A/N:

Hello, hello, another Saturday another update! And we're glad you could join us! Isn't the name of this chapter cute? Hannah is the one who came up with it because my brain absolutely refused to come up with anything. Also, its official comeback season for all of us EXO fans! Neither of us are a shame to say this has born possible one shots in one way or another. That being said are you team EXO, X-EXO, or both.

Hannah would tell you she's team X-EXO all the way, Kāi snatched her soul and she hasn't looked back since, she was gone with the wind. I personally don't know if I have a side as both are particularly interesting to me.

That being said, for this fic is any one Team Jongin or Kai, both or undecided for this fic? Let us know this in the comments! and as always enjoy and we shall see you in the next one!

-Arya and Hannah.

***

Sehun hands Kai a water bottle, they were both out of breath after their morning workout session, it had been a while since they exercised together. Usually, they would run around the neighborhood for about an hour and finish with a dancing routine inside the studio. By the time they were done Kai would always feel like a pile of jelly but also extremely good. They were sitting on the studio floor, the music was still playing, and Kai was trying to catch his breath, all those mornings out for coffee were laughing at him now.

“Jonginnie didn’t join us today,” Sehun notes, screwing the cap off of his water bottle. 

Jongin didn’t like to run but he would usually join for dancing routines.

“He slept in this morning because he went to bed really late after doing homework,” Kai replied, he then grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat that was running down his neck.

“Why didn’t he do homework earlier?” Sehun laid on the floor, taking in deep breaths as well.

“I guess he came back home late,” Kai shrugs, not really caring about it. This, however, caught Sehun’s attention, who sat up and looked at Kai.

“Hmm.”

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just that Kyungsoo guy and his two friends invited him to hang out yesterday.” He lies back down after taking a sip of his water. “Guess he had fun.” 

Kai frowned at this new information, well after Jongin brought him home he would’ve guessed they would hang out more often. It seemed like they were getting pretty close, which was ok to Kai, Kyungsoo seemed pretty genuine.

The other two he wasn’t so sure.

It was common for both he and Jongin to be used as a connection, something which they had to learn at an early age. He himself having learned this lesson quicker, they had few true friends in their social circle. Few that they could say with absolute certainty are true to them, that even their parents recognized more like a family at this point for how long they’ve known each other. 

He would at some point have to meet the other two in person again, which he didn’t doubt was going to be an interesting situation. He didn’t have anything against them, but it was his job to check out their intentions before any of them hurt his brother.

They moved towards the kitchen where Jongin was up in his bear pajamas, no glasses, having breakfast already. Kai walked over and ruffled his hair with a smile.

“Morning Jongin,” He grabs the syrup and gets some pancakes for himself. Sehun is already sitting on a stool in front of Jongin with a plate filled with food.

“Good morning,” Jongin smiles at them, noticing their workout outfit. “Oh, did I miss it?”

“You did,” Sehun confirms. “I heard you came late yesterday. How did it go?” It didn’t go unnoticed the way Jongin’s cheeks covered in a soft blush.

“It was nice, Baekhyun and Jongdae are funny,” He looks down at his plate, trying to get over the embarrassment of sleeping halfway through the movie. Kai, on the other hand, has his eyes glued to his brother. For what he could remember Kyungsoo’s friends were outgoing, even more than Kyungsoo himself. Watching his brother blush and talk about them gave him a bad feeling.

“I’m glad you had fun,” Kai says instead. He would investigate them later.

There was a silence for a while before Jongin gathered the courage to talk again.

“Can I ask you guys a question?” He clears his throat, and Kai and Sehun nod. “There’s someone I want to be closer to…” He stopped when Sehun choked on his orange juice. Kai patted his back smiling. “But I have the feeling this person likes people that are extroverted.”

“So, you want to know how to be more extroverted,” Kai finishes for him and Sehun tries to hold back his smile. “Well, maybe talking to them more.”

“Spending more time with them helps,” Sehun says, Jongin has never asked for advice, so he’s enjoying this.

Jongin nods as if he’s taking mental notes of what they’re saying. He thanks them before putting his plate on the dishwasher and running back upstairs for a shower. Kai and Sehun continue eating their breakfast as they watch him leave.

