This chapter takes place 2 months after the 20th chapter.

C: Jongin, Lu Han, Sehun, Chanyeol, mentioned!Jongdae / W.C: 22k+.

DECEMBER

"You know he specifically told you to wait until after dinner, right?" Luhan chuckles and zips his coat. His orange hair blows in the wind as he skips along the white sidewalk and barely avoids colliding with a little girl when he reaches into the yellow bag dangling from his fingers. He briefly contemplates eating either the red taffy or candy bar in his hand, and he ends up stuffing both in his mouth before jogging along. 

As he adjusts his collar and hears the sounds of children laughing and cars zooming by, Jongin simply sends Luhan, whose brown roots are beginning to show, a look. "That's one way to say thanks," he says with a light chuckle. He grips his own candy bag tightly in his right hand whilst chewing on a piece of bubble gum. Jongin figures he shouldn't be gripping it as tightly as he is, though, since his hands are still slightly aching from all the dishes he did earlier, even though he's wearing mittens (which are practically soaked to the brim and useless, anyway). Snow falls from one of the trees above and lands right on top of Jongin's ear, and he hurriedly flicks it away before he can go into cold shock.

It's not like Jongin is complaining, though, since Sehun chose to reward him with a trip to the candy store for doing such a good job with the dishes. Since Luhan happened to be standing right next to Jongin whilst the latter did his chores, Sehun figured that it was 'only fair' to let Luhan come along for whatever reason, despite the fact that Luhan spent his half hour reading comic books on the floor a foot away. In fear of Sehun possibly saying no altogether, Jongin obliged, albeit reluctantly, but his glumness quickly disappeared when Sehun granted him the freedom of heading to the store by himself (but not before lecturing them both about stranger danger, answering the phone and heading straight home afterwards). 

With the sun quickly setting and the time slowly approaching rush hour, they soon find themselves surrounded by a swarm of people, who all seem to have no consideration for hybrids as they carelessly push past Jongin, who finds himself stuck in an endless loop of getting bumped into, falling over and having Luhan catch him before he can fall face first on the ground. Since it's been a while since his last visit to town, Jongin has to use Luhan as a hybrid GPS as they struggle out of the busy crowd (Jongin figures navigating through crowds should be a lot easier now, considering he's grown a full inch since November, but he figures that people simply dislike cat hybrids for whatever reason), all whilst taking in all the scents lingering in the air.

"Damn Christmas shoppers," Luhan huffs, the tip of his nose tinted a shade of pink as he pulls out his scarf from his coat pocket. He goes on to suggest that somebody should invent special winter protection suits for hybrids when a cluster of soft snow hits his tail. Luhan ignores Jongin's remark of simply keeping it tucked under his coat before tightening his scarf and sending the latter a grin. "Hey, I bet that's what Sehun's doing right now," he says and ushers them both into a secluded corner to escape the crowd. "Y'know, since he wanted us to go alone," he adds, blowing hot air into his palms.

Jongin only raises an eyebrow. He doesn't recall Sehun telling him he needed to get anything done before they left, and Jongin doesn't want to, either, because the thought of Sehun placing this much responsibility and trust in him (for the first time since he sent Jongin to the grocery store two weeks ago, which resulted in Sehun driving over after Jongin called him whilst sobbing something about being lost and hating that there were so many people everywhere) makes Jongin want to leap for joy. He reaches into his pocket for his own scarf, only to huff when he remembers that he left it at Luhan's place yesterday. 

"I think he just trusts me," Jongin says absentmindedly whilst running a hand through his snow ridden hair. Quite frankly, he doesn't remember ever celebrating Christmas with any of his foster families (maybe once with his biological mother, but Jongin doesn't remember a single thing of it), and neither does he care, since from what he's heard, Christmas isn't about candy, which is why Halloween will always be his favorite holiday. Despite that, Jongin still found himself helping Sehun set up (and decorate) the tree before hanging up their stockings above their bed two weeks ago. When Luhan only looks at him, he shrugs.

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that you don't want Sehun to get you a gift?" Luhan asks in disbelief whilst complaining about how close his hands are to freezing off. "I mean, I've never understood the appeal of having trees you can't climb in your home, since that's just evil, and all this frickin' cold stuff--" He scoffs whilst shaking snow off his shoes. "--which seems to scare away all the snacks, but like, getting presents is pretty cool, wouldn't you say?" he adds, cocking his head aside, only to angrily swipe the air when snow falls on top of his head again.

Jongin shrugs again, but he quickly lifts his hand and removes his mitten before looking at the silver ring his finger; the one Baekhyun received from his ex husband after they got engaged, that he gave Jongin as an early Christmas gift two days ago in the office ('For you and Sehun', he remembers Baekhyun saying, before the latter disappeared into his office and was barely seen by anybody throughout the whole day). Jongin, enthralled by its shininess, kept it, despite Sehun insisting he give it back to Baekhyun, who promptly refused. Jongin eyes the love heart engraved on the outside and Luhan has to smack him back to reality before he can start daydreaming all over again. "Yeah, I...I guess--"

"I wouldn't be surprised if Sehun either gave you a house or like, the biggest cat tree ever," Luhan laughs as he blows air into his hands again, only to roll his eyes when he sees Jongin bite his lip. "He loves you, dude, I know it, my Mom knows it, heck, my brother kept saying how he practically felt the love between you two at the dinner table, remember? Point is, Sehun will get you frickin' anything, unlike my parents," he adds and waits for the sidewalk to start clearing up. A woman with a small chihuahua walks past and Luhan solely follows it with his eyes, which only makes Jongin realize that his mother definitely wasn't lying when she threatened to ground Luhan for three whole months if he so much as laid a finger on anything that he wasn't supposed to. Jongin wouldn't be surprised if she implemented said rule the very day after their chaotic dinner at Luhan's house in October.

Watching Luhan bite into a candy bar, Jongin shivers before facing the sidewalk again. Only two people as far as the eye can see, and he's about to ask Luhan if they can resume walking home (since Jongin figures Sehun is going to call any minute and either ask where he is) when he notices Luhan peeking over the corner to a stone wall. "What're you doing??" he asks, barely managing to keep his tail tucked behind him as it starts twitching in curiosity.

Luhan wordlessly gestures at a couple of cars parked in the parking lot near a few stores. "My brother said that cars are usually warm in December," he says and blinks when Jongin takes a reluctant step backwards. "Man, Sehun must be getting to you," he laughs before patting Jongin's shoulder, which only makes Jongin realize that they're pretty much the same height now. "Not wanting to freeze into a cat popsicle isn't a crime, you know." And with that being said, he skips towards a black car with Jongin following after ever so slowly. "This one's still warm!"

Jongin doesn't even realize his hand is still exposed until he worries it might fall off, so he hurriedly puts his mitten back on before stopping five feet away from said car. He watches as Luhan squats down next to one of the tires and fidgets with the handles to his candy bag. Even though he's in desperate need of some heat, all Jongin really wants to do is to go home and cuddle up in front of the TV with Sehun whilst the latter spoon feeds him cinnamon pie. The last part practically has Jongin quivering with anticipation, but it soon becomes clear that if he doesn't raise his body temperature within the next three seconds, he'll definitely die of hypothermia.

So, after scanning his surroundings for the fifth time and making a mental note to pick up the phone as soon as Sehun calls, Jongin walks over to the car and squats down beside Luhan. Jongin figures he made the right decision, since the heat that spreads through his body after he places his palm flat against the metal nearly has him purring in contentment. In fact, he almost wants to crawl underneath the vehicle itself, but Jongin stops himself when he remembers Sehun's remark about the underside being littered with all kinds of strange stuff.

"What're you getting Sehun?" Luhan asks, eyes twinkling whilst he's practically got his entire face pressed up against the car door. "And 'I don't know' isn't a valid option, you gotta give him something! You can't give nothing at all to somebody who's willing to give you everything, you know," he adds and goes on to compliment his inner poet, which he hasn't done in ages. 

Jongin blinks before shrugging, which only makes Luhan swat his arm. Jongin doesn't know if it's simply him not knowing anything about Christmas or Luhan's pressuring glare, because he soon finds himself breaking out in a sweat and he has to remove his hands from the car door when he worries he might overheat. "I don't know," he stammers, only to swallow when Luhan sends him a look. Jongin has no idea if not knowing what to get somebody for Christmas has petrifying consequences or not, but the very thought of making Sehun upset is enough to make Jongin's pulse quicken and Luhan has to place a hand on his arm before he can send himself into a blind panic.

"Chill out, you've got like--" Luhan blinks before counting on his fingers. "Six days left, so you've got a little time left to think." He sends Jongin a wink, which really doesn't put the latter at ease, before sighing against the metal. "Man, it's like a giant radiator."

Jongin unwraps and bites down on a raspberry flavored taffy, the sweetness momentarily calming him down before he stands up. After the wave of headrush passes, he presses his hands against the glass windows and lets his gaze drift about. The interior looks exactly like Sehun's car, with the steering wheel, beige seats, rear view mirror and cup holder between the two front seats. Suddenly, all Jongin can think about is when he and Sehun made love - a term Sehun sort of forced him to use instead of the s-word (probably after he walked in on Jongin throwing said word around whilst explaining every detail of one of their heated nights to Baekhyun), in Sehun's car last week. Now that Jongin thinks about it, he sort of wishes they'd done it at the back instead, since having your back pressed up against a hard steering wheel for half an hour isn't exactly the nicest feeling, but Jongin figures he's got his own eagerness to blame for that.

"How many times have you and Sehun done it, even?" Luhan suddenly asks between chews, his voice making Jongin jump five feet in the air. His words are muffled, almost as if he's chewing on fifty pieces of candy at once.

Jongin blinks and he doesn't even realize that he's been purring all this time until he feels his throat growing sore. Not only that, but that he also managed to accidentally swallow his bubble gum whilst flinching in surprise just now. "How-"

"You've got that look in your eye," Luhan laughs whilst pointing to his own eyes with a piece of candy. "You actually had that same look on your face when you looked at our kitchen counter when you guys came over for dinner last week, it was actually sort of creepy," he adds and visibly shivers.

With his gaze fixated on the Christmas tree shaped air freshener dangling from the rear view mirror inside the car, Jongin counts on his fingers. He's so mentally distracted that he has to recount twice before blinking. "Sixteen," he mutters, rubbing the back of his neck. He immediately regrets doing so when his soaking wet mitten comes in contact with his skin, and he doesn't think he'll ever forget the subsequent feeling of ice cold water trickling down his back.

Luhan blinks before his eyes slightly widen. "Whoa," he says before whistling. "Makes me wonder which one of you is the neediest," he adds and Jongin immediately picks up on the knowingness (and envy) in his voice as his tail sways slightly. "Man, don't tell me any more, I don't need you reminding me of my non-existent boyfriend slash husband." He scoffs before gesturing at Jongin's left hand. A cold breeze passes and he practically slams himself against the warm car door again.

"We're not married," Jongin blurts out whilst looking at his hand. He can see the outline from the ring on his ring finger and figures he's been touching the car for way too long, since his entire chest subsequently swells with a certain warmth. Jongin isn't even sure if he wants to get married, though, given how sullen Baekhyun was at the office today, but Jongin feels the thought slip away when he averts his gaze and blinks.

"Not yet," Luhan says as a matter-of-factly before he sniggers secretively. "You know, when you guys had dinner at ours on Saturday, we actually talked about you two possibly getting married," he adds and stuffs his candy bag in his coat pocket. "I mean, I doubt you heard since you were busy asking Sehun to spoon feed you, but yeah-"

"But she said that people can't marry us!" Jongin squawks, gaze unmoving as he bites his lip.

Luhan puts his hands on his hips. "Correction," he huffs, "she said they shouldn't, not that they can't." He runs a hand through his dyed hair. "I mean, the way I see it, who cares? I mean, Belle was allowed to marry that big, ugly thing so why shouldn't Sehun marry you, since you're neither big, ugly nor a...thing? I mean, you saw how happy Ariel and Prince Eric were when they got married, right? What's the difference?" He beams at Jongin, only to blink when he notices the latter's stare. "What're you staring at??? Am I really that boring to listen to?!?"

Jongin shakes his head before he jabs the glass. "That thing," he murmurs and points to the steering wheel. To be precise, the circle with two blue and two white squares in it. Somebody honking their horn from the street behind them makes them both jump.

Luhan comes down from his adrenaline rush before throwing his hands in the air. "Yeah, okay, so what?? I mean, I get that you dunno what a is, but please don't tell me you don't know what a steering wheel is!" he exclaims before shaking his head.

Jongin huffs and he fights the urge to tell Luhan that he does, in fact, know what both of those are (he fights the urge to tell Luhan that he even knows what one of them tastes like, but he doesn't in fear of Luhan getting even more jealous). "That thing, the blue and white thing," he murmurs, mainly to himself whilst pointing repeatedly. "I've seen it somewhere else, I think." As Luhan tries figuring out what he's talking about, Jongin scans his brain for exactly where he's seen it. He turns up with nothing, though, and Jongin dismisses it when he hears the sound of gravel crunching beneath shoes.

Figuring Luhan chose to leave without him, Jongin turns his head to tell Luhan off for not telling him it was time to go. Except he only blinks when he sees Luhan standing right next to him, the latter looking equally as confused as him. Not wanting Sehun to find out that he touched somebody else's car without permission, Jongin stands upright and is about to ask Luhan if they can head home when he suddenly freezes.

"Well, well, it really is a small world we live in."

At first, Jongin doesn't even know what to think, since it takes him a minute to figure out what he's even hearing, and he finds himself frozen in place along with Luhan as they keep their gaze locked straight ahead.

