Luhan sits on one of the lobby couches in the waiting area.

Sehun is still nowhere to be found, but it's okay. There's many people in the lobby, either checking in or heading to their hotel rooms, but Luhan is glad that no one takes notice of him. He plays with his phone, reading about other languages and stuff, when someone taps him on his shoulder.

"Jongin?" Luhan asks in surprise. Jongin grins at him and plops down beside him.

"What's up, hyung? You waiting on Sehunnie?" he asks. 

"I am," Luhan replies, locking his phone and placing it on his lap. "Are you waiting for Kyungsoo?"

"Yup," Jongin replies, nodding his head. "We're going to the movies."

"You two and movies," Luhan sighs, playfully shaking his head. "I thought you guys already do that at your dorm?"

"We do, but hey, it's fun hanging out and watching movies in actual movie theatres," Jongin says. He looks around, pushing his cap a little higher above his eyes. "I hope there won't be much people out."

"Only couples and college students are out at night," Luhan hums. Families and their children will definitely stay in their hotel rooms once the sun sets while the couples and college students would take advantage of the night and have fun. (Almost like what he and Sehun will do tonight. Maybe.)

"Jonginnie," they hear someone coo a few feet behind them. Luhan and Jongin shift on the couch until they could gaze over their shoulders. Sehun and Kyungsoo are walking towards them, arms hooked, a smile on Kyungsoo's face and a slight smirk on Sehun's.

"Sehun," Luhan sings, jumping from the seat and attacking Sehun with his arms.

"Hi Luhan," Sehun murmurs, looking down at his hyung as he loosely wraps his arms around the smaller male.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at the two and turns to Jongin. "You ready?"

"I was born ready, hyung," Jongin replies, laughing. He extends his hand towards Kyungsoo, and the older takes it, patting Sehun on the shoulder.

"We'll be going then. Remember to be back by ten. I'll call you if I have to," Kyungsoo tells him. "Have fun."

"You guys have fun too," Luhan says, grinning at them.

"So," Jongin starts as he pulls Kyungsoo to walk beside him, "what should we watch?"

"I don't know," Kyungsoo replies, smiling eagerly. "Any movie. As long as we have popcorn and soda."

"Just like in the dorms," Jongin chuckles. They exit the hotel, hand in hand, and they avoid the probing gazes of people passing by because this is their Jongin and Kyungsoo time and no one should be interrupting them (not even their fans--although they love them so much). "Hyung, do you know where the theatre is?"

"I'm actually trying to look for it," Kyungsoo replies, eyes searching as they stroll on the sidewalk. Hyung was right, Jongin thinks while he surveys the area around them. The crowd they encountered earlier in the day are quickly dissolving as they head to their hotels and inns. People around his hyungs' ages begin to fill the restaurants and shops, along with lovers taking a walk by the beach (Jongin secretly wonders if Zitao is walking at the beach by himself).

"Let's go ask some vendors," Jongin suggests, tugging at Kyungsoo's hand and dragging him inside a souvenir shop. Thankfully, only a few people are in the store, so they hardly make a fuss about Jongin and Kyungsoo.

"Excuse me," Kyungsoo says politely to the cashier. Jongin looks at the cute key chains on his left. "Is it alright if you tell us where the movie theatre is?" Jongin covers his mouth and snorts. Kyungsoo sounds so polite and not the usual hyung he's used to, and it's so hilarious when he speaks so formally.

The cashier, an old man, gives Jongin a look but smiles sweetly at Kyungsoo. "Of course. If you go straight this way," he motions to his right and Kyungsoo takes note that it's the direction he and Jongin were taking, "you'll see it hovering a little bit over the other shops. You'll know what I'm talking about."

"Thank you," Kyungsoo says, bowing. Jongin mumbles his own appreciation, bowing as well, and then he's following Kyungsoo out of the store.

"You--why were you laughing?" Kyungsoo asks, even though he knows why. Jongin always does it anyway.

"You sound so funny when you use formal, hyung," Jongin laughs. He slings an arm around Kyungsoo's hunched shoulders. "It's okay hyung. It's funny in an adorable way."

"I'm aiming for manly, thanks," Kyungsoo says, pouting a little.

"Oh, hyung, that's so cute," Jongin teases.

