A/N: In my defense, there's a hurricane outside, and I wanted to finish this quickly in case I lost power XD

    "You're gorgeous, you know that?"

    Baekhyun nods slightly from his position at the window, leaning against the stained glass and inclining his head so that he's staring up at the ornate decorations on the upper panes. He feels like he should be embarrassed, but so much time has passed that the adoration is practically commonplace to him.

    "The contours of your face are perfect," Jongin continues from his seat in the corner, cradling his sketchbook carefully in his hands. "And your fingers. I've never seen fingers as beautiful before. Just stay like that."

    Nodding again, Baekhyun keeps his pose until hours later when Jongin finally yawns and stretches, setting the sketchbook down onto the dusty floor of the old church. Baekhyun takes this as his signal to move himself, flexing every single muscle in his body and feeling them burn from being stationary for so long. Yet, the burn left a tingling warmth behind that he relished, and as he made his way toward Jongin, he couldn't help but feel pleased that he was behind the artist's smug expression.

    "It's a winner this time!" declares Jongin as he shows Baekhyun the rough sketch. "Once again my beautiful muse has brought me inspiration." The younger male smiles widely, and Baekhyun smiles back.

    This is the part where they should kiss or hug or do something romantic, but Jongin simply closes his sketchbook and begins to pack his bags while Baekhyun slides open his phone to check for any texts from his friends. Despite all appearances, when everything is said and done, Jongin is an artist, Baekhyun is his muse, and…

    "Sehun," Jongin says into the phone, a smile instantly brightening his face. Baekhyun hadn't even heard it ring.

    "Mm, dinner? I'm up for some samgyeopsal, but I'll go for whatever you want."

    Jongin strolls out of the old church purposefully, and Baekhyun lingers at the doorway, watching the artist walk further and further away. It's hard to miss the bounce in his step and the excitement in his voice at the prospect of dinner.

    Despite all appearances, when everything is said and done, Jongin is an artist, Baekhyun is his muse, and Sehun is the one who got away.

    Sehun impatiently scuffs the tip of his shoe against the concrete ground as he waits at the entrance of the subway station, craning his neck left and right to see if Jongin had appeared yet. He had called about half an hour ago, and Jongin had assured him that it wouldn't take long to catch the bus and meet up with Sehun within twenty minutes.

    Just as he was about to turn around and give up, Sehun caught sight of the familiar black-haired boy in the crowd.

    "Jong—"

    "Sehun!" Jongin shouted first, pushing his way through the crowd to clap Sehun on the back and give him a warm hug. "Sorry, I missed the first train and had to wait for the next. Were you waiting long?"

    "Yes," Sehun replied jokingly, and Jongin slung an arm around his shoulder.

    "That's okay. I'll make it up to you. Dinner's on me tonight!"

    "You're probably going to end up eating more than you'll actually want to pay anyway," snorts Sehun amiably, remembering all the nights they had gone out before. Jongin pauses for a second, probably reminiscing as well. It's an awkward stumble in their routine, and Jongin is quick to laugh it off, promising to buy Sehun as much samgyeopsal as he wants.

    Sehun laughs it off too because JonginandSehun was a long time ago, something that he probably should have forgotten by now.

    "What's up, Sehun?" Jongin asks, noticing the other boy's silence.

    "Nothing," replies Sehun easily, smirking at Jongin's raised eyebrow. "Let's just go eat. I'm expecting you to pay."

    Baekhyun finally meets Sehun when Jongin unveils his large scale painting of Baekhyun at an art show. Jongin is in the corner, hanging off someone's shoulder and laughing widely, a far cry from his cool, y persona as an artist he usually has. Baekhyun wonders who the other person is.

    "Baekhyun!"

    Jongin waves him over, and Baekhyun glances at the beautiful person in front of him.

    "I'm Sehun," the lovely man beside Jongin says, extending one hand and smiling shyly.

    "B-Baekhyun," Baekhyun stutters out, not quite able to wrap his head around what he had thought Sehun looked like and what Sehun was actually like. He had imagined Sehun was sturdily built, stockier than Jongin, with stark black hair, but instead Sehun was a lithe, lanky boy with soft brown eyes, an amazing smile, and soft golden-brown hair.

    "So you're Jongin's muse!" Sehun exclaims, and the tone in his voice inclines Baekhyun to look for the hidden meaning behind the sentence.

