(#20) Once Upon a Morning

[puppiesinlove]

Prompt #: 20

Title: Once Upon a Morning
Word Count: ~23k
Rating: NC-17
Warning(s): side pairings (Sehun/Luhan, Sehun/Yixing, Luhan/Kris, Baekhyun/Kyungsoo), some angst, mild cum play, FWB
Summary: In which Jongin is a monogamy fearing frat boy and Chanyeol is a music nerd who wants his fairy tale ending.

Author's Note: This was such a lovely prompt and I clearly went a little crazy with my word count. Enjoy, everyone!


Jongin groaned loudly as he lay back on he grass, the sunlight shining harshly down on his skin. “I'm so fucking bored,” he complained, arms spreading wide and eyes slipping closed. He could hear Sehun still typing, and further away he could hear some girls giggling over something he didn't catch.

“And? What do you want me to do about it?” Sehun asked after a prolonged pause. He was used to Jongin complaining about any which thing on any given day, so he mostly didn't pay that much attention anymore.

“I don't know,” Jongin whined softly, eyes popping open again, “There's nothing going on. Everyone's boring. And it's only Tuesday.” If it was the weekend, he knew he could look forward to a party and probably getting laid, but the week didn't usually provide the same amount of entertainment.

“You're pathetic. Why don't you do...I don't know, your homework?” Sehun deadpanned, pausing his typing just long enough to give Jongin a pointed look.

“Shut up. I have to get laid tonight,” he said as he reached and ran a hand through his hair.

“When don't you?” Sehun shrugged, “But if that's your way of saying you want the room tonight: fine.”

Jongin narrowed his eyes slightly, suspicious. “Just like that? You're never this easy-going, what gives?”

“Already had plans,” his roommate admitted with an easy shrug. “I'm setting up these two cute little nerds, they're going to love each other.”

He snorted softly. Sehun had a tendency to meddle in people's love lives, it was his main hobby aside from simply gossiping about everyone in their friend group. It was common for him to exclaim he'd found the perfect match for someone and set them up on a double date with him and whoever he could convince to tag along for the evening. Jongin couldn't ever figure out if he liked to do it because he wanted a relationship to pan out (unlikely), or if it was more to do with a sick amusement having a first hand look at their first date jitters and inevitable breakup – if it even made it that far. “Who are they this time?”

“Kyungsoo and this new kid, his name's Baekhyun? I don't know much about him, but he's short and was wearing glasses so I figure he has to be as nerdy as Kyungsoo. A match made in heaven,” he allowed a strange, rare smile to fleet across his expression. One that only seemed to happen when there was the potential for disaster.

“More like hell. How did Kyungsoo even agree to that? I thought he had pretty much sworn off of dating after you forced him into a date with Kris,” Jongin reminded him, eyes closing again. Kris was one of the heads of their fraternity, mostly out of the fact that everyone just naturally respected him than him actually attempting to take on that role. He was an intense person on first meeting, so they could all understand why Kyungsoo was taken aback after their date.

“True. But I'm very convincing when I want to be. Plus, he owed me,” Sehun said.

There was the sudden sound of someone clearing their throat, and Jongin blinked his eyes open to see who approached. It was a student he didn't recognize, but he was tall with rather fluffy hair, and he shifted from foot to foot near them. “Um, hi, sorry to interrupt. Sehun, do you have the notes you borrowed from me yesterday?” he asked, adjusting the glasses sitting on his nose.

Jongin blinked a couple more times, surprised by how deep the other's voice was.

“Oh, right. Yeah, one sec,” Sehun agreed and turned to rummage in his bookbag.

“Hi, I'm Jongin,” he suddenly offered, moving to finally sit up.

The other looked to him for a moment, seeming to assess him. “Hi,” he greeted simply, hands slipping into his pockets as he waited for Sehun.

A brow raised. It wasn't all that often that people snubbed him like that. He was well-liked and well-known throughout the campus, either from sports, from the frat, or simply because he dated a lot. Usually people couldn't manage to even get his attention, much less shun it completely.

“Here you go,” Sehun finally re-emerged from his bag, holding a rumpled piece of paper out.

The boy sighed. “Glad you took good care of them,” he shook his head, and simply turned to leave.

“Who was that?” Jongin asked, watching his long legs retreat toward the library.

“Chanyeol. He's in my math class. Total brain. Why? Do you want me to set you two up?” Sehun narrowed his eyes slightly in suspicion, but there was a glint in his eye at the possibility of setting another couple up.

Jongin quickly waved a hand. “Nope, nothing like that. You know I don't go on dates anyway. I was just...curious. He's kind of hot.”

“So not your type. He's too smart for you, Jongin.”

“Fuck off.”

“It's true. The only people you fuck are the desperate, clingy types because anyone else might want something besides a quick fuck,” Sehun pointed out.

Jongin glared. “I repeat: fuck off.”

-

Of course, Jongin could never be all that mad at Sehun, because his assessment of him was all too true, especially given how well they knew each other. They had been in the same pledge year, and it hadn't taken long for them to become friends. Jongin could tolerate Sehun's moodiness and meddling, and Sehun never allowed Jongin to charm him or minded his playing ways. It had been easy to decide to room together, with the frat house having much looser terms about how room setups worked.

Their friendship allowed that they could call each other out on things, and one of Sehun's favorite things to bring up was Jongin's aversion to commitment. They both hooked up with a lot of people, but Sehun had no trouble at least attempting to date every now and again (even if none of his relationships lasted for more than a month or two at most). Jongin, on the other hand, refused to commit to anything as simple as a date. If it went anything beyond a party or a quick hookup, he avoided it completely.

That evening, Jongin was perched against one of the tables in the cafeteria, scrolling through his phone as he waited for Kris to show up. They were supposed to be headed to one of the clubs after Kris had overheard Jongin whining about needing to get laid. Since he had already been going out, he'd offered that Jongin could tag along with him. While normally the frat house had a cook that actually took care of them, he'd quit when there had been a few too many pranks, so they were stuck with regular cafeteria food.

With a sigh, Jongin shoved his phone back into his pocket, but as he glanced up again his gaze found a familiar fluffy haired figure taking a seat. His nose was shoved in some book, and he barely even looked down at his tray of food as he began to eat, transfixed by the pages instead of his surroundings. Eyes narrowing slightly, Jongin pushed himself away from the table and took the few steps over to the other table, plopping himself down even without any acknowledgment from the other.

It took a couple of minutes for Chanyeol to even notice that he wasn't alone. When he finally did, he glanced up for just a second. “Do you need something?” he asked, already back to the book.

“Maybe. Are you planning to ignore me?” he countered, tone taking on a hint of playful amusement.

Chanyeol let out a disgruntled sigh, but he finally turned the book face-down on the table beside him. “Okay, what's up?” He spooned some soup to his mouth.

Of course, Jongin realized quickly that he didn't actually have anything to say to him. There wasn't a particular reason he wanted to talk to him, much less anything he needed him to put his book down for. He shrugged, “I just wanted your attention,” he said, a smile flashing onto his face in a way most people would describe as charming.

But Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “Really?” he grumbled, clearly annoyed. “I'm not the type to play games with you.”

“Oh come on, games can be fun.”

“No, thank you.”

“Come on, you haven't given me a chance yet.”

There was a sigh. “I know your type. And I'm not interested,” his deep voice had a hint of finality to it.

Jongin was about to protest that he wasn't that bad, only then he noticed Kris walk in. “Okay, I'll leave you alone. For now. But I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of each other.”

-

When Jongin finally stumbled back to the house, it was already morning and there was a rush of frat brothers in varied states of getting ready. “Are you just now getting back?” Kris suddenly accused, a frown on his face.

Jongin winced slightly, head pounding from the bright lights. “Maybe, yeah,” he confirmed, voice raspy and weak, too tired and too hungover to even bother and shrug it off.

Kris snorted softly. “You're hopeless,” he simply said with a shake of his head and walked back to the kitchen.

Jongin traipsed up the stairs, seeking his bed desperately. As he opened the door, Sehun glanced up from where he was rifling through their closet. “So you made me stay out of our room for nothing last night, I see,” he said, expression droll as usual though there was still a sense of amusement in his tone.

With a grunt of acknowledgment, Jongin flopped down on his bed, pulling the covers over his head.

“So you're not going to classes?” Sehun asked. “Too bad; Chanyeol was going to meet me after history. You could have made another sad attempt at conversation.”

“Fuck off,” he grumbled, though he couldn't completely deny that there was a certain appeal in seeking out the tall boy again. But he knew he couldn't even tolerate the smell of Sehun's too-expensive cologne, much less get through the entire day without hurling all over himself.

“Okay, okay, princess. Let me just tell you two things: one, the date went terribly. Baekhyun wasn't nearly as much of a nerd as he needed to be for Kyungsoo, so that was a disappointment. And two, Chanyeol texted me about you,” Sehun said, his voice close enough that Jongin could guess he was standing just near the bed.

With a groan, he finally pulled the covers down just slightly. “What did he say?”

Sehun allowed a grin to slip onto his face, a mischievous tinge to his expression. “I knew you were interested,” he tutted, seeming pleased with himself, “but, here. See for yourself.”

Jongin snuck his hand out to grab the phone Sehun offered to him, opened to display a series of texts between the two of them.

[text;Chanyeol] what is the deal with your friend?
[text;Sehun] which friend
[text;Chanyeol] the fuckboy
[text;Sehun] lmao oh you mean jongin? he's cool.
[text;Sehun] a little into himself and definitely a fuckboy but he's not that bad.
[text;Sehun] why? are you into him? or is he bothering you again?
[text;Chanyeol] neither. Just curious.
[text;Sehun] you should give him a chance
[text;Chanyeol] why? are you suddenly trying to be his wingman?
[text;Sehun] hey you're the one who brought him up
[text;Chanyeol] …touché

“Is this supposed to make me feel better or worse?” Jongin croaked, turning to glare at his roommate.

“Neither, just thought you should see that you've at least made some kind of impression on him.”

“Yeah, a fuckboy. Thanks for that,” he said, but he couldn't help but snort softly. Handing the phone back to Sehun he immediately pulled the blanket back over his head.