"Ugh, you're horrible. I wonder how Junmyeon puts up with you," his hyung sighs. They walk more, and Kyungsoo wonders what the hell the old man was talking about until he sees the tiny movie theatre (it looks like those old movie theatres). The line is short; he and Jongin immediately got their tickets and went to get their popcorn and soda.

"I'm still a little full from the milkshake," Kyungsoo tells Jongin while they look at the menus. He doesn't understand why they were looking at the menu posted overhead the employees because all they want are a bucket of popcorn and sodas.

"We should share then," Jongin says. He grins at his hyung. "I'll pay."

They step behind another customer. "We're sharing everything? Even the soda?"

"If you want," Jongin shrugs, turning the cap on his head. "Do you want to?"

"It's okay. I'm not really hungry--"

"Alright, we're sharing."

Kyungsoo doesn't bother to say anything. It's not like they haven't done this before. So he just smiles and slips his hand in Jongin's arm. "Do you still want your ice cream? I told you I'd treat you right?"

"No more ice-desserts for the rest of the night," Jongin tells him while they wait for their large popcorn, "that milkshake challenge made me sick."

---

"I thought you wanted to rest early," Sehun says as Luhan hands him his bubble tea.

Even though they just recovered from the milkshake incident, they couldn't bring themselves not to buy bubble tea. They did this more out of habit than desire, in Sehun's opinion. They head away from the shops, from the pavement, and they both slip out of their shoes to walk on the sand.

"I wanted to," Luhan says while he and Sehun stride closer to the shore. The sun is still up, but it's about to set soon and the tides look higher than before. "But I think Xiumin and Chen wanted some alone time. And," Luhan adds as an afterthought, "I think it would be nice to just chill outside. On the beach."

"If I knew that we were going here, I would've worn flip flops," Sehun tells him after he takes a long sip of bubble tea, "and maybe brought a towel so we could lie down on it."

"Sorry," Luhan rolls his eyes with a smile, "Hyung should've planned better."

"Yup, I totally blame you, hyung," Sehun nods his head, while Luhan sits down on the sand, pulling Sehun with him. He gives Luhan a side-glance. "Chen and Xiumin?"

"It was so obvious that they wanted to be alone together," Luhan says, grinning. He pauses and drinks his bubble tea, the plastic coating his palms with cold drops of water. "I mean, they asked me if I had plans with you and stuff. Isn't that totally obvious?"

Sehun snorts, covering his lips with the back of his hand. "I think you're overthinking things. Maybe they're just surprised that you're not hanging out with any one of us--I mean, you're pretty outgoing."

"You think so?" Luhan asks.

Sehun nods, pulling his knees to his chest as he watches the waves cover the sand. He traps the bubble tea in between his knees and bites on the straw. "I think so, yeah."

Luhan puts a hand to his face as he watches Sehun. He looks perfect; his nose, the curve of his eyes, his jaw, his chin, his skin--Sehun is perfect. He sighs loudly and Sehun blinks, turning his face to look at Luhan.

"Are you bored?"

"How can you be so good-looking, Sehunnie?" Luhan whines. He notices the shy expression that surfaces on Sehun's face. "I mean, you're good-looking and funny and--"

"Ah, hyung, I'm not really--"

"You only use hyung on me when you're being humble or when you finally remember your respect terms," Luhan cuts in with a tiny smile. "I have noticed that, young Sehun," he says in the most serious, manliest voice he could muster and Sehun laughs softly, shaking his head.

"Luhan," Sehun says, still laughing a little. Luhan feels his toes tingle and he glances up at Sehun with a cute smile (and Sehun feels his stomach flutter).

"Hm?"

"Seriously."

"Seriously what?"

Sehun shrugs, not really knowing what to say, so he just sips on his bubble tea. His leg muscles start to strain, so Sehun takes his bubble tea in his hands again and stretches his legs out. "What do you think of this House . . . thing?"

Luhan contemplates, stretching his legs out, knee bumping Sehun's, and he hums again. "I like it. A lot. It's really fun and nice. What about you, Sehunnie?"

"It's something different," Sehun says slowly while he sways a little, shoulder bumping Luhan's and Luhan counteracting him with a shoulder bump of his own. "I really like it. Kyungsoo cooks me good food. Zitao's a really cool eomma, and Kris helps me with my English."

