Rating: G
Word Count: 728 words
Prompt: "accidentally fell in your lap while standing on this crowded bus!au"

The bus is completely crammed with people and Jongin is lucky to have found a seat, ducking his head to avoid the elbows of people standing in the aisle. It’s getting pretty stuffy; the air conditioning seems to be broken and there isn’t much air coming through the small windows. Sighing glumly, Jongin tugs at the collar of his shirt; there’s still a long way to go. 

The bus stops again at the next step and everyone who’s standing begins to shuffle and jostle around, squashing together and moving back in an attempt to make more space for the new arrivals. Jongin gets smacked in the face by a couple of swinging handbags, though no one apologizes. 

The bus starts forward with a sudden jerk and the crowd is sent stumbling backwards with the shift in momentum. Jongin dodges the next handbag headed his way but the sudden heavy weight planted in his lap has him slamming against the back of his seat, winded.  

“Oh god, I’m so sor- Jongin?”

Blinking, Jongin focuses on the man sprawled on top of him;

“Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol beams at him brightly, a giant grin spreading across his face and he tosses an arm around Jongin’s neck, despite the position and cramped space, to pull him into a hug.  Chuckling, Jongin free one of his arms and curves it around Chanyeol’s waist, patting his back.

“It’s been so long!” he says finally when he pulls away. He makes no move to get up from Jongin’s lap and Jongin can’t find it in him to push his old friend off just yet. “I didn’t even know you were back from the States! Why didn’t you call?”

“I just got back a few days ago actually; I got a call from a company here in Seoul. My phone got stolen just before my flight, I lost everyone’s number,” Jongin explains with a groan. 

Barking out a laugh, Chanyeol smacks his shoulder with his hand in reaction. Jongin grins; just like the old days. It’s been years since he’s seen Chanyeol after he went overseas to study at a University in Chicago. They kept in touch though the time between every Skype call and email grew steadily the more hectic their schedules got until they stopped altogether for a few months. It feels like he never left though, laughing along with Chanyeol inadvertently sitting on his thighs. It’s always been comfortably easy with Chanyeol, something he’s rarely ever found with anyone else, even in the States. 

They catch up where they’d left off before the emails stopped, swapping stories and working on updating each other with what’s currently happening in their lives. The bus begins to empty little by little, leaving significantly more room in the aisle for people to stand in but Chanyeol seems content where he is and Jongin certainly has no objections. 

Peering out the window, Chanyeol cuts himself off mid-sentence, claiming his stop is coming up soon.  It takes a moment for the feeling to return to Jongin’s legs once Chanyeol lifts himself off, massaging his numb thighs with a silent groan. Glancing out the window himself, he notes with a jolt that it’s his stop too.  

Chanyeol grins at that and beckons him to follow as he makes towards the front of the bus. Jongin finds himself reaching out to curl his fingers around Chanyeol’s arm, holding on closely as he pushes past the people. 

It’s a breath of fresh air to finally be outside and Jongin heaves a huge sigh of relief, stretching his arms above his head to crack his stiff back.

“So, which way are you headed?” Chanyeol asks.

“Mm, this way,” Jongin replies, jerking his thumb to the right, “to the SM Entertainment building.”

“No ing way, that’s the company that called you?” Chanyeol exclaims, eyebrows shooting high up his forehead. “That’s where I’m headed too!”

Jongin feels his face mimicking Chanyeol’s expression, “The music producer deal? From SM too?”

Chanyeol face is almost splitting in half with the force of his grin;

“Oh man, this is gonna be so great.”

Agreeing, Jongin beams back excitedly, feeling decidedly less nervous about the new position now.

He falls into step beside Chanyeol as they walk down the road leading to the building, happily settling his hand in the crook of Chanyeol’s elbow when it’s offered out to him.