The first thing Jongin notices is that Chanyeol's hair is a completely different color; instead of the jet blackness that Jongin is so used to seeing, the former's hair is dyed a dark shade of silver, and it takes Jongin a moment to process the fact that he's actually looking at Chanyeol and not a completely different person. Jongin isn't sure if it's due to Chanyeol's lack of a suit, but he won't even try to deny that the latter looks a hundred times less scary and intimidating whilst wearing a green wool sweater with reindeers on it than a blouse, nametag and tie. Even so, Jongin feels his ears flattening ever so slightly whilst his tail falls from its snug position behind his back, before it puffs up and lands between his legs.

Luhan, on the other hand, seems to recognize Chanyeol immediately, given that he hisses loudly before proceeding to gnash his teeth. Even though he's doing his best to try to appear intimidating, Jongin notices the cautious glint in his eyes. When Chanyeol simply sends them both an unreadable look, Jongin can practically feel his cheek stinging, but he can't bring himself to look away in fear of possibly being hit again. As much as he wants to turn on his heel and run home to Sehun, Jongin realizes that he's pretty much bolted to the snowy ground, and he briefly wonders if he should throw his candy bag right in Chanyeol's face and make a run for it when the latter opens his mouth to speak.

"She's a beaut, isn't she?" Chanyeol chuckles as he runs his fingers across the black hood of his car. A gust of wind passes and Jongin figures he must be using even more products than Sehun, since the silver strands don't even budge. "Anyway." He walks around the hood before settling himself down on the surface. His eyes land on Jongin and Luhan before they trail down to their yellow bags. "Christmas shopping, I see," he hums, a thick cloud of fog leaving his lips before it evaporates into thin air. He looks at Luhan and chuckles. "Nice hair, it suits your--" He points to his own elf-like ears, which only has Luhan rolling his eyes (even though Jongin can tell he's overly flattered).

Jongin blinks before it hits him. He finally remembers where he's seen the small object on the steering wheel; on Chanyeol's car keys, which laid on the table the first time he inspected the latter's office. Jongin mentally smacks himself for not realizing it sooner, since he would have bolted that very second, in that case. He keeps his mouth clamped shut, but it's not until Chanyeol looks at him (with a surprisingly calm expression, which only makes Jongin that much more nervous) that his ears twitch. "S-Sehun says I'm not allowed to talk to you," he says so quietly that even Luhan barely catches it.

Chanyeol is silent for a while, which only makes Jongin want to cry, until he nods slowly. "Fair enough," he simply says whilst pulling his sleeves down to cover his hands. "Man, it's ing freezing," he mutters after a while before blowing hot air on his wrists and looking up at the sky. "Hows-"

"Don't even try your shenanigans a second time," Luhan exclaims, making both Chanyeol and Jongin flinch, as he flails his arms around in all directions. "There are like, a ton of people behind us so don't even try to hit us or yell at us or try to drown us or take our pants off or we're all seriously gonna cut you!!" he hisses whilst pointing at Chanyeol and Jongin has to give him a taffy to calm him down. He goes silent as he angrily nibbles on the candy, all whilst his orange tail sways in agitation above his head. "That's the ugliest shirt I've ever seen, by the way, I wouldn't show myself in public looking like that," Luhan adds and Jongin can't help the loud laugh that subsequently escapes his lips.

Chanyeol only blinks before looking down at his sweater and rolling his eyes. "Shut up, it's comfy," he huffs and ignores Luhan when the latter proceeds to shake his head vigorously. "Anyway, how's, uh, everyone doing?" He rubs the back of his neck and a glint that Jongin can only describe as shyful flashes in his eyes.

Luhan crosses his arms over his chest when Jongin only responds by nibbling on a piece of candy. "Well, for starters, much better without your moronic self around, that's for sure," he scoffs and Jongin doesn't miss the way Chanyeol's expression shifts ever so slightly. "We turned your office into a playroom, by the way." He sends Chanyeol a smirk when the latter blinks. "Yeah, with like, a TV and video games and candy bowls and stuff. You're not welcome to see it, though."

"That's a shame, it sounds like something I'd want to have as a kid," Chanyeol chuckles before stretching and running a hand through his hair. "How's everyone doing around the office?" he asks and it doesn't take Jongin long to realize that he hasn't lit up a single cigarette since they started talking.

Jongin opens his mouth to speak, mainly because he's safely deduced that he isn't, in fact, at risk of getting his face slapped off (or because he's starting to feel really, really awkward standing beside Luhan whilst not uttering a single word). "Uh, Baekhyun has been sad all week," he mumbles and instinctively flinches when Chanyeol raises an eyebrow, and Jongin finds himself flailing his hands wildly. "Don't hit me, don't hit me--"

"Calm down, I'm not gonna hit you," Chanyeol calmly says before leaning back against the hood and reaching into his pocket. He pulls out his car keys, which Jongin instantly recognize, but he doesn't make a move to unlock his car as he twirls them around in his hand. "What was up with Baekhyun?"

Luhan shrugs. "I was only there once this week, but he was just really down," he says whilst rubbing Jongin's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "I actually saw him crying in the break room," he adds and blinks when Chanyeol's eyes widen ever so slightly. "And--"

"He gave me this!!" Jongin squees, a hint of cheerfulness seeping into his voice as he scrambles to remove his mitten and holds up his fingers. "Isn't it pretty??? It was an early Christmas gift, I think!" He beams and ignores Luhan's remark about him having 'weird frickin' mood swings'. "It's pretty, isn't it?? Right??" He only blinks when Chanyeol goes silent before the latter buries his face in his right hand. "What--"

Cursing under his breath, Chanyeol only murmurs something along the lines of 'Nothing' before huffing. It's not until he sees Jongin's curious gaze that he runs a hand down his face. "You wouldn't understand-"

"What is it???" Jongin blinks, practically bouncing up and down in curiosity before Luhan puts a hand on his arm. "What is it??? You can't just say 'Nothing' and then not say anyth-"

"Let's just say that Baekhyun used to be with somebody for six years and leave it at that, 'kay?" Chanyeol sends Jongin a flat look before sighing. "Well, looks like he's not the only one whose life ing ," he mutters and curses loudly when he realizes that he just said it out loud. It doesn't take him long to notice both Jongin and Luhan's piercing stares, which only makes him huff. "Why do you cat people always do the thing where you like, just stare, it's creepy-"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Luhan asks before cocking his head aside and sniggering. "I mean, I could ask you why you're always an ugly, moronic piece of human crap, but go ahead," he adds and Jongin figures he stuck to his promise of never saying the word '' ever again. His tail only sways in agitation when Chanyeol sends him a look. "What if I were to call your parents and tell them what a you are, what would they say then?" 

Chanyeol immediately stills and Jongin briefly wonders if he's frozen into a popsicle (since wearing nothing but a sweater without a coat is pretty much like having a death wish these days) until he speaks, but it's so quiet that they barely catch it. "You wouldn't get an answer," he simply says before looking at his lap and fidgeting with his keys. He's silent for a minute before exhaling slowly and clearing his throat. "Anyways, how's Se-"

"Oh yeah?" Luhan his head aside before a mischievous grin spreads across his entire face. "Well, what if I call them tomorrow?"

Chanyeol clenches his jaw before he visibly swallows. "You won't get an answer," he lowly says and it's not until his sleeve slides down his arm, after he runs a hand through his hair, that Jongin blinks. "Anyway-"

"What if I call them next week or in two weeks?" Luhan pries. His candy bag is dangerously close to falling out of his pocket and Jongin swoops in and grabs it before it can hit the ground. 

"You won't get an answer then, either," Chanyeol exclaims before he shifts uncomfortably and resumes fidgeting with his keys. He shakes his head with a sigh when Luhan only raises a challenging eyebrow. "You won't get an answer no matter how many times you call, let's just leave it at that." He watches as an elderly couple enters their car before slowly driving away. He follows the silver vehicle with his eyes before exhaling slower than before. "Anyway, how's Sehun doing? Please tell me he knows you're here, by the way, he'll ing string me up and saw my  in half if he finds out about this," he says only half jokingly.

Jongin blinks before cocking his head aside. "Remember when I asked you if you were a dog person or a cat person?" he asks and grins when Chanyeol only blinks before nodding. "I think you're a cat person, right? Right? Right??" He grins and points to the handful of red scars scattered across Chanyeol's pale wrist. It sort of makes Jongin shiver, since it only reminds him of getting kicked out after scratching his latest foster mother right in the face. "I'm right, right????"

"What are you--" Chanyeol blinks, and it's not until he realizes what Jongin is pointing to that he simply sighs and pulls his sleeve down without a word. "Yeah, sure, you got me," he mumbles, and loudly shrieks when a cluster of snow falls from one of the trees next to his car and lands right on his head. He only rolls his eyes when Jongin and Luhan proceed to practically roll around on the ground whilst laughing their chins off. "Funny."

Luhan stands up and barely manages to stop himself from toppling over as he wipes tears from his eyes. "Sehun's fine, by the way, he's living with Jongin and they're constantly doing it and are gonna get married soon," he says all in one breath when Jongin stuffs an entire chocolate bar in his mouth. When the latter excitedly nods in approval, he also beams. "They're literally prince and princess!" he squees before patting Jongin's head. "Who's your prince?" He nods at Chanyeol, who blinks.

"Do you have to say it like that? It sounds corny as ," Chanyeol huffs before shrugging awkwardly. "I uh, don't...have one," he mutters whilst staring at his shoes and twirling his keys around on one finger. A squawk leaves his lips when he accidentally loses his grip, which causes his keys to fly through the air, and Jongin figures that they would have been crushed by the oncoming car if it wasn't for Luhan's killer reflexes when the latter instinctively flies aside and catches them in mid air. None of them fail to miss Chanyeol's subsequent sigh of relief. "Uh...thanks."

Luhan tosses the car keys at Chanyeol, who barely manages to catch them before they hit him in the face. A look of pure disbelief spreads across Luhan's entire face as he continues to stare at Chanyeol. "Wait, are you serious???" he asks, his eyes wide as quarters, which only makes Jongin giggle. "Wait, you aren't, are you???"

Chanyeol blinks and Jongin can tell that he's fighting the impulse to look away and or cover his face when Luhan doesn't stop staring at him. "The hell are you talking about," he mutters and scrambles backwards onto the hood of his car when Luhan suddenly attempts to pounce right on top of him. "Whatthe-"

"Okay, so like, I can get on board with the whole you-being-an-ugly-moronic-weirdo thing," Luhan starts as he points an accusing finger at Chanyeol, who blinks. "But I won't get on board with you not having a prince," he adds and his glare is so piercing that Jongin finds himself swallowing, even though Luhan isn't even looking in his direction. When Chanyeol only stares at Luhan like the latter has grown a second head, Luhan huffs. "Every prince needs a frickin' princess, I mean, besides me, since I'm, uh...special, but like, look at Jongin and Sehun!" He wildly gestures at Jongin, who grins. "Not to mention you're the reason they even met in the first place, and they're the two happiest little crapheads I've ever met!"

As he keeps Luhan, who is practically on the verge of climbing onto the hood to join him, at an arm's distance, Chanyeol's eyebrows only furrow. It almost looks like he's contemplating simply getting in his car and driving away, which makes Jongin laugh. "The are you-"

"You pushed Jongin into the pond by the park, right??" Luhan asks, raising a serious eyebrow as he points to Chanyeol. 

Chanyeol blinks, his own eyebrows furrowing in thought before he blinks again. "...Yeah," he mutters and Jongin doesn't miss the way Chanyeol subsequently avoids his eyes. "What's that-- The 's that got to do with anyth-"

"Duh, if you hadn't done that, Jongin and Sehun wouldn't have met," Luhan huffs before putting his hands on his hips. "Y'see, Jongin's my best friend and I haven't ever seen him as happy with anyone else than with Sehun, and when my best friend's happy, I'm happy, and I guess you're the only one I can thank for that! It makes sense!" His tail sways happily behind him, all traces of hostility long gone as his eyes twinkle at Chanyeol, who looks like he's contemplating his entire existence. "I mean, you're an and all, but like we said, you kinda deserve 0.1% of the credit!"

Jongin only giggles when Chanyeol proceeds to wrestle Luhan off the hood when the latter successfully springs on top of it. When Jongin thinks about it, as much as getting hit and yelled at hurt, he figures that hating Chanyeol entirely would be the same as hating Sehun, and the thought of hating Sehun (or Sehun hating him) makes Jongin choke back tears. His own words of advice to Luhan pop up in his head, and Jongin figures that it wouldn't be entirely illogical of him to acknowledge (and thus hate) Chanyeol's weird side, whilst simultaneously wanting to hug Chanyeol for introducing him to the best person he has ever met in his entire life. Jongin feels his head spinning from all the thoughts pinballing around inside his brain, and eventually, he has to stuff a taffy in his mouth before he can send himself into a nervous frenzy. Jongin doesn't remember what Sehun said about the whole thing when they sat on the bridge a couple of months ago, Jongin figures he must have slept through it, but he wouldn't be surprised if Sehun felt the same exact way.

"I have a brother who recently broke up with his girlfriend," Luhan says, snapping Jongin out of his trance, whilst he attempts to tug Chanyeol's sweater's off. "You're probably too tall for him, but you could always try, right?" When Chanyeol only smacks his hand away, Luhan huffs in irritation. "Aren't you listening to me??? You can't wear that and expect to get yourself a prince, just ask Jongin!" He gestures at Jongin, who shakes his head in disapproval.

Jongin only bursts into a fit of giggles when Chanyeol groans in annoyance (he figures Chanyeol fully deserves to be mocked for wearing such an ugly shirt in public). He watches as Chanyeol attempts to shove Luhan off the hood to no avail, and as much as Jongin wants to join in, he knows for a fact that Sehun will end up hiding the leftover cinnamon pie from him if he finds out about this, so he remains bolted to the ground. For five seconds, that is, since Jongin soon feels his legs quivering restlessly, and before he knows it, he's scurrying towards the car. Jongin only chuckles at Luhan's envious squawk when he jumps six feet in the air and effortlessly hoists himself up and onto the roof of Chanyeol's car. 

