AN: I know it's late. Sorry! Hope this makes up for it...

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It was 9pm.

If the evening had gone the way Jaejoong had planned, then right about now, Yunho would be excusing himself to go and call the mysterious JJ, only to turn towards his date in confusion when Jaejoong’s phone starts ringing…

That was the plan.

That’s how it happened in Jaejoong’s head.

But the reality…it . That’s was so far from what happened that he just stayed slumped on the couch for half an hour. Pouting for all he’s worth.

As the minutes ticked by, Jaejoong realised that Yunho was not going to be calling JJ anytime. Not that he was really expected him to, not after the epic display of AWOL that his date showed in his honour. Ugh, who was he kidding? This wasn’t Yunho’s fault. Any sane person would have ran away.

Finally, he decided to stop acting like a sack of potatoes and move. The balcony door was open and a chilling breeze was entering his apartment, which was not nearly as nice as it would have been had he still had his jumper on. Begrudgingly, he pulled his jumper back over his head, giving his scar a look of disdain in the process.

He padded over to the kitchen, observing the number of pots carrying various foods in them. He definitely won’t be able to finish that himself. Not that he’d want to anyway.

Max.

Hmm. Why not? He may as well get friendly with his neighbours instead of moping around. He’d done enough damage for the night.

He knocked on his neighbours’ door, his eyes lingering on the one just next theirs. He wondered if Yunho was hugging Taepoong, if the mutt would let him, or if he was cursing Jaejoong. Did he hate him now? That thought made him sad.

Before his thoughts could go down the negative route, he heard a high-pitched greeting right in his face.

“Hi! Can I help you?” asked the slightly shorter male, with a bright smile on his face.

“Hi there. I’m your new neighbour an-”

“Oh! Hello, hyung! I’m guessing you’re older than me?” He enthusiastically shook Jaejoong’s hand.

“Yeah, that’s right. Are you…Micky?” he’d seen Max, so this guys must either be Micky or Junsu. Yunho told him the names of “the banes of his existence” – Yunho’s words, not his!

“Eu Kyang Kyang!” the guy suddenly exploded in laughter. Jaejoong actually jumped a little. That was a… interesting sound. Not that he was one to speak, he hated the sound his own laugh made.

“No. I’m Junsu. It’s really nice to meet you hyung! Can I just say I’m a fan!” he excitedly talked, while pulling Jaejoong inside and closing the door behind him.

“A fan?” the sight he was greeted with almost gave him a heart attack. There were books, camping bags, shoes, clothes…was that underwear!? Eew!  It looked like a tornado had hit the room and escaped through the open balcony door. Oh, man! If his neighbour lived like this, then the chances of finding rats in the building were high!

“Yes. OMG. Max’s face when he came back! It was priceless! I don’t know what you said to him or what you did, but no one – and I mean NO ONE –has ever been able to successfully turn him down when it comes to food!” Damn, does this kid always scream when talking, Jaejoong wondered.

“Well hi there neighbour! Nice to finally have a pretty face to look at, around this dump.” Jaejoong suddenly had an arm around his shoulder. Junsu had gone missing somewhere in the mess, but his voice was still around. Was he singing?

“You must be Micky.” He stated matter-of-factly, as his eyes scanned the surroundings. Had they never heard of air freshener? Another hand pulled at his nose.

“Don’t scrunch up your nose like that, it’s insanely cute for an ahjussi.” H throatily whispered in Jae’s ear. Jaejoong wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be disgusted.

“What is that god-awful smell!?” he went with disgust, slapping Micky’s hand off his shoulder and the other away from his nose, sniffing the air around.

“That would be the sound of my arousal, caused by your delightful presence.” Micky grinned at him. Oh, God. Was this guy real? Gross.

“Micky, that is beyond any bounds of revolting.” Came the disinterested voice of the youngest. “Flirting with the ahjussi next door, really?”

Jaejoong made a face at Micky, whom just winked at him in return, before turning his attention to Max, he was glaring straight at him.

“What does your old want?”

“Well, for a starters how about some fresh air? Damn do teenage boys have no concept of fresh, nice smelling air?” he grumbled as he stepped over a pile of things, to get to the windows. It was honestly disgusting in there. He opened the windows wide, sticking his head out and taking a deep breathe.

