“Uhm, teacher Victoria?”

Victoria turns back to find the kid fidgeting with his fingers on his desk. “Yes, Donghae?”

She watches Donghae look behind him and she doesn’t need to follow his gaze to know that it’s on his since diaper times buddy, Hyukjae. When he returns his eyes at her, big and hopeful, she tells herself that she can’t cave.

“Can’t Hyukkie be my desk-mate?” He stage whispers and then throws an alarming glance at Heechul who has clearly heard and is now squinting at him.

“Why, Lee Donghae?” Heechul questions before Victoria can placate him, affronted. “Don’t you like me? In that case I don’t like you either!” He declares not even giving the opportunity to the other to defend himself.

Donghae’s already round and big eyes impossibly double their size and become two tennis balls. “No, I like you! I like you! But,” he quickly re-tails, worrying his bottom lip. When he releases it from his frontal teeth, he says, “but Hyukkie is my best friend and—”

Victoria reaches out to caress the child’s face.

“Donghae—” She starts, but she’s cut off by Heechul who prompts, “and?”

Donghae looks at the expectant expression of his desk-mate. “And he’s playing with Sungmin, the bunny.” He explains, bitterness laced in his words.

Victoria suppresses a smile at that. Kids often get jealous when they see their friends interacting and having fun with other kids who are not them. It’s happened a lot of times.

“And what’s wrong with that?” Heechul asks with a scowl.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Victoria finally meddles in when she notices Donghae just opening and closing his mouth and then his lips, upset.

Heechul nods eagerly. He parrots, “there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“B-but I am Hyukkie’s best friend.” Donghae protests, although it’s weak.

“Yes, you are,” she acknowledges, “but Hyukjae can have other friends, right? You can have other friends too. But that doesn’t mean he’ll stop being your best friend and you’ll stop being his best friend.”

“Of course!” Heechul adds, very invested in the other’s issue. He tips his nose up and closes his eyes superior-ly. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll be your friend if you want.”

Unfortunately, Donghae takes one look at him, one at Hyukjae and Sungmin laughing and hangs his head without replying to the offer.

Which seems to completely offend Heechul who first cracks one eye open to watch Donghae, gapes when he comes to the conclusion that he’s being rejected (he's not entirely wrong) and then stares at Victoria, giving her a ‘can you believe this’ look. Coming from a child who’s supposedly seven and not a teenager nor an adult, this is hilarious.

“Hey, Donghae,” Victoria says. She waits for the child to look at her, and contains an ‘aw’ when she meets a pair of puppy eyes. “I can’t change your seat.” Sad eyes. She really cannot, though. She purposely put all the shorter kids on the first row. Besides if she does Donghae this favor, she has to do the same for Ryeowook and Yesung and everyone else who wants to switch desks. “But you can go and chat with Hyukjae if you want.”

It’s the first day of school and they don’t start with the alphabet et al before a week has passed anyways.

Donghae’s expression cheers at that. He doesn’t wait to be told twice. He gets up and bolts to Hyukjae’s direction, leaving a spluttering Heechul behind.

“I’m asking your classmates if everything’s okay and I’m in need of an assistant,” she says to the remaining kid.

Heechul eyeballs her, calculating. “Tell you what, you’re lucky. I have some free time.”

°°°°°

After overcoming the initial fear and embarrassment caused by the introduction first and Donghae coming to save his day, but ruining it instead second, Hyukjae has to admit that school might not be a nightmare as he thought it to be.

And the people who were mocking him before weren’t all bad.

Take Sungmin, for example. His appointed desk-mate. Sure, he’s brought his toy from home, but he’s funny. He has a lot of nice stories to say. And he likes superheroes too. He’s a Black Panther and Spiderman fan. Those two characters are great! They’re super strong! Spiderman is so funny and T’challa is super cool!

He’s never watched the Batman and the Robin cartoon, but that’s not important because Sungmin got to see the movies, the trilogy—something Donghae hasn’t because the three films are too violent and he is afraid of the Joker.

However, Hyukjae has to admit that even though Sungmin is in an advantage given that he knows more movies, Donghae has a lot more knowledge, knows more details. For once, Donghae doesn’t need to be constantly reminded of names and which superpowers the side-characters have.

“Iron Man’s friend. The one who has a robot too—”

“A suit,” Hyukjae corrects.

“—yes, suit,” Sungmin says, “I like him too!”

“Me too!” Hyukjae declares. He can forgive forgetfulness as long as the other has good tastes. “Rhodey, that’s his name. He’s War machine. Did you see when they fight all together and he falls down because of the Falcon and—”

“Hyukkie!”

