Baekhyun and Chanyeol decided to wait for Kyungsoo. It was nearing midnight, their hopes decreasing with each second ticking, but an inkling that the homeless boy would return remained set in the wrinkles on their foreheads. 

"Just think of him all alone during the night with only a thin sweater on. Starving and freezing in the night with Jongin... Oh, how horrible he must be to Kyungsoo! The mutt probably steals all of his food... fatty.... and... Oh my god, do you think he has fleas? What if he has fleas?! What if he gives Kyungsoo a disease?!" Baekhyun wailed, covering his face with his hands.

Chanyeol was fast asleep on his lap, sniffling every once in awhile due to the season. Baekhyun wrapped a comforter tight around his torso and considered following him. It was late and they did have work tomorrow morning in the next town. But Kyungsoo... He wanted to wait for Kyungsoo. He said he would return, so he will, won't he? 

"Yah, Channie. Wake up, sweetie! Go in the room and sleep. Channie! Wake up!" Baekhyun pinched his nose. Chanyeol scrunched his features tightly together, not budging in hopes of his dear one leaving him alone. The shorter male was still cooing at his boyfriend to wake up, whilst the other stubbornly refused, when a knock resonated throughout the room. The couple's eyes widened. It must be...! 

"I'll get it," Baekhyun cried, throwing his boyfriend's head off his lap. Chanyeol hissed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll make some tea," he mumbled, stumbling his way towards the kitchen. 

Baekhyun swung open his front door, a squeal almost escaping him at the sight of the homeless human. "Ky--D.O.! You came back! Chanyeol and I were so worried that you wouldn't... Come in, please. It's chilly outside. And Chanyeol's making tea." He ushered Kyungsoo inside, noticing the bundle in his arms. "Is that...?"

The latter flushed crimson, lowering his head. He sat gingerly on the couch, avoiding eye contact. "Y-yes. Kai's with me. Look, I am so sorry about before." Kai unfurled from the makeshift cover, sniffing his surroundings. Baekhyun placed the comforter around Kyungsoo's shoulder. "I wanted to return Kai to you, I really did, but it seems he's sort of grown too attached to me." He chuckled, scratching Kai just behind his ears. The dog's eyes closed and leaned into the touch.

Baekhyun's eye twitched. Jongin? Acting cute? He shivered. There must be some motive. Jongin does not act cute. 

"And maybe I've grown too attached to him as well..." Kyungsoo continued. "I'm sorry, Baekhyun. I really am. Do you still want him back? I couldn't live with myself if I kept him." 

Baekhyun didn't reply right way, feeling cornered. Half of him wanted to keep Kyungsoo away from Jongin at all costs, even if it means taking the rat in, but the other half didn't want to be such a terrible person and take away possibly the only friend Kyungsoo had. He couldn't bear seeing the human so torn. He didn't want to be culpable of such a pitiful expression.

"Hey," he said softly, squeezing Kyungsoo's shoulder. "Truthfully, Kai is not ours." 

Kyungsoo's head shot upwards. "He isn't?" 

Baekhyun bit his lip, laughing sheepishly. "Yeah, you see, he looks like our dog, but Chanyeol and I are pretty sure that they aren't the same dogs. We wanted to tell you that, but you left and... yeah. Please don't look so heartbroken, you can keep Kai. He's yours." Kyungsoo broke out into a toothy smile, his eyes crinkling. He thanked him over and over again, grasping his hand and bowing. 

Meanwhile, Baekhyun felt his heart stop. I'm going to adopt this kid. 

"Thank you so much, Baekhyun! You don't know how happy that makes me... All along I thought you were going to take away Kai." He held up said dog, rubbing their noses together. "Did you hear that Kai? They said you're not their dog. Do you know what that means? You're mine!" 

Chanyeol, who was returning from the kitchen, froze, glancing back and forth between Kyungsoo and his boyfriend. Why was Kyungsoo eskimo-kissing Jongin? Did he miss something? "Um..." 

"Oh!" Baekhyun clapped his hands, helping Chanyeol set up the tea. "Sweetie, guess what I told D.O.? Remember when we said Kai was not our dog?" He was smiling, but his eyes were shooting daggers. Don't ruin it, they said. Chanyeol gulped, nodding hesitantly. 

"O-oh yeah. He's not our dog," he said quietly, fearing the possibility of saying the wrong thing. Kyungsoo erupted into another fit of cheeky smiles, cuddling Kai to his chest all the while pecking his the top of his head. 

Baekhyun leaned into Chanyeol's ear to whisper, "Isn't he so adorable? We're going to adopt him; don't ask how." Chanyeol merely blushed as the image of being parents flashed through his head, but they were quickly pushed aside. "But, Baek... What about Jongin? And our mission? Weren't we supposed to..." 

The former was rendered speechless, for he had not thought about that. He was so focused on not disappointing the human, that the reason why he invited him in slipped his mind! Darn Kyungsoo and his cuteness! He made me forget about our mission. What do I do now? We have to keep our eyes on them... but how?

"Baekhyun? Chanyeol? It's really late and I don't want to bother you anymore. Kai and I are just going to go ba--" 

"No!" Baekhyun cried, gripping his arm to keep him from leaving. "I mean, stay the night D.O. Like you said, it's late. It's dangerous to be walking outside in the dark. You don't know what might pop out! Could be a mugger or... or a !" Baekhyun gasps, completely unaware of the color draining out of the human's face. Kyungsoo's eyes were wider than sauceers.

