The little squirrel scampers across a low tree branch, nearly missing his footing and falling but managing to catch himself just before tumbling. He looks down and squeezes his eyes shut, feeling a bit sick. Climbing trees seemed like such fun at first, but he's starting to miss the solid ground and soft grass.

Singing calls his attention. Carefully backing up until his tail touches the tree trunk, the squirrel stands upright and peers through the leaves. His ears catch shuffling and crunching and snapping—feet trying to sneak through the natural carpet of the woods.

The singing softens to a murmur—the boy can't remember the exact words—and he ducks his head and stands on his toes looking for something.

Pulling his tail around himself, the squirrel tucks himself into a fuzzy brown ball and holds his breath, trying not to laugh as his friend walks right beneath the branch he sits on.

"Se-hun-ah..." the boy sing-songs. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" As if that would work. Sehun's been wise to that sweet tone for a long time, now.

When the boy plunders away, Sehun crawls down the trunk. He goes tail-first, so the blood doesn't rush to his head. Once on the ground, he looks the way his friend had gone and shifts to something a little bigger and faster and hops in the boy's footsteps.

"Sehun-ah... I have a treat for you, if you come out." Now that's just cheating, but that's just Jongdae. If it means losing, why play fair? He's still looking up, only bending a little bit to look into places a little boy might fit. Nothing in his mind suggests searching smaller spots, and that makes Sehun laugh.

Humor makes him careless, too, and he hops right into Jongdae's leg. The boy turns, smile drawing up the corners of his mouth, and his sweater is untied from his waist within moments and dropped over Sehun before he can make two hops. Struggling doesn't help, and he squeals unhappily as he's lifted and cradled.

"Found you!" Jongdae crows. He loosens his hold for Sehun to shift, and the younger boy falls backward off his friend's lap.

"How did you know it was me?!"

Jongdae shrugs and shakes out his sweater. "It was obvious."

Sehun rolls his eyes. That's all Jongdae ever says, as if it explains everything.

Even when they're older, and Sehun has many more years of practice and experience, he just can't seem to fool Jongdae.

He waits just behind the kitchen counter for Jongdae to unlock the front door. Once he's in, Sehun saunters across the room, drawing his body along whatever furniture is nearby until he reaches Jongdae's ankles. With a croaky meow, he makes sure to leave as much fur as he can on Jongdae's pantlegs and braces himself for the weightless feeling of being lifted.

"Hello, darling," Jongdae murmurs, kissing between Sehun's ears. "Feeling clingy today?" He feels another tail hook around his leg and grins against the soft fur. "It's been a day. Let's cuddle. I'm going to hug you and squeeze you to death!" He drops onto the sofa and starts nuzzling his face into Sehun's fur until there are small snaps of electricity, and Sehun pushes with his paws. To anyone looking in, he'd look just like a cat disgruntled with manhandling and over-affection.

The expression remains even after he shifts and pushes his hair off his face. "How did you know it was me?"

Jongdae smiles softly, tucking his arms around Sehun's waist. "It was obvious." A soft meow draws their attention, and he shrugs. "I also had help this time."

a/n: Written for tiny__sparks' Challenge #17 — Shape of You