Luhan puts his chin on Sehun's shoulder, pouting a little. "I feel like you like Kyungsoo better than me, Sehun ah."

"Ah," Sehun clears his throat, chuckling a little as he glances at Luhan through the corners of his eyes, "I like you both, hyung."

"Who do you like better?" His breath starts to tickle Sehun's ear and it's making his toes curl. Sehun buries his toes in the sand while Luhan continues to blink adorably up at him with a matching pout.

"I like you better, hyung," Sehun mumbles, feeling embarrassed and shy and why are you doing this Luhan, but he smiles to play off the timidness bubbling in him.

Luhan grins widely, showing his teeth, and leans closer, pressing his lips softly--briefly--on Sehun's smooth cheek. "I like you the best, Sehunnie."

His lips were cold, but Sehun thought that it felt warm on his skin.

---

"Yo, Chanyeol," Baekhyun yells, waving his arms in the air.

They have played game after game in the past hour or so, and Chanyeol lost to Baekhyun by one point. Loser pays for their dinner and serves the winner. So here they are now; Baekhyun smugly grinning at Chanyeol and Chanyeol pouting at the older as he puts the tray of fries and chicken strips on the small table.

"It was only one point less, Baek," Chanyeol sighs. He sulks in his seat and Baekhyun throws a fry at him. He misses his face and merely hits Chanyeol in the shirt. The giant looks at Baekhyun in mock surprise, "I paid for that!"

"It's only one fry, Yeol," Baekhyun says, imitating Chanyeol's tone. "Don't be a sore loser."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"You're such a jerk," Chanyeol shoves a chicken strip in his mouth.

"I am. But admit it, you still love me the way I am," Baekhyun teases. He takes a chicken strip from the box and watches Chanyeol glare at him half-heartedly.

"So mean, I swear."

"You love it," Baekhyun sings. "We still have round two."

"What time do you need to get back?" Chanyeol asks.

"Ten-thirty. No later than that," Baekhyun says. He takes the plastic off his straw and pushes the straw into his soda. "Even though Chen is younger than me, he acts more mature."

"Everyone's more mature than you, Baek."

"Says the childish one out of all of us," Baekhyun sticks his tongue out.

"Personally, I think it's Tao. But don't tell him," Chanyeol says, smiling widely.

Baekhyun covers his eyes. "Ah, your smile is so bright. And, yeah, yeah, I promise."

"You're so dramatic. You and Myeonnie eomma," Chanyeol says and Baekhyun drops his hands from his eyes.

"Myeonnie eomma?" Baekhyun echoes, eyebrows raised. "Don't tell me that's Junmyeon."

"It is," Chanyeol says happily. He puts his elbows on the table and smiles adorably at Baekhyun. "Isn't it cute? You wanna hear Yixing's nickname?"

"YingYang appa," Baekhyun guesses (he's kind of jealous that Chanyeol says their nicknames fondly). "You know, yin and yang?"

"Ew, no," Chanyeol chuckles, "XingXing appa. It's cute, right?"

"Myeonnie eomma and XingXing appa," Baekhyun plays with the nicknames on his tongue, but it feels way too weird, so he just drops it. "Did you give them the nicknames?" He admits that the nicknames are cute, but Chanyeol couldn't have made them up, right? Chanyeol can't even give him a cute nickname like that! (Not that Baekhyun wants to have one from Chanyeol.)

"No, Jonginnie did," Chanyeol replies.

"He's such a softie," Baekhyun says.

"We're all softies, don't you think?" Chanyeol asks thoughtfully while chewing on a fry. Baekhyun watches Chanyeol silently, wondering how the hell can someone look handsome (and adorable and cute and manly and okay boyish) while eating greasy foods with a stupid snapback hat on.

It's just not right.

Chanyeol realizes that Baekhyun is staring at him and he waves his hand in front of Baekhyun's face (ignoring the bolt that just ran through him). "Baek? You okay? You kind of spaced out there."

"Pssh, I'm more than okay," Baekhyun shoots. He changes the subject (a skill he's overly good at). "Does Jongin have a nickname for me?"