"Okay, y'all hate my taste in fashion, I got it, now get off--" Chanyeol huffs in annoyance and mutters a low apology to a family of four as they send him strange looks before they proceed to get into the car right next to his. He manages to grab the back of Luhan's shirt before shoving him off the hood, but Chanyeol doesn't even get a chance to get off the hood himself when Jongin reaches out and tugs on his hair. "Don't touch me, you little-"

"Shiny," Jongin giggles from his spot on the roof, eyes filling with stars when the sun hits Chanyeol's head and briefly illuminates the latter's hair to the point that it nearly looks magical. As he lies on his stomach, tail swaying above his head, Jongin attempts to grab Chanyeol's silver locks again, only for the latter to move away. Jongin makes a mental note to convince Sehun to dye his hair the same color (which, when he thinks about it, may not actually be a good idea, since Jongin figures it would most likely result in him chasing Sehun around everywhere whilst attempting to touch the latter's hair) before looking up at the trees above. It's not until he sees a squirrel hiding among the branches that he grins.

"No way, it's mine, I saw it first, like, half an hour ago," Luhan squawks and nearly kicks Chanyeol in the face when he scrambles back onto the hood. A predatory glint flashes in his eyes as he proceeds to shove Jongin right off the roof. Chanyeol thankfully manages to fly forward and catch Jongin before he can hit the ground. "I didn't even know they liked the cold weather, but oh well," Luhan growls and Jongin watches in envy as he effortlessly grabs the critter with nifty fingers. "At least Mom won't lecture me for only eating junk food, right??"

Chanyeol only runs a hand through his hair, seemingly praying for the state of his car, and he emits a noise of pure disgust when Luhan swiftly decapitates the creature with his teeth. He proceeds to feel his back pockets, only to squawk when he turns around and sees Jongin, who is sitting cross legged on the hood and chewing on the keychain attached to the car keys. "Gimme those," Chanyeol huffs before swiping them right out of Jongin's hands. He immediately runs a hand down his face when he realizes that the entire roof of his car is covered in blood, courtesy of Luhan tearing apart an artery. "Oh my ing God-"

"Did you buy all your Christmas gifts yet?" Luhan asks, chewing with his mouth open and only chuckling when Chanyeol subsequently gags. "You gotta give Jongin some ideas since he has no frickin' clue what to give Sehun," he adds and sticks his tongue, which is all bloodied, out at Jongin when the latter sends him a look of pure envy. 

"Uh." Chanyeol leans against his car. "Not really," he mumbles and scratches the back of his head. He checks his watch before clearing his throat. "Look, I-"

"Hey, I think Sehun's good at buying gifts, since he's a prince, after all," Luhan says before looking at Jongin, who beams. "Why don'tcha ask him for some, you know, advice?" he asks, his words muffled as he takes a large bite before spitting brown fur everywhere.

Chanyeol only whines in disgust before slumping his shoulders and wiping his keychain with the hem of his sweater. "Yeah, I'm...not gonna do that," he mutters, mainly to himself. He only swats Jongin's hand way when the latter attempts to grab and prod at his hair for the nth time. "Stop that, you goddamn--"

"Why not?" Jongin asks, feeling himself growing agitated at the thought of Chanyeol possibly having anything against Sehun. "Why not? Why not???" He crawls forward and pokes Chanyeol's neck, fully ready to slash the latter in the face (and possibly drown him) if he so much as attempts to hit him again. 

Instead of hitting anybody, Chanyeol simply crosses his arms. "He--" He clamps his mouth shut before huffing. "Because he doesn't like me," he simply says after a while and yanks his car keys out of Jongin's hands when the latter swipes them a second time. "Would you cut it out and keep your hands to yourself for once--"

"Why wouldn't Sehun like you?" Luhan asks, genuine confusion in his voice as he lifts his head, his face covered with bright red blood. "I mean, besides the obvious, of course." He sniggers. "I mean, without you, he wouldn't have met his princess, and Jongin wouldn't be super happy 24/7," he adds before jumping off the hood in one swift motion and landing on his feet right next to Chanyeol, who flinches in surprise. "No, seriously." He jabs Chanyeol's shoulder. "Why wouldn't he-"

"Because I ed up, okay," Chanyeol exclaims whilst throwing his hands in the air, only to slap a hand over his mouth when a group of women send him dirty looks as they walk past. He exhales slowly before he runs a hand through his hair again.

They all fall into silence before Luhan emits a loud, drawn out noise of confusion. "Just tell him you're sorry," he says and shivers when a gust of wind passes, so he climbs up and joins Jongin on the warm hood. "Mom always tells me to say sorry when I screw up, it works every time! Like, there was this one time my brother-"

"It's not that easy," Chanyeol huffs before picking at the keychain on his car keys. Jongin seriously wonders how he isn't freezing to death without a scarf, hat or mittens. He can practically feel Jongin and Luhan's puzzled stares burning holes in his back and he groans. "Some things...can't be forgiven, I...guess," he says after a while and jabs Jongin's chest when the latter's stare only grows even more puzzled. "Stop looking at me like that-"

"Wait, so does that mean Sehun told you that he'd never forgive you?" Luhan asks, leaning back against the windshield whilst he his fingers clean of blood, before wiping his hands on his pants. When Chanyeol only huffs, Luhan chuckles. "So like, if he didn't say he'd never forgive you, there's like, literally no point in jumping to conclusions, you know. Man, you really are moronic." He and Jongin exchange amused looks before Luhan crawls over and successfully grabs Chanyeol's car keys.

Chanyeol stifles a frustrated scream before whirling around and yanking them out of Luhan's hands. He makes sure to stuff them deep inside his pockets before adjusting his sweater. "You wouldn't understand," he simply says and blinks when he sees the look on Jongin's face. "For the last time, stop staring at me like that or I'll-"

"But do you want him to forgive you?" Luhan asks between chews. "I mean, my mom says that in order to see change, you gotta want it!! I think there's some truth to that," he adds with a triumphant noise before he goes back to burying his face in his catch.

Chanyeol only blinks. "Yeah...whatever-"

"But like, I hate some of the things you do but I also love some of the things you do," Jongin says, ears flattening shyly when Chanyeol puts his hands on his hips. He gently rubs his cheek, which is pretty much numb at this point. "Like, you hit me and it really hurt, you made Sehun angry and you said you didn't give a about my mother, and I hate you for that," he adds and only jabs Luhan's arm when the latter proceeds to whack him on the back for saying a bad word. "But like...Sehun wouldn't be my boyfriend if it wasn't for you, I think, so I like you because of that." Jongin drums his fingers against the hood of the car before he swallows. He isn't sure if it's the hypothermia catching up with him, but he suddenly feels his chest heating up. "And Sehun makes me happier than anyone else, so it would be stupid of me to be angry at you, right?" He looks up and beams.

"First of all, what happened to me being your best friend, A.K.A the person who should make you the happiest? A.K.A the person who lets you have the leftover pie that they made?" Luhan huffs before chuckling. He only shrugs before they both look at Chanyeol, who looks a lot like a tree as he simply stands in the same place and blinks. "Man, I think there was something about that suit of yours, 'cause I think this thing--" he gestures at Chanyeol's sweater. "--is preventing you from getting angry, thank God, otherwise I would've clawed your eyes right out and eaten them for dinner, just saying."

Chanyeol blinks for the nth time before swallowing and shrugging nonchalantly. "Fine, but..." He sighs before gesturing at his car. "I need to-- Could you please--"

"Are you in a hurry?" Luhan asks, his tone suggesting that he has absolutely zero intentions of moving a muscle. His tail sways in all directions and nearly grazes Chanyeol's face.

When Chanyeol only rolls his eyes, Jongin stretches before lying himself down against the hood of the car. It's so warm that he worries his face might melt right off, but he sighs in contentment, anyway. At least I won't be dying of hypothermia anytime soon, he thinks. His eyes widen and he sits up like a bullet when he points to Chanyeol. "Are...are you sad?" he asks, cocking his head aside.

Chanyeol only sighs and Jongin knows he's given up on trying to hide the glumness in his voice. He simply gestures at his car. "Could you please just get off-"

"I know what to do," Jongin exclaims, his entire face lighting up when he scrambles off the hood and stands next to to passenger's side door. He practically tugs on the handle a million times until Chanyeol finally unlocks his car, and Jongin nearly closes the door on his tail as he climbs into the passenger's seat. It smells like Axe, but thankfully not laundry detergent, and Jongin hears Luhan getting into the backseat whilst he eagerly drums his fingers against the dash. "Hurry, hurry, hurry--"

"Fine, fine, shut up," Chanyeol huffs before getting behind the wheel and adjusting the rear view mirror after Jongin turns it to inspect his reflection. Chanyeol leans back against the headrest, exhaling slowly before sighing and running a hand through his hair. "If Sehun catches me right now, I'm taking you both with me to my grave, just saying," he says with no hint of sarcasm in his voice whatsoever. He groans loudly when Jongin tugs on the air freshener before he swiftly yanks it right off. "Stop touching everything, for God's sake," he groans before jamming the key in the ignition. "Sehun probably lets you have your way with his stuff, but if you-- Would you cut it out!!" He reaches across and smacks Jongin's hand when the latter tries opening the glove box.

Jongin attempts to reach for the glove box again, only for Chanyeol to send him a tired look. Jongin simply pouts before he shakes his head back and forth to rid it of melted snow, seemingly missing Chanyeol's subsequent squawk of protest, before he looks out the window.  When Chanyeol asks him for directions, Jongin simply points to the right without tearing his eyes off the window. He can feel his candy bag in his pocket, but he refuses to eat any more in fear of Sehun getting mad and not giving him any pie after dinner. Jongin fidgets with the air freshener in his hands and figures he could give it to Sehun, considering the fact that Sehun hasn't bought a new air freshener for his car ever since Jongin (accidentally) broke his off months ago.

"Wait, didn't you kinda tell me that you and Sehun did it in his car?" Luhan asks absentmindedly as he runs his finger along the fog covering the window. He manages to draw a (half-assed) fish and he proudly grins.

Jongin hums something in reply before lifting his head off the window. "Yeah," he says, playing with his fingers. He's still got bruises all over his right knee after pressing it up against the stick shift in Sehun's car, which he realizes after gently poking his kneecap and nearly dying of pain.

"What's it like, even? I mean, in all those clips I watched, I keep seeing 'em doing it on a bed and stuff, and I get that, y'know? But like, what's it even like to do it in a car??" Luhan asks all in one breath, curiosity lacing his words as he leans forward as much as his seatbelt allows him to.

Jongin presses his lips together. All he recalls is having literally no space to move, as well as the constant worry of whether or not he might end up setting off the horn every time Sehun ed into him and practically slammed him against the steering wheel. "Uh, my head kind of hit the roof every time he, uh...put it in," he mumbles, figuring he would have suffered a concussion if it wasn't for the fact that car roofs are awfully soft. "And my back still hurts from sitting up for so long. But sitting up is better than lying down because of all the gravity, so it always feels good!" he adds with a wide grin, only to blink when Chanyeol sighs loudly.

"I really, really wish I didn't just hear that," Chanyeol deadpans before he rolls his eyes and shudders.

Brushing snow off his ears, Luhan grins before leaning forward and pressing the back of his entire hand, which is soaking wet and ice cold, against Chanyeol's neck. He and Jongin subsequently burst into such loud laughter that they both miss the way Chanyeol nearly swerves right off the road after emitting a loud shriek of surprise. It's not until Luhan proceeds to do it again (Jongin refuses, since Sehun has lectured him for days on end about the importance of safe driving) that Chanyeol threatens to open Luhan's door, toss the latter right out and onto the road, before leaving him there forever. Luhan immediately resorts to sitting unmoving in his seat.

"I swear to God, if you two are leading me to some random old shack in the middle of the woods I'm gonna murder you both and leave you there, just saying," Chanyeol murmurs and blinks when Jongin suddenly tells him to turn left. It's not until he drives a few more feet that the bridge and pond both come into view, and Chanyeol emits a terrified squawk when Jongin and Luhan proceed to throw their doors open whilst he's still in the midst of finding a place to park.

Jongin scampers off towards the bridge, feeling the familiar tingling sensation in his gut as he practically throws himself onto the wood and lies on his stomach. He doesn't even realize how dark it's gotten until he looks up and nearly gets blinded by the saturated rays slowly disappearing behind the horizon. All Jongin can think about is the handful of times he's sat on this same exact spot together with Sehun, his head rested in the latter's lap whilst Sehun his hair and whispered loving words into his ear. It practically sets Jongin's chest on fire and he has to force himself to think other thoughts when the feeling bubbling in his gut threatens to send him over the edge. In fact, Jongin is seconds away from pulling out his phone and calling Sehun when he suddenly notices Luhan sitting cross legged next to him.

"Why the long face?" Luhan asks, his voice accompanied by the calm swaying of the bushes to their right as he pats Jongin's head. "Lemme guess, it's Sehun, right?" He chuckles when Jongin only pouts.

Jongin sighs before tapping his finger against the frozen surface of the pond and curling up on his side. "I miss Sehun," he whines, not even bothering to hide his pout as he traces invisible love hearts into the soft wood, something he did with Sehun two weeks ago after seeing which one of them could draw a better looking heart (which Sehun may or may not have won). Since they had no pencils or pens, they resorted to using their fingers, instead. The thought only makes Jongin whine again and he doesn't even realize he's kneading his own coat until Luhan giggles.