Hyukjae is taken aback to see a grinning Donghae clinging to him and then making space in Hyukjae’s chair by pushing Hyukjae a bit with his . He’s certain teacher Victoria has told Donghae that his place is on the opposite side of the classroom. The furthest desk from him in the front row. The one next to the window.

“What are you doing here?” He asks quickly, eyes darting left and right to make sure teacher Vic hasn’t noticed Donghae sneaking away. What the—strawberries. Trust Donghae to get himself in trouble the very first day of school by disobeying the teacher.

Donghae doesn’t answer immediately. Instead, he decides that it is way more important to get up and sit on the other side of Hyukjae’s seat, putting himself in between Hyukjae and Sungmin.

“Donghae!” Hyukjae scolds him.

Satisfied by his doing, Donghae offers a toothy smile. “I’m here to play with you, Hyukkie!” He announces happily.

“What are you saying!” Hyukjae hisses, following teacher Victoria with his gaze. Luckily, she is busy listening to Kangin talking animatedly about something. “You have to go back to your seat! Now! Or she’ll be mad at you!”

“Mad? At me?” Donghae doesn’t understand. “Who?”

“What do you mean who?” Hyukjae is getting more and more annoyed. “The teacher! Vic!”

“Why would she be?” Donghae asks, slightly frowning, not understanding. “She told me I can come here.”

Hyukjae reels back. “Why?” It’s his time to be confused. “Are you sure?”

“Of course!”

“Why would she do that?”

Donghae looks at Hyukjae as if he’s dumb. “Because I want to play with you, Hyukkie. I told you.”

Hyukjae snorts. “There’s no way she would just allow you.”

Silence follows that statement. Donghae tilts his head. “Are you saying I’m a liar?” He asks, hurt.

Huh-Hoh. That’s definitely not what was said. He might have implied it, but Hyukjae knows he’s never used that word and he didn't mean it.

“I am not!” He counters, holding his hands up in innocence like his daddy has taught him to do when mommy starts shouting out of nowhere about stuff. Even if they do not know what she’s talking about yet. Better come prepared, daddy says.

Donghae studies him and he might have seen sincerity in Hyukjae or something because he nods. He rests his cheek in the space in between Hyukjae’s head and shoulder, leaning against Hyukjae’s neck.

His friend is many things—a crybaby, a pillow thief and blanket hogger, a baby—but he’s not a liar.

Still, Hyukjae can’t feel at ease unless teacher Victoria confirms Donghae’s version. He believes him, but he wants to be more sure. What if, after all.

Worriedly looking for a sign, he misses Sungmin greeting Donghae, “hi, Donghae!,” and the everly so friendly Donghae looking at Sungmin up and down still in his position—clinging to Hyukjae as if his life depended on it—and then completely snobbing poor Sungmin by turning his face to the opposite side, effectively burying his nose in his best friend’s neck.

+ bonus 1

Ryeowook sighs.

Yesung is making friends already with Taeyeon while he’s just here flipping a new notebook and wondering if he can start doodling on it since he hasn’t got anything better to do.

The boy sitting on the desk next to his—Kibum—some time ago folded his arms on the desk, placed his head on them and now is asleep. Or at least that’s what Ryeowook thinks happened because he hasn’t seen the other move an inch since then.

He sighs again.

Maybe when Teacher Vic came to him, he should have asked her if he could draw or if he could go to talk to other classmates like some have decided to do, but he chickened out and told her that he’s perfectly fine staying here doing nothing. He wonders if it’s too late to tell her that he changed his mind.

Rotating half his body to look for his teacher, he finds her still chatting with Kangin. Incredible. That kid has been talking forever.

“You look like Toad.”

Ryeowook blinks. He turns his head to his right to the boy behind him—Kyuhyun, the one with his PSP—with his chin propped on his desk, staring at Ryeowook intently. There’s no one next to him. His desk-mate, Siwon, has abandoned him for Leeteuk.

Oh. So someone has it worse than Ryeowook.

“Sorry?”

Kyuhyun repeats, “you look like Toad.”

Ryeowook thinks, but he doesn’t know what that is and he says so. “I don’t know what a toad is.”

“Toad,” Kyuhyun says again, “it’s not an object. It’s a mushroom person who helps Super Mario.” He grimaces. “He doesn’t really help. All he does is say that Princess Peach is in another castle.”

“I don’t know who those are.” Ryeowook admits, but then he recalls the introduction made by the classmate, especially the part where he gets called by his family an interesting nickname. “Is it a game?”

Kyuhyun shoots him a look. “Yes, duh, I told you. It’s Super Mario,” he huffs, but he doesn’t seem irritated and he doesn’t sound like he is, either.

Ryeowook asks, “is it good? What is it about?”

He made a good question. That much he understands because Kyuhyun moves. As in he starts rummaging in his backpack that has funny colors and good drawings. There’s a dragon.