"I don't think so," Chanyeol shakes his head. "Why, do you want one?"

"No, just curious."

"Do you have nicknames for your family members too?" Chanyeol asks.

"I think it's just you weirdos," Baekhyun teases with a smile.

"My family isn't weird," Chanyeol defends, grinning (because they're totally weird). "Do you have a nickname for me?"

"Dumbo," Baekhyun immediately replies and Chanyeol slightly kicks him on the shin.

"I'll just change your name from Baek to Shorty on my phone."

"No way!"

"Take back what you said," Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun sighs. "Fine."

"You at names."

"Whatever," Baekhyun says. He bites off his chicken strip and glances at his watch. "Wait, what time do you need to get back?"

"Eleven."

Baekhyun starts to eat faster, drinking from his soda. "If we want to play all the games, and play that motorbike game thing again, we need to hurry."

"Baek."

"What?" Baekhyun asks, wiping his lips with a napkin.

"You just drank from my soda," Chanyeol points out, cheeks a little pink and he's smiling so shyly like--like--man, Baekhyun doesn't even know what or who to compare him to. As an afterthought, Baekhyun thinks that Chanyeol slightly resembles Sehun when they about Luhan.

"So?"

"You don't understand?"

Baekhyun eats from their fries again, fingers greasy and most likely smelling like salt and potato and pepper. He shakes his head, other hand wrapped around his soda cup (but Chanyeol claims that it's his).

"Baek, that was indirect kiss."

Baekhyun chokes on his fry and Chanyeol tries hard not to laugh as he reaches over and pats the older's arm. Baekhyun coughs to clear his throat, using the back of his greasy hand to cover his mouth.

Somewhere in his mind, he kind of wished that it wasn't just an indirect kiss. Oh boy, what the hell is Byun Baekhyun thinking?

---

"Um, J-Junmyeon?" Junmyeon hears Yixing call him faintly from the inside of the bathroom.

"Mm?" he responds, lowering the volume of the television. He continues to read the page he's on, and stops when Yixing answers back.

"There's no more towel in here," Yixing says.

Junmyeon feels his heart race but he calmly puts his bookmark in his book. It's not like this hasn't happened before with the other members. Sometimes, they would be rushing too much that they'd forget parts of their outfits (or their towels for that matter) in their rooms, so they had to call other members to fetch it for them.

But this hasn't happened between Junmyeon and Yixing--until now, that is.

"Did you bring a towel with you?" he asks, sliding off the bed. He looks over at the drying rack, where his towel lies to dry. There should be another towel in the bathroom. Sometimes, there are more extras.

"I don't know," Yixing replies. "Can you check my bag for me?"

"Sure," Junmyeon says, kneeling on the carpeted floor to check Yixing's bag. The inside is astonishingly organized; underwear and socks in the front packet, clothes in the biggest space, and hygenic necessities in the smaller pockets. However, there isn't any sign of towels. "Uh, Yixing?"

"I didn't bring any, did I?" Yixing guesses, a sigh following afterwards.

"I can lend you my towel," Junmyeon says, neck heating up a bit. Sharing towels--he doesn't remember doing any thing like that with the other members. It just never happened. Situations like these never arose between the other members and Junmyeon. "I'll call the hotel service to ask for more towels." Quickly, he adds, "Or if you don't want to use my towel, you can just wait in there until the towels arrive."

Yixing doesn't respond for a good forty-five seconds, and then he asks, "Are you sure you don't mind? I mean, I'm pretty dry now anyways. Just a little water here and there."

Junmyeon doesn't want to know what he meant by here and there. So he simply says, "I don't mind." He retrieves his towel and knocks on the door. He hears Yixing move in the bathroom and the door slides open with Yixing behind it. His body is covered by the door and only his head (and part of his left shoulder) is seen.

"Thank you," Yixing mumbles, beaming awkwardly at Junmyeon. The latter simply nods and hands him the towel, because damn this is so ing awkward.

It shouldn't be awkward, but it is, and it's so frustrating! If it was another member in Yixing's place, Junmyeon knew that he wouldn't be acting like this. In fact, he'd act like a father (or a grandfater, whatever) and, you know, be cool about it. But no. 

He's dealing with Yixing, and is being so hella awkward about this whole issue.