“You can get that nice-smelling air from your own apartment. And we’re not teenagers!”

“Yeah, but we’re neighbours now. And as your hyung, it’s my responsibility to make sure you three don’t die in this stench hole.” He next went to pull the blinds and open the double doors, letting in as swoosh of fresh air from the balcony into the room. “Ah, that’s more like it.”

“Hey! Don’t just come into our home and try to take charge! I’m well capable of tidying my own living quarters, than you very much!” Changmin declared, offended that a stranger – who by the way refused to give him delicious smelling food - would dare and try to insult him and how he lived. Granted the main living room was a mess, but that was because the three of them had just gotten home and had been too knackered to tidy up first. He and Junsu had showered, except Micky. That nasty decided to chug down a bottle of soju first. Max was certain he’d kick him out soon if he continued this lifestyle. He did not like his home to be dirty and messy!

“Well aren’t you just a sensible little good boy?” Jaejoong cooed at him, patronising.

 “Watch what you-”

“Hey, hey! I’m not here to start a fight.” Jae put his hands up as Max straightened up, clearly preparing for battle. “We have plenty of time for that later, sweet, sweet dongsaeng.”

Max snorted.

Micky just looked on, amused. He definitely liked this new neighbour. Anyone who could ruffle Max’s feathers was worth his time.

Junsu was still MIA, somewhere amongst the mess.

“Anyways, since you’ve just come home, I assume you have no edible food. I’ve got leftovers, if you’d like some.” Jaejoong said to no one in particular, poking what looked like a dirty kettle with his foot.

“Oh, yes please, hyung!” Junsu was suddenly right in front of him, bouncing as he asked if they could have it now. “I’m starving and Mom says canned food isn’t good for health.” He pouted, rubbing his belly sadly.

“What happened to your date?” Max asked suspiciously, though the lure of food was softening him towards his new neighbour.

“Stuff.” Jaejoong cleared his throat. “Anyway, you want it or should I just take Junsu and give it to him?”

“No. No need to be hasty. If you have good food offering, I’ll be nice.” Max made dorky peace signs with his hands, smiling…or trying to smile, that is. Jeez, what a grumpy kid, Jaejoong thought.

He’d left his door slightly ajar, so Max, Micky and Junsu followed him in. The three looked around the apartment appreciatively. Max, went straight to the kitchen where the pots were placed on the table. Micky was drawn by the images artfully hung on the walls. Junsu was following Max into the kitchen, but he did stop on the way, complimenting the deco.

As he fed the three, he realised Micky had a thing for art. He kept staring at the images and how babbling about how they portrayed so many emotions, and how the colours blended in so perfectly with each other. Upon closer inspection, Micky revealed the he liked to write song lyrics, which would explain his weird and slightly exaggerated reactions…cheesy, some would say. But it was nice, Jaejoong thought. He liked photography, and it was encouraging for him to know that it inspired other artists in any way.

Junsu just listened, smiled and laughed along to everything. He was a perfect dongsaeng, Jaejoong thought. And cute, very cute. A lot cuter than someone his age should be. Then again, didn’t Jaejoong receive the same comments on more than one occasion?

Then there was Max. He didn’t care about anything but the food in front of him, which he was happily gobbling down. Although Jaejoong kept chastising him for the way he ate, he was internally very happy. Other than photography, he liked cooking. At home, he had his nieces and nephews to feed, and now he could build a happy relationship with Max. It was a happy thought, maybe he won’t miss being home so much.

When the food was all gone, mostly thanks to Max, the three thanked him and left. Junsu waved goodbye and declared that “Hyung is welcome in our flat anytime!” while Max looked at him weirdly. Before anyone got far, the maknae quickly interjected, “Only if you cook for us, or teach me how to cook what you made tonight.” Jaejoong rolled his eyes.

As they entered their own apartment, Jae stood at his door, contemplating.

After a couple of minutes of thinking, he hesitantly walked up to Yunho’s door. He stopped his hand mid-air, changing his mind. He shouldn’t disturb him. Yunho had had a shock and needed some time alone. He sighed, accepting that he couldn’t talk to the man at least not until the morning.