    "Yeah, I am," he replies awkwardly, trying to tear his eyes off of Sehun to regard Jongin like he usually does. He find this an impossible task, giving up after the first thirty seconds. "So what do you think of the art, Sehun?"

    "It's nice," replies Sehun, lips quirking up into a small smile, and Baekhyun can feel his heart thundering at a thousand beats per second before Jongin grins widely and sweeps out an arm in a large, circular motion.

    "All for my muse. Without my muse, this would've amounted to nothing."

    Baekhyun's lips are too dry, and the air is too stuffy as he smiles graciously and watches Sehun's eyes flicker from Jongin back to him and then back to Jongin. Sehun smiles as well and holds up one hand.

    "Your hands are perfect," he says with a perfectly straight face. "The fingers, the joints, the wrist. Everything about it is perfect. It's no wonder that Jongin picked you as his muse."

    "Thank you."

    Not knowing quite what else to say, Baekhyun snatches an appetizer from a nearby waiter's tray and chews slowly. After swallowing the last of the delicious food, Baekhyun awkwardly tries to make conversation.

    "So, Sehun, what do you do?"

    "Me?" asks Sehun, eyes twinkling even as his mouth settles into a firm line. "I'm a photographer. Actually, Jongin and I used to know each other back in high school."

    "Really?"

    Baekhyun's intrigued but not enough to forget about social norms and pry.

    Jongin takes care of the problem by replying loudly, "Yes! Sehun and I go way back. The first time we met was when our sketchbooks got mixed up in art class. It turned out that Sehun had only been photographing me, and I had only be drawing him. What a nice coincidence, right?"

    Sehun thinks Jongin sounds forced and tries to smile apologetically at Baekhyun, but his lips are rather numb from how flippant Jongin sounds at the moment.

    "I think that's my manager," Jongin says after a long, awkward pause. "I'll catch up with you two later."

    With that, the gorgeous artists leaves, and Baekhyun is left alone with Sehun. Both wonder what they're supposed to say.

    "Photography…sounds interesting," begins Baekhyun lamely, and Sehun can't help the shudder of laughter that rolls through his body, making his shoulders shake with mirth.

    "You're not a very egotistical muse, are you?" he asks, and Baekhyun looks confused for a second before shaking his head and laughing as well.

    "Is that the stereotype?" He shrugs uncomfortably. "In some ways it's very flattering, but…well…artists never stick with one muse. They always change their mind, change their styles. I don't have my hopes up yet."

    Sehun's eyes soften, and Baekhyun's heart thumps so painfully in his chest that he think he might be going into cardiac arrest, but a second later, it's gone as Jongin returns to sling an arm around Sehun.

    "Where have you been all my life?" he asks, and it's obvious that he's a little bit tipsy from the swagger in his walk and the silky tone of his voice. It's not the first time Baekhyun has seen him drunk, and he's sure it won't be the last. However, this is the first time Baekhyun has seen Jongin this clingy and needy.

    "Sehun, where have you been?" Jongin asks again, and he pulls Sehun so close that the younger male can smell the cloying sweetness of red wine and tartness of another unidentifiable alcohol.

    Baekhyun steps forward a little, but Jongin is only engrossed in Sehun, even raising up one shaky hand to the younger man's cheek.

    "Why did you have to leave?" he asks quietly now, and Baekhyun senses the growing interest of the room.

    "Jongin," he says quietly, moving forward, but Jongin is fast, grabbing the back of Sehun's neck and dragging the other boy closer. Sehun is faster, knocking Jongin's arms away and grabbing Baekhyun's hand.

    "He's drunk. We should go," explains Sehun as he tugs Baekhyun away from the artist who is standing still, blinking confusedly and still slightly tipsy as he smiles and waves at the crowd.

    The air outside of the gallery is chilly and damp.

    "I think it might snow soon," Baekhyun remarks, trying to make conversation with Sehun who looks rather shaken as he leans against the wall and watches his breath crystalize in the night air.

    "Snow would be nice," Sehun replies and then turns to look at Baekhyun. Baekhyun smiles, lips curving up slightly as his hands come up to cup his lips while he huffs out short breaths of air. Sometimes his lips curve into a round 'o' shape to puff out breaths reminiscent of smoke rings, and sometimes he simply exhales, watching the remnants of his breath drift away in the wind.