Junmyeon suddenly remembers that he's still standing in front of the bathroom when Yixing opens the door, and it is the most ugh moment ever.

First of all, Yixing didn't know that Junmyeon was standing outside the bathroom door even after he took the towel, so he bumped into him. Second of all, Junmyeon wasn't standing very properly so when Yixing bumped into him, he fell backwards. And third of all, Yixing accidentally fell over Junmyeon and they were just a tangled mess on the floor with Yixing hovering on top of Junmyeon and Junmyeon staring up at Yixing.

Junmyeon is very glad that they're not taping right now.

"Ah, , sorry," Yixing mumbles, securing the loose towel wrapped around his hips. His damp hair frames his face, causing his already angelic face to look even more gorgeous, and Junmyeon doesn't notice that he's holding his breath until Yixing gets off him and helps him up.

"It's, um, okay," Junmyeon says, smiling in a strained manner. "I should call the home service--I mean, hotel service. Yeah, that." He moves away from Yixing as fast as lightning and dials the hotel service's number. A female picks up from the other line and Junmyeon avoids watching Yixing take clothes out from his bag (seriously, why didn't Yixing bring clothes in the bathroom).

"Yes, I would like to have more towels in this room." Yixing lets his eyes fleet over Junmyeon's back, listening absently to the short conversation. He feels dazed, kind of sluggish, and maybe it was because of the peculiar thing that occurred a minute ago. You know, when he fell on top of Junmyeon.

It's an unusual feeling, to be on top of a guy like that, but there's something different that made Yixing think. Think about what, he doesn't know. All he knows is that it just makes him think (especially of how adorable Junmyeon looked when he stared up at Yixing in shock).

"I'm just going to change." Yixing heads back to the bathroom, clothes in his arms.

"Okay," Junmyeon says, not-so-gracefully sliding back into his spot on the bed. "I'll just wait. Out here. I mean, on the bed. I mean--you know what I mean."

He sees Yixing smile amusedly and his heart flutters, face flushing and skin producing goosebumps.

---

The silence is back, and it's surrounding Kris and Zitao like a thick cloak.

Zitao sits in the bath tub, shoulders barely peeking out of the warm water as he watches the bubbles cover the water and his body. Kris is busy putting shampoo on his hair, sitting on the closed-lid toilet, with a towel wrapped around his hips.

They glance at each other discreetly, eyes never meeting the other's, but both Kris and Zitao know that they're watching. It's a weird feeling, a very weird one, but it isn't uncomfortable. Just weird.

And, the thing is, Zitao didn't put the shower curtain between them. And Kris didn't seem to mind.

Even though this is the first time Zitao ever did this. 

Their shower time together passed on with only a few words ("Are you done?" or "Do you need this?"), and Zitao exits the bathroom before Kris--Kris stays a few minutes longer to let Zitao put some clothes on.

When 8 P.M. strikes, Zitao finds himself curled by Kris's side, dozing in and out as they watch English movies on the international channel. He feels rather than hears Kris laugh whenever a joke is made, and sometimes it jerks him awake but sometimes it causes his eyes to close without him noticing.

"Zitao?"

Zitao peeks through his left eye, eyebrows dipped down while Kris looks at him with a tiny smile.

"You should go to sleep. I can wait for Kyungsoo and Sehun."

Oh right, Zitao thinks. He remembers that they have "sons" and remembers that their "sons" are out. Kris resists the urge to pinch Zitao's cheeks because he is so adorable like why can't he stay like this forever, and subconsciously pats the younger's head. 

"You look really tired, Zitao. It's okay."

"I'll stay up with you," Zitao yawns, pulling the covers up to his shoulders. Kris doesn't say anything and goes back to watching the movie. They both ponder about earlier's shower time, thinking how it got them to be so comfortable around each other despite the weird atmosphere surrounding them a few hours ago.

It's probably the first time in three weeks since they took a shower together again. Even at home (wow they refer to their borrowed house as "home" now), they take separate showers. Although, Zitao always brings one of their "sons" in the bathroom with him. In the end, Sehun and Kyungsoo set a schedule as to who showers with "eomma" on certain days. 

Maybe, just maybe, Zitao will ask Kris to shower with him when they get home. Who knows.

