That night Sehun, much like earlier that day, loses the nerve to fight… but this time for dibs on the bedroom. He stomps off angrily before Jongin even has a chance to say a word with his exhausted Pidgey nestled in his arms. His body moves itself as his mind churns through the raging storm of thoughts that have taken residence lately. He eventually comes to a stop and leans against a wall out in the main hallway, but continues brooding for quite some time. The typical lights out time is fast approaching and he doesn’t even know it. Well… he does know it. Right now he’s simply choosing to ignore it. Just as he’s about to start literally sliding down the wall a voice cuts through the silence and forces his focus out of his own thoughts.

“Sehun-ah? What’re you doing here so late at night?” Lu Han asks innocently from the door leading into the EXO M dorm.

Apparently Sehun had reflexively stormed down the hall before wandering around in a circle somewhere along the way and coming to a halt outside of his future boyfriend’s dorm. He blinks at the older boy a few times before quickly coming up with an idea. He lets out a heavy sigh and gives Lu Han a rather dejected look.

“Jongin kicked me out of our bedroom for the time being… And some of my dorm mates have started letting their Pokémon wander about the dorm more freely now that they’re a few days old, so the couch isn’t always safe… Do you think Pidgey and I can stay here tonight?” he requests softly even though most of his statement is untrue.

Lu Han’s eyes widen a bit in surprise.

“Um… I’d have to ask the rest of my dorm mates if it’s okay, but I don’t see why they would say no…” the elder mumbles shyly.

He quickly turns on his heel and dashes back into the living room. All of his dorm mates except for Tao are either in the living room or the kitchenette. After getting a quick affirmation from them he hurries back to Sehun and gives him a little nod.

“Come on in~ Tonight let our dorm be your dorm as well. If you need anything, just let me know!” he chirps cheerfully as he practically drags Sehun inside.

It’s not the first time Sehun had been into his own dorm’s twin, but it is the first time he’s seen so many people there at once. All of them have their Pokémon at least somewhat nearby which seems to make his Pidgey quite happy even though it’s still too tired to stand up properly.

“Hey man. Rough battle today… I hope you and Jongin aren’t worst enemies now…” Jongdae says sympathetically from his place on the couch.

Sehun simply waves it off and offers Jongdae a weak smile.

“I was basically asking for it though when I challenged him… I was just so upset with him for letting me sleep through breakfast… I thought he was my friend but right now I’m really not sure what we are anymore…” the youngest replies a bit sadly.

“Don’t worry about it too much for now. It’ll only make matters worse if you let your confused feelings fester into something more potent…” Yixing cuts in.

“… I’m not exactly sure what you mean by that, hyung…” Sehun admits with a light blush.

“He means don’t let what’s happened make you lose sight of what you and Jongin have had. If you think about it too much you may grow to hate Jongin…. Then you’d really lose the trust and friendship that you’ve built over the years….” Minseok says quickly, having easily deciphered Yixing’s somewhat poetic words.

To that Sehun simply nods and bows his head in Yixing’s direction.

“I think you’re definitely the only guy I know who’s both patient and logical enough to go far with the Normal type, hyung. Especially a Slakoth. But I’m sure you and Lǎnduò will be an amazing team soon enough!” he says kindly.

Yixing blushes a little before looking up at Sehun.

“Thanks, Sehun-ah. I’m sure once your Pidgey gets stronger you’ll be able to take on any kind of opponent, even Ghost types.”

Just then Tao comes out into the living room carrying his Tyrogue in his arms as if it’s a human baby.

“What’s going on guys?” he asks casually as he notices their visitor.

“Sehun’s staying over tonight, so don’t leave your Tyrogue on the couch again,” Kris says calmly from the kitchenette.

“I’d never do that to my Gāo Tī!” the younger argues, his voice cracking slightly.

Kris, Yixing, and Lu Han all look at Tao with very curious expressions on their faces. A tense silence fills the room.

“Why’d you name him that?” Kris finally asks.

“B-Because… He saw me practicing my Wushu this morning after the battle and he instantly started doing high kicks that went over his own head… so I decided to name him that because he’s a natural at it…” Tao stammers with a deep blush on his face.