    Sehun is captured, and his hands instinctively reach for where his camera would be usually hung around his neck, but it's not there. Instead, he tries to engrave Baekhyun's every move and expression into his mind.

    "Baekhyun, I," he begins, but Jongin is in the doorway, calling Baekhyun's name. It seems he's sobered up enough to offer Sehun an apologetic smile even as he continued to motion for Baekhyun to come over.

    "I guess I'll see you later, Sehun," Baekhyun jauntily says with a smile, waving as he enters the building again.

    Sehun whips out his cellphone as fast as he can and catches a picture of the man's retreating back before he's gone.

    "Byun Baekhyun," he muses, looking at the profile he's captured, "I think I know what Jongin sees in you."

    They meet again in the warmth of Baekhyun's compartment. Jongin is already sprawled out on the couch, face buried in the cushions even as Baekhyun nudges him over to make room for Sehun to sit down as well. Sehun wonders if this is a regular occurrence. Baekhyun and Jongin are much too comfortable for this to be a one-time affair.

    "Stop drooling on my couch," Baekhyun complains, shoving Jongin with the heels of his bare feet.

    "I'm the artist here," retorts Jongin. "I think I deserve a little bit of rest!"

    "And I'm the one sitting still for hours on end. Move!"

    Unceremoniously, Baekhyun moves his feet onto Jongin's back. Jongin snorts with laughter but doesn't move, and Baekhyun leans back against the arm of the couch, closing his eyes.

    Sehun is a photographer. He captures moments for a living, and he knows precious developments when he sees them. This time he's brought his camera to show Jongin and Baekhyun the new photos he's been developing, but as he snaps the picture silently, he decides to keep it secret for just a bit longer. He doesn't think they're ready for it yet.

    "Yah, Sehun-ah, what are you doing staring at your camera? Isn't it cold all there by yourself?" Jongin calls, lifting up his head from the couch cushion.

    Isn't it cold all there by yourself? Sehun echoes in his thoughts, and he's brought back to that winter day five years past. Jongin was young then; he was even younger. Back then, he had been Jongin's muse, and they had been something near perfection. Jongin was artistry in motion with every of his canvas, and Sehun was capturing this artistry with every snapshot his camera took.

    But Sehun was and still is a photographer, and he knows that things never last just like how he and Jongin didn't last. Maybe both of them were too young, or maybe it was Sehun's fault because he knew things wouldn't last, so he pushed Jongin away. He was the one who ended it all, who flew away to China to begin an affair with a fellow photographer, and now he was the one regretting it.

    "Sehun?" Baekhyun asks, opening his eyes to stare at the frozen man.

    "Hm, yeah," Sehun replies, jolting himself out of the flashback and smiling at the two men in front of him. "I'm coming. I'm coming."

    He sits down between and holds out his camera at a distance. Selcas have never been something that he's good at, but he'll try to get something not blurry and not too close so that everyone can see the horrible bags under his eyes.

    "What are you doing?" asks Jongin, sitting up and watching as Sehun smiles steadily at his camera and presses the capture button.

    "Come here," Sehun says, motioning for Jongin to move in closer. Jongin raises an eyebrow in question, but he can never resist anything Sehun asks, so he pressed in until her cheeks are squished against each other. Baekhyun watches warily from a distance until Sehun turns his head a bit to the right and beckons Baekhyun over as well.

    "Baekhyun," he says quietly, and Baekhyun slinks over, unable to resist the look in Sehun's eyes. Sehun presses his other cheek against Baekhyun's and tells both men to squeeze closer before holding out his camera.

    "Why are we taking a picture?" asks Baekhyun curiously, even as the neat click of the shutter is heard.

    Jongin looks suspiciously at Sehun before poking the younger man's cheek. "Yah, why do you suddenly want a picture? Is this some sort of photography thing that we wouldn't understand?"

    We… Sehun smiles at both Jongin and Baekhyun before shrugging and tapping his lips. "It's a secret."

    "I bet he took it to sell to one of his clients. They love pretty faces," teases Jongin.

    Baekhyun taps his chin in mock thought and adds on, "Or maybe he took it so that he can draw us later."

    Jongin laughs. "Sehun doesn't draw, Baekhyun."

    "How do you know?"

    "I just do."

    As the two boys continue their goodnatured bickering, Sehun simply smiles and looks at the photograph on his camera. He is a photographer, and he captures moments for a living. He knows precious developments when he sees them, and this is one precious development he never wants to forget.