Kris laughs at another lame joke made in English and Zitao shuts his eyes. The sound is so warm, so rich and nice, and it just makes him want to sleep forever (Zitao wonders if that's a prettier term for die), so he tugs at Kris's arm, eyes barely open and says, "Wake me up thirty minutes before ten, okay?"

"Just go to sleep," Kris chuckles. Zitao curls closer to Kris.

"Just wake me up," he retorts softly, eyes shutting as he hears Kris laugh quietly, not knowing whether or not Kris would oblige to his request.

Later, once Kris is sure that Zitao is sleeping soundly and nothing would wake him up, he wraps his arms around Zitao in a brief hug, letting his arms loosely settle around Zitao for a while before he pulls them back, away from the clueless, sleeping male.

---

When Chen was in the bathroom, taking a shower, Xiumin had ran around their hotel room, jumped up and down, did a few push-ups and curl ups, and tried to calm his mind.

But seriously, what's there to worry about?

Oh how he wishes he knew the answer to that. His mind just keeps on reminding him that he and Chen are alone in a hotel room. Normally, this doesn't bother him (since they had been left alone in a hotel room for more than one occassion in the past), but after they were put into families and the parent roles, they became more intimate.

Even the slightest of touches, like their hands brushing against one another, stirs something inside Xiumin (and Chen; but Xiumin doesn't know that). Their gazes, their smiles, their compliments--they're something more to them. It feels new to have these conflicting thoughts running around their minds. Xiumin tries to reason out and tell himself that he's only overthinking things when there's nothing to overthink about.

Xiumin feels his heart race when Chen walks out of the bathroom in his drawstring pajama pants, shirtless, and averts his eyes. He's glad that he didn't turn the television off, and Xiumin focuses his gaze on the television, trying so hard not to be affected. (What's affecting him anyway? Chen's abs that he already saw so many times? Cough, cough.) He pulls a knee to his chest, balancing the remote control as Chen crouches on the floor to his right, where their bags are huddled together. He pulls a clean shirt out and slips into it.

The older grits his teeth in concentration, attempting to ignore Chen, even though he can see him through his peripheral sights. He's so conscious of Chen; it's kind of scary. He momentarily feels the younger's eyes on him, and suddenly Chen is jumping, lying on top of Xiumin's leg, and Xiumin almost hits Chen with his other leg. The remote falls softly on the bed.

"Jongdae," Xiumin exclaims, shaking Chen off his leg. Chen moves next to him with a smile.

"What's up, Minseok?" Chen says. They hardly call the other using their Korean names, but it's fun whenever they do it. (Especially in China; it brings a sense of home.) Maybe Chen should enforce calling each other using their Korean names. And besides, he likes Xiumin's name.

The older wraps his fingers around his arms while he stretches out his legs. "It's so weird to hear you say my name."

"It feels natural to me," Chen says. "What do you think? Should I call you Minseok?"

"It's so weird," Xiumin repeats.

"Well, you can call me Jongdae any time, any where, any way," Chen says.

"Any way? What are you talking about? There's only one way to call your name," Xiumin says, perplexed. He balances the remote on the same knee again.

"You know," Chen says, hands moving, "Jongdae ah, Jongdae."

"That's only two ways. But it's still one."

"Jongdae appa," Chen says. He scoots closer to Xiumin, smiling boyishly. "Come on, Minseok, be comfortable with it."

"But why?" Even to his ears, Xiumin sounds like he's whining.

"We're married, it's natural," Chen insists, smile broadening. First, Xiumin thinks, Oh my god we're still married even off camera, but then his mind says, Oh but it's Chen, he would do something like this.

And, maybe it's because Chen was up and personal with his face (not really, but you know), Xiumin agrees. After that, Chen won't stop saying Xiumin's name even after Xiumin told him to shut the up, Jongdae.

---

A/N: fjdsoijoisdidj thank you guys so much for the comments and subscribes and the upvotes! I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story! I have so much fun writing this! haha it was really fun writing this chapter so i have a feeling i'll do more of these off screen chaps  lol. XD i wanted to write more, you know, but then i don't know when i'll be able to update again (gotta start on my summer hw). so yeah. thanks so much guys!  P.S. this isn't proof read as usual ><