"It's not like he's in a different country, you know, he's literally just getting you your Christmas gift!" Luhan chuckles before a thick lock of orange hair blows right in his face and covers his green eyes. They both look up when the sound of shoes clacking against wood fills the air. "You took your time," he snickers and scooches aside ever so slightly. Jongin doesn't even bother moving.

"Shut it, finding a parking space was a ," Chanyeol mutters before running a hand through his hair. From his position by Chanyeol's feet, Jongin can't help but stare when he sees the way the former's silver hair blows in the wind after he looks up. Chanyeol promptly ignores Luhan's remark of 'My mom says that's a bad word' before sending them both a look. "...What exactly are we doing here?" he asks, a hint of impatience in his voice.

Luhan only closes his eyes and leans back on his hands when a cool breeze hits his face. "You said you were sad," he simply says, his voice dropping two octaves when said breeze rushes past his lips. The sun is setting quickly and Jongin wraps his tail around his ankle as he watches the orange rays reflecting in the icy surface below.

Chanyeol blinks before shifting. "...I guess, but what's--" He doesn't even get to finish his sentence when, out of nowhere, Jongin and Luhan stand up and Chanyeol can only squawk in protest whilst they proceed to wrestle him into a (half-assed) sitting position. He only winces in discomfort before shifting into a more comfortable position and crosses his arms over his chest when another ice cold gust of wind passes. "It's cold as a motherer out here--"

"You should've brought a coat and scarf," Luhan chuckles, but it's not until Chanyeol shivers again that he removes his scarf and tosses it at the latter. He looks at Jongin, who is practically hanging off the edge of the bridge trying to spot fish, and both he and Chanyeol scramble to grab Jongin's ankles when the latter briefly loses his grip and nearly crashes through the ice below. "There aren't any fish right now, dude--"

Jongin only huffs before pouting slightly. "There might be," he says and is seriously glad that Sehun wasn't there to witness him nearly falling in just now. He looks at Chanyeol, who is awkwardly scanning his surroundings, and taps his leg. "Are you still sad?" he asks, eyes wide. 

Chanyeol blinks. He opens and closes his mouth several times (like a fish, Jongin thinks, and feels his mouth water) before sighing. "You know, that's such a weird thing to ask," he says and stares at the red and green scarf in his hand. "Is...is there blood on this?" he asks and squints.

"Definitely," Luhan replies as he lies down on his back and stares up at the clouds, which are moving at a slow pace and tinted a shade of gold. He hears Chanyeol murmur something to himself before the latter proceeds to wrap the scarf around his neck. "And since you asked, this is our happy place." Luhan takes a deep breath before exhaling a thin cloud of steam. "No sadness allowed here," he hums and closes his eyes. 

Jongin nods and only giggles when Chanyeol blinks in disbelief. "It's impossible to feel sad out here," he softly says, and he can't help but pull out his phone and take a picture of the dazzling sunset before sending it to Sehun with the words 'I wish you were here right now, but I'm looking at this right now and it's almost like you are!! <3'. The reply is nearly instant and Jongin emits a low squee and hugs his phone close to his chest when the words 'Not too close to the edge, the ice is probably really thin! I hope you're having fun! Stay safe out there, okay? Love you.', show up on the screen.

"Can you stop texting each other like some sort of prince and princess," Luhan huffs in envy as he rolls his eyes. "Don't worry, you're not the only one lacking a prince," he says and pats Chanyeol's leg reassuringly, the latter only blinking in response. "But yeah, it really is impossible to feel sad or angry when you're sitting here," he says after a while whilst looking back at the horizon. Two doves squawk at each other as they fly high above the clouds and Jongin doesn't miss the way Chanyeol watches them with a certain glint in his eyes. It's not until Jongin hears Chanyeol mumble something about said doves probably being his parents that he's about to ask Chanyeol what he means, but Luhan beats him to it.

"I also wish Mom and Dad were birds," Luhan says, which only makes Chanyeol and Jongin blink. "I mean, actually not, since I'd probably eat them, and like, who would supply me with clean underwear everyday in that case???" He rolls his eyes when Chanyeol chuckles low in his throat. "Nobody, that's who."

They sit in silence for a minute, the only audible sounds being Luhan's scarf as it flaps in the wind, the doves singing as they fly in the sky, as well as Luhan's occasional squawk every time Jongin gets too close to the edge and nearly ends up falling head first through the ice. Jongin finds himself looking at Chanyeol every now and then, and Jongin can't help but notice Chanyeol's expression shifting into a more relaxed one every time he looks back at him. The wind soon settles and the air suddenly grows so calm that Jongin can practically hear every breath he takes and every movement he makes, which he sort of hates, but he manages to grow accustomed to it after a while.

Jongin doesn't know how long he ends up lying in the same position, or if he even ends up actually dozing off, but the next thing he recalls is flinching at the sound of Chanyeol's voice.

Luhan blinks, seemingly also being pulled from his slumber. "Did you say something???"

"I just don't get it," Chanyeol says for the third time, mainly to himself, whilst picking up a pebble and tossing it in front of him. They all watch as it practically bounces off of the ice before he huffs. When Jongin sends him a puzzled look, he tightens the scarf around his neck. "Uh, y'know, why you're doing all...of this--" He clears his throat and fixes his hair after it gets messed up by the wind. 

Luhan blinks again. "Because you said you were sad," he simply says and pats Chanyeol's leg. "But since Sehun never actually said he wouldn't forgive you, you shouldn't be, right?" He smiles widely and Jongin giggles.

"Yeah, but--" Chanyeol cuts himself off before sighing and looking at the rustling bushes to his right. "I already told you, it's not that easy, but-- it, you wouldn't understand," he mutters in irritation. "Let's just leave it that Sehun's never gonna forgive me-"

"Wait," Luhan says and blinks. "Are you seriously suggesting that we shouldn't be able to like certain things about you just because Sehun happens to be mad at you?" He blinks before looking at Jongin. "...Isn't that kind of like me saying that Jongin's no longer my best friend because he's pissed at you for whatever reason?" He scratches the back of his head, clearly confused, before he shrugs. "I dunno, you people tend to go all out out with your thinking, it sometimes makes my brain hurt--"

Jongin stretches and accidentally kicks Chanyeol in the ribs. "Sounds kinda weird to me," he hums sleepily, ears twitching when he hears birds flying around above. His body is starting to go numb from lying on its side and he rolls onto his back. Jongin immediately regrets it when he feels the cold snow seeping into his scalp and he winces in discomfort.

"That's not how it works," Chanyeol practically wails in irritation, his voice bouncing off of the ice and echoing for seconds.

"I mean, you and Sehun are friends, aren't you?" Luhan asks and Jongin's ears immediately perk up. 

Chanyeol blinks before he scratches the back of his head. "Not really-- I mean, none of us were all that close outside of work, but we got along pretty well at the office and we sometimes hung out after work, but only sometimes," he says quietly, so quietly that Jongin has to lean in ever so slightly to hear what he's saying. He immediately leans away when Chanyeol suddenly huffs in exasperation. "Like, everything was going so well and then all this goddamn ing bull had to happen at home, and--" He buries his face in his hands before practically tugging at his hair in irritation. "Everything kinda just--" He lifts his head, a tired expression plastered on his face as he lazily gestures in front of him. "...Yeah."

Luhan is silent for a minute. "...Wow, if you said half of those words to my mom, she would've grounded you for six months," he chuckles before scooching closer and patting Chanyeol's back. "But you're the reason Jongin and Sehun met, right? And they're the happiest I've ever seen them! Without you, that would've never happened!" He reassuringly whacks Chanyeol on the back, the latter sputtering. Jongin nearly falls off the bridge from laughing so hard.

Regaining his composure, Chanyeol rests his head on his hand and Jongin swears he can see him pouting ever so slightly. "How many times do I need to tell you, Sehun's never gonna-"

"So you're saying that Sehun flat out hates you despite the fact that you're the reason he even met his princess in the first place?" Luhan asks, eyes wide in disbelief. He only chuckles and shakes his head when Chanyeol shrugs. "Then he's a frickin' idiot," he simply says and Chanyeol has to yank Jongin away when the latter nearly shoves Luhan backwards and into the pond. "I mean, don't get me wrong, he'll always be my favorite idiot in that case, but he's still kind of an idiot, right?" Luhan chuckles after straightening out his ears. "I mean, that's literally like me choosing to straight up hate Jongin for being annoying, which he always is, whilst completely disregarding all the great things he's done for me as a best friend. It makes zero sense!" He throws his hands in the air and curses when he misses a bird by an inch after it flies past their faces.

Jongin only blinks, not knowing if he should hug or strangle Luhan when the latter sends him a wide smile. "I'm not annoying, you're annoying," he childishly huffs, only to swat Luhan's ears when the latter simply sticks his tongue out. Chanyeol only sighs. "Maybe you should come back to work so that you and Sehun can be friends again?" Jongin asks and blinks when Chanyeol shakes his head. "Why not???"

"Never liked that place," Chanyeol simply says whilst moving into a cross legged position. A strong gust of wind suddenly blows all of his hair forward until it's all practically in his face. He only hisses in pain when Jongin accidentally pokes him in the eye whilst trying to fix his hair. "If anything, y'all did me a huge favor by getting me out of there, so thanks, I guess," he adds with a dry laugh.

"And we got our own playroom, so it's a win-win!" Luhan squees whilst giving Jongin a high five. He misses, though, and accidentally ends up swatting Jongin square in the face. Jongin only tugs on Chanyeol's hair when the latter laughs loudly. "He can be real feisty, so be careful."

"I know all about that," Chanyeol deadpans whilst fixing his hair again. He suddenly chuckles. "I didn't need to pay for what you two es did to my office, by the way, so that's...great, I guess," he says and exhales slowly as looks up at the calm sky. The clouds have seemingly stopped moving and the few remaining orange rays are on the verge of being erased. He's about to lie down when he flinches so hard that he nearly tumbles off the edge of the bridge, and onto the icy surface below, when Luhan suddenly pounces on top of him before he proceeds to envelope him in a bone crushing hug. "Uh, what are you-"

"Don't be sad, dude, okay??" Luhan chuckles before patting Chanyeol's head like a dog, the latter only blinking in surprise. "I mean yeah, Sehun hates you and you kind of are a moron and sorta weird, but I'll always, always like you for introducing Jongin to his prince no matter what," he says before leaning away and sending Chanyeol a feline like wink. "There's always light in every negative situation, y'know."

Chanyeol raises an eyebrow. "Says who?" he asks and his head to the side.

"Me!" Jongin squees before raising a hand in the air and waving it around frantically. He only giggles loudly when Chanyeol blinks.

Luhan nods. "It's true," he says whilst reaching out and tugging on Chanyeol's hair, the latter only swatting his hand away. "Sehun may be my favorite idiot, but you sure are my favorite moron." He sends Chanyeol another dramatic wink before poking the latter's sweater. "Man, this thing sure is soft-"

"I thought you thought it was the ugliest thing you'd ever seen," Chanyeol chuckles before straightening out the wrinkles in his sweater. "I actually--" His sentence ends in a low 'Oomf!' when Jongin suddenly tackles him in a bearhug. "Dude, your ear's all up in my face, get it off." He jabs Jongin's back repeatedly, only for the latter to giggle. It's not until Jongin tightens his hold that Chanyeol sighs before wrapping an arm around Jongin's back whilst chuckling slightly. "Okay, I get it, now seriously, get off, you weigh a ing ton--"

"Sehun is my whole world and you helped me meet my whole world," Jongin says whilst Chanyeol sits up with a groan, all whilst poking the latter's chest. "It makes sense, right? Right? Right? Right? Ri-"

"That hurts, fuzzbrain," Chanyeol huffs and whacks Jongin's hand away. "Seriously, can't you lot keep your hands to yourself for longer than ten sec-"

"You can't say that it doesn't make sense, ya just can't," Luhan interrupts with a laugh, Jongin only nodding in agreement. 

"Look!" Jongin squees as he gently picks up a ladybug with the tip of his index finger. Its bright red back is speckled with white snow and Jongin goes on to ramble about how pretty it looks, only to emit a horrified squawk when Luhan wordlessly grabs it before putting it in his mouth. "You can't eat pretty things!" Jongin huffs and crosses his arms over his chest. 

Luhan shamelessly swallows it before brushing his hands together. "Food is food," he simply says and grins. "Besides, if I did care about what's pretty, I'd have eaten that--" He reaches across and ruffles Chanyeol's hair. "--a long time ago." He chuckles loudly before pointing to Chanyeol's hair again. "You should keep it like that!" he says and Jongin nods in agreement. "I mean, it makes you look like an old grandpa but it tones down the scariness by like, a lot."

"Maybe Sehun won't be mad at you now that you don't look scary," Jongin giggles and Luhan practically gives himself whiplash from vigorously nodding. "Why'd you change it, anyway?" he asks, ears twitching in wonder.

"Yeah, forget it," Chanyeol mumbles, still in the midst of fixing his hair, which must be riddled to the very last strand with product, since Jongin finds himself wincing at the loud crunching noises every time he runs a hand through it. A silver lock sticks right up and he doesn't even bother stopping Jongin when the latter crawls forward and tugs on it. "I...it's kinda stupid, you uh, wouldn't get it," he simply says before lying back down again. It's not until he sees Luhan scooping up a handful of snow to his left that he blinks. "Don't you ing dare-"

Luhan only grins cheekily before holding up the most perfect snowball that Jongin has ever seen in his life (it also makes Jongin's hands go numb just by looking at it). "Speak up, old man, or you're history," he says and both he and Jongin erupt into a string of giggles when Chanyeol blinks before groaning loudly. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" He leans in, his green eyes flashing a shade of yellow after Chanyeol only murmurs to himself. Jongin has no idea what he means, but he finds himself unable to stop laughing, anyway.