“Well, it looks like our Jonginnie opened his eyes to love yesterday,” Sehun finishes his breakfast and imitates Jongin by putting his plate on the dishwasher.

“You think?”

“Of course! He spends time with them and all of a sudden he’s asking for advice,” Sehun shrugs and goes upstairs leaving Kai alone with his thoughts. It made sense if he thought about it well. The idea of his brother crushing on someone finally was cute, however, the idea of his brother crushing on someone that could hurt him. 

That he didn’t like. 

Jongin took a quick shower, getting dressed and ready to head out. There was a book releasing that day so he wanted to go grab a copy before they sold out, he also needed some art supplies as he was running out so it would be a perfect day to get them as well. He heads to the garage, thinking what could Kyungsoo possibly be doing at the moment. It happened often, that he found himself thinking about Kyungsoo at the most random moments. A soft blush covered his cheeks when he remembered what his brother had said.

Talking to him and spending more time together.

He could do that.

Jongin grabbed his cellphone, debating if he should ask Kyungsoo if he was free, but then hesitated, they saw each other the day before. Wouldn’t he feel a little annoyed if Jongin texted him? It feels like they just saw each other. Jongin ultimately decided against it and put the phone back in his pocket. He put his helmet on, starting the engine and driving out of the garage.

Jongin decides to stop to get the art supplies first, he usually only does sketches, but he has been into painting a lot lately, so he needed some good brushes and paint. Good thing is that the bookstore was within walking distance, so he didn’t have to drive there also. He pays for his stuff and moves to buy his book. The moment he steps inside the store Jongin almost runs to the fantasy section, his eyes scan the shelves. Row by row until he spots the one he’s looking for. There are only three books left on the shelf, so he almost jumps on it, touching the pretty cover, sticking his nose inside the pages and then runs to pay for it.

On the way to the cash register, he spots a familiar figure. Jongdae is there, also browsing, holding a book as he reads the back cover. It would be rude to just walk by, especially when Jongdae already had his number and was so nice to him before, he takes a deep breath before he approaches.

“Hi, Jongdae,” His voice comes out lower than he expected it to be, but gladly the other hears him. Jongdae turns around, putting the book down.

“Jongin! Hey,” He gives him that typical curly smile of his, seeming genuinely happy to see him.  “Nice to see you here.”

“Yeah, I just stopped by!” He lifts his book just enough for him to see the cover, catching Jongdae’s attention instantly, his eyes widen as he sees it.

“It released?” Jongdae raises his eyebrows, his voice a bit louder. Jongin jumped a little on his spot excited to find another fan of the saga. 

“Just today, you should go quickly though, there are only two left,” He says, Jongdae pats his arm.

“Thank you,” Another person approaches them and Jongin recognizes him as the guy that took them to that bar. “You remember Yixing right?”

“Yeah,” He shakes Yixing’s hand, and the other gives him a dimpled smile. Jongdae glances at the books in his friend’s arms, looking up at him a second later silently questioning him.

“I got you that book you never stop talking about,” Yixing says, handing him a few books, another copy of Jongin’s book among them.

“You are a jewel, thanks!” the way Jongdae locks stares with Yixing makes Jongin realize he’s interrupting. 

He clears his throat, taking a step back.

“It was nice to see you,” He smiles and Jongdae breaks the staring contest to smile at Jongin as well. They look very comfortable together, or so Jongin thinks. He can only aspire to have that with someone one day.

“Do you need a ride home?” Yixing asks. 

 Jongin shakes his head. “I brought my bike so it’s ok, thank you though,” He decided he also liked Yixing. “I’ll see you guys later.” He waves at them and heads to pay for his book. Jongin looks over his shoulder once to see them talking and picking books from the bookshelf. They look cute.

Jongin leaves the bookstore, now with everything he needs. He ponders if he should get something to eat before heading home. He’s craving sweets and if he wants to get them, he better do it now that his mom can’t scold him for eating sweets before lunch. He puts his bags under the seat and puts on his helmet once again.

He drives around looking for a place until he spots that Starbucks not far away from campus. He went there with Kai, and his brother appeared to be a little obsessed with it. Maybe he could also get tea. Jongin parks his bike and walks inside, there are only two people in line, so he stands behind them, waiting for his turn to come. The options are endless, he has a hard time to decide what he wants to eat.

There is a cat cake pop. What?!