“Hey man, it’s cool. You’re not the only one that’s named their Pokémon that way,” Yixing says with a soft smile.

Finally Jongdae pipes up again.

“I was meaning to ask you guys… What do those names mean? I understand a little Chinese, but not enough to figure those names out…”

“Lǎnduò means “lazier” or “slothful” and Gāo Tī means “high kick”,” Lu Han cuts in, smiling widely.

Sehun blinks at the simplicity of the names then looks at Tao and Yixing in turn.

“Okay… So have any of the rest of you named your Pokémon yet?” he asks curiously.

“I’ve been thinking about it… But a lot of the names I come up with sound really cheesy or stupid…” Jongdae admits sadly.

“Oh really? Like what?” Minseok questions.

“W-Well… I heard Key named his Pichu “Sparky” so I started thinking like that… And came up with stuff like Lightening, Thunder, Electric Shock, etc… They’re all pretty dumb though…”

There’s a slight pause before Yixing speaks up.

“So far the Pokémon in this dorm that have been named have Chinese names. Would you want to continue that trend?” he suggests with a gentle smile.

“I don’t see why not… Can you translate those three names I listed?”

“Shǎndiàn, Léi Shēng, Diànjí,” Kris says quickly.

“Diànjí… Diànjí…” Jongdae murmurs quietly as he his Emolga’s soft fur.

The little squirrel chatters happily and nuzzles into his hand cutely.

“You like that, huh? Well so do I. Diànjí it is then,” the elated Electric trainer says with a huge grin.

“H-Hey… What about Sneasel? I’m sure he’d like a cool name too!” Minseok suddenly chimes in.

“Hēi Bīng,” Yixing says coolly.

“Whoa yeah! That’d be perfect!” Lu Han chirps.

Minseok looks between the two in confusion.

“It means “Black Ice”,” Kris explains quickly.

“That is pretty cool… What do you think buddy? Does Hēi Bīng sound good?” Minseok as the small weasel that’s practically asleep in his lap.

The little Pokémon yawns lightly and blinks up at its trainer. He seems to ponder the name for a moment before poking at Minseok’s stomach lightly with his tiny claws. A look of confusion crosses Minseok’s face yet again until the Sneasel smiles up at him cutely and makes a happy noise.

“From now on you’ll be Hēi Bīng then. I’m glad you like it so much,” the eldest boy says gently.

“Now all that’s left is Kris’s Dratini and Lu Han’s Ralts,” Sehun points out.

All six of the other boys look up at him as if they’d forgotten he had been there the whole time.

“Pidgey needs a nickname too though,” Lu Han urges gently.

“S-She’s okay without a fancy Chinese name…” Sehun mumbles as he gently lays the exhausted bird on one of the pillows on the couch near Minseok.

“She’s got a lot of spunk though. And she listens to you really well already. The least you can do is give her a cute nickname~” Tao says thoughtfully.

Sehun simply shakes his head.

“I use pet names sometimes, but I don’t think she’d appreciate it if her name was Baby or Sweetie… Pidgey is fine. She can evolve into a new name that way. Pidgeotto and Pidgeot will work nicely when she gets there,” he explains with a soft smile.

“That makes a lot of sense. You must care deeply for her, Sehun-ah. She’s a lucky little bird to have a trainer like you,” Lu Han says softly.

“After what you said the other day I finally started to realize that she is my baby in a way… My baby girl…”

“Nín de nǚ yīng…” Yixing murmurs quietly.

“Hmm? Did you say something, Yixing hyung?” Sehun asks quickly.

“He just repeated your sentence in Chinese basically. “Your baby girl” is what he said,” Lu Han translates.

“Nǚ Yīng… I may just call her that when we’re here in this dorm…” Sehun muses.

The rest of the evening passes rather peacefully. Together the seven boys come up with names for both Lu Han’s Ralts and Kris’s Dratini. Lu Han picks the name Tóunǎo which means “mind” and Kris chooses Wēiyán which means “Majesty”. After a short while of talking amongst themselves about what the future might bring for them, they begin to turn in for the night. First Minseok and Jongdae get up and shuffle to their rooms. It doesn’t take long for them to both duck into the bathroom wearing their pajamas (or in Jongdae’s case, only a pair of boxers). Not long after they vacate the bathroom, Yixing carries Lǎnduò off to his room. Now only Kris, Lu Han, Tao, and Sehun are left.