"Shut up, that's just weird," Chanyeol squabbles whilst shoving Luhan, which nearly makes the latter drop his snowball. "No but seriously, you wouldn't get it," he says as he watches birds flying around in the sky. He sighs loudly when they all go silent, before Jongin notices him fidgeting with the hem of his sweater. "It's kinda like..." His voice trails off, almost like he's trying to formulate himself in the best way possible. "You know when you, uh, know you've done something bad and like, you know it's kinda all your fault so you try to like...I guess, change yourself as much as you can to get away from...who you used to be, I guess?" A gust of wind passes and he blinks when neither Luhan nor Jongin say anything for three whole minutes. "Did you both die or wh-"

"You mean like when I know I'm technically grounded from catching sparrows but I end up doing it anyway, but Mom eventually finds out, so I instead choose to give them all to her as a Mother's Day present so she won't be as angry with me?" Luhan asks all in one breath and Jongin figures that Luhan would be out in the streets a second time if he so much as brought up the idea to his mother now. 

Chanyeol blinks. "Please don't tell me you-"

"I mean, she ended up adding an extra two weeks to my grounded-ness," Luhan mumbles, which only makes Chanyeol chuckle ever so slightly. "But I was asking you, old man, so speak up! Was I right? I was, right???" He tugs on Chanyeol's shoe in irritation.

Swatting Luhan's hand away with his foot, Chanyeol only exhales slowly and Jongin and Luhan miss the way he shakes his head. "It's a human thing, I guess, you wouldn't understand," he lowly says, only to sit up like a bullet when Jongin suddenly wriggles his right shoe off. "The are you doing--" Chanyeol only buries his face in his hands when Jongin curiously twists and turns it in his hands, but it's not until Luhan proceeds to suggest that they toss it onto the ice to see how far it will bounce, that Chanyeol hurriedly yanks it out of Jongin's grip. "Goddamn you both, you're just annoying and weird and do nothing but stare and use your stupid, half-assed logic and weird places to try to make people feel better when you don't understand any of it." He toes his shoe back on before huffing in irritation. "It's just stupid."

Luhan and Jongin are both silent as they sit cross legged and watch the orange rays gradually disappear below the horizon. The trees and bushes surrounding the pond rustle as they sway with the breeze whilst Jongin eyes the seagulls walking around on the ice. Luhan's orange tail gets caught in the wind and it's not until he turns his head to look at Chanyeol, his green eyes softening, that Chanyeol blinks.

"And yet you're still here," Luhan simply says before turning his head away and resuming watching the three seagulls in front of them. Two of them fly away and Jongin follows them with his eyes until they disappear among the clouds.

For a second, the air is completely still until Chanyeol breaks the silence with a loud sigh. "Y'know," he grunts whilst sitting up, "sometimes I wish I was like you guys--" He lazily gestures between Luhan and Jongin, who send him quizzical looks. "Y'know, no issues, no problems, no nothing, just...staring at random and being so goddamn happy about absolutely everything and nothing at all." He curses under his breath and they fall into silence again, the only audible sounds being Chanyeol fidgeting with his shoelaces. "Sometimes cat land sounds a lot more enticing than human land, that's for sure." He sighs for the nth time before fiddling with a loose, green thread on Luhan's scarf. He blinks when he looks up and sees Jongin and Luhan's expressions. "See, there you go with the stupid staring again, -"

"Human land sounds fun, too," Jongin mumbles, since being a human would mean that he could possibly exist as Sehun, which only makes his entire body heat up. But then again, he figures that he would have the pleasure of living and falling in love with Sehun taken away from him in that case, so Jongin sort of takes it back. "People won't always come up to you and ask if you're constantly hung up on Halloween," he adds whilst tracing invisible patterns into the cold, snowy wood. The tip of his finger goes numb with wetness and Jongin keeps his comment about how just how exhausting it can be jumping from family to family to himself, before he yanks his mitten off and tosses it over his shoulder.

"Not to mention having this--" Luhan scoffs before grabbing his tail and practically shoving it in Chanyeol's face. "--stepped and tugged on on the daily isn't frickin' fun." When Jongin only nods in agreement, he shrugs. "Not to mention, good luck trying to enjoy snack in peace without a hundred people grimacing and judging you 24/7." He blinks when he notices Chanyeol staring at his missing tail tip - a direct result of having a hot iron placed right on it, before looking back at the sunset. "Although sometimes I'm kinda glad I'm not one of 'em, since they can be so, so cruel."  

Chanyeol blinks and it's not until Jongin scooches over and envelopes Luhan in a tight hug that he clears his throat. "Yeah, I, uh...get...that, I guess, yeah, fair enough," he mutters, scratching the back of his head. He opens and closes his mouth before muttering something incoherent under his breath and running a hand through his hair.

Inevitably, Jongin's ear twitches and faces Chanyeol before he turns his head. "Did you wanna say something??" he asks, his fuzzy hood pressed up against Luhan's cheek.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Chanyeol squabbles but he doesn't even bother holding back the sigh of defeat that leaves his lips when Jongin turns around and blinks at him. He goes on to tell Jongin to cut it out with the creepy staring before shrugging. "I mean...it's--" He leans back on his hands, only to squawk when he places his entire hand on a pile of ice cold snow. "Like, I dunno if it's a good time to say it, but--" He huffs in irritation as he wipes his hands on his jeans. "I always ing hated him," he says after a while and Jongin doesn't miss the way he clenches his jaw when he looks at Luhan's tail, which is severed at the tip. "I'm obvious talking about Jongdae, you incompetent ers."

Luhan's eyes flash at the mention of Jongdae's name, which only has Jongin patting his back. "Yeah, well--" He sighs before resting his head on his left hand. "Wait, I thought you two were friends? I mean, Jongdae never talked about you or Sehun," he adds and furrows his eyebrows in wonder. He grabs Jongin's sleeve when the latter instinctively scrambles towards the edge of the bridge after a seagull emerges from underneath it. It only results in Jongin's coat slipping off, and Luhan can only watch as Chanyeol grips Jongin's blouse before giving the latter a harsh tug, which sends Jongin backwards and crashing right into Chanyeol's lap.

"I can swim well, I can! I can, ask Sehun!" Jongin exclaims as he tries escaping Chanyeol's iron grip, fully unable to move even his arms as the latter presses him against his chest. Chanyeol's grip only tightens to the point that Jongin worries he might actually die when the bird jumps up onto the edge of the bridge. A loud laugh makes it past Jongin's dry lips when he notices Luhan practically shaking like a leaf trying to restrain himself. Much to Chanyeol's relief, it soon flies away as quickly as it came.

Chanyeol loosens his grip ever so slightly. "You'd still go into cold shock and die, smartass," he says with an eye roll. "Not to mention you can bet your dumb that I wouldn't risk freezing to death if you plummeted through the ice, just saying," he adds only half jokingly. "And hell no, I never liked Jongdae, that goddamn, stuck up piece of --" He rolls his eyes again and doesn't even have to look up to know that both Jongin and Luhan's eyes are glued on him. "I mean, he didn't like me either, so we kinda just stayed out of each other's ways for the most part. And like-- I remember walking past his office that day and seeing you all bored to death sitting in one of the corners, it kinda ." He gestures at Luhan and curses when his gets messed up by the wind again. "And Sehun was knocked out with the flu that entire week, so that's probably why he didn't bother telling you about him. But he was a goddamn head so he probably wouldn't have bothered to, anyway."

Jongin blinks. He's lucky that it's below zero degrees outside, because he figures he would definitely die from how much his body is overheating with fury, especially when he notices Luhan's ears drooping ever so slightly. Jongin quickly reaches into his pocket and proceeds to give Luhan the rest of his candy (after picking out a few to give to Sehun later), the latter beaming at the gesture.

"Wait, but why didn't you like him?" Jongin asks with wide eyes. It soon hits him that he should probably get up, given that Sehun's house is less than a block away, and Jongin really doesn't want to think about what Sehun might possibly do if he were to walk over and catch him practically draped across Chanyeol's lap (even though he's solely doing it because Chanyeol's ugly sweater is awfully warm, but Jongin doesn't think Sehun is going to care). 

"Well, he once stormed into my office and decked me right in the chest when he found out I accidentally drank his coke from the fridge," Chanyeol chuckles even though his voice is practically dripping with hatred. "And that morning, he tried pushing me down the stairs by the lobby after I managed to bump into him on my way down, before threatening to find a way to sack me if I told our boss," he adds and shakes his head with a low chuckle, only to slap Jongin's hands away when the latter instinctively presses his hands against the fuzzy green material of his sweater. "I actually heard that he managed to shove Baekhyun's hus...I mean, ex husband down the stairs for no reason at all when he visited Baekhyun after work." He huffs, clearly agitated. "Dude's ed up and straight up violent, nobody liked him except for like, maybe Baekhyun, but that's only 'cause Jongade threatened to beat his ex to a pulp if he spoke a word about it to Baekhyun, so yeah, Jongdae can go die in a ditch for all I care." Chanyeol has to stop and take a breath to steady himself before he tightens the scarf around his neck.

Jongin blinks as he scrambles out of Chanyeol's lap. "Did...did he hurt Sehun?" he asks quietly, ears flattening against his head as he feels his chest burning up. Luhan has to place a hand on his shoulder before he can wind himself up into a panicked frenzy.

Chanyeol shakes his head with a chuckle. "Sehun was like, the only person Jongdae actually tolerated, apart from this one girl he obviously fancied in the other department, and by tolerated, I mean that he straight up avoided Sehun like the plague for the entire year," he laughs. "But I think it was mainly 'cause...well, you know how Sehun is when he's mad," he adds and Jongin doesn't miss the way his eyes flash, before Luhan nods in agreement. "But at least Sehun isn't an , y'know, unlike Jongdae. Christ, you couldn't even deliver papers to him without worrying for the safety of your ribs and face each time." He clenches his jaw in anger. "Sometimes, he'd just ing explode, like, you could just be standing next to him and he'd basically split your spine in half for simply breathing the same air as him, it was insane." Chanyeol fidgets with his shoelaces before blinking. "Come to think of it, I overheard some girls saying that he was finally sacked for punching our boss square in the face and shattering her glasses when she asked him for a favor."

Jongin blinks again. A part of him wants to laugh, since he really does hate Sehun's boss' round, ugly glasses, but another part of him wants to pass out from relief, since he doesn't know what he would do if he learned that Jongdae possibly hurt Sehun, as well. They sit in silence for a minute until he blinks. "But you said that I got him-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, shut up," Chanyeol huffs after throwing his hands in the air. "I think we were all just surprised at the fact that he was actually gone, since we all figured she would keep him forever 'cause of how 'ambitious and hardworking' he was," he adds and mimics his former boss' voice, which only makes Jongin and Luhan burst into laughter. Chanyeol has to quiet them both down when a jogger jogs past and sends them a strange look. "Like sure, he'd literally threaten to kill us every time he saw us in the hallways, but yeah, keep the angel." He rolls his eyes before exhaling a thick cloud of steam. He blinks when he sees Luhan's expression.

"But you hit Jongin in the face and slammed him onto a table," Luhan says, his tone serious as he glares at Chanyeol, who groans. "So how exactly are you any different from-"

"I know," Chanyeol exclaims before running a hand down his face. "But that wasn't because of Jongdae," he mutters and nearly whacks Jongin's shoulder when the latter practically trembles with curiosity. "Let's just say that I was going through my own little...phase at the time and leave it at that, okay?" He says and Jongin has to pretend like he didn't notice the way Chanyeol's voice wavered at the word, before he proceeds to send Jongin a look. "Like, I may be an , yeah, fine, but at least I'm an who can admit when he's wrong, sometimes, unlike somebody, who must have been birthed from of an before growing up to be one themselves for the rest of their goddamn lives," he adds and Jongin figures it doesn't take a genius to figure out who he's referring to.

"I'll always hate that part of you," Luhan says as a matter-of-factly, his eyes flashing dangerously as he grooms his ears and tail. Chanyeol instinctively leans away. "But, I'm always gonna give you that 0.1% of the credit since you introduced my best friend to his prince, whom he's gonna marry soon, right??" He jabs Jongin's shoulder.

Chanyeol clears his throat before Jongin can reply, and he slowly stands up. "Look, as nice as this may be, I gotta get back," he lowly says and Jongin and Luhan scramble to grab his legs before he can topple over from headrush. He brushes his hands together and it's gotten so dark out that he can barely even see them in front of his face. He waits until Jongin and Luhan get to their feet before he turns on his heel, only to be hit in the back of the head with a snowball. "Whatthe--"

"Who're you celebrating Christmas with? I'm celebrating with my family and we're flying to New York," Luhan says whilst scooping up snow and preparing another snowball. Jongin only giggles when he proceeds to toss it right at Chanyeol's chest with startling accuracy. They watch as Chanyeol murmurs something under his breath whilst brushing himself off, before Luhan's jaw hits the ground. "Wait, hold on, whaddya mean, 'Nobody'???" he squawks, a near terrified look on his face as he and Jongin exchange confused looks.

"It's exactly what it sounds like," Chanyeol grumbles, his green sweater now stained with specks of white as he runs a hand through his hair. His eyes suddenly flash and he gestures at his car before pulling out his car keys. "Listen, there's actually-"

"Okay so like, I know you don't have a prince, but like, what about friends and parents?? Don't you have those???" Luhan asks as he and Jongin proceed to follow after Chanyeol, barely avoiding falling flat on his face after he slips on a patch of ice on the ground.

Chanyeol squawks when Jongin attempts to swipe his car keys. "Not anymore," he simply mutters before stopping by his car and unlocking it. Jongin notices him closing his eyes and exhaling slowly before turning around. "It's...hold on, wait, there's something I gotta--" The rest of his words grow muffled as he opens the passenger's side door and proceeds to rummage through the glove compartment.

