“Mom asked me to drag you home for dinner this month,” Jongin comments as they walk leisurely down the street. “She says you look tired.”

Taemin hums in agreement. “She thinks that whenever we promote, though,” he says, and flicks his gaze over at Jongin. “How come she’s not telling you this, your dark circles are twice as big as mine.”

Jongin laughs under his breath. “Probably knows I won’t listen. And I guess it’s like a two-for-one thing, this way she can fuss over both of us at the same time.”

“It’ll be nice to see her…” Taemin trails off and there’s a few seconds of companionable silence. “Speaking of, there's this new thing I want to try-"

Jongin stops walking. Taemin doesn’t notice. “Speaking of??” he repeats incredulously. Taemin finally stops and looks curiously back when he doesn’t see Jongin next to him. Jongin cannot believe this. “How does talking about my mom remind you of ??” he demands.

Taemin’s eyebrows scrunch down and it is absolutely not cute. At all. Jongin totally doesn’t want to kiss that pout away.

Taemin folds his hands over his chest with an air of injured pride. “I could’ve been talking about something innocent and non- related!”

Jongin knows him too well to fall for it. “Were you?” he challenges.

Taemin’s pout turns sheepish. “Well…”

“Stop being creepy oh my god please don’t put parents and in the same sentence ever again.” Jongin says breathlessly as he power walks on ahead. If only he could walk far enough that he couldn’t hear whatever was going to come out of Taemin’s mouth next, he would be a content man.

Taemin doesn’t, in fact, stop. “But there was that one time when she almost interrupted when we were-”

“Taemin,” Jongin hisses, glaring at his absolute worst friend of all time. Taemin doesn’t even flinch, the .

“I can’t help that I remember it!” There’s an edge of laughter in his words, which helps not at all.

Jongin rubs at his forehead. “Taemin. I’ve tried my best to completely scrub that incident from my memory, please please don’t remind me of it.”

Taemin laughs at him, but thankfully doesn’t continue on. He looks too happy though, so Jongin’s hand itches to knock him on the back of his head. He shamefully gives in to the urge.

“Okay, okay I said I’d stop,” Taemin yelps, ducking and trying to avoid Jongin’s hands. “Ow, Jongin, stop that!”

“You deserve it and more,” Jongin mutters, and brightens when he sees the figure hurrying towards them. “Oh good, there’s Wonshik.”

“At least he isn’t late like last time,” Taemin observes, and turns back to Jongin. “So anyway, about the thing I want us to do-”

Jongin frantically flaps his hands at the other. "Taemin, what the . Stop talking, Wonshik's like, right here-"

Taemin has the temerity to just blink at him. "I know, I see him, he's all the way at the end of the street, stop stressing.” Jongin almost heaves a sigh of relief but then he still keeps talking. “But there's still this-"

"Shutupshutup I swear I'll do whatever you want to, just please stop talking!" Jongin cannot believe this. His neck is so red he’s actually sweating. He nervously eyes Wonshik’s approach in between trying in vain to make Taemin shut up with the power of his glare alone. It sadly doesn’t work.

Taemin’s eyes widen. "Really? Even-"

Jongin is so stiff with tension at this point his hands are curled into tight fists to curb the impulse to physically clap his hands over Taemin’s mouth. He actually would have, if Wonshik isn’t close enough to see it by now. And then he’ll ask why, and god knows what Taemin will come up with. He takes deep breaths to calm himself down. "Taemin, I swear to god-"

"Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” Taemin says, rolling his eyes like Jongin is the weird one.

"Thank you," Jongin says, exhaling with relief.

"Mm."

They walk a few more steps till Jongin glances back at Taemin. He’s too quiet. It’s suspicious. A thought strikes him, and Jongin peers more closely at the other. "Why are you smiling like that?"

Taemin looks back at him, eyebrows raised. "What, I'm not allowed, now?"

"No...” Jongin trails off, but his suspicions are stirring. “It’s just..."

Taemin isn’t even looking at him now, too busy waving Wonshik over. "Oh look he's carrying coffee!"

Jongin’s eyes narrow with realization. "You planned this, didn't you."

Taemin flits his eyes back to Jongin and smiles at him, all innocence and light. "I'm sure I have no idea what you mean.” If Jongin hadn’t known him for so long, he’d have missed the dancing mischievousness in his eyes. He claps Jongin once on the back, fingers trailing down the thin material of the shirt before striding forward. “Hi Wonshik! Good timing."

Jongin has no words.

---