-

For the rest of the week, Jongin didn't run into Chanyeol again. He was almost disappointed in that, but he wasn't about to bring him up to Sehun again. On Friday, Luhan was throwing a party while his roommate was out of town, and Jongin was at least offered a reprieve from thinking about why he seemed to care about some tall brain in the first place.

Luhan's family was loaded, and it wasn't uncommon for him to throw impromptu parties just because he felt like it. But it always left his roommate Junmyeon very put-out and he'd chastise the other the entire time. As luck had it, Junmyeon was also loaded, so their combined wealth allowed them to rent a large house off-campus. Which Jongin found strange that Junmyeon was so uptight given the whole purpose of renting a party house.

Sehun was already there when Jongin arrived, he sat perched on the kitchen counter as he talked to Luhan. Jongin suspected that there was something going on between them, but he could never actually get his roommate to admit to anything. “Dude, this is boring as shit right now,” Jongin complained, clapping Luhan on the back.

Luhan laughed. “I know. Hopefully it will get more interesting, or else I'm going to have to start making it more interesting,” he said, a hint of a threat in his voice.

“I hate when you say that,” Sehun grumbled.

“I love when you say that,” Jongin countered.

Luhan tutted playfully. “Now, now, boys. Don't fight over me.”

Sehun rolled his eyes, and Jongin went to find the liquor.

As it turned out, the party didn't get more interesting – at least not by Luhan's standards – and Jongin was only beginning to feel a buzz when he suddenly yelled for everyone there to come join him in the living room. “Since you all are boring the shit out of me, we're going to play a game,” he announced.

There were some groans, but despite finding it kind of silly, everyone always seemed to go along with Luhan's games. It wasn't that uncommon for him to suddenly force everyone into a drunken round of Never Have I Ever, and one time he even managed to get people to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey. While it would have been easily possible for people to leave if they really didn't want to, no one ever seemed to argue.

Sehun rolled his eyes again, but ended up sitting next to Luhan as they all crowded into a somewhat uneven circle in the living room. Jongin shook his head at his roommate, half in amusement and half in exasperation, but he too joined the circle.

“The game...is spin the bottle,” he announced with a very distinct glint in his eye, reaching out to grab for the bottle he'd apparently nabbed just for this moment. “Now if any of you have been hiding in a mental institution for your entire lives, this is how it works. Whoever's turn it is spins the bottle, and they have to kiss whoever the bottle ends up pointing at. I don't care if it lands on your best friend's girlfriend or your worst enemy, you don't get to refuse. If you're gay, if you're straight...I don't care, you kiss according to the bottle,” he continued, looking at everyone in turn as he spoke the rules.

With a quick glance around, Jongin decided that it was of no real interest to him anyway. He'd kissed a good number of people already in attendance, since most of the time it was the same bunch of people that always showed up to Luhan's.

Luhan went first, of course. And when it landed on Kyungsoo, who'd snuck in apparently when Jongin wasn't paying attention, he laughed. Kyungsoo looked annoyed (which wasn't all that uncommon), but he didn't protest when Luhan stood and knelt down to plant a kiss on his lips. It was brief, and it was clear that neither of them was particularly interested in the kiss before it was over and Luhan resumed his seat. “Okay, Sehun, your turn. We're going in a circle so none of you can get lucky and escape.”

The game went on as it did for a good half an hour, with some people ending up making out more than simply kissing, and a couple of people pretend-vomited after their turn. One girl started yelling at her boyfriend when he kissed someone else, and they ended up leaving to go fight elsewhere.

Jongin had ended up kissing Kris, a girl named Soojung, and a strange boy named Tao when he was suddenly taken by surprise at the appearance of Chanyeol entering through the door, looking out of place and uncomfortable.

When Luhan finally noticed the other, a wide smile spread across his face. “Chanyeol, get your beautiful ass over here. We're playing a game,” he said. “You're here because I told you I needed your help, and now I do. Help me make things more interesting.”

Chanyeol sighed, clearly having been deceived. But he didn't protest, and merely went to sit down next to Sehun. As the new person joining them, Luhan insisted that Chanyeol was the next turn, much to the other's chagrin. He weakly twirled the bottle, waiting until it landed on Luhan to let out a long sigh. “This is dumb,” he muttered. Jongin lifted a brow, watching a bit closer than necessary as Chanyeol leaned in to Luhan and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, their mouths barely brushing before he pulled back again.

“Well that was anticlimactic,” Luhan tutted, but didn't seem overly put off before announcing that they were going to play a different game. Normally he didn't change tactic all that often, but it had become apparent that he was feeling restless. With a long look around the circle, he finally brightened when the idea came. “Alright, this one's always fun. Let's play truth or dare,” he announced, bouncing a little on the floor. He went over the obvious rules, adding that someone could only pass if they took the opposite choice. “Okay, Sehun...truth or dare?”

Sehun pressed his lips together in a thin line, contemplating his choice. “Alright, alright, dare,” he finally grumbled.

“I dare you to...kiss Jongin,” Luhan said with little hesitation. “Truthfully, I always suspected you two, now let me see.”

Jongin let out a quiet snort, “Sehun and I are just roommates, dude,” he declared, but at the same time he and Sehun had made out a few times (even if Sehun would likely deny it forever). With a shrug of surrender, his roommate stood and walked over to him, kneeling quickly before him and drawing their mouths together. Though he knew that the other intended for it to just be a quick, chaste kiss, he couldn't resist the urge to teasingly slip his tongue into the other's mouth.

Recoiling, Sehun whacked Jongin on the shoulder. “He said I had to kiss you, not that you had to try and shove your tongue down my throat,” he grumbled before going back to slump back next to Luhan.

“Shut up, you know you liked it,” Jongin laughed quietly, gaze slipping to Chanyeol who was watching him with a wary expression that he couldn't decipher. Time passed, with people revealing embarrassing crushes and awkward encounters, with strange attempts at dancing and dares that involved eating bizarre foods.

After a few too many drinks, Jongin was getting bored of playing games. When it came to his turn to ask someone, he set his sights on Chanyeol, eyes narrowing a little in a challenge. “Chanyeol...truth or dare?”

The boy in question raised his brows, his expression almost innocent. “Uh...truth?” he said, just as he had the other couple of times he'd been called on.

“Tell us what your biggest secret desire is...” Jongin requested, leaning forward slightly. He had a hunch that Chanyeol wouldn't want to actually reveal much, and he had a plan for either scenario.

As expected, Chanyeol's expression turned to a frown. “I don't...want to tell you that,” he said, “Can I pick dare instead?”

A sly smile slipped onto his lips at the request, “Sure. Then I dare you to come spend the night with me.”

Luhan burst into a loud laugh near him, while Chanyeol gaped silently for a moment. “Jesus...can I forfeit?”

“If you want to be lame...no one's forcing you,” Jongin shrugged.

Licking his lips, Chanyeol silently contemplated before letting out a sigh. “I'm definitely not revealing anything to you, so come on,” he finally said, deep voice settling into one of determination more than the unsure questioning it had been before.

Though Jongin hadn't expected him to actually take him up on either of the offers, he couldn't resist a smile that fought its way to his expression. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sehun shaking his head, but he ignored him in order to follow Chanyeol as he walked toward one of the back bedrooms to the call of “have fun,” from Luhan. “Seriously? You must have some really embarrassing secrets if you're willing to come with me,” he joked as they stepped into the first empty bedroom they happened upon.

After turning on the light, Chanyeol suddenly turned to look at him, eyes narrowing slightly. “I sincerely doubt you care about anything besides getting in my pants,” he said, deep voice serious and quiet in the room. “I figured it was easier this way.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Come on, Jongin. I'm not an idiot, I've seen you around. And I've seen you looking at me. If we just get this over with and I let you fuck me, both of us can go back to forgetting all about each other,” he said with a shrug, expression blank and unreadable.

Jongin blinked, taken aback by the dismissive irritation that seemed to show in his voice. “Right, I'm the fuckboy. I get that. But really, if you don't want to be with me I'm not about to force you...or beg,” he pointed out, a little more peeved at the assumptions than he otherwise might be. The door was still partially ajar, but Jongin wasn't about to make the move to close it given Chanyeol's apparent opinion of him.

There was a long moment of silence, though laughter and faint words could still be heard from the living room. Finally, Chanyeol let out a sigh. “Alright,” he uttered, though he reached over Jongin's shoulder to tap the door shut.

It was Jongin's turn for silence, and he lifted a brow slightly. “What are you doing?”

A slight smile came to Chanyeol's face, “I appreciate that you aren't being a complete asshole about this. But a deal is still a deal, and there are more repulsive people in the world, so come on.” His deep voice seemed calmer, almost more resilient than before.

“Wow, sweet talker,” he mumbled, though an edge of amusement laced into his tone. But without being the type to hesitate when given the opportunity, he took a step closer to Chanyeol, arms twining their way around his waist.

There was a brief moment where Chanyeol stiffened slightly in his arms, but when Jongin didn't immediately pounce on him, his body relaxed again. “I don't normally do something like this,” he admitted, deep voice nearly a whisper. But he didn't give Jongin a chance to respond (or crack a joke), and leaned in to press their mouths together in a soft kiss.

Jongin's head tilted further as he leaned up to the kiss, not exactly used to being with people who were taller than he was. The other's lips were soft and hesitant, Chanyeol's hand coming to rest on the back of Jongin's neck to pull him closer. It was different than most of the other kisses Jongin shared with people, most of them casually hooking up with people on a regular basis so there was only an incessant rush. But Chanyeol was all softness and tender motions as he allowed Jongin to lead him into breathless kisses.

It didn't take long for them to move onto the bed, Jongin laying on top of Chanyeol as they slowly began to explore one another. Chanyeol's hands drifted to roam along Jongin's back and caressing over his ass, while Jongin snaked his tongue into the other's mouth, exploring with a low moan. When cool fingers drifted under the hem of his shirt, Jongin pulled away and leaned back, fluidly slipping his shirt off and tossing it over to the floor.

The other's eyes roamed over the exposed skin, roving with a heavy gaze. He swallowed thickly before pulling Jongin down for another kiss. After a slight nip to Chanyeol's bottom lip, he pulled away again and reached to begin unbuttoning the other's white shirt. Chanyeol took a deep breath, gaze remaining locked on Jongin, even though Jongin's eyes remained focused on the slow reveal of his skin.