Jongin only blinks when Chanyeol walks towards him with a white envelope in his hand. "What's this???" he asks, tail and ears twitching as he curiously eyes it. He only smacks Luhan's hands away when the latter attempts to grab it.

"It's, uh--" Chanyeol rubs the back of his neck before shifting. His sweater has turned a shade of forest green and he shivers when a cold gust of wind passes. "For Sehun, actually," he says after a while, which makes Jongin blink. "I've been meaning to give it to him for a couple of days now but had no idea how or when, so it's uh, a good thing I ran into...you, I guess." He proceeds to send Jongin a weak smile, to which the latter replies with a huge grin. "I mean, it might as well be for you, too, now that I think about it-"

"But Sehun's house is like, over there," Luhan says and points to his right. "Why can't you just give it to him now?? Hey, if you do, we'll force him to admit that he was lying when he said he'd never forgive you! And then everything will be okay again!" He practically bounces up and down in excitement whilst Chanyeol only sends him a look. "Come on, why not???"

It's not until Luhan grabs his sleeve and attempts to shove him in the direction of Sehun's house that Chanyeol swats Luhan's hand away. "I'm not gonna do that, I think it's uh, best if you give it to him," he says quietly and gestures at the envelope in Jongin's hands. "And-"

"There you go again with the whole 'Sehun's-never-gonna-forgive-me' thing again!" Luhan squawks and whacks Chanyeol on the back, making the latter squawk. "You're literally the reason he and Jongin met, why wouldn't he forgive you? He has like, no reason to be mad at you, I think, right?? Just say sorry, it works for me every time!!" He crosses his arms over his chest, only to roll his eyes when Chanyeol shakes his head. "Man, you're annoying--"

Chanyeol only leans against the hood of his car before checking his watch. He's silent for a minute before he speaks. "Sorry doesn't always fix everything," he simply says, voice barely audible when a breeze passes and causes him to shudder. He blinks before quickly removing Luhan's scarf and handing it back to the latter. "I know you think it does, but it doesn't," he adds and shakes his head when Jongin only his head aside. "You wouldn't understand-"

"So you're just gonna stand here and accept the fact that Sehun's mad at you even though you could just convince him otherwise??" Luhan asks, genuine confusion in his voice as he eyes Chanyeol like the latter has grown a third head. "Why would you even--"

They fall into silence for a moment, the only audible sounds being the rustling of the trees above as well as Chanyeol's car engine running. Chanyeol is equally silent until he finally slumps his shoulders and kicks a frozen ball of ice. He watches as it rolls away before Luhan crushes it underneath his foot. "Because I deserve it," he says in a flat tone. He tosses his car keys up and down in his hand before his eyes suddenly flash with what Jongin can only describe as a glint of sadness, but it disappears as quickly as it came. "Anyway-"

"Okay, but like--" Luhan puts a finger to his chin, seemingly deep in thought, before his face lights up. "That's just today, right?" he asks with a grin, which only has Chanyeol sending him a confused look. "Like, Sehun might be mad at you today, but what about tomorrow? You could say sorry tomorrow, right?"

Chanyeol sends Luhan a look. "Listen, if Jongdae walked up to you right now and said he was sorry, would you forgive him?"

Luhan blinks, seemingly taken aback, before he shifts ever so slightly. "Uh...no?" He blinks again and avoids Chanyeol's eyes for a fraction of a second. "But-"

"Exactly," Chanyeol sighs, "so what on Earth makes you think-"

"But you need to remember the light!" Luhan exclaims, the joyful glint returning to his eyes as he puts his hands on his hips. "Like, look, if I hadn't met Jongdae, I wouldn't have met my parents or brother or his girlfriend!" He sends Chanyeol a grin. "And my mom's like, way better than everybody else's in the entire world, so I can't complain!"

Jongin nods. "I nearly died when I fell into the pond, I think, but Sehun became my boyfriend because of it!" he says and yelps when a cluster of snow falls from one of the branches above and lands on his tail. He's absolutely freezing as a result of sitting so close to the ice for an hour straight, not to mention his mittens are literally soaked to the brim. Jongin briefly wonders if Chanyeol will be angry if he crawls on top of his car to get warm. He figures that Chanyeol most likely will be, so Jongin opts to stay exactly where he is. "You can say sorry to Sehun tomorrow!!"

"...I'll still deserve it tomorrow," Chanyeol says after a minute's worth of silence as he tosses his keys up and down in his hand. "And-"

"What about the day after that?" Luhan asks, raising an eyebrow. 

Chanyeol shrugs. "I'll still-"

"Now you're being a weirdo," Luhan huffs and puts his hands on his hips. Jongin only giggles.

Chanyeol chuckles again. "Maybe I am." He loudly sighs before running a hand through his hair and looking at his shoes. The laces have come undone, but he seemingly doesn't bother tying them as he sighs again.

"People are weird," Luhan says and huffs in exasperation. "Like, why complicate stuff so much? Just say you're sorry and he'll forgive you and everything will be fine! If it works on my mom every time I bring her rabbits whilst she's asleep in bed, why wouldn't this work on Sehun??? You make no sense," he practically wails and he has to shove a piece of bubble gum in his mouth to calm himself down before he can get too winded. He sniggers before bringing his lips to Jongin's ear before whispering if he should tie Chanyeol's shoelaces together. 

Jongin bursts into a fit of giggles and Chanyeol only rolls his eyes. "I heard that," he huffs before chuckling slightly, even though Jongin subsequently notices him moving one foot behind the other. "And more reason to be a cat, I guess." He pushes himself off the hood and walks over to Jongin before extracting his right hand. "Until we meet again," he says with an unreadable expression on his face.

Blinking, Jongin stares at Chanyeol's hand like it's a creature from outer space before he scrambles to remove his mitten from his right hand, nearly dropping the envelope in the process. He doesn't really know what Chanyeol means, but Jongin finds himself gripping his hand, anyway. "Uh...yeah," he mumbles whilst avoiding Chanyeol's eyes, his numb ears flattening in a shy manner when Chanyeol only wordlessly nods. The latter's hand is surprisingly warm despite it being deathly cold outside (which only leads Jongin to believe that his own hand is probably stone cold), and Jongin doesn't even realize he's still gripping Chanyeol's hand until the latter clears his throat. Jongin nearly rips Chanyeol's hand off as he flinches in embarrassment. "S-Sorry--"

Luhan only tsks before literally tackling Chanyeol against the hood of his own car when the latter turns to look at him. "We want everything to be okay again, and we don't want you to bed sad, so try to be a little less complicating and talk to Sehun sometime, okay?" he asks whilst Chanyeol attempts to pry him off. "What about next week?? Or in two weeks??? I doubt Sehun will think you still deserve it by then!" He tugs on the hem of Chanyeol's sweater. "By the way, never wear this thing ever again, you look hideous, old man," he cackles and ignores Jongin when the latter proceeds to tug on his sleeve and ask him what 'Hideous' means. "But keep the hair, you look so much less scary!"

"Fine, okay, okay, I'll keep it, but only if you get off," Chanyeol grunts as he attempts to grab Luhan's coat and shove him off with no success. "And I'll still deserve it no matter what, now get off," he exclaims and Jongin figures that Chanyeol seemingly must have underestimated the strength of a cat hybrid when Luhan subsequently pins Chanyeol down against the hood of the car. "Whattheareyou--"

"I highly doubt you'll deserve it in two weeks, that's like saying you'll deserve it forever," Luhan chuckles as he easily holds Chanyeol down by the wrists, his orange tail swaying above his head. "But there's still one thing we need to set straight," he chuckles and Jongin blinks when Luhan's sparkly, green eyes darken until they turn a shade of black. Chanyeol squawks loudly when Luhan suddenly grabs his sweater and gives it a harsh tug until he's lifting Chanyeol's back off the hood. "Slap my best friend across the face in front of me again and I'll gouge your eyes out and stuff 'em down your throat so fast you'll think you were in a ing time warp." Luhan's voice has dropped by so many octaves that even Jongin finds himself shivering. It's not until Luhan gnashes his sharp teeth inches from Chanyeol's face that Chanyeol keens, before Luhan harshly shoves him back down against the hood, hops down and brushes his hands together.

Jongin only watches, wide eyed, as Luhan grooms his tail before he stares at the envelope in his hands. It's flat and solid and Jongin is practically buzzing to open it and see what's inside. Jongin looks up, just in time to see Chanyeol nervously straightening out the wrinkles in his sweater, before he practically scrambles inside his car. Jongin hears the car doors clicking into place before Luhan frantically waves and yells something Jongin is much too distracted to pick up. 

Since he gave his candy bag to Luhan, Jongin is absolutely starving, and he cheerfully waves at Chanyeol, the latter meekly waving back before backing out of the parking space. Jongin watches him driving off until he's on the main road, before his car disappears from view. "I think you scared him," he giggles, his eyes never leaving the white envelope in his hands. His right hand is on the verge of freezing solid, but Jongin knows that putting his mitten back on won't make a difference, so he stuffs his mitten in his pocket. The streetlights surrounding the road and the park turn on and Jongin finds himself mesmerized by the snow that flies around the yellow, flickering light.

"That's what he gets for being all complicated," Luhan chuckles before blowing a big, red bubble. "Sheesh, make a person choose between a rabbit or a pizza for dinner and they'll choose pizza, but tell them to simply apologize to their friend and set things straight and they'll think you've gone ballistic," he adds with a glum shake of his head. "It's nice being us sometimes, y'know?" He pats Jongin's back and grimaces when he feels how wet the latter's entire coat is. "Gross, dude--"

Walking towards Sehun's house, Jongin hums something incoherent in response as he hears the sound of cars rushing down the road. "I wonder where he lives," he mumbles, mainly to himself, as he fidgets with a corner to the envelope.

Luhan laughs loudly. "Why, so you can stalk him and stand outside his window??" he chuckles before smacking his lips after blowing a bubble. He points to the envelope in Jongin's hands. "Okay, I'm not gonna lie, I'm curious," he says, tail swaying in curiosity before he huffs loudly. "Well????? Open it!!!" He nearly smacks Jongin's face off whilst attempting to grab it from the latter's hands with no success.

"He said it was for Sehun!" Jongin exclaims before shoving Luhan, the latter slipping and falling flat on his back. He won't even try to deny how much his fingertips are prickling with curiosity, however, but Jongin prays that he'll be able to restrain himself until he's walked the single block to Sehun's house. 

Luhan quickly gets to his feet before poking Jongin's shoulder. "Let's see it! Come on, I wanna see! I wanna see!" he squabbles before putting his hands on his hips. "Chanyeol did say it was for you, too, you know! So you're technically allowed to open it!" He sends Jongin a look and only beams when the latter finally huffs in defeat. "What do you think it is??? Maybe it's a--" He blinks when Jongin practically tears the envelope into pieces before holding up what looks like a sparkly, red Christmas card. "What the heck is this???"

Jongin eyes the sparkly, silver sequins and the colorful drawings on the cover for a minute, and it's not until he brings it to his lips and begins chewing on it that Luhan smacks his hands. "It's so shiny," he hums, mainly to himself, as his eyes trail over the white glitter. Luhan practically has to smack Jongin on the back to convince the latter to open up the card, and when he does, they both blink in surprise.

"His handwriting looks like Mom's," Luhan says and blinks again. Chanyeol's calligraphy is so intense that Jongin can barely even make out a single word, save for the words 'Merry Christmas' written in large letters in the center. "Well, that was a letdown," Luhan mumbles before spitting his gum out and onto the snow.

"Maybe Sehun can read it," Jongin mumbles before stuffing the card in his pocket (since he's torn the entire envelope to shreds). "I didn't know Chanyeol and Jongdae didn't like each other," he says after a few minute's worth of silence. He suddenly thinks about the cinnamon pie inside the fridge, and Jongin momentarily gets so distracted that he accidentally walks right into a lamppost. As he lies flat on his back on the snowy ground, Jongin only mutters something under his breath over the sound of Luhan nearly laughing his chin off a few feet away.

It takes Luhan ten whole minutes to calm down and when he does, he only shrugs. "I dunno, I mean, I didn't know Jongdae was an asswipe to just about everyone he met, I thought he just kinda...you know, hated me in particular," he says before kicking a rock. "So that's...relieving, I guess." Luhan presses his lips together and looks up at the swaying branches. "Man, it sure is hard to hate somebody when they're the reason you're currently loving life." They're silent for a minute before he beams. "What're you and Sehun doing during New Year's??" he asks and picks up a handful of snow.

Jongin shrugs and emits a scream loud enough to give him a throat ache when Luhan suddenly stuffs an entire snowball down the back of his shirt. For a second, Jongin worries he might actually go into cold shock and die until the snow quickly melts against his warm skin. It brings Jongin little relief, though, given the fact that he subsequently finds himself walking down the path with ice cold water trickling down his back. Even though he wants nothing more than to pelt Luhan with five hundred snowballs at once, he decides not to, considering they're only a few feet away from Sehun's house and the last thing Jongin wants is for Sehun to spot him abusing Luhan with snowballs and thus cancel their pie eating session after dinner.

"I...uh, don't know," Jongin mutters, shivering for the nth time. When Luhan doesn't stop laughing, he can't help but lash out and yank Luhan's hair, which causes the latter to hiss and nearly cry, much to Jongin's amusement. In all honesty, Jongin doesn't know much about New Year, either, aside from the fact that he usually finds himself spending the entire night crouching underneath a bed or a couch as he waits for the fireworks to pass each year. Luhan suddenly beams and Jongin blinks.