Emerging with a pen in his hand and a notebook in the other, Kyuhyun motions at him to come closer. “I’ll show you.”

Ryeowook would have told Kyuhyun that the teacher hasn’t given them the permission to use their things, so Kyuhyun shouldn’t, but Kyuhyun is already smearing ink with his ball-pen on the once immaculate paper.

And he’s making a funny looking baby with a giant head. It’s cute.

+ bonus 2

Leeteuk cannot say he’s surprised Siwon had approached him. After all, they know each other and their respective parents had informed them that they were going to be in the same class last week at dinner.

They spend time together with their families—but they’re never really put next to each other to interact when they’re having meals. Leeteuk’s place is always at his father’s right and Siwon in the middle of his parents.

Sometimes, he and Siwon have to leave the adults and are told to go in another room and this is when they talk to each other. Siwon would share with him what he and his parents did during the week and Leeteuk would tell him if something peculiar happened in the hospital or at home with mom. But nothing singular ever happens when Leeteuk’s home with mom, except for that one day the English tutor couldn’t come and Leeteuk was told that he had the day free and he spent it video-calling his grandfather who taking care of Lightning, the new born horse.

He and Siwon are not close. Not like Leeteuk is with his cousin, Junmyeon. He doesn’t know if he can call Siwon a friend, but Leeteuk has never minded the other’s presence and he hopes the other child doesn’t mind him either.

Leeteuk actually likes Siwon.

Siwon’s not too rowdy, he’s clever, and that one time they went to Moscow, Siwon didn’t make a fuss in the plane. Maybe it was because it was not the first time Siwon flew, like Leeteuk, but Siwon assisted him when Leeteuk’s tummy felt heavy and funny and he even offered to hold his hand when Leeteuk’s ears hurt.

He also likes Siwon’s mom and dad. They’re nice.

Leeteuk would meet them in the morning at Leeteuk’s dad’s clinic for Siwon’s mom’s check ups or when Siwon’s dad, Mister Choi, comes to ask dad if can give him a pass—or was it called a permit? This piece of paper that says Mister Choi had an urgent physical so he had an excuse for not coming to a meeting or something. It’s almost never true that he’s sick and Leeteuk has wondered why his dad doesn’t mind lying for Mister Choi even though he reprimands, although gently, other patients who ask for the same favor.

But even if “he doesn’t take his role seriously, should we vote for him at the next elections?” as Leeteuk’s mom says, Leeteuk finds Mister Choi a good hearted person who gave his slippers to a “beggar” and rescues stray puppies with Siwon. And Siwon’s mom always prepares mouth-watering dishes, wears skirts with really eye-catching colors, and one time told him that he can just call him Aunt Saehyun. Which Leeteuk does, although he doesn’t refer to her as such when his mom is around. Otherwise he’ll be scolded.

“Leeteuk?”

Leeteuk knows he doesn’t need to pretend he wasn’t lost in his thoughts because Siwon’s not bothered by catching Leeteuk not listening, but he’s used to it. So, he smiles automatically, but since it’s Siwon, he asks.

“Pardon?”

Siwon mirrors him, smiling back. The bow-tie around his neck reminds Leeteuk of the one Leeteuk has at home, that he had to put on for a relative wedding. It was uncomfortable and Leeteuk was itchy for the entirety of the ceremony. Leeteuk’s glad Siwon isn’t showing any kind of discomfort. Not that Siwon’s parents would have anything to say if Siwon decided to take it off.

“I was saying that your desk-mate Kangin sure talks a lot,” Siwon repeats and they both turn their heads and indeed see Kangin still chattering with their teacher Victoria.

“Yes, that’s right.” Unluckily, Leeteuk forgot to ask their maid for his watch this morning, but he knows for sure that a lot of time has passed.

They watch Kangin exuberantly narrate how his dad captured an aquatic dinosaur last Saturday.

“He’s a funny kid,” Siwon comments with a chuckle.

Leeteuk has to scrunch up his nose at that and has to give his—his—his. Uhm. He has yet to name what Siwon is to him. But he raises a questioning eyebrow at Siwon. He knows that Siwon knows that dinosaurs are extinct.

Siwon doesn’t give him any explanation, choosing to eavesdrop their teacher and classmate’s conversation instead. He shouldn’t and Leeteuk reminds him of that.

“I know,” Siwon at least looks abashed of his own behavior, “but he’s really funny and his dad must be funny too.”

Leeteuk watches Kangin extend his arms and make noises akin to gunshots. He also recalls the slap Kangin had given him on the back as they got put as desk-mates and the missing tooth when he smiled at Leeteuk afterwards.

He has yet to decide if he likes Kangin or not. So for now Leeteuk shrugs. “Maybe.”