They took their time in finishing undressing one another, with soft caresses and exploratory kisses pressed against skin. Normally Jongin didn't take his time with people, he simply jumped into things with the aim of getting his pleasure as quickly as he could. But Chanyeol was different than most of the others he was with, he was observant and didn't just jump into bed with anyone, so Jongin felt a need to take things a bit more slowly and carefully than he would otherwise want to.

As Chanyeol lay back on the bed, Jongin knelt to dig through his wallet to withdraw a condom and a small packet of lube, tossing them onto the bed beside the other. “Are you sure?” he asked again, quietly, before climbing back onto the bed to join him.

Chanyeol shrugged a little, a smile appearing. “I guess so,” he finally said, though his tone was a bit amused.

“Come on, I know you want me more than you're pretending,” Jongin teased, eyes narrowing a little at him before he plucked the packet of lube from the bed.

“Maybe, but don't you dare ask me to say it,” he warned.

Jongin snorted softly, fingers warming up the lube a bit before he slid closer, his other hand going to the back of Chanyeol's thigh to hike his leg up further. He watched his expression for a sign of resistance or hesitation, but on finding none he slid a finger along the crack of his ass, teasingly preparing him for what was to come.

“Can you please just get on with it?” Chanyeol finally grumbled, legs falling open a little more in invitation.

Wordlessly, Jongin slipped the first finger inside of him, earning a quiet sigh and an uncomfortable shift. He slowly began to move the digit inside of Chanyeol, letting him get used to being intruded. The other's eyes were closed, and his breaths came shallowly, anticipating more. It wasn't long before Jongin added more, thrusting two fingers inside of him and twisting them just so to reach a bundle of nerves that drew a long choked moan from his lips.

There was something about the deep voice that could easily become addicting, and Jongin's lips curled into a slight smirk as he continued the ministrations inside of him. “Jongin...” came the sound of Chanyeol's low whine, arching into the fingers in needy desperation.

Jongin let out a quiet chuckle at the sound, but didn't answer his plea; instead slowly pushing a third finger inside of him. It didn't take long for Chanyeol to adjust to the sensation of being more full, and he was soon grabbing for Jongin to pull him into another harsh kiss, teeth nipping against his bottom lip. With a soft sigh, he pressed a lingering kiss to the other before pulling back and settled between his legs.

After sheathing himself in the condom and spreading more lube onto his cock, he angled Chanyeol's leg to rest on his shoulder and slowly began to push inside him. Chanyeol let out a quiet, deep whimper, a hand running through his hair to push it away from his eyes. Jongin's gaze remained fixated on Chanyeol's expression, seeing the wince of discomfort cross his face made him pause.

He pressed a few soft kisses along Chanyeol's jawline, soothing him into the feeling of being filled. After a few minutes, Chanyeol finally growled out a quiet, “Move,” and clenched around him. Jongin let out a quiet moan at the feeling of the tight heat around him, but he accommodated his request and shallowly began to thrust into him.

After a while, his thrusts sped up and Chanyeol's leg slipped from Jongin's shoulder, moving to instead wrap around his hips and pull him in deeper. Jongin let out a long string of moans at the change in positioning, and he leaned down to fall onto his elbows so he could focus on fucking him deeply. Chanyeol reached to run his fingers through Jongin's hair, pulling him in for a slow kiss that was punctuated with soft sighs as they rocked against each other.

It didn't take long before Chanyeol was letting out strangled groans of Jongin's name, arching into every thrust. Jongin's head dropped into the crook of the other's neck, his hips stuttering into him in sharp motions. Open-mouthed kisses were pressed to his shoulder, and Jongin felt a hand snake between their bodies to stroke himself.

Jongin was the first to come, letting out a raspy cry as his hips faltered and he emptied himself into the condom. It took a moment for his mind to become unclouded from his high, his hips were still slowly rutting against Chanyeol's ass to milk his release. With a shaky gasp, he let his fingers join Chanyeol's, stroking him quickly to help him get to his own climax. There was a low groan as Chanyeol came, his head tossed back against the pillows and legs tightening around Jongin as his release spilled over their hands and between their bodies.

It was only a moment before Jongin disengaged himself from Chanyeol, carefully slipping out of him and reaching for some tissues on the bedside table. By the time he cleaned himself up, Chanyeol was already off the bed and swiping at the mess on his fingers and stomach. “I'll see you around,” he suddenly said, bending down to reach for his clothing.

A brow arched, unused to the other person being ready to leave just moments after fucking. “You're already leaving?” he asked, though he couldn't identify why there was a seeming disappointment in his voice.

As Chanyeol stepped into his pants, he shrugged. “Yeah, why wouldn't I? I fulfilled my dare, I have other things to do...why would I stay?”

The mention of it being a dare was somehow more disappointing than he thought it would be, even though he'd been the one to dare him in the first place. “Right. Okay, well...see you around, then,” he agreed, feeling a lot more awkward than he had in a long time after an encounter.

Chanyeol offered a smile, wide and unguarded, and for the first time Jongin noticed that he had dimples. He pulled his shirt back on and gave a quick wave. And then he was gone. Jongin frowned, slipping his own clothes back on. Though he was used to sleeping around regularly and casually, he was usually the one that gave people the brush-off instead of being the one left puzzled.

Once he was dressed, he slipped back out to the party, with the game having broken up and people back to simply mingling about. It seemed as though a good number had left, and it was quieter than it had been when he and Chanyeol had gone back to the room. He found Sehun lounging on the couch, spread out with little concern for anyone else. “Hey,” he approached, tapping his legs to get him to move.

With a grumble, Sehun obediently lifted his legs so Jongin could sit down, though as soon as he did he plopped them into the other's lap. “How was it?” he asked, gaze still on his phone.

Jongin let out a sigh. “Good? I think. I mean, the sex was good,” he said, resting his head on the back of the couch.

Finally, Sehun raised a brow and slipped his phone into his pocket. “You think? Did you do something to piss him off?” he asked, voice suspicious.

He snorted. “No...it was good. Where's Luhan?”

“His room,” he shrugged, though there was a certain look to his gaze that Jongin couldn't identify. “Come on, tonight's been a bust. Let's go.”

-

The next week passed uneventfully, with the frat house continuing their usual schedules of events and with Jongin fitting in his class work with a sense of restlessness. Though he knew for the most part he should have forgotten all about Chanyeol, he still found his gaze seeking out a certain fluffy head of hair. Sehun noticed, but to his credit he only gave him a knowing look instead of actually saying anything.

As Jongin lounged in one of the plush chairs in the house's living room, he glanced up when Yixing walked in toward him. He was a quiet, pensive boy who didn't fit into the mold of most of the others in the house, but everyone liked him despite his differences. “Hey, what's up?” he asked, turning his phone over so he didn't have to look at the lack of notifications.

Yixing waited until he was sitting in the chair next to him to actually speak up. “Tonight is an open mic. Will you come?” he asked, expression simply inquisitive.

“Open mic night? Why the hell would I go to that?” he asked. It was Friday, and while no plans had popped up that he was interested in, the promise of listening to outcasts read poetry about their cats made him want to hurl.

There was a quiet laugh from the other. “You wouldn't, normally. But I signed up to read something, and I want you there. Sehun already said he'd come. Kris is busy, though.”

It was only a small surprise that Yixing would sign up for something like that. While most of the guys in the fraternity were focused mainly on getting dates, sports, and having a good time, Yixing always sort of did his own thing. Which included dancing in a group and apparently reading poetry. “Uh...” he trailed, only at the same moment Sehun caught his attention in the doorway, mouthing a plea of 'please come with me.' With a stifled laugh, he returned his gaze to the other next to him. “Alright, I'll come. But you owe me,” he warned, even though they both knew he probably wouldn't actually call in that offer.

That evening, Jongin wasn't any more thrilled about the prospect of attending the open mic night. But he had agreed to go and support Yixing, even though his better judgment said that it was going to be a snore. When he asked Sehun why he'd even agreed, the other had just shrugged and said, "Well, what else did you have planned for tonight?" Which Jongin found hard to argue with.

The coffee shop was one that he normally avoided, too filled with people who posted all of their coffee into social media and who dyed their hair ridiculous colors and made him cringe. But he supposed it all made sense to have a place like that to hold some sad poetry fest. He couldn't resist grumbling as he and Sehun made their way to the counter, ordering their drinks (a mocha for Jongin and a green tea latte for Sehun). "They could at least serve some alcohol if they're making us deal with this," he grumbled.

Sehun rolled his eyes and dug an elbow into his ribs. "Come on, if you stop complaining so much you might not hate it," he offered, leading the way to take some seats in mismatched chairs that looked like they came out of some grandma's parlor.

Jongin snorted. "Where is Yixing, anyway? He was the one who asked us to be here and then he didn't even show up?" he shook his head, taking a sip of the drink in his hands. Lackluster coffee, but he knew that he was beginning to nit-pick.

"He's coming in a minute, he just texted me that he was finishing something up. Who knows, to be honest," he shrugged, not seeming overly concerned.

With a grunt of acknowledgment, he glanced about the room with only mild interest. It was certainly not the usual scene that he hung out in, much less anyone he knew. Though as he looked at Sehun briefly, with his bleached out hair and blank expression, he realized that he actually fit in quite well.

Moments later, Yixing came and joined them with a smile and a quick thanks for them showing up. In the back of his mind, Jongin wondered why it was that only he and Sehun were there. He didn't know if it was because everyone else had made excuses or if Yixing had only invited select people. "When are you going on?" Jongin asked, not caring that he was already seeming impatient.

But, of course, Yixing just shrugged, "Whenever they call me up, I guess."

After a solid hour of listening to people read (and occasionally sing) inane poems about their feelings and fake-deep observations about weather and any other arbitrary thing they could come up with, he was more than ready to bail on the entire night even if it might hurt Yixing's feelings. But just as he was getting restless, the MC (a guy in his later twenties with a purple mohawk) announced Yixing's name.

"Finally," Jongin groaned out, but he didn't bother to look to his side to know that Sehun was probably half-smirking in agreement.

Though he had no real idea what the other had planned, and hadn't exactly bothered to ask, he only knew that he was there to try and enjoy it. Or at least pretend to. The MC announced that he would be doing a spoken word piece, and Jongin and Sehun exchanged a look before they returned their gaze to the stage.