"Maybe he'll be marrying you!" Luhan squees before jabbing Jongin's shoulder over and over. "I mean, think about it, if he asks to marry you in a week on Christmas, it makes sense that you'll be married after the new year, right???" He claps his hands together as he skips in circles around Jongin, until both of them grow so dizzy that they momentarily stop walking. "You'll be inviting me and my family to the wedding, right???" he asks with a wide smile. "In that case, I'll make sure to run back to Manhattan so I can make it on time!" 

Jongin only nods absentmindedly. He briefly wonders if he should ask Sehun to marry him, but he has no idea how to gift it to the latter (since from what he's seen and heard, gifts are usually squared, touchable and wrapped in big bows), so he huffs in frustration. His phone suddenly rings and Jongin nearly scares himself to death as he flinches. He feels his ears perk up when he sees Sehun's name as well as the latter's photo (that Jongin took of Sehun during their trip to the zoo last month, a mere hour before they ended up getting kicked out as a result of Jongin flat out refusing to leave the parrot exhibit) on the screen. Jongin's fingers are so numb that he's barely able to swipe them across the screen, but he manages. "Hi!!" he squeals into the receiver, making Luhan raise an eyebrow.

"Hey, babe," Sehun says and Luhan only blinks at the way Jongin subsequently squees. "What did I say about you answering my texts and or calls earlier?" he asks and only chuckles when Jongin erupts into a series of garbled apologies. Luhan only rolls his eyes. "Where are you right now? Are you still by the pond? Is Luhan still with you?" he asks and Jongin swears he hears the sound of pots boiling on the stove.

"Ask him if he's willing to do it outside in the snow," Luhan whispers (or rather, hisses) in Jongin's ear.

Sehun is silent for a second until he laughs. "I take that as a yes," he chuckles before speaking a little louder. "Did you two have fun?" 

Jongin only nods frantically until Luhan reminds him that Sehun can't see it. "Yeah," he hums and finds himself walking a little faster. "What have you been doing??"

"Ask him!" Luhan hisses again, only to squawk when Jongin picks up a handful snow and stuffs it right in his mouth.

"I've been...out and about," Sehun replies, not even trying to hide the secretiveness in his voice as he chuckles. "Anyway-"

"That means he got you presents!!!" Luhan squees whilst poking Jongin's cheek over and over, nearly making him drop his phone. "Ask him if he's going to mar-" His sentence ends in a low 'Oomf' when Jongin grabs the scarf around his neck before covering his mouth with it. "Jonginwhattheheck--"

Jongin only shoves Luhan to the ground again before gripping his phone tighter. "I'm on my way home," he hums, his stomach growling. It's not until he sees Sehun's house coming into view that he immediately notices Sehun moving about through the kitchen window, and Jongin only huffs when he frantically waves and gets no reaction. "I'm here!! Turn around!!" Jongin squees whilst staring up at Sehun, who goes silent before he finally turns his head and proceeds to wave at them. 

"I'll need some help with the star on top of the tree later, since it keeps falling off," Sehun huffs and chuckles when Jongin practically bounces up and down whilst waving from his spot on the ground below. "Is Luhan staying over for dinner tonight?" he softly asks before he disappears from the window, which sort of makes Jongin pout, until he hears pots being stirred in the background.

Jongin blinks before his ears droop. "But...we were supposed to-"

"Jongin, you know the rules," Sehun sighs before he reappears in the window and waves at Jongin again. He's still wearing the white, essentially see-through blouse that Jongin picked out for him this morning, which Jongin notices after getting a little closer whilst cheerfully waving back.

"Sorry, I can't stay over," Luhan says and shrugs up at Sehun from his spot on the snowy ground. He gets closer to Jongin and yells something about needing to clean the kitchen, right in Jongin's ear, and Luhan squawks when Jongin retaliates by picking up snow and tossing it right in his face. Luhan only cackles when he subsequently hears Sehun scolding Jongin through the phone, the latter's ears flattening in response.

"Kim Jongin, that, right there, has got to be one of the dumbest things you've ever done--" Luhan blinks when his own phone rings, much to Jongin's relief, and after a brief conversation with his mother, he hangs up. "Sorry, y'all, I gotta go, Mom's making blueberry pancakes for dessert and there's no way I'm missing that," he says in an apologetic tone, making sure to wave goodbye to Sehun, who waves back, before skipping in the opposite direction towards his house.

Jongin watches Luhan walk away before hanging up the phone, and Jongin practically flies the last few feet towards Sehun's house, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a speeding car as he zooms across the road. Jongin's hands are so numb that he drops his keys thrice before finally managing to unlock the door, nearly forgetting the keys inside the lock, before he removes his coat and hangs it up. The entire house smells like fish soup (which Sehun agreed to make after Jongin made his side of the bed, and cleaned up the bathroom after his morning bath, without being asked), and Jongin feels his stomach growling as he toes his soaking wet sneakers off, places them on the shoe rack and skips into the kitchen, nearly tackling Sehun right into the stove after he envelopes the latter in a bone crushing hug.

"Christ, be careful, how many times have I told you to look both ways before crossing the road?" Sehun huffs in worry before closing the space between them. "Don't tell me I'm gonna need to start holding your hand again," he laughs after leaning away and carding his fingers through Jongin's wet hair.

Jongin blinks. In his hurry to get home, he forgot all about the fact that said crossing is clearly visible from Sehun's house. "Sorry," he says in the most unapologetic tone Sehun has ever heard, before he grins. "Look, I'm almost as tall as you!!" Jongin squees, not even bothering to hide the fact that he's standing on his tiptoes whilst poking Sehun's forehead. "See? See? See??"

"Must you say that every time we hug?" Sehun laughs, but there's no bite in his voice. "Doesn't it get tiring after a whole month?" He swats Jongin's hand away. "The tree's in desperate need of some help, by the way," he says and gestures at the large Christmas tree, its bright lights and shiny, colorful baubles making Jongin's eyes hurt every time he looks at it. Sehun watches as Jongin grabs a chair before the latter skips over to the tree. "Careful now-"

"I'm always careful!" Jongin retorts before hopping onto the chair and standing on his tiptoes. He carefully straightens the golden star at the top of the tree before beaming and brushing his hands together. He ends up staring at his reflection in one of the red baubles for five whole minutes until he jumps down and brings the chair back to the table. "Luhan's going to New York on Tuesday," he hums as he watches Sehun stir one of the large pots. 

Sehun nods before picking up a spoon and picking up some soup. He carefully tastes it and puts it back down on the counter. "His mother actually called yesterday and asked if we wanted to tag along," he chuckles whilst turning around and leaning against the counter. "I had to decline, of course." He can't help but smile when Jongin's eyes widen.

"Why???" Jongin squawks, nearly falling off his chair in surprise. It's not until he rocks backwards that he actually does end up falling off his chair, but he thankfully manages to scramble off his seat and land on his feet before he can hit the floor. To say that Sehun nearly collapses in relief would be an understatement.

"Because," Sehun hums and watches as Jongin skips towards the cupboards before retreiving two bowls and glasses. "We may or may not be going somewhere else that day," he says after a minute, a chuckle leaving his lips when Jongin's ears twitch. 

Jongin blinks and nearly drops the bowls in his hands when he proceeds to bounce up and down in excitement. "Where?? Where??" he asks repeatedly and Sehun has to grab the bowls when he worries that Jongin might drop them all. "Where??? Where are we going??? Tell me, tell me, tell me--"

Sehun puts the bowls down on the counter. "You'll see," he says and instantly regrets it when Jongin practically climbs onto his back whilst poking his cheek. "Jongin, I'm cooking, get off me--!!"

"Fine," Jongin huffs and hops to the floor, but it does Sehun little good when Jongin starts poking his face from the front instead. "Where are we going??? Is it better than where Luhan's going??? Where is it??? Tell meeeee--" He cuts himself off when his entire face lights up. "Is it Disneyland?? Is it??? Is it????? It is, right? Right? Right???" When Sehun only chuckles, the latter practically has to clamp a hand over Jongin's mouth when he subsequently squeals so loud Sehun worries he might shake the entire house. 

Jongin only squees again before embracing Sehun in a bone crushing hug. He's wanted to visit Disneyland ever since Luhan showed him photos of when he went to said place with his biological family, and Jongin knew from the minute he saw the mouse clad mascots and mouse themed rides (and pretty much mouse themed everything) and all the pictures of cotton candy and chocolate, that he wanted to go with Sehun as soon as possible. The joy coursing through his entire body is sort of preventing Jongin from thinking straight and all he can think about is how much he's looking forward to eating cotton candy with Sehun whilst sitting atop of a mouse themed ferris wheel. In fact, Jongin figures that a trip to Disneyland might be an even better Christmas gift than getting married, and he doesn't even realize that he's practically got Sehun backed up against the counter (whilst nearly squeezing the life out of him) until Sehun pats the small of his back.

"You excited?" Sehun chuckles, but he figures that the way Jongin's entire body is trembling should speak for itself. He uses one hand to reach out and stir the pot, which he's surprised he's even able to do, given that Jongin is gripping him so tightly he can barely move his arms.

Jongin nods, unable to wipe the smile off his face as he nuzzles his face in the crook of Sehun's neck, but not before commenting on the latter's black roots, which are beginning to show. Jongin exhales slowly as he rests his chin on Sehun's shoulder. He drums his fingers again the countertop before grinning. "Remember when we did it here?" he hums. 

Sehun tears his eyes off the stove to follow Jongin's gaze. He nods whilst running a hand through Jongin's hair, careful to avoid the latter's sensitive ears. He's about to stir the pot again when he sees the look on Jongin's face, and Sehun nearly gives himself whiplash when he vigorously shakes his head. "Jongin, for God's sake, I'm cooking-"

"Please??? Pleasepleaseplease???" Jongin grins, only to huff when Sehun sternly shakes his head (because apparently, burning the food wasn't a good enough reason). He pouts before picking up the bowls and placing them on the table, along with the glasses. "There were so many people in town, I thought I was gonna become a cat sandwich," Jongin mumbles after perching himself on a chair and scrambling into a proper sitting position when Sehun turns around. As Jongin grabs the salt shaker and fiddles with it, a few crumbs of salt spill out onto his palm and he it all off. He blinks, because the saltiness sort of reminds him of the taste that lingered in his mouth for an hour after he and Sehun did it in the middle of their bed last week, but he loses the thought when Sehun speaks.

"That's not very surprising," Sehun chuckles before filling a glass with water and taking a sip. "Everyone's buying gifts and preparing for next week so that they can celebrate Christmas with their families," he says and looks out the window, at the darkening sky. He blinks when he notices Jongin growing silent, and his eyebrows furrow when he sees Jongin staring down at his lap with a sullen look on his face. "Is something the matter?"

Jongin bites his lip, his ears twitching slightly. "Not...uh, not everyone," he mumbles so quietly that Sehun barely catches it. The smell of fish is making him so hungry that he has to restrain himself from flipping the entire table over.

Sehun blinks before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he says with a small nod. "Not-"

"Chanyeol isn't," Jongin blurts out before he can stop himself, and his ears flatten when Sehun's expression immediately shifts.

Sehun looks at Jongin for a minute before he turns around and proceeds to stir the smallest pot. "What exactly do you mean?" he asks, tone soft as he takes another sip from the spoon.

Jongin places his feet on the chair and shrugs. Figuring Sehun isn't going to kill him, he opens his mouth to speak. "I...uh, don't know, he kind of just...said so," he mumbles and taps his finger against the tabletop impatiently. He doesn't even need to look up to know that Sehun is staring at him, so he sighs. "Me and Luhan, uh...met him today, and--" He blinks, ears flattening. "I-If I tell you, you have to promise me not to cancel our trip-"

"I won't," Sehun says, his voice making Jongin flinch, as he stares at the latter. He's holding the spoon in his hand and Jongin finds himself scooching away ever so slightly. "What did he do? What did he tell you?" He clenches his jaw before sighing and shaking his head. "Jongin, I think I've told you a million times-"

"Don't cancel our trip!" Jongin wails as he springs out of his seat and nearly sends Sehun flying face first into the range hood when he tackles and grips him tightly. "I didn't do anything, we just talked, he was super nice, we took him to the pond since he said he was sad and he was happy afterwards," he squabbles and Sehun eventually has to give Jongin a piece of cinnamon pie from the fridge before he can pass out on the floor. Jongin chews in silence, ears drooping as Sehun continues to look at him with an unreadable expression. "Don't cancel our trip!!!"

"Jongin, you know I'd never do that," Sehun sighs before running a hand through his hair. He gestures at the stove before checking his watch. "This should be done is half an hour or so, why don't you watch TV in the meantime?" he sends Jongin a smile and Jongin figures that it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's at least half forced.

Jongin swallows and watches Sehun wordlessly stirring the pots on the stove before he swallows again. No matter how much he tries, Jongin can't for the life of him shove the image of Chanyeol sitting lonely and all by himself on Christmas day, whilst he and Sehun stuff their faces with pink cotton candy in Disneyland and whilst Luhan goes sightseeing with his family in New York, out of his head. Jongin doesn't know if it's simply the cold weather screwing with his brain, but he finds himself crossing his arms over his chest with a huff of protest, anyway. "He was actually really nice to us," he says, his tail swaying in agitation when Sehun only sighs.

Sehun wordlessly adjusts the temperature to the stove before sighing again and shaking his head. "Jongin."