However, the chocolate cake pops also look really good to him. He goes back and forth between the two and when it’s his turn he still doesn’t know what to get.

“Can I have one chocolate cake pop and a cat cake pop please,” He decides to take both. “Oh, and a black iced tea, thank you,” Just as the lady is going to leave, he spots a strawberry cake pop, that looks like a strawberry and has a smiley face. He just can’t leave it. “Oh, please give me a strawberry one too, thanks again.”

He claps slightly as he waits for his order, the lady gives him everything and he pays for it. Jongin then turns and just as he looks up, he encounters a known pair of eyes staring at him. Kyungsoo is sitting at a table, smiling as he looks at him from across the Starbucks. He gestures Jongin to join him and he approaches, his ears burning as he sits down.

“Hi Kyungsoo,” He greets, his brain went over everything he did over the last few minutes to know why he somehow feels embarrassed.

“Hey Jongin,” Kyungsoo takes his earphones off, putting his laptop to the side. “I saw you when you walked in, the moment you stood in line I knew it was you. From what I’ve whitnessed your brother has quite an issue with that.” 

Jongin laughed because it was true.

“He’s impatient,” Jongin says. 

“I’ve noticed,” Kyungsoo’s eyes went from Jongin to his cake pops. He looked amused “What did you buy?” Jongin’s face lighting up instantly.

“They have these really cute cake pops, so I wanted to try them,” Jongin shows him all three of them, his eyes sparkling.

“Why did you get so many?” Kyungsoo rests his chin on his hand, grinning and his eyes not missing Jongin’s expressions as he listens to him

“They were all so cute, I couldn’t pick just one,” Jongin grabs the cat cake pop. “It’s a cat.” his pouty lips and puppy eyes make Kyungsoo giggle a little. He knew Jongin was sweet, but this was too adorable. Jongin took a bite of the cat cake pop, legs swaying under the table happily as he tasted it. “These are really good.”

“Really? Can I try one?” Kyungsoo leans over the table just a little bit. Jongin extends his hand, showing him the cat that now has just one ear, one eye, and half a smile. Kyungsoo smiled, taking a bite of it, leaving just a tiny portion of lips to the cat. 

“It’s a little dry, but it’s good,” Kyungsoo says. 

Jongin is looking back at him with raised eyebrows, which leads Kyungsoo to think he may have taken a bigger bite than he intended. “Are you upset? I’m sorry.” Jongin shakes his head, clearing his throat, shifting a little in his chair. 

“I just… it’s fine,” He eats what’s left of his cat cake pop, trying to find any other topic to talk about. “I saw Jongdae today at the bookstore.”

It worked, Kyungsoo looked interested.

“Oh really? Did you guys talk?” Kyungsoo remembers Jongdae mentioning going out to get a book.

“Not much, we just said hi,” Jongin replies, eating the chocolate cake pop and taking a sip of his iced tea. “It looked like he was on a date, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“On a date?” Kyungsoo leans over the table again, he raises an eyebrow processing this piece of information. “With who?”

“It was that guy that went with you to Baekhyun’s concert, he told me his name today, but I forgot,” Jongin took another sip of his iced tea, finally noticing Kyungsoo’s tense expression.

“Yixing?” Kyungsoo asks although he’s sure already.

“Yeah! that’s the one.” He says as he finishes eating the strawberry cake pop. 

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, his brain calculating the possibilities of Jongdae half-lying and going on a date with Yixing. He pulled his phone out, typing something and then he starts getting his stuff inside his bag.

“Sorry Jongin, I have to go.” He stands abruptly.  

“What’s wrong?” Jongin also stands up. 

“You didn’t do anything wrong Jongin,” Kyungsoo squeezes his arm, trying to give him the reassurance he obviously needs. “It’s about Jongdae.”

“Is Jongdae ok?”

“Jongdae is fine, he’s just being dumb at the moment,” He put his bag over his shoulder. “Who you saw him with is his Ex.” He sighs. “It’s a long story, I just need to get to the dorm.”

“Want me to give you a ride?” Jongin offers, sipping the last of his tea, he somewhat feels he screwed up, but he’s not sure how. 

“You just got here, don’t worry. Campus is close.” 

“It’s not a problem, I was going home after I was done anyways,” Jongin smiles.  