Yixing cleared his throat, looking mildly uncomfortable on the stool before a thoughtful look passed over his expression. He launched into a strange poem, one that made little sense and seemed to be about his grandmother, though Jongin couldn't exactly say why or what he was trying to say about her.

It went on for a solid few minutes, and when he finished there was a silence as though no one else knew if he was done or if they simply couldn't process what had just happened. Despite not exactly understanding why Yixing had been insistent on reading that of all things, he still launched into applause for his friend. Sehun snorted, and lazily clapped his hands together a few times.

"Can we go then?" Jongin asked as Yixing descended the stage, only the MC chose that moment in order to announce the next performer. Upon hearing the name Chanyeol, Jongin paused, turning to watch the stage and seeing Chanyeol go up. "Wait, what's he doing here?" he asked, frowning, though even less could he be completely sure why he cared if he was.

Sehun hadn't been paying much attention, and as he glanced up, he let out a snort. "Dude, you really don't know anything about him, do you?" he asked.

Jongin was about to answer, but he couldn't be bothered when Chanyeol launched into a song. His deep voice carried over the room and he allowed himself to really listen to him. Part of him hoped that the song wouldn't be about an animal or about someone's grandmother, and he was pleasantly surprised to hear that it wasn't as inane as a lot of the others. His voice was warm, and deep, and it sent a shiver down Jongin's spine in a way that he couldn't explain. There was a frown screwed up on his face as he sang, his fingers moving along the guitar with familiarity that didn't ask him to pay attention.

Though he hadn't known that Chanyeol was interested in music, much less that he sang, he could see that it seemed to fit. Part of him wanted to ask him about it, but he also couldn't figure out if he wanted to know because Chanyeol was suddenly in front of him or if it was because he couldn't stop thinking of him.

When the song ended, Chanyeol got a look of near embarrassment that was becoming familiar, and he thanked the crowd quickly before exiting the stage. Beside him, Sehun cleared his throat, "Jongin...are you alive? Did you pass out with your eyes open again?"

Blinking, he finally turned to look at his roommate. "What?" he asked, "Oh, sorry. No, I'm fine, just a little surprised I guess. He's got a really great voice."

Sehun shook his head. "Dude, you're pathetic. He's kind of known for his music, that's his thing. That's why he's always got his guitar around and is always listening to something," he said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Which, Jongin supposed, it probably was. While he didn't know Chanyeol very well aside from a few encounters, somehow he felt a little silly for ignoring what seemed to be obvious signs. "Right...I'm going to go talk to him," he excused himself.

Yixing blinked. "Are you and he...?" he trailed off, letting the question hang in the air with suggestion.

Jongin scoffed. "You know I don't date," he shrugged him off, navigating his way through the chairs filled with try-hards to locate Chanyeol. He was easy to spot due to his height, and Jongin tapped him on the shoulder.

Chanyeol turned, eyebrows raising in surprise as he recognized Jongin. "Hi. I didn't expect to see you in a place like this," he said, and his lips spread into a welcome smile.

"Yeah, well, I came here for the guy who went before you. I didn't know you did this kind of thing either," he finally said.

"Grandma boy? He was...definitely different," Chanyeol let out a deep laugh, though it wasn't mocking as it might be from someone else. "You don't know that much about me, I guess."

He finally allowed a smile to slip across his own expression. "That's true. Maybe you should let me get to know you more, then," he suggested, tone playful.

Chanyeol snorted softly. "Are you hitting on me? Again? I thought you got that out of your system," he shook his head, but he didn't seem overly offended by the words.

"There isn't anything that says I can't hit on you multiple times," he argued, though his tone remained playful.

“I guess I just didn't think you would,” he admitted, though it was accompanied by a quiet laugh. “Maybe I'll take you up on that later, I promised someone else that I would hear them sing,” he shrugged, sliding onto the seat at the bar.

Jongin hummed quietly, and without actually being asked, he slid onto the seat next to him.

“Won't your friends miss you?” Chanyeol asked, glancing toward Sehun and Yixing who sat slumped in their chairs, looking on the verge of falling asleep.

He snorted. “You aren't getting rid of me that easily.”

After another half hour, Jongin still felt bored out of his mind from the actual events. There was more poetry and attempts at singing, all of which just made him cringe in his seat. Chanyeol didn't seem to share the same aversion, however, and remained transfixed with the stage, only taking a few sips of his latte between performers.

They remained quiet next to one another, and Chanyeol only spoke when a small boy took the stage. “That's him,” he said simply.

Jongin nodded his acknowledgment, watching the other on stage. He looked nervous, and Jongin could only hope it wasn't as bad as his friend's attempt had been. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Sehun waving a hand to try and get his attention. Frowning, he mouthed a 'what?'

It took a couple of tries before Jongin could finally decipher that the boy on stage was Baekhyun, the one who Sehun had tried to set up with Kyungsoo. He finally signaled that he got the message, and returned his attention to the stage. His voice was powerful, and the nervousness seemed to melt away as he sang out the beginning notes.

While Jongin wasn't all that knowledgeable about music, he knew that he was good. With a glance to Chanyeol, he saw him in his usual transfixed position when someone was taking the stage, but there was a strange look that accompanied the look that he couldn't identify. The song didn't last that long, and when it was over there was a burst of applause, though Jongin noted that Chanyeol only smiled. “He's good,” he finally said.

“Isn't he? Well, come on, did you want to get out of here?” he asked, the question jarring.

“Well, yeah. But didn't you stick around for that? Shouldn't you go say something?”

Chanyeol shrugged. “I'll be right back, we can go to my place.”

Jongin frowned a little to himself as he watched Chanyeol retreat into the crowd, presumably to find Baekhyun. He was acting a bit strange, and he knew that he might not have known him well enough to say that, he could still feel that something was off. He stood and leaned on the back of Sehun's chair, “You two surviving?”

Sehun snorted, glancing up to him. “I like how I practically forced you to come here and now you're the one who's stuck around the whole time,” he grumbled, and Jongin knew that by the way three different coffee cups sat in front of him, he was bored.

Yixing, on the other hand, seemed absorbed. “They're all so good. I should start doing this regularly,” he finally said.

“Just don't ask us to come along every time. Please,” Sehun warned.

Jongin let out a quiet laugh. “You two have fun with your night, I'm heading out.”

A look passed over Sehun's face, one that was first of indignation, but quickly shifted to one marked with suspicion. “With who?” he questioned, clearly already figuring that Jongin wasn't leaving alone. Which wasn't such a surprise, as that's what Jongin tended to do whenever they went out somewhere.

Without an answer, Jongin flicked his friend on the forehead and moved to go join Chanyeol who was back at the bar. He was fiddling with the sleeve of his hoodie, and there was still a strange look on his face. On seeing Jongin, however, he smiled again and lead the way out.

It turned out that Chanyeol lived off-campus in a small apartment he shared with one other person, though he didn't say much about him, and Jongin didn't ask. He only let Jongin get his shoes off before he was pulling him down the hallway and into his bedroom, crushing their mouths together immediately.

Jongin let out a quiet sound of surprise, and remembered to at least push the door closed before he leaned into the kiss, allowing Chanyeol to take the lead. A tongue snaked its way into his mouth, and Jongin only pulled him closer, a soft noise leaving the back of his throat as their tongues danced together. Fingers threaded through Chanyeol's hair, and the other's hands gripped his hips harshly.

Chanyeol was the first to break the kiss, both of them left gasping for air in the dimly lit room. He didn't pause for long, however, before he began to reach for Jongin's clothing. It only took moments for them both to shed their clothing, and it lay in a forgotten pile on the floor as Chanyeol lead Jongin to the bed, giving him a soft instruction to lay on his front.

Most of the time, Jongin was used to being the one in charge. He usually took the lead and instructed people on how he wanted them to behave, and in a way he had the previous time with Chanyeol, though he was still far more accommodating than usual. While he wasn't opposed to someone else taking the lead, it caught him off guard, but he found that he sort of liked it. Chanyeol seemed simply awkward and maybe a bit fidgety, and Jongin had expected that he would be too shy or unsure of himself to tell him what to do.

But he found that he was intoxicated by the quiet demands in Chanyeol's deep voice, that he wanted to see where this would lead. Without protest, Jongin slipped onto the bed, kneeling back so that his ass was in the air and his weight was resting on his arms. Chanyeol wasn't far behind him, reaching into the drawer and fumbling around for a minute before the bed dipped and he felt a hand run along his spine.

The cool touch sent a shiver through him, and he let out a soft sigh. He heard the squirt of a bottle, and his muscles contracted at what he knew was to come. He didn't bottom all that often, most people preferring him to top given his somewhat alpha persona that others seemed to assume from him, but he was almost glad that Chanyeol didn't seem to have the same view or reservations about it. A sharp gasp slipped from his lips when he felt fingers running along his skin, playfully teasing his ass. After a moment, Chanyeol's finger breached him, pressing in slowly and carefully so as not to cause him much discomfort.

Jongin arched into the sensation, trying to get used to the feeling after such a long time without someone else's fingers inside of him. "That's good," he mumbled, rocking back onto the long digit. At the words, Chanyeol pressed a second inside of him to join the first, and there was a teasing quality to the way he seemed to explore inside.

Chanyeol took his time to spread him open, adding a third finger only after he was practically begging for more. He didn't make a sound, only kept thrusting his fingers in and twisting them in ways that made Jongin's toes curl. After what felt like too long, he finally pulled his fingers from him, and there was the distinct sound of a foil wrapper and a sigh as he sheathed himself in the condom.

Lifting up slightly, with the intention of possibly changing his position, he was met with a hand coming to the back of his neck, pressing his face into the pillows. He let out a quiet whine, but he didn't argue, and Chanyeol's hand remained to keep him in position. There was another sound of the bottle squirting, and a quick, "You alright?" from Chanyeol.

On getting a positive answer, he began to push inside of him, and Jongin let out a long string of moans that sounded close to whines as he felt himself filling with the other's cock. He was larger than Jongin expected and thick in a way that Chanyeol's fingers hadn't prepared him for. When Chanyeol stopped, he finally let go of Jongin's neck and began to smooth his fingers along his back, rubbing circles against his muscles. He hid his face for a moment, trying to adjust his breathing before giving Chanyeol the go ahead.