"He let us play with his car when we got cold!" Jongin exclaims and clenches his jaw when Sehun doesn't say anything. "We took him to the bridge when he told us he felt sad and kept saying that he 'ed up' and that you wouldn't ever forgive him if he said sorry even though he wanted you to and how mean Jongdae was to him!" he exclaims all at once before he can stop himself, and he has to take a breath before he can pass out on the floor. "He also compared his mother and father to birds, which was kind of weird, since he said he didn't have parents anymore," he mumbles and misses the way Sehun sighs. "But he was really nice!" Jongin points to his own head and grins. "His hair is silver now! Luhan said he looks like an old man but I think it looks pretty! He said he changed it since he was trying to move on from 'who he was'--" Jongin scratches the back of his neck in confusion since he really doesn't understand how somebody could move on from being who they were born as. "But he was really nice and didn't hit me or anything--"

"Jongin," Sehun says, his voice making Jongin flinch. "I know you don't understand, but Chanyeol did awful things to you." He's silent for a minute before he goes back to stirring the pots. "It would be foolish of me to forgive him just like that."

Jongin is silent for a while as he sits cross legged on the floor and nervously fidgets with his tail. "...But what if I forgive him?" he asks. "Does that mean you think I'm foolish?" He his head aside in curiosity when Sehun only blinks. Jongin figures that yes, Sehun most likely will think he's foolish, but Jongin squashes the thought when Sehun shakes his head. "I mean...he did those things to me, and I don't wanna forgive him for that, but I want to forgive him because he's done something good, too!!" He knows that Sehun can sense his wide grin even without the latter turning around. 

Sehun sighs slowly before turning around and leaning against the counter. His white blouse is entirely clean, which honestly surprises Jongin, given that he's standing less than three inches from boiling pots of bright red liquids. "Oh yeah?" He sends Jongin an unreadable look. "Like what?"

"He pushed me into the pond!" Jongin squees, his laughter only growing louder when Sehun sends him a weirded out look.

Sehun blinks. "How exactly is that forgiving, if I may ask?" he sighs in exasperation and he's about to turn back around and stir the pots when Jongin suddenly flies forward and tackles him in another bearhug. Sehun barely manages to scramble to grab onto the counter for support and nearly drops the spoon in surprise. "Jongin, what the heck--"

"Because you became my boyfriend!" Jongin squeals, nearly suffocating Sehun to death as he presses their bodies together. "And that makes me so, so happy every time I think about it!!" He wraps his tail around Sehun's shin when the latter rests a hand on the small of his back. "We talked about it with Luhan, remember??? Like, I love you so much more than pie and fish," Jongin says, practically bouncing up and down with joy whilst Sehun attempts to calm him down, "so it would be foolish of me not to like Chanyeol for that, right?" He leans away and kisses Sehun square on the lips, much to the latter's surprise. "Right? Right? Right????"

Sehun is silent for a minute until he puts the spoon down on the counter and snakes his arms around Jongin's waist. Exhaling slowly, he rests his chin on Jongin's shoulder whilst lovingly the latter's hair. Sehun feels Jongin tightening his grip around his leg with his tail before he speaks. "You know that you're the best thing to ever happen to me," he says in a soft tone after leaning away. He brushes a few strands of black hair out of Jongin's eyes and chuckles when Jongin's entire face lights up. Sehun feels himself sighing before he bites his lip and Jongin's cheek with his thumb. "But Chanyeol hurt you, more than once, and I just can't forgive him for that," he says after a minute's worth of silence, which only makes Jongin pout. "I'm sorry."

Jongin opens his mouth to speak, but quickly closes it again when he sees the look in Sehun's eyes. Ears drooping ever so slightly, he nods before nuzzling his face in Sehun's neck. "O-kay," he childishly huffs, only for his eyes to light up. "Wait--" After quickly scampering into the hallway, Jongin returns less than five seconds later with the sparkly, red card. "Here! It's for you and me, but mostly you, I think!" He hands it to Sehun, who blinks. He hears the star sliding off the tip again, and Jongin huffs before grabbing a chair and dragging it towards the tree.

As Jongin fumbles with the object, he notices the shiny ring on his finger, which has turned a shade of gold thanks to the star. Luhan's words suddenly hit him like a freight train and Jongin feels his pulse quickening whilst he struggles to straighten out the star. After he finally manages, Jongin takes another look at his ring finger and polishes it with his right thumb. "Do you, uh...think we'll ever be married??" he asks, ignoring the way his chest heats up at his own words. It's not until Jongin realizes that the entire house has been silent for over a minute that he looks up.

Sehun is leaning back against the counter with one hand whilst his eyes trail over the card, which he's holding in his other hand. Even from his spot fifteen feet away, Jongin finds himself blinking at Sehun's expression - it sort of reminds Jongin of the face Luhan made after he was asked to choose between apple pie and blueberry filled pancakes, his two most favorite desserts, and Jongin finds himself giggling when Sehun's eyebrows suddenly knit together. Jongin remains perched on the chair as he watches Sehun slowly close the card a minute later, before he runs a hand through his bleached hair. For a second, Jongin thinks that Sehun might be having a mental breakdown, so he scrambles off the chair and envelopes Sehun in a tight hug. 

"What does it say???" Jongin asks, craning his neck to get a better view of the card. He briefly catches a glimpse of Chanyeol's strange handwriting before nuzzling his face in Sehun's cheek. "He writes really weird, I can't read anything," he huffs with a small pout. "What did he write???" He pokes Sehun's cheek over and over until Sehun moves his face away.

Sehun is silent for a minute until he presses his lips against Jongin's, the latter's ears immediately flattening as he blushes. "...Let's just say that he's sorry," he lowly says before running a hand through his hair. They stand in complete silence until Sehun clears his throat and gestures at the pots. "Look, could you please watch these for me for just a minute?" He mutters a quick thanks before kissing Jongin's cheek and pulling out his phone. Jongin catches a glimpse of Sehun's lock screen - the picture Sehun took of him during their short trip to the flower field, and it makes Jongin feel all squishy every time he sees it. 

Jongin watches as Sehun wordlessly scrolls through his contact list. He eyes the two pots on the stove, which are both threatening to boil over, before his tail sways in curiosity. "Are you gonna call him???" he asks, ears twitching when Sehun eventually nods. It suddenly hits Jongin that Sehun could be trying to convince Chanyeol to cancel their trip to Disneyland, and he finds himself flailing his arms in all directions. "I didn't do anything," he babbles. "We were just trying to make him feel less sad, we didn't say anything mean to him, I promise-- Don't cancel our trip--" Jongin blinks when Sehun simply ruffles his hair. 

Sehun pats Jongin's shoulder. "I'll be right back," he says before pressing a button and putting the phone by his ear. Jongin watches as he disappears up the stairs until his voice becomes muffled.

Jongin stands glued to his spot by the stove, and it's not until he hears the sound of a door closing upstairs that he swallows and pokes the handle to the largest pot. He immediately regrets doing so, however, when he burns the tip of his finger, but Jongin thankfully manages to stifle a loud shriek (He really doesn't want a repeat of last week, when he walked into their bedroom and proceed to loudly ask Sehun if they could do it on the bed, whilst the latter was on the phone with his boss). Jongin's ears twitch as he attempts to decipher the muffled words emitting from upstairs, only to give up, and he pouts before half-assedly stirring the small pot. The smell of fish hits him and Jongin figures that the scalding temperature is the only thing preventing him from lifting the entire pot and downing its contents like a glass of milk. 

He ends up slipping into his own series of thoughts, and Jongin doesn't even know how long he's been standing and staring off into space until the kitchen timer goes off, and this time, Jongin finds himself unable to stifle his shriek of surprise at the unexpected, shrill noise. He scrambles to turn it off before he sighs and tries to de-puff his tail. The thought of whether or not Sehun is secretly joining forces with Chanyeol to cancel their upcoming trip to Disneyland suddenly hits Jongin, and he doesn't realize that he's stopped stirring the pot until he audibly sighs. The thought makes him want to cry and he suddenly regrets even bringing the card into the house.

Jongin figures that perhaps he should reconsider asking Luhan if he can join the latter and his family in New York before he walks over to the fridge. Jongin breaks off a (small, at least in his eyes) piece of cinnamon pie and begins chewing, the cold sweetness doing wonders to calm his buzzing nerves. He finishes it before he can even blink, however, and Jongin is about to grab another piece when he hears footsteps coming down the stairs. Jongin doesn't even bother masking his indiscreet hiss of pain after slamming his forehead against the range hood whilst he scrambles to resume stirring the pots. 

As Sehun reaches the bottom step, he puts his phone away before sending Jongin a look. There's something slightly different about his expression and Jongin wholeheartedly expects him to admit that he has, in fact, cancelled their trip to Disneyland when he sends Jongin a weak smile. Sehun doesn't say anything of the sort, however, and he simply walks up to Jongin before wrapping his arms around his torso and kissing his cheek. "No pie before dinner or you'll spoil your appetite," he chuckles.

Jongin blinks. He's about to ask Sehun how on Earth he knew, but simply flattens his ears in embarrassment instead. "Did you, uh...did you--" He plays with Sehun's hair for a minute before clearing his throat. "What did you...uh, talk about?" he asks and tries ignoring the way his pulse quickens.

Sehun exhales as he rests his chin on Jongin's shoulder. "A lot," is all he says before one of the pots nearly boils over, and he hurriedly removes it from the stove before placing it on the table. As he watches Jongin pick up the smallest pot, only for the latter to burn himself with a shriek, Sehun chuckles. "Use oven mitts, silly," he says and picks up said pot before bringing it to the table, all whilst Jongin retrieves the milk carton from the fridge.

Jongin briefly feels all his previous thoughts disappear without a trace when his stomach growls, and he nearly knocks his chair over as he scrambles to take a seat. He fills his glass with milk, mouth watering, as Sehun proceeds to pick up his bowl before filling it with fish soup. "Can we go on that big ferris wheel with the mouse face on it??" he asks, grinning. It's not until Sehun scolds him for talking with his mouth full that Jongin bursts into laughter, which results in him accidentally spewing red soup all across the white tablecloth. "Whoops."

"Of course we can," Sehun replies from across the table before blowing on his food. He hums to himself as he puts the spoon in his mouth. "Luhan's mother said she'd send us pictures during their stay in New York, so how about we send some back to them?" he asks with a low chuckle.

Ears perking up, Jongin breaks into a face splitting grin. The thought of taking pictures together with Sehun whilst exploring Disneyland is enough to make his tail swish back and forth almost painfully. Sehun has to send Jongin a look before the latter can pick up his bowl and throw it clear across the kitchen when his entire body starts trembling with anticipation. After (somewhat) calming down, Jongin picks up his bowl and brings it to his lips, ears twitching as he quickly downs the rest of his soup.

"What did you and Chanyeol talk about???" Jongin curiously asks, figuring it's (probably) safe to ask, only to nearly choke on his milk when Sehun looks at him. "Are you mad at him??? Don't be mad at him--" Jongin cuts himself off and blinks when Sehun smiles ever so slightly.

Sehun is silent for a moment until he shakes his head. "I'm not," he simply says, his tone surprisingly soft, before a low chuckle leaving his lips after he looks up and sees Jongin grinning at him (with soup and milk smeared all across his chin). He briefly worries that Jongin might pounce clear across the table and tackle him when the latter's grin only widens, so Sehun hurriedly focuses on his own food. "Babe, for the millionth time, eat with your mouth closed."

Jongin has to stop grinning when his cheeks begin to ache, and he picks up his bowl again before downing the rest of his soup in under two seconds. He figures his entire face must look like Luhan's every time the latter hunts, whilst wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Jongin continues to stare at Sehun, only to burst into a fit of melodic giggles when Sehun looks up and smiles at him from across the table. "Can we wear those black mouse hats when we take our pictures???" Jongin asks, a hopeful grin on his face. "Please?? Pleasepleaseplase-"

"Of course," Sehun says, nodding ever so slightly as he scoops up the remaining soup in his bowl with his spoon. They eat in silence for a few minutes, and it's not until Jongin suddenly slams his bowl down on the table with a wide grin that Sehun nearly falls right out of his chair.

"I want pie now!" Jongin squees before lifting up his bowl to prove to Sehun that he has, in fact, finished all of his food. It's not until he proceeds to hold it upside down that a droplet of soup falls from the bowl and (thankfully) lands in the now empty pot. With a giggle, Jongin rushes over to the sink before placing his bowl in it. He hears Sehun getting out of his chair behind him, and Jongin wastes no time in practically ripping the fridge door open and retreiving the batch of cinnamon pie (after breaking off a small piece and stuffing it in his mouth, figuring Sehun won't notice). Jongin hopes that Sehun won't ask him to do the dishes as he turns around, only to blink.

Sehun is standing in the middle of the kitchen, his eyes trailing over the red card in his hand. He only sends Jongin a smile when the latter asks him what he's doing, and Jongin only watches as Sehun turns around and proceeds to walk towards the shelf next to the tree (the star has slipped again, but Jongin hopes Sehun won't notice), before he wordlessly places it upright, a few inches away from his car keys. Its bright red color and silver glitter and sequins makes it stick out like a sore thumb among the 20 or so (boring, Jongin thinks) Christmas cards they've received since the beginning of the month, and Jongin can't help but stare in awe. 

It's not until Sehun turns around, just in time to spot Jongin sneaking another piece of pie for himself, that he puts his hands on his hips. When Jongin scrambles to put it back in the bowl, Sehun only rolls his eyes before walking over and kissing his cheek. "Whatever happened to you helping me with the dishes?" he asks and pinches Jongin's right cheek, the latter only whining in response.

Jongin pouts as he eyes the bowl of pie in his hands. He's practically aching to throw himself on the couch and snuggle up underneath the covers with Sehun whilst they watch another nature documentary (that they've most likely already watched a hundred times, but still), and it's not until Sehun sends him a look that Jongin childishly stomps his foot. "I don't wanna," he mumbles before pointing to the living room with stars in his eyes, only to huff when Sehun raises a strict brow. "I'll do them later, I promise, I promise, I promise!" And with that being said, Jongin doesn't even give Sehun a chance to respond (or protest) before he's grabbing his wrist and dragging him into the living room.