“Wookie!” Hyungsik exclaimed as he marched in the door, his arms spread open for a hug.  Ryeowook stepped into his embrace and Hyungsik rocked him back and forth.  It was enough to make Kyuhyun puke.  Kyuhyun took another drink of his wine, telling himself not to get upset over a little snot like him who wanted attention.

            Hyungsik didn’t bother releasing Ryeowook and began talking a mile a minute into his ear.  Ryeowook was clearly getting smothered and he was blocking the door while Taemin and Minho were trying to get through with a large cooler.  For a second, he was distracted enough to wonder why they brought a cooler with them but when he looked back over at Hyungsik, he was bouncing up and down, still holding onto Ryeowook.

           Enough is enough.  Kyuhyuh handed his glass to Hyukjae who was busy telling Siwon about something that happened in China while SJM was touring—totally boring—and began to walk over to the door when Changmin burst into the room and nearly tackled Kyuhyun. 

           “Hey, Changmin,” Kyuhyun smiled as Changmin lifted him up in the air before releasing him altogether.

           “Ah, man.  I haven’t sat down with you and Minho for a while.”

           “Speaking of the devil, will you see what the hell he’s doing in the kitchen with a cooler and make sure Min doesn’t kill him while I take care of something?” he asked.

           Thankfully, Changmin never questioned motives.  Ever.  He thought nothing of heading to the kitchen to check on his other good buddy.  But Changmin’s greeting was just enough time for Yunho to spot Hyungsik and steal him away from Ryeowook, his arm slung over his shoulder leading him to the middle of the room where Donghae and Shindong stood up to greet them and started teasing the youngster.

            “I thought I was going to have to pry him off of you,” Kyuhyun told Ryeowook, who held a stack of coats in his arms.  “Here, give them here.”

            “Thanks,” Ryeowook said, handing over a half dozen more coats to go in Jongwoon and Sungmin’s room.  “He’s just excited to be here.  He’s met almost everyone but he usually isn’t invited to hang out with any of us.  He wanted to know if a couple of the others can come too.  Dongjun and one of the other ones, I can’t remember.”

            “You said no, right.”

            “I said yes!” Ryeowook said.  “Why wouldn’t I?”

            “Because they’re annoying little brats!”

            “They are not!  And they look up to us as their big brothers.”

            Kyuhyun thought about pointing out the fact that most of them look down to Ryeowook because they’re taller but he didn’t want to push it and just brought the coats to the bedroom and stopped in the kitchen on his way to the living room.  Inside, Minho was showing Changmin his massive supply of liquor and promised that there’d be more once Key arrived with the hard stuff.

            “Oh God,” Kyuhyun muttered.

            “Just keeps getting better and better doesn’t it?  You might want to lock your door so no one wanders in there after a few drinks,” Jongwoon warned, coming in from behind him.  He then directed them to take the cooler out to the other room, knowing full well that if everyone continued to linger in the kitchen, Sungmin would eventually lose his cool.

            Just as they managed to get Minho and Changmin to carry the cooler out, Yuhno wandered in, with Hyungsik still in tow.  He finally released Hyungsik to wrap his arm around Sungmin and sniff the air, looking for food. 

            “Hello, Kyuhyun-hyung!” Hyungsik said, waving his hand excitedly.

            “Hi,” Kyuhyun said rather unenthusiastically.  “You’re here so much, I’m starting to think you live here.”

            “No,” he laughed, “but if there’s ever a free room, I’d—”

            “Oh, if there’s ever a free room, I’m already planning on getting a pool table and dart board and some arcade games,” Kyuhyun informed him.  “And the less I have to share it with anyone, the better.”

            Hyungsik nodded, not knowing how to respond, and looked around the room.  “Oh!  Look at all this food!”

            “You can’t touch it until Minnie’s ready or he’ll cut your head off with his knife,” Kyuhyun informed him.

            “Is that Hyungsik?” Sungmin asked, dislodging himself from Yunho and heading over to give him a hug.  “Are you hungry?  Have some food.  I know they don’t feed you kids enough.”

            “Really?  Oh, you’re so nice, Min!” he said, looking over the table with wide eyes, not knowing where to start.  He then spotted Ryeowook enter and rushed over, clasping his sleeve and dragging him over to the table.  “What tastes best, Wookie?”

            “Everything tastes good; Sungmin and I made it all.  We never let Kyu in the kitchen,” he teased, glancing over at Kyuhyun.

            They stood there talking about each of the little creations, as if it were actually interesting to discuss what was in everything and how it was made and Ryeowook kept handing him little bits to try but when Hyungsik opened his mouth so Ryeowook could feed him, Kyuhyun walked in between them to get himself some food.