When he finally did, Chanyeol thrust into him sharply, causing Jongin to let out a strangled moan against the pillow at the unexpected movement. But the pain was quickly fading, and instead the pleasure began to build in the pit of his stomach. Fingers clenched onto the pillows, and Jongin arched his back to get that delicious angle that would send stars shooting behind his eyelids.

Chanyeol let out quiet moans as he thrust into Jongin, the deep voice sending shivers down his spine. His motions weren't particularly uniform, there was a certain level of erratic motion to his hips that kept Jongin guessing every time he thrust back inside. The sensations drew soft curses and whimpers of Chanyeol's name tumbling from his lips, and he began to rock back onto his cock to feel him deeper inside of him.

Jongin was the one to come first again. He hardly had to touch himself before he was releasing onto the sheets below him and over his hand, weakly falling onto the pillows below. Chanyeol pulled out carefully, and while Jongin thought that he might come over his back, instead he pulled Jongin to rest on his back. "Can I come on your face?" he asked, fingers lazily stroking himself after he'd pulled off the condom.

His eyes widened a little, not expecting such a brazen request. But he merely nodded a little, and reached out to pull Chanyeol closer to him. One hand came to rest under Jongin's chin, angling him just so as his other hand finished himself off. With a deep groan, his release spilled over Jongin's face, streaks of it shooting into his parted mouth while most of it fell on his cheeks and over his lips.

It took them both a moment to recover from their daze, and Jongin swiped his tongue over the release on his lips, tasting more of the other. "I didn't expect that," he suddenly said, though it was more to himself than to Chanyeol.

The other let out a laugh, one that seemed too loud for the otherwise quiet room. "You look good painted with my come," he finally said, swiping a finger against Jongin's cheek before pressing it to his lips.

He sucked the digit into his mouth, letting his tongue playfully swirl over Chanyeol's finger before pulling back. "You taste good," he answered, giving a cheeky grin before sliding off of the bed in order to clean up the mess that was rapidly drying on his stomach.

Chanyeol let out a quiet snort of amusement, and he grabbed some of the tissues to dab gently along Jongin's cheek. "If you want to stay the night, you can," he offered, disposing of the mess.

Though Jongin was a little surprised by the offer, it was a pleasant one, especially given the way that Chanyeol had left so quickly after their last encounter together. "Sure," he agreed, a sleepy smile coming to his lips. Normally he was fond of the plan to just leave as quickly as possible to avoid the awkward moments later on, but he was comfortable with Chanyeol and too tired to say no.

After cleaning up, Chanyeol pulled Jongin down to the bed, pulling him flush against his body. "Sorry if I was acting a little strangely earlier..." he said as they settled in together.

He wasn't used to someone taking such care of him, wasn't used to the affection or warm embrace against his back, but it seemed to have a similar effect of Chanyeol's voice: soothing and sending soft shivers down his spine. "It's okay. But can I ask why you were, then?"

There was a soft sigh that caused his hot breath to fan over Jongin's neck. "It was watching Baekhyun," he said, and the shrug could be felt against his back.

"Why? Isn't he your friend?"

"Yeah, he is. But it's...I don't know, it's embarrassing."

Jongin's brow raised slightly, and he shifted so that he could turn over in order to face Chanyeol instead. "Well now I'm intrigued. Are you two...?" he asked, the question trailing in an obvious suggestion.

Chanyeol shook his head, a smile appearing to his face. "No, nothing like that. We're just friends. We became friends a while back...both of us loved music so it made sense. But he makes me a little...insecure? I guess. You heard him, he has an amazing voice. And I guess it makes me a little bit of an asshole to be jealous of him instead of just being happy for him, but that's still how I feel."

Mostly Jongin liked the way that Chanyeol felt against him as he spoke, his voice tumbling through the room pleasantly and filling him with warmth. "That makes sense. Some people might think it's douchey, but I get it," he offered, a slight smile coming to his lips. "Didn't he just transfer here?"

There was a look of surprise that crossed his expression. "Yeah, how do you know that?"

Jongin shrugged. "Sehun set him up on a date, so I recognized his name. I don't know much else about him."

"Oh, yeah. He said he actually had fun on that date," he huffed a quiet laugh. "We met in high school, and he was always the best. When he said he was transferring here...well, it's kind of bittersweet. Sorry, I shouldn't just unload this onto you..." he trailed off, seeming unsure of his words, or maybe just unsure of Jongin's reaction to them.

However, Jongin just shook his head. "It's okay. I get it. I've always played on teams, so I understand the whole...friendly rivalry thing. It's normal, at least for some of us," he said. "Does he know you feel that way?"

"I don't think so. I mean, he probably doesn't see me as much of a threat, so I think it's mostly on my side," he admitted with a laugh.

Jongin leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Chanyeol's lips. "You shouldn't worry about things so much. Come on, you should get some rest," he said, tangling his legs with the other's.

Chanyeol only smiled a little in return, his arms wrapping a bit tighter around him. The warmth of Chanyeol's body against him was comforting, and he could feel the lull of sleep creeping in at the edges of his mind.

-

Although they never actually discussed it, Jongin found himself falling into a pattern with Chanyeol. They would run into one another somewhere – usually off-campus – and they'd end up falling into bed together. Sometimes they'd go to Chanyeol's apartment, other times they'd run Sehun away from the room, and once in a while they would simply make out in a bathroom stall. But what seemed to stem from their moments of intimacy lead to talks that went far deeper than Jongin would have ever expected.

They discussed simple things, about their friends and their interests. Chanyeol talked a lot about stress related to upcoming exams and his music, though he only occasionally mentioned Baekhyun. Jongin talked about Sehun and the fraternity, always with a strange story or two that would leave Chanyeol shaking his head in both dismay and amusement.

They never spoke about what they were, they never actually even went out together. They only hung out on occasion, when they ended up in the same place, but they easily were able to fall into bed together; sometimes from encounter and sometimes from a simple text. While Sehun sometimes gave him a hard time about 'dating' Chanyeol, he always brushed it off with a laugh and reminded Sehun that he didn't date anyone.

But as they lay together in their post-orgasmic bliss, they would sometimes talk about things that were weighing heavily on their minds, or thoughts that they wanted to explore even if they might not make complete sense in the middle of the night. Jongin learned that Chanyeol was a secret romantic, and that he had a weakness for fairy tales. He revealed that he sometimes felt out of place in his frat house, sometimes feeling like he was on the edge of it all even though most people saw him as being the iconic frat boy.

One morning, Jongin awoke to Chanyeol watching him. His gaze seemed focused and dreamy, and a smile spread across his face as he saw Jongin begin to wake up. “Good morning,” he whispered softly, reaching out to brush the hair out of Jongin's eyes.

The touch was so soft and sweet that it warmed Jongin's core, and he couldn't resist the smile that came in response. “How long have you been awake?” he asked, still half-asleep.

The tender look didn't falter, and Chanyeol brushed his hand across Jongin's cheekbones. “Not long,” he said, voice quiet. “You're really beautiful like this, you know.”

-

"Do you want a happily ever after?" Chanyeol suddenly asked one night as they lay in Jongin's bed.

Jongin arched a brow slightly, but he'd stopped wondering where things came from. "I don't know. I don't really believe in the idea of happily ever after."

"Why not?"

"It's like...of course people want to be happy, and I guess I do too. But I just don't really believe in destiny or something. Fairy tales are kind of misleading, you know?" he paused, not often talking about his actual ideas about these sorts of things. Most of the guys he hung out with would just give him a strange look if he even attempted to bring that up. "I don't believe in a love that's unending, too many people fall out of love for me to believe that."

There was a silence before Chanyeol let out a quiet hum. "I never realized you were so cynical. Is that why you don't date?"

Jongin couldn't help but let out a soft snort of amusement. "A bit, yeah. I just don't see the point in dating when you're probably just going to end up hating each other or end up hurt. It's easier not to actually feel that much for one person, you know?" He felt a bit strange actually admitting his thoughts to someone, but he knew that Chanyeol wouldn't judge him for it, he never judged him for anything he said.

"Ah, I see," he hummed thoughtfully. "But isn't that also a little bit lonely? Not having someone you feel that close to? Not knowing love? Have you ever been in love?"

He let out a soft sigh, but it was less out of irritation and more thoughtful. "No, I've never been in love. I don't really know what love is, or what it should be. I've never really understood that concept. I have friends, and I rely on myself, that's all I need," he admitted.

There was a silence before Chanyeol ran his fingers through Jongin's hair softly. "Maybe one day you'll be lucky enough to fall for someone."

"Maybe," he hummed, turning over so he could fold himself into the curve of Chanyeol's body. "Have you been in love?"

"Goodnight, Jongin."

-

He didn't actually get to find out the answer to his question until a few weeks later. As he was coming back from class, he caught sight of Chanyeol sitting on one of the benches strewn across the quad, his nose in a book. Without hesitating, he walked over to where he sat, blocking his light which caused him to look up with a frown, his glasses perched on his nose.

"Oh, Jongin," he said, with a note of familiarity, the frown smoothing from his face.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked with a smile, plopping down beside him.

"It's on music theory," he held up the cover to display it to Jongin, though he quickly bookmarked it and slipped it inside his bag on the ground near his feet.

"You're so dedicated," he laughed. It seemed that Chanyeol was almost always either practicing or reading about music. When he was thinking, his fingers would tap out beats and he would sometimes mouth words to songs he hadn't yet written. Jongin found it fascinating, the way that he was so enamored of his music, considering he often didn't feel much toward anything.

A fleeting, embarrassed smile crossed Chanyeol's face. "What are you up to? I don't usually see you around campus."

Jongin shrugged. "I took a different path, I was going to get food. Want to come along?" he asked.

"Sure, I guess," Chanyeol shrugged. "Where's Sehun? Aren't you two normally joined at the hip?"

"He's busy ruining two other people's lives," he said with a grin, standing up from the bench. "He's made it a mission to find Kyungsoo someone to date, so he's trying to develop a game plan."

Chanyeol let out a laugh, the sudden sound loud in the surrounding air as they began to walk off campus. "That one's going to get himself in trouble one of these days."

"Probably," Jongin agreed. It didn't take them very long to arrive at a small cafe that was just off-campus. They took a booth in the back, one that still enabled them to look out the window. The waitress came and took their orders, and Jongin smiled as he thanked her.