“Hey Lu Han hyung… I don’t think I ever asked this before but um… How old are you exactly?” Sehun asks a bit shyly.

Lu Han chuckles lightly and scoots closer to Sehun.

“Well, you know that I’m older than you at least. Why is that?” the Chinese boy asks curiously.

“Oh… Jay told me that I’m the youngest of the new students here,” comes Sehun’s honest reply.

“I see… How old do you think I am?”

Through this entire conversation Tao and Kris are trying to find a way to share the smaller armchair to give the couple some space. Somehow Tao had found his way into Kris’s lap after a short struggle of flailing limbs and grunts of protest from the older boy. Kris finally lets out a sigh as Tao’s warmth starts to help him relax even more. He unconsciously wraps his arms around the younger’s waist and pulls him closer. Neither of them says anything as they listen to the other two converse.

“If I had to guess… I’d say you’re hardly any older than I am. So um… 18 or 19 maybe?” Sehun answers with more of a question than anything.

A soft giggle is the only response he gets at first.

“W-Was I wrong?” he asks quickly, earning himself a nod from Lu Han.

“Believe it or not, I’m already 22,” the Chinese boy replies with another giggle.

Tao suddenly sits up with a start, looking at his roommate with wide eyes. His sudden shift in position causes some rather unexpected friction against Kris’s crotch, making the elder groan almost inaudibly as his face lights up with a deep blush.

“There’s no way in hell that you’re older than me! Ever since we got here you’ve acted like a little kid whenever Sehun isn’t around!!” Tao shouts quickly.

Both Sehun and Lu Han stare at him with wide eyes.

“I was born in the spring of 1990. That’s a fact, Zitao. I’m sorry if that comes as a surprise to you, but I don’t usually like to act my age… Especially not when I meet someone who’s so easy to bother,” the oldest boy replies calmly.

“In the spring? What day exactly?” Sehun asks quickly as he tries to learn more about his love interest.

“April 20^th,” Lu Han says with a smile as he turns to look back at Sehun.

“Whoa… We’re almost exactly 4 years apart then. I was born April 12^th 1994!” the younger exclaims excitedly.

The two lapse into a playful conversation about how Lu Han really can be mature and act his age when he wants to. But the attention of the other two boys in the room shifts to something a little more embarrassing. Tao pouts the moment the couple on the couch begin to ignore him and settles back into his original comfy position on Kris’s lap. He lets out a tiny yelp and looks over his shoulder at the other when something pokes at his .

“K-Kris gege? Is everything okay?” he asks in a low voice, trying not to draw attention to himself.

The older continues blushing and tries to avoid making eye contact with the boy sitting in his lap. He has to admit that Tao has a really nice, firm , but he keeps that marginally erted tidbit to himself. Instead he tries to think about anything other than the younger boy in an attempt to calm his somewhat . He’d been in relationships before, but never had he gotten an simply from having someone else in his lap. Tao hadn’t exactly helped the situation by moving about so quickly before either… but Kris had never been enjoyed the presence of another man quite this much. He finally works up the nerve to whisper out an answer.

“Shì a...... Wǒ méishì...... Dāyìng wǒ, nǐ bù huì dòngle zhème duō, méiyǒu jǐnggào...” he unknowingly replies in Chinese.

“Duìbùqǐ. Wǒ yīnggāi jǐ diǎn qǐchuáng?” Tao asks softly.

“Hào.. Qǐng tíngliú gèng zhǎng de shíjiān.” Kris answers quickly as he finally looks up into Tao’s eyes.

A little blush appears on Tao’s face when he sees just how flustered the other is. He opens his mouth to say something more but decides against it. He smiles softly and shifts his weight onto one of Kris’s thighs before nuzzling his face against the older boy’s chest.

Translation for the conversation between Kris and Tao:

Kris - “Yes ah… I’m fine… Promise me you won’t move so much without warning…”

Tao - “I’m sorry. Should I get up?”

Kris - “No… Please stay longer.”

{Author's note: Alright! I finally managed to update this one! So glad it's a double update too! I hope you all like it!}