            Ryeowook poked him in the side, which brought Kyuhyun’s thoughts back to his bedroom that morning, and Hyungsik just gave him a weak smile and, grabbing a handful of food, slipped away into the living room again.

            “Good riddance!”

            “Quit picking on him!”

            “I pick on everyone,” Kyuhyun defended himself, reaching for a sausage appetizer and getting smacked in the hand with a spatula by Sungmin.

            “What did I tell you?”

            “You let the shrimp have a half dozen of them!”

            “He’s a growing boy and he’s too thin,” Sungmin informed him, returning to his cheese cutting.  “Which isn’t an excuse you have!”

            “He’s just getting jealous because he’s not the baby in the house.”

            “I would be the baby if you quit inviting these brats over,” he pointed out, stealing the sausage when Sungmin had his back turned.

            “Cho Kyuhyun—” Ryeowook began, before being interrupted by Jongwoon.

            “Hey, Kyu!” he said, walking over.  “We’re starting up a poker game.  Are you in?”

            “You sure you guys all want to play against me?” he asked.

            “Yeah.  Where’s your cards?”

            “In my room.”

            “Well, hurry up and go get them.”

            Kyuhyun grabbed a couple more snacks and shot out the door before Sungmin could catch him.  By the time he returned to the living room, they’d already set up two card tables and were strategically setting the liquor within reach of the table. 

            “How’d you talk them into letting me play?”

            “I told them you were on a losing streak.  I only want thirty percent of the winnings.”

            “Ten.”

            “Twenty five and no less.”

            “Twenty and everything you put in yourself.”

            “Deal,” Jongwoon said, holding out his hand for Kyuhyun to shake.

            Four hours later, Kyuhyun walked into the kitchen, counting out bills and handed a wad to Jongwoon, who looked it over.  “Well, that will get me gasoline for the next couple months…and take out for lunch…and maybe a new pair of shoes.”

            “Note to self: invite the actors to every party.”

            “I had no idea Siwon and Donghae would have this much cash on them.” Jongwoon admitted.  “Try to remember what they were drinking so we buy the same stuff next time.”

            “Changmin’s pretty loaded too.”

            “That’s how it works when you have a group of two instead of thirteen.”

            “I hope you two had fun,” Sungmin pouted, sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee.  “I’ve had to babysit the kids all night while they’ve been drinking.  And let me tell you, Taemin and Ryeowook did nothing to help!  They’re both drunk!”

            Jongwoon held up his money.  “I’ll take you shopping tomorrow for some new clothes.”

            Sungmin’s eyes lit up and he jumped to his feet, hugging his boyfriend affectionately and kissing his cheek, telling him how wonderful he was. 

            Kyuhyun laughed but his amusement was cut short when Ryeowook and Hyungsik began stumbling down the hall, arm in arm, singing.  He instantly marched across the room and gripped the back of Hyungsik’s shirt, pulling him away from Ryeowook.  “Where the hell do you two think you’re going?”

            Ryeowook rested his chin on Hyungsik’s shoulder and yawned.  “We’re both tired.  We’re going to go to bed now.”

            “And just where do you think you're sleeping?” he asked Hyungsik.

            “In his bed,” he said, walking sideways and pointing at Ryeowook.

            “The hell you are!” Kyuhyun said, grabbing Ryeowook by the arm and pulling him into his chest.  “I’ll be damned if I’m leaving you both in there while you’re drunk.  God only knows what could happen.”

            Ryeowook wrapped his arms around Kyuhyun and rested his head against his shoulder.  As much as Kyuhyun wanted to think that this was just Ryeowook’s honest feelings for him coming out while drunk, he was pretty sure he’d snuggle up to anyone at this point.

            “I’ll get Hyungsik settled in and stay with him until he’s asleep,” Sungmin promised, directing him to Ryeowook’s bedroom.

            It was a good thing that Sungmin picked that exact moment to lead Hyungsik away, because the idea of them sharing a bed together didn’t quite sit right with him…and he was about to get his kicked for even thinking of it.

            “Let it go,” Jongwoon warned.  “He’s just had too much to drink.”

            Kyuhyun stared at the door.

            “I mean it,” he warned.  “Now go take care of Wook before he falls asleep on the floor.”

            Ryeowook’s eyes were already closed as he leaned against Kyuhyun.  Kyuhyun tapped his cheek a couple times and his eyes half-opened.  “Can you walk?”

            Ryeowook grinned and wrapped his arms around Kyuhyun.  “Yep!” he said, swaying from side to side as he looked up at Kyuhyun.  "Lead the way!"

            This was going to be a long night.  Very long.