With drooped shoulders, he went back towards his apartment.

The door wouldn’t open.

It wasn’t left ajar.

Frantically searching his pockets didn’t help. The key was inside.

“You have got to be kidding me.” He banged his head against the door. Seriously? This had to happen now?

***

He stayed in the hallway for a whole hour, pacing, kicking his door in frustration and sitting down, leaning against the door. He was tired. The day had drained him, and he wanted a hug from his mommy to make things better. Or maybe squeeze the elephant Yunho had given him, it was ridiculously cute.

This ! Why did people like living alone?

He could go and ask Yunho for a spare key, after all he was the estate agent. He should still have a copy somewhere. But he couldn’t bring himself to go and knock on his door. He just couldn’t.

What finally forced him to get off the floor looking miserable, was the arrival of another neighbour. The middle aged woman just stared at him weirdly as she opened her door. He was pretty sure she was looking at him through the keyhole.

Dammit it.

With the little pride he had remaining, he stomped towards his neighbours’. For a second he just stood there, should he bother them? But then again, what other choice did he have?

“Ugh” he pouted as he gently knocked on the door.

“Wassup, cutie ahjussi?” Micky answered the door.

“Umm. Well, you see… The thing is, I kind of, sort of, maybe locked myself out…?” it was more of a question than a statement, but either way the younger man burst out laughing. Jaejoong couldn’t stop the colour rushing to his cheeks, shifting his feet shyly.

“You’re unbelievable! It’s your first day and you’re already locked out?”

Jaejoong didn’t answer. He just stood there pouting and averting his gaze, while Micky laughed his heart out.

“Come on in, then! We can use a hand in here.”

Oh they could use a hand, alright! And they did. Both of Jae’s.

It took them almost three hours to clean and tidy. Jaejoong was put in charge of the living room and the three went into their separate bedrooms to sort out the madness. Although they were in separate rooms, they still continued to argue and shout at each other. Jaejoong finally understood Yunho’s warnings. But he didn’t mind the noise. In fact it was nice. He was used to constant screaming and shouting, so having these three with their shouting contests next door would be homely.

He happily tidied the room and stacked the dirty pile in a corner where the other three had dumped their dirty clothes, sheets and anything else needing a wash. Which was a lot. Most of the stuff had been extricated from their camping bags, the rest…Jaejoong had no idea where they came from, but they stank like a skunk that had been vomited on and died in a cesspit!  It was a miracle that he didn’t pass away from the smell.

Junsu and Max, being the first to finish from their rooms gathered the wash-pile into some bags and took them to the basement where they loaded all the washing machines with their nasty, smelly things. Jaejoong would have gone too, but Changmin had demanded that he go into the kitchen and cook something for them. Jaejoong had just stared at him expecting the tall boy to start laughing or something. Only it wasn’t a joke. And Junsu had told him exactly that. How he had built an appetite so quick, again, Jaejoong had no idea, but he happily chopped away at whatever he could find in the kitchen.

Note to self: they need to go grocery shopping!

By two in the morning, Jaejoong, Junsu, Max and Micky were all sprawled on the floor and couch, exhausted and satisfied with the midnight meal they’d had. The air smelled good again with the help of a lot of air freshener and open windows, the floor was not covered with stinky clothes, and the flat looked habitable.

Max was the first to retire to his room, followed by Micky who offered Jae space on his bed to sleep, with a sleazy, yet sleepy grin. Jaejoong declined, laughing. He was pretty comfortable on the floor. The carpet was surprisingly soft and he was almost lulled to sleep. With a yawn he glanced towards Junsu who was rolled onto his front, fats asleep on the couch. Jaejoong couldn’t help the little smile that lit up his face. The boy looked like a frog, sleeping like that, with his but sticking up in the air.

With a content sigh, Jaejoong closed his eyes. Although he was worried about Yunho, he was confident that they could talk out a solution. If nothing else, then he’d be happy to be Yunho’s friend forever, if that was the best the man had to offer. But he was not going to let Yunho suffer.

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Yes, I know it's a lot longer than a triple-shot - sorry!

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