“Stop it.” Tao retracted his hand quickly and pouted at his ge.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t like it,” Luhan responded tersely.

“You’ve never complained before,” Tao pointed out.

“Just…” Luhan drifted off and sighed, pointing towards another room in EXO’s dorm. “Kris is back, go bother him. He gained weight in Canada, go poke his new cheeks.”

“But Kris-ge is very sensitive about the weight he gained,” Tao said, puffing his cheeks out shortly after.

“Then poke Baozhi’s cheeks – they’re some of his best assets.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Minseok deadpanned from his spot on the floor on the opposite side of the room, not looking up from the book in his lap.

“Hyung, why are you so touchy about your cheeks now, of all times?” Jongin asked; he had been watching the meal Kyungsoo was cooking like a hawk, breaking his concentration long enough to direct his question at Luhan.

“Because… I don’t… like it,” Luhan choked out.

“Seriously, though – you’ve never complained before,” Chanyeol’s deep baritone cut in from nowhere. Luhan squeezed his eyes shut and took a few deep breaths.

“A man can’t get sick of being treated like a small, fluffy animal once in a while?” He sounded uncharacteristically dismayed.

“Hyung,” Baekhyun snickered from where he had plopped down next to Chanyeol, “As far as the rest of the world is concerned, you are a small, fluffy animal.”

“It’s the eyes,” Jongdae declared with the all-knowing tone of someone who thought they were permanently surrounded by idiots. “You look like Bambi.”

“But I’m not a small, fluffy animal!” Luhan wailed, making Tao stumble back into Yixing on the other end of the couch. “I’m a man, dammit!”

“Ge! Language!” Tao gasped.

“Seriously, hyung! Where is all of this coming from?” Kyungsoo asked with concern, looking up from the meal he was cooking.

“I… I just…” Luhan wilted in his seat and sniffled pathetically, tensing up when the front door beeped and opened, Junmyeon and Sehun walking in. Luhan immediately sat up straighter and puffed out his chest a little bit, which looked almost comical to everyone who had been paying attention.

“We’re back with groceries!” Junmyeon declared with a smile, setting everything down and quietly instructing Jongin to put everything away.

“Why do I have to put everything away?” Jongin whined. “Why not Sehun? He’s the magnae!”

“Because I helped with the groceries,” Sehun declared with a smug grin. And on that note, he turned and walked over to the couch, sitting on the arm rest next to Luhan and beaming at him. “Hi, hyung!” Sehun greeted, practically ignoring everyone else.

“Sehun,” Luhan grunted in a tone a few notes deeper than his usual voice; Sehun stared at him in surprise, whereas there was a smattering of giggles throughout the room.

“Hyung, are you okay? Your voice sounds weird, are you getting sick?” The giggles got a little bit louder and Sehun frowned when he noticed Luhan’s face turning red. “And your face is turning red, are you alright?”

“Dinner’s ready!” Kyungsoo called out; immediately, everyone in the living area scrambled to their feet and made a beeline for the food, except Luhan and Sehun.

“Hyung, maybe you should rest after we eat, you don’t look well,” Sehun told him with concern, touching Luhan’s arm gently as the older male went to stand up.

“Later, Sehun-ah,” Luhan grunted, still sounding weird to Sehun’s ears.

—

“Hyung?” Sehun asked quietly, stepping into the room he and Luhan would be sharing while M was in Korea.

“Yes, Sehun-ah?” Luhan asked while rolling onto his side to face away from Sehun, trying not to wince at how gravelly his voice sounded. Keeping up the deep, manly voice wasn’t good for his vocal cords, he knew; it was at times like this that he envied Chanyeol and Kris’ natural baritones.

“Hyung, stop doing that to your voice, you’ll harm your vocal cords,” Sehun chided softly, going over and sitting down on the bed next to where Luhan was laying down, “and tell me what’s wrong. Something’s bothering you, and you always tell me when something is wrong.”  Luhan let out an exaggerated sigh and pressed his lips together, avoiding eye-contact with Sehun. He thought that if he stayed silent long enough, the magnae would go back to his own bed and he could just go to sleep. But, Sehun stayed on the edge of Luhan’s temporary bed, waiting patiently for his hyung to speak.

“Sehun-ah, am I… Do you think I’m cute?” Luhan mumbled, dropping his face voice. Sehun chuckled and nudged Luhan’s shoulder.

“You’re adorable, hyung,” Sehun told him; Luhan could easily picture Sehun’s eye-smile as he nudged the older male, trying to get his attention.

“But I’m not adorable!” Luhan blurted out, shooting up and looking at Sehun’s stunned expression. “I’m manly as hell!” He whined, grabbing the corners of the blanket and flopping back down immediately afterwards, yanking the covers over his head so that he could hide from Sehun’s surprised expression.

“Hyung…” Luhan let out a small whining noise from under the covers, making Sehun smile fondly as he poked the lump under the covers. “Hyung, why does this matter so much to you? You’ve never made a big deal about it before,” he pointed out with a light chuckle. Luhan said something, but it was muffled by the blankets over his head. “What?”

“-Said,” Luhan began, throwing the covers off to look up at Sehun with an indignant expression, “That cute and adorable people aren’t attractive enough to kiss or hug or desire romance with!” Sehun blinked in surprise for a few moments before the corner of his mouth twitched into a small, disbelieving smirk.

“You seriously think that?” Sehun snickered. “Then how do you explain Kyungsoo-hyung and Jongin?”

“Fine – I’m not the kind of adorable you want to date and love,” Luhan whimpered, rolling over again.

“That’s stupid,” Sehun sniffed in disdain. “The fans love how cute you are.”

“But do you?” It was said so softly that Sehun almost missed it; and the way he stiffened up on the edge of the bed terrified Luhan in a way that made him wish he had. After a few moments, Sehun’s hand fell lightly on Luhan’s shoulder.

“Hyung…” Sehun said, softer than before, “look at me.” Luhan barely mustered the willpower to look over his shoulder and meet Sehun’s eyes, which were glowing with affection as he leaned down and nuzzled his forehead against Luhan’s. “You don’t have to be manly at all for me, hyung,” Sehun assured him, eyes glowing with affection. Luhan’s breath caught in his throat and he could only stare in disbelief as Sehun pressed a hesitant kiss against Luhan’s cheek before sitting up with a shy smile and a light dusting of pink across his cheeks.

“Sehun-ah…” Luhan breathed out as he sat up. “Do you… I mean…” They stared at each other in awkward silence for a few moments before Luhan leaned forward and closed the gap between them, pressing his lips gently against Sehun’s. As soon as he was about to pull away, Sehun let out a small indignant noise and leaned forward again, slipping his hand behind Luhan and into his hair, climbing over the older boy until he was straddling his hips.

“I take that back,” Sehun breathed against Luhan’s lips, chuckling when the older tensed up. “You just have to be manly enough to make the first move.” Luhan chuckled and leaned forward to nuzzle his face into Sehun’s neck.

“I think I can do that,” he chuckled against the pale skin, peppering it with kisses. “In fact…” he hummed lightly and tightened his grip on Sehun’s hips, flipping them over to where Sehun was on his back and Luhan was hovering over him with a predatory glint in his eyes. “I think I can be just manly enough for a few other things, too…”