"You know, it's interesting. I don't think we've ever done anything like this," Chanyeol mused, "We seem to mostly just see each other at parties."

He hadn't really thought about it all that much, but he supposed that it was true enough. Mostly, they didn't bother to actually talk unless it was after sex. He let out a quiet laugh, "That's true. I guess the opportunity just didn't come up," he agreed. Of course, part of him wondered whether or not that was even true, or if he simply hadn't made the effort to try and see Chanyeol unless he was trying to get in his pants.

"This is almost weird," Chanyeol said, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "Well, if we're getting to know each other outside of the bedroom, tell me something about yourself most people don't know?”

Jongin considered for a quiet moment, a little embarrassed to actually say something to him that most other people didn't know. Then again, he couldn't deny that the other was more comfortable with him than most others. “Okay, but you have to promise not to laugh. Or ever repeat it.”

Chanyeol's eyes narrowed, “This has to be good. Okay, I promise.”

He cleared his throat and glanced down for a moment, “It sounds really lame. And only like one person outside of my family knows this. But I really, really like the ballet,” he admitted, voice almost conspiratorial.

“Are you making a joke?”

Jongin let out an embarrassed laugh. “No, I'd come up with something way cooler if I was going to lie. But my aunt was a ballerina, and it's just been something I always loved to watch. I used to want to be a dancer, but I'm more into sports. So, yeah,” he shrugged.

“That's...unexpected. The frat boy jock who likes a sissy dance,” Chanyeol joked, but a second later his expression softened. “Thank you for actually telling me that. Are you afraid to actually like ballet openly because of your image?”

“I guess. I don't know, the guys I hang out with think it's lame to like anything like that. Sports are cool, dating is cool, very...dude things are cool. And I do like those things, but I guess it's also my little secret that I'm into a really lame dance,” he said with a slight smile.

“It's nice that there's more to you than what meets the eye. I'm guessing the other person who knows is Sehun?”

Jongin nodded. “It's not like I actually wanted to tell him. He kind of saw me watching a video from a ballet and he wouldn't leave me alone about it until I admitted it to him. Typical Sehun,” he tutted, “Your turn, tell me something I don't know.”

There was a pause of consideration in which they silently ate, until Chanyeol suddenly perked up with his idea. “Oh, okay. Well, remember when you asked me when I was in love?”

“Yeah.”

“I was in love before, with my ex boyfriend. I just don't like to talk about it much. There wasn't anything...terrible that happened. But remember when we were talking that one night, and you said you hated the idea of two people suddenly hating each other?”

He was almost surprised by the fact that Chanyeol always seemed to remember their discussions in such vivid detail. Of course, he remembered that evening, but he wasn't quite sure where that related. “I remember that,” he agreed, taking a drink from his coffee.

“That's sort of what happened. We were together for over a year. And slowly it just sort of dawned on us that we didn't actually love each other like we had when we'd first gotten together. He started to just not come around as much, and I stopped caring if he did or didn't,” he explained, shrugging slightly.

“Wow. And yet you still believe in happily ever after?”

Chanyeol hummed quietly. “I guess I just can't help but think the right person will still be my forever,” he paused before shaking his head, seeming to shake off the conversation, “Oh, by the way, I didn't tell you yet. I got a call a few days ago, I have a gig coming up. It's a couple hours away, but it's a nice venue."

A smile spread across his face at the news. "That's awesome. When is it?"

"A couple of weeks. I was wondering...if you wouldn't find it weird, would you want to come?" he asked, his gaze dropping a little with possible insecurity.

The offer was a bit surprising, given that they really didn't see each other much outside of their random encounters. His answer was stalled, however, when the waitress came to set down their sandwiches and cups of coffee. When she left, he returned his attention to Chanyeol. "Yeah, I'd love to see you play," he agreed, surprised that he didn't regret telling Chanyeol about his secret interest.

-

"You do realize you two are totally dating, right?" Sehun asked, looking at him pointedly from across the table of the coffee shop. His phone was sitting before him, but he hadn't been paying much attention to it once he'd asked Jongin how things were going with Chanyeol.

He scoffed, "No, we aren't."

Sehun shook his head, and angled his head toward the counter where Luhan was grabbing his drink. "Luhan, I need your opinion on something," he called out.

Luhan walked over and took a seat next to Sehun. "Yes, that shirt is ugly," he said with a teasing grin.

Sehun stared at him blankly for a moment. "Shut up, I like this shirt. Anyway, that was so not the question," he grumbled.

Jongin snorted at their exchange, though in the back of his mind he still wondered what was going on between them. Luhan had only happened by, but a part of him still sensed something between his two friends.

"Okay, so you tell me if this sounds like two people who are dating or if it's just friends," Sehun started.

"You're kidding me..." Jongin groaned, but he knew he should have expected him to bring up something like that.

"Quiet, you. So these two people have sex on a regular basis, for one. They have all these intimate little post-coital talks, and one of them goes to see the other perform. What am I missing?" he paused, feigning thoughtfulness, "Aside from maybe planning on going on some trip together. And having dinner together."

"That was once. And it's not like a trip-trip, it's just a show he's playing. He wanted me to be there," he defended, even though Sehun putting it out there like that was starting to make him feel just a little bit uncomfortable.

Luhan raised a brow. "I would call that dating. Look at you all grown up and having an almost boyfriend," he cooed playfully, reaching out to pinch Jongin's cheek.

Swatting him away, he glowered at them both. "Fuck off. Except I also still fuck other people, and he can be with anyone else. It's not like a boyfriend thing at all."

Sehun and Luhan exchanged a look, one that seemed almost pitying. "Oh boy. This isn't going to end well, is it?" Luhan asked, shaking his head sadly.

-

With the suggestion that other people might perceive them as a couple, Jongin felt a little more distant from Chanyeol than he had previously. He hadn't really considered that people would think that they were dating considering he didn't think anything of their connection to each other, and he didn't think that Chanyeol thought that way either. But it felt strange, as though there was something disconnected in the way that he felt about being around him. He knew that he liked being around Chanyeol, of course, but he didn't want to let people think that he was actually dating someone. He didn't date, after all, and he didn't think that was about to change anytime soon.

Jongin flopped down on the fraternity's couch, watching the people mill in and around the house. Kris was away for the weekend, and so the rest of them had decided that would be the perfect time to throw a party. Even though Kris didn't usually care if they did, there was always something a little more satisfying about doing it while someone in charge was away. However, despite Jongin usually loving to be in the middle of a party, he simply wasn't in the mood.

Frankly, he hadn't been much of a mood for anything since his conversation with Sehun and Luhan. It made him uncomfortable, couldn't handle the idea of dating someone or being thought to make some type of commitment to Chanyeol. That wasn't who he was, and he could only hope desperately that the other was aware of where they stood.

He watched as a variety of people walked passed him, some of them trying to catch his eye, but he mostly kept watching ahead. Sehun and Luhan were talking in the corner, but it wasn't long before Chanyeol came in, Baekhyun pulling him along. He let out a quiet sigh, unsure of exactly how to avoid the subject or perhaps avoid him. But that made him feel a little strange, considering he did enjoy being around him.

He was able to avoid the moment for a little while when Chanyeol was pulled along to get a drink, or perhaps to find someone else. However, it wasn't long before Chanyeol approached him with a smile, "You seem pretty quiet tonight."

Jongin couldn't resist the thought that Chanyeol's dimples were adorable, but he smiled back slightly. "Just not that into it tonight," he agreed, "I didn't know you were coming."

Chanyeol shrugged, "I didn't plan on it. I didn't even know anything about it until Baekhyun suddenly made me come."

"Got it. He seems to have made his rounds pretty quickly," he let out a quiet laugh, glancing toward the boy who was chatting up one of the other guys in the frat.

"That's Baekhyun, he can make friends anywhere," Chanyeol shrugged.

Jongin caught a look on Sehun's face as he glanced over, and he suddenly felt a pit form in his throat. "I'm, uh, going to get a drink," he excused himself, raising from the couch to head toward the kitchen. Ditching the other didn't exactly make the pit cease, but he didn't know a way to avoid the whole situation.

When he made his rounds toward the back of the frat house, he caught sight of Baekhyun talking to someone. He hadn't really spoken to him by himself, and he shrugged a little, almost going to approach him before he noticed Kyungsoo with him as well. A brow raised, having heard from Sehun that it wasn't going to work, but Chanyeol had mentioned that Baekhyun had enjoyed himself.

He followed after them for a quiet moment, simply curious. However, when he saw Kyungsoo lean in for a soft kiss, he held in a sharp laugh. Quickly, he walked away to go find Sehun, wordlessly grabbing him to pull him toward the other two. Sehun grumbled behind him in confusion, but when they caught sight of Kyungsoo and Baekhyun mid-kiss, he let out a loud squawk. “You two did like each other,” he called out, a little too loudly.

They both jumped away from each other at the sound, embarrassment quickly flooding over Kyungsoo's face, though Baekhyun only smiled widely. “Oh...hi,” Kyungsoo said quietly, though there was a quiet irritation in his demeanor.

“Are you two going out?” Sehun demanded, looking more thrilled than Jongin had seen him in a while.

The two exchanged a look. “Sort of, yeah,” Baekhyun finally admitted, voice chipper. “After you forced us on that date we weren't so sure, but then we ran into each other a couple of times and, well, here we are.”

Jongin let out a laugh and walked away from Sehun's arrogant whooping, thrilled to have actually found a match. Whether or not it mattered that they'd only gotten together without the date, he knew that Sehun was about to take it as encouragement to keep trying to set people up.

He passed the next hour or so hiding out in various places, avoiding people he knew too well after catching sight of Chanyeol again. When he was approached by a student he hardly knew, he pulled them into a kiss, desperately pulling them closer. He needed to forget, to get his mind off of the strange feelings associated with Chanyeol and why he needed to avoid him.

Part of him knew that he would rather be kissing Chanyeol, but another part wanted to forget about him and just get lost in the feeling of the stranger. The kisses were clumsy, and Jongin was feeling almost like he was just going through the motions instead of actually being caught in a fit of passion. But he didn't really care what his reasons were, only that he needed to prove something. What that was, exactly, he couldn't be sure; if it was proving that he could easily be with other people or if he just wanted someone to see that he wasn't committed.