Kyungsoo returns the gesture, nodding before they finish cleaning up and Jongin leads them to his motorcycle. He pulls the helmets from under the seat, giving one to Kyungsoo and putting one on. His stomach fills with a fluttery feeling when Kyungsoo sits behind him, wrapping his arms around his middle. He has to take a deep breath to be able to focus.

Jongin drives them away from Starbucks, not going too fast so Kyungsoo doesn’t feel uncomfortable or scared, despite being his second time riding. He soon pulls over at the dorm’s parking lot. Kyungsoo gets off the bike, taking off the helmet and smiling once again.

Jongin really liked that.

“Here, and thanks for the ride,” Kyungsoo hands him the extra helmet. 

Jongin nods. “No problem, and about Jongdae… maybe I could have misinterpreted the situation,” He was worried he might’ve got Jongdae in trouble and he didn’t want that. 

Kyungsoo shakes his head, touched that Jongin is worried about his friend. “It’s going to be fine, don’t worry.”

“I’ll see you later then,” He didn’t think he would be seeing Kyungsoo today, but it somehow ended up making his morning better.

“Yeah, let’s get together tomorrow to work on our project.” Kyungsoo waves, walking away into the dorm building. Jongin watched him until he disappeared.

He felt happy.

***

Kyungsoo walks into his dorm to find it empty, he knows Baekhyun is on the way and Jongdae has been warned to make an appearance soon. He said it was not what it looked like, but they all say the same. He drops his bag on the bed and remembers to quickly text Jongin just so he can reply when he gets home.

Baekhyun arrives a few minutes later

“Where is he?” He looks around, only finding Kyungsoo sitting on the couch, going through his phone. Kyungsoo looks up, shaking his head.

“Not here yet, but I hope he’s on his way” Kyungsoo lets out a sigh. “Let’s not attack him right away, let him talk and we’ll see what happens.”

“We’ll see about that,” Baekhyun sits down next to him, looking upset and Kyungsoo couldn’t blame him. They stayed up with Jongdae for several nights, watching him cry and not being able to do anything about it after his breakup, and even after that, it took a long time for Jongdae to go back to the cheerful person he is. None of them wanted to see that happen again.

The door opened once again and Jongdae walked in with a few bags in his hands, by the look on his face they could tell he knew what was coming. He placed one of the bags on the table. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo lifted their gazes at the same time, the first with a frown and the latter with a raised eyebrow. 

Jongdae sighs. “Before you guys start yelling, I brought cookies from that place you both like,” He starts, taking a deep breath. “It wasn’t a date.”

“Then what was it?” Baekhyun is quick to counter. 

Kyungsoo puts a hand on his leg to remind him to keep his cool.

“I was on my way to the bookstore and he called saying he wanted to hang out,” Jongdae shrugs, maybe he should’ve said no but he didn’t. “We met at the bookstore and then went from there, it wasn’t a date, so you guys can calm down.”

“Jongdae, I understand you guys are trying to fix things and be friends but… shouldn’t you do that after you’ve moved on?” Kyungsoo speaks softly, he knows attacking him won’t solve anything.

“So, was I supposed to say no?”

“If that helps you move on and be better then yes ,” Kyungsoo pulls Jongdae in between them. “Seeing him constantly won’t help you.”

Jongdae lets out a sigh, he partially knows his friends are right, but he can’t help it when meeting with Yixing just makes him happy.

“We will help you, but it takes time,” Baekhyun rubs his back, calming down a little after seeing Jongdae’s sullen face.

“Fine,” Jongdae gives in. He thinks he could at least try, for his own sake. “How did you even know we were together?” 

“I have my ways,” Kyungsoo replies with a smile.

Jongdae thought about it for a moment. “It was Jongin! You met with Jongin?” Jongdae points a finger at him and Baekhyun looked at Kyungsoo from over Jongdae when he heard this.

“You met with Jongin without us?” Baekhyun sounds slightly offended.

“I saw him at Starbucks, it was completely random,” Kyungsoo stood up from the couch, he didn’t like where this conversation was going. 

Baekhyun and Jongdae followed him and he spent the next ten minutes, explaining it was just coincidental and avoiding other questions he didn’t want to answer or didn’t have the answer for.

Later on, he receives a text with a bear emoji at the end of it.