R-rapists? 

"What he's trying to say," Chanyeol interrupts. "Is that we're worried for your safety. Please stay the night. It would make us feel at ease. We have an extra room you can sleep in." 

Kyungsoo momentarily disregarded the potentional dangers he had never encountered to ponder his options. He told himself from the start not to get attached to anyone (it would just end in let-downs), but Baekhyun and Chanyeol seemed to be genuine people. And there's no harm in sleeping in a warm room for one night, is there? "Alright," Kyungsoo relents. "If you're sure we're not going to bother you." 

"Positive," Chanyeol grins. Kai barks, causing everyone in the room to flinch. After a short lapse, they burst into laughter, a rush of new energy pulsing through their veins. But the clock doesn't stop ticking and the late hour finally catches up to them.

"Chanyeol," Baekhyun yawns, standing up to clear away the dishes. "Show D.O. the room he'll be sleeping in." Chanyeol kisses the top of his head and complies, waving the homeless boy over.

Kyungsoo eyes bulge at the small room. The walls were a plain white and the only furniture was a bed tucked in the corner and an empty desk next to the window. He sat on the bed, inhaling the scent of fresh sheets. It was soft to the point where he sunk into the mattress if he sat still. "I can sleep here?"

His dirtiness will ruin such a pretty place, Kyungsoo worried, afraid to even walk on the floors. He smoothed a crease in the blanket, noting to clean the dirt under his fingernails whenever he got a chance to use the restroom. He was so dirty, a big dust bunny that needed to be swept away before more dirt collected.

"Of course!" Chanyeol handed him a pair of clean clothes, informing him that they were Baekhyun's. "Our friend used to live here, but he... left town. He was a trickster, you know. Loved playing pranks on the townspeople and thought it was hilarious every time. I guess he got tired of this boring town and went to find some place elsewhere to play around. He won't be returning anytime soon, so don't stress about it. Do you need anything else?" 

"Oh, no, no, you've given me enough. Thank you very much, Chanyeol." Kyungsoo bowed to show his gratitude. 

Chanyeol stood there awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Well, see you tomorrow then? Good night, D.O."

Kyungsoo bid him good night, visibly relaxing when the door closed. He watched Kai run around the bed before settling in the center and curling himself into a doughnut. Kyungsoo shed the coat he wore, placing it neatly on the desk chair, and slipped under the covers. "Come here," he calls to the dog, patting the space next to him. 

"You don't mind this place, do you? It's warm, don't you think?" Kai nuzzles into his neck, and Kyungsoo closes his eyes, sleep overcoming his weak body. "I like these people..." he whispers, words strewn out due to his drowsiness. "They...are...nice....hm?" 

"Good...night...Kai.."

Chanyeol tiptoes away from the room, giving Baekhyun the 'ok' sign. "They're fast asleep, like babies." Baekhyun jumps in delight, holding his boyfriend's hands as he makes them dance in victory. "We've got him right where we want him," he whisper-shouts, wiggling his hips. 

The former wrinkles his nose, but a small smile makes its way onto his face. "What are we going to do about tomorrow? What if Kyungsoo leaves?" 

Baekhyun leads him to their bedroom to change into comfortable clothes. He's vaguely aware that it is past midnight and that they were going to be very grumpy tomorrow morning. Working on less than six hours of sleep always led to the couple's crankiness. "I thought of a plan just now. Why don't we let Kyungsoo stay with us?" 

Chanyeol raises an eyebrow, chucking his shirt over his shoulder. "What do you mean? Like, ask him to live with us?" He snuggles into their bed, waiting for the other to join him.

"Yeah!" Baekhyun lights up at the thought, climbing into bed after him. It's the closest thing to adopting the human. "There's no reason not to. It'd be much easier to keep an eye on both of them. And in no time, we can convince Kyungsoo to forget about Jongin!" 

"How are we going to do that?" 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, flicking his boyfriend on the forehead. "It's simple, Channie! Kyungsoo's homeless. He must have been lonely for a long time. Remember when we were first saw him? He was so spooked that someone was talking to him. He looked at us as if we were creeps! If we befriend him, then sooner or later he'll start to trust us. 

"We both like him anyways. We would have befriended him with or without Jongin. It's just as if we were offering a friend a place to stay. We have an extra room. Don't you want to be friends with Kyungsoo? I do. He'll be so engrossed with friends that he won't need a dog anymore! And I seriously think the others will like him, too. Don't you want to introduce him to the others?" 

Chanyeol contemplates the idea. "But Kyungsoo's hu--"

"Cute. He's cute. Our friends love cute things. We're going to ask Kyungsoo to live with us. No 'but's. Okay?"

"O-okay." 

"I love you, Channie!" 

"Sweet dreams, Baek." 

______________________________________________________________________

keke, Chanyeol's whipped! 

Anyways, thank you for subscribing & commenting! (: I've been busy with school and afterschool activities (gotta love sports!), but I've been using up some free time to write. Don't worry! I haven't forgotten about this fic!

If any of you are interested, here are some of my other EXO fics: Don't Stop Counting | I want a hug! | Contradictory | Look At Me | Stuck Together | Just Remember

I have started a Hunhan fic, but I'm waiting to finish either He's Mine! or Don't Stop Counting before I start. I don't want to be working on too many stories at once. 

Once again, thank you for reading! <3