As he turned to pull the stranger up the stairs to his room, however, he caught a glimpse of Chanyeol. He was watching, had almost definitely seen Jongin making out with the student. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Jongin couldn't describe the look written in Chanyeol's expression. But the other looked away first, returning to the party. Jongin felt someone tug his hand, and he returned his attention to the task at hand, though a pit formed in his stomach as he ascended the stairs.

The next morning, Jongin walked down the stairs with a yawn, and was greeted to the sight of Sehun sleeping on one of the couches. With a little smile, he walked over and shook his shoulder. "Hey, wake up," he prodded him.

There was a groan before Sehun's eyes finally fluttered open. "Hi," he croaked, a hand coming to wipe at his eyes. "Is your...guest gone?" he asked.

"Yeah, they left sometime while I was asleep," he shrugged. "Do you want to go sleep upstairs? Sorry I blocked you down here."

"Not the first or last time," he mumbled before raising into a sitting position. "Well? How was it? Do you feel like a little bit of a dick?"

Jongin raised his brow slightly at the question, going to flop beside his roommate. "Why? Should I?"

"...you tell me. Chanyeol saw you go with that guy. I mean...I know you guys are...well, I don't know what you are. But I think it kind of bugged him."

"Did he say something?" he asked, though a part of him hated that he was even asking.

Sehun gave him a look, before he snorted softly. "You're hopeless. But no, he just left pretty quickly after you disappeared upstairs."

Jongin groaned quietly, leaning over to rest his head on his friend's shoulder. "Do you think I'm a dick?"

"I know you're a dick."

He elbowed Sehun sharply in the ribs, but couldn't resist letting out a little laugh. "Shut up. I just...don't know. I don't want to think anymore," he whined.

Sehun patted his head, a little bit condescending in a way that only he could manage. "Well, it's never been your strong suit anyway."

-

Jongin managed to mostly avoid Chanyeol and the subject of him for the next few days, at least until Sehun brought him up again. "So I know you and Chanyeol are...sparring-"

"-we are not."

"Whatever. You guys are having some type of thing. But I have a favor I need to ask you," Sehun requested, sitting down on Jongin's bed.

He let out a sigh, not exactly liking where this was going. "Depends, what is it?"

There was a rare moment where Sehun looked unsure of himself, biting his lip slightly before he let out a little sigh. "I need to set you up on a date."

"Um, what?"

"Okay, hear me out. You know Luhan and I...uh, well, we're nothing, right?"

Jongin blinked, not used to Sehun even bothering to bring up something like that. "Mhm..." he hummed, not wanting to push too much just in case he changed his mind.

"I hate telling you things. But whatever, I guess I like him...or something. But I'm not about to ask him to go out with me, so I was thinking that if I sort of set you up on a date...then I could get him to come along with me?" he said, though his tone was more unsure than Jongin was used to it.

"I'm so glad you've finally admitted to liking him," Jongin admitted, holding in a laugh. "But okay, two questions. One, why can't you just ask him? And two, why me?"

"Because I don't think he thinks of me like that. And shut up, I don't need to hear your smartass remarks about this. Just go with me. This way I figure I can still technically go on a date with him, but he's used to me doing this weird double date thing. You feel me?" he gestured, still seeming a little out of his element with trying to explain the plan to Jongin.

And truthfully, Jongin was just as puzzled, even though he was starting to put it all together. "Okay, I'm mostly with you. So why me?"

"Because one time he said that the only way he'd come with me on one of these dumb plans is if you actually went out with someone," he shrugged.

Jongin let out a disgruntled sigh, leaning back on his pillows. "This is ridiculous. But fine, if you're too much of a wimp to do this, I guess I will. But you'll owe me," he warned.

A smile broke out on his face, "Thank you. I know it's really dumb, but I do appreciate this. And yes, I'll owe you."

"So who is this date going to be with?" he asked, though he already felt dread creeping up on him.

"Not sure yet. I'll make it someone who isn't horrible...maybe," he said and stood from the bed, grabbing his phone from his pocket as he slipped out of the room.

Jongin sighed again. It wasn't as though he hadn't ever been on dates before, it was just that he preferred not to. Most of the time, people expected too much if he took them out, and he wasn't about to set anyone up for lowered expectations. He was only in it for a good time, and he didn't want people to end up hurt because of their own expectations.

It was only the next day that Sehun's plan came into fruition, with him having decided on setting up Jongin with Tao - the strange boy he'd kissed at the party. While it made Jongin roll his eyes a bit, he knew that it was just so that Sehun could go out with Luhan. It was a favor for a friend, that's what he kept telling himself. Plus, there was the point that it also helped him to forget about Chanyeol, which seemed to be weighing heavily on his mind as much as he tried to ignore them.

He got dressed as simply as he could manage for a date: a pair of dark jeans and a black knit sweater. He wasn't about to try and impress Tao, but he also wanted to attempt to make the date look like he tried even halfway. Sehun dragged him out of the house in a similar outfit, except with a white button-down.

"So...Luhan actually agreed to this?" he asked as they made their way to the restaurant they agreed to meet at. It wasn't anything special, just a small little cafe that plenty of students went to for both dating purposes and for quiet studying.

Sehun shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, I mean...reluctantly. I kind of had to ask him a couple of times and I also owe him now," he snorted.

"...Seems like a lot of work just to get a date. You should really just ask him," he cautioned.

There was a frown. "That's ironic coming from you. But you know I can't."

"Why not again?"

"Shut up, I just can't," he argued, and true to his word he said no more about it. They arrived at the restaurant to Luhan already standing outside, looking at something on his phone.

"Hey, Luhan," Jongin greeted him easily.

The other glanced up, a smile spreading across his expression as he saw them. "Hey, you two. No sign of Tao yet," he said, though he soon narrowed his eyes a bit at Jongin. "By the way, why did you suddenly agree to date someone? I thought for sure it would be Chanyeol."

The name caused a frown to slip onto his face. "Let's just say I agreed because Sehun is a dick," he answered.

His roommate snorted softly, and it was only a matter of a few minutes before Tao showed up, offering quiet greetings of hello to them. They went inside the restaurant and were seated by the window, with Jongin and Sehun on one side, and Luhan and Tao on the other. "So, Tao, how have you been?" Jongin asked with a smile once they'd all ordered and were simply waiting.

"Oh, fine. I guess I was a bit surprised by all of this, but...fine. And you?" he asked, though his expression remained wary.

Jongin glanced to Sehun, wondering why he'd thought Tao was a good fit. While he didn't dislike the other, he also didn't see much they had in common. Tao was quiet and he looked brooding, even though Sehun claimed that he was actually a lot more silly when he was more comfortable. The conversation continued to trickle between them, a bit awkward and stunted at times, but Luhan and Sehun seemed to be easily flowing with their side. Of course, it was natural given that they'd been friends for a long while, but Jongin could only hope that their friendship could actually turn to something more which Sehun wanted.

While it seemed to be what he was a bit hesitant about in the first place; awkward first dates always caused him more distress than he felt he needed, he kept making jokes enough that after a while he'd drug a few smiles out of the other student. Luhan kept giving them questioning glances, and occasionally he would give them a suggestive eyebrow raise while he spoke to them, but Jongin was glad that he didn't say anything that would make it more embarrassing than it already was.

However, his positive feelings about the date quickly came tumbling to the ground when he caught sight of a very familiar figure entering the cafe. Cursing under his breath, he slid down a bit in his seat, hoping that Chanyeol wouldn't see him. It wasn't that he wanted to avoid him completely, only that he felt a little bit bad about having avoided him for far longer than he normally would.

Of course, luck wasn't on Jongin's side. Chanyeol looked over toward the table, surprise glinting over his expression at the sight of him. Seeing as it would look even worse if he tried avoiding him, he lifted a hand in a slight wave.

Sehun glanced up to where Jongin's gaze fell. "Uh-oh," he mumbled, quietly enough that the other two likely couldn't hear it.

Chanyeol approached the table, holding the cup of coffee he'd ordered at the counter. "Hi," he said to them all, though his gaze focused on Jongin. "I'm not going to keep you from your date, just wanted to say hi."

There seemed to be a certain tone to the way he said 'date,' but Jongin couldn't be sure. He offered a slight smile at the other, "Hey, Chanyeol. It's not a date...it's just..." he trailed, unsure of how to end that sentence.

Tao's eyebrows raised slightly, "I thought this was a date," he argued.

Jongin looked at Tao sharply, though the look seemed to prove ineffective. "Well..."

Chanyeol snorted. "Hey, it's none of my business. Like I said, just wanted to say hi. See you around, Sehun," he offered before walking out of the restaurant.

"I think he just snubbed you," Luhan mused, seeming close to laughter as he watched the events unfold before him.

"Big time," Sehun agreed.

"Shut up," Jongin grumbled, unable to swallow around the lump in his throat. He knew it shouldn't have bothered him so much, but he could see that there was something in Chanyeol's expression that he wanted to fix, even if he didn't know how.

-

A couple of days later, Jongin caught sight of Chanyeol on the quad, plucking at the strings of his guitar. Though he still felt a little strange about the whole thing, he knew he couldn't exactly avoid the other. And truthfully, he didn't want to anymore. "Hey," he greeted, plopping down in the grass in front of him.

A look of surprise crossed Chanyeol's face, and his hand stopped the strings from playing. "Oh, hey, Jongin. What's up?" he asked.

"Not much. It's been a while since we had a chance to talk," he said, though he felt a little strange given that it was his fault in the first place that they hadn't.

"Yeah, I noticed."

"Oh yeah, things have been kind of busy." There was a pause, one in which neither of them really seemed to know what to say. Something in Chanyeol's expression still seemed off, and Jongin wished he could reach out and smooth the frown lines away from his forehead. "Um, so your show is still coming up, yeah?"

Chanyeol nodded.

"Am I still invited?"

"You aren't too busy?" he asked, a certain tone in his voice slipping in on the word, reflecting Jongin's earlier statement.

"Ouch. No, I still want to be there," he said, though he could feel the tension sparkle between them. "Are you upset with me?"

There was a sigh. "No. I just don't know why you've been avoiding me so much. So I guess I should ask if you're upset with me."

