocks his phone and he tries and fails to ignores the way his heart trembles when his photo of Jongin shows up on the screen.

Sehun stares at the photo for a whole minute before quickly setting it as his lock screen, putting his phone away and jogging towards one of the trees - the largest oak tree with bright orange leaves and a black, fuzzy cat tail dangling among the branches.

THE END.

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