Jongin shook his head, "No. I'm sorry...it's kind of a long story."

Another pause passed between them before Chanyeol finally moved to set his guitar aside, placing it into the case. "It's fine. So how about I pick you up around 11? On Saturday? It takes a little while to get there...and I sort of have something I want to show you."

Now it was Jongin's turn to raise a brow in surprise. "What is it?"

"It's a surprise," he smiled, "Just be ready when I come get you."

Jongin narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing him up. There was still some tension in the air, but he could feel it slowly dissipating and the twinkle back in his eye that reminded him of how much he liked the other. "Alright. I'll be ready."

-

Jongin slid into the passenger's seat with a long yawn, settling himself in. "It's too early," he grumbled, though there was a slight smile on his face as he said so.

"It's after eleven, it isn't early," Chanyeol protested, letting out a little snort of amusement.

"For me it is," he countered. Chanyeol had shown up knocking on his door only a half hour prior, and Sehun had to shake him awake. They'd planned the quick trip a while back, and they knew that they were going to spend the night in the city, so the night before he'd remembered to throw in some things he would need.

Their time passed in the car with intermittent comfortable silence and easy small talk about their lives. Though Sehun had given him a little bit of a hard time regarding Chanyeol, he didn't like avoiding him. Even if he felt strange about the possibility that people might think they were more than they actually were, he preferred actually being able to spend time with the other. Their conversations always flowed easily, even when they talked about mundane or potentially embarrassing topics.

It took them a few hours to actually arrive at the city, having stopped halfway through to grab lunch because Jongin began whining about being hungry; with a not-so-subtle reminder that he hadn't been able to grab breakfast. They pulled up to the hotel, and they went in with their things to check in. The lady behind the desk gave them a slightly questioning look, but didn't say anything as Chanyeol requested a room with two beds for them.

They walked to the elevator and down the hall, passing paintings of dim landscapes. "Why are hotels always so...depressing?" he asked, frowning a little at the painting beside the door Chanyeol was opening.

"You think? I kind of like them," he said with a shrug before opening the door.

The room was small, and typical of what they could afford. It held two lofty beds and a TV mounted on the wall. It was nothing special, but Jongin was glad to have it. He liked being able to be away from the frat house for the evening, and somewhere that wasn't his family's house. Of course, he supposed that he spent the night in plenty of other places when he met them for hookups, but it somehow felt a little bit different.

Jongin flopped down onto the bed with a long sigh, feeling the comfort of it before letting out a hum of approval. "Not bad," he muttered, "could be worse."

Chanyeol snorted quietly, “Come on, get dressed, I have that surprise for you, remember?”

Truthfully, Jongin had forgotten all about that, but he couldn't deny a certain level of curiosity. “Oh yeah,” he mused, “And here I just thought you were going to whip your dick out.”

The other's loud laugh resounded through the room. “At this point I don't think that would be too surprising, now would it?” he countered, giving Jongin a pointed look.

“Touche.” He rolled off of the bed to go to the bag he'd packed. “Wait, am I not dressed? Did I get naked and not realize it?”

“You're naked enough I doubt you would notice,” Chanyeol agreed, though there was a teasing smile on his lips. “No, just...dress nicely. Don't ask questions, just do it.”

Jongin gave him a withering glance for the cheap shot, but he soon turned his attention to the clothes he'd brought along. He'd expected to go to Chanyeol's show, not having to dress up nicely. “Uh, on a scale of lame to getting arrested, how bad would it be to wear jeans?” he plucked up a pair of matte black jeans he'd brought along to show to the other.

Chanyeol considered briefly before offering a shrug, “Only a little lame. Just please tell me you brought more than a t-shirt.”

“Well sorry, you didn't exactly warn me I needed to bring along my whole damn wardrobe,” he pointed out, but pulled out a cream-colored button-down to change into, glad he'd brought it along.

When he was dressed, and his hair had been styled, he emerged to find Chanyeol in slacks and a blue dress shirt. His eyes narrowed, wondering where they were going that they'd have to be in decent clothing. Despite many attempts to weasel it out of Chanyeol, the other always brushed him off with an easy “you'll see.”

-

When Chanyeol pulled into the parking lot of a large brick building, Jongin's brow furrowed, trying to see what the sign said. But Chanyeol merely offered a smile as they got out and walked closer. As Jongin finally saw the sign, scrolled out in elegant script, his eyes widened. “What the fuck? The ballet?” he pointed to the sign.

A sheepish grin took over Chanyeol's face. “You told me you like ballet. And I figured that if we're hours away from your cool friends,” there was a tone that conveyed sarcasm, “then you might enjoy seeing one.”

Jongin gaped at him for a moment. With Sehun he'd only endured teasing at his interest in the ballet, and he would rather die than any of his frat brothers know about it. “You are...kidding me,” he mumbled, but he knew very well that Chanyeol wasn't.

“I can't tell if you're really happy or really mad right now,” Chanyeol admitted with another loud laugh, though a hand reached to scratch at the back of his neck that helped to convey his sense of insecurity.

He shook his head, taking a step closer to the other. “I'm really happy,” he said, before he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the other's lips. “I don't think anyone's ever done anything sweet like this for me,” he admitted, and his fingers went to lace through Chanyeol's, pulling him toward the building.

The other held a pleased smile as he let Jongin lead the way. As they arrived inside, he found out that they would be watching a performance of La Sylphide, and Chanyeol handed off the tickets he'd already purchased. Jongin shook his head at the fact that the other seemed to have already had the whole thing planned. They found their way to their seats, and Jongin let out a soft sigh as he leaned closer to Chanyeol. “My aunt once performed this,” he said quietly, “She was Effie.”

There was a brief frown that crossed Chanyeol's expression. “I have to admit I know approximately nothing about ballet...except for the music, maybe. Do you like this one?”

Jongin laughed. It was strange to be able to admit to an interest he normally denied and shrugged off as pansy or girly, but he knew that clearly Chanyeol didn't judge him for it. “I do,” he confirmed, “It's about really fucked up love and this guy who's supposed to be married, but he ends up falling in love with a sylph. You'll see.”

They talked for a few more minutes as others filed into their seats, the afternoon performance not being nearly as busy as evening ones. It had been years since Jongin had actually been in the audience of a ballet, having attended when his aunt would take him, but she moved across the country when he was little. And it just wasn't cool to go and attend a ballet if he couldn't claim it was a forced activity.

The ballet was enthralling, Jongin found himself lost in the storyline and entranced by the seemingly effortless grace of the dancers. He knew from his aunt that it was actually a lot of work and required a lot of strength, but he always found himself enamored of watching the dance. Beside him, he could see Chanyeol trying to enjoy, or perhaps to understand. A frown fell on his face for the entirety of the performance, though it only lasted an hour in all.

When it finished, after the dancers had come for their applause and the lights had brightened the place again, there was a smile on Jongin's face. “What did you think?” he asked, bumping him lightly in the shoulder.

Chanyeol licked his lips, seeming to consider. “It was good. I don't...get that much of the story? Like I think she died at the end, but did he die too?”

“Yeah, both of them died, that's why Madge was so happy,” he explained, and stood from the seat. “Thank you, Chanyeol. I never expected you to bring me to something like this, but I love you for it,” he joked, pressing another quick kiss to the other's cheek.

-

It was already early evening by the time they got back to the hotel, and Chanyeol changed quickly, saying that he had to get going to the venue so he could get things set up and do a quick rehearsal. “Good luck,” he called, “I'll see you here in a few hours.”

“You know we sound like a married couple suddenly,” Chanyeol joked, tossing on a hoodie over his shirt and slinging his guitar over his back.

The words brought another pit to Jongin's stomach, but he forced a smile. “Have a good time at work, honey,” he teased, catching sight of the other's wave before he was left to his own devices in the hotel room. With a sigh, he called Sehun.

“What do you want?” he grumbled into the phone.

“Is that any way to greet your favorite person?”

Sehun snorted. “That certainly isn't you. What?”

“What's wrong? You're always crusty, but this is a new level,” he frowned. While he was used to Sehun always being a little short with him, it was usually a joke. So he could clearly hear that something was actually wrong, having known him for so long.

There was a sigh. “I don't want to talk about it.”

Jongin let the silence stretch between them for a long moment. “Dude...” he said, a certain edge of concern creeping into his voice.

“Ugh, it's dumb, but it's nothing for you to worry about,” he said, and there was another silence before he spoke again. “Fine. I talked to Luhan.”

His eyebrows lifted in surprise, “About...you two?”

“Yeah. He said, and I quote: 'Sorry, Sehun, I never thought about you like that. You're not really my type.'”

Jongin's jaw dropped a little. “Oh my god, are you kidding me? That's so harsh.”

“Tell me about it. Whatever, I'll get over it. What's going on with you and Chanyeol?” he asked, and there was a soft plop that let Jongin know he had likely fallen back onto his bed.

“I don't know if that's such a good topic now, considering.”

“Just talk, you dumb shit, let me hear about your pathetic life,” he grumbled, though there was that edge of familiar teasing back in his voice.

He sighed softly, “He took me to the ballet.” While anyone else he would have never said a word to, Sehun already knew enough about him that he didn't see what it could hurt to just give him all the details.

“Ooh la la. Since when does he know about your deep dark dance secret?”

“For a couple of weeks now. I don't know, I mentioned it to him and he sort of just surprised me with it today. His show's in a couple of hours.”

“And...you're still claiming to be just friends? That sounds like love to me.”

“Shut up,” Jongin said with a soft laugh. “I don't know. It feels so weird? Like it kind of does feel like we're dating right now and I just...don't date. So it's kind of freaking me out a little bit,” he admitted, laying back on the pillows with a sigh.

There was the sound of a loud sigh from the other end. “Jongin. I'm going to put this as nicely as I can. You're a fucking idiot.”

He blinked. “If that was the nice version, I don't want the other version.”

“Dude, are you kidding me? You two have been sparring for months now. You never usually see people for more than a single fuck, and yet with this guy you're fucking regularly, you're going to his shows, you told him the thing that you haven't told anyone else. How the fuck are you still being so blind?”

“You know about that,” Jongin defended, though he knew he couldn't say all that much about the rest of it.

“Only because I walked in on you watching some pansy bullshit and forced you to tell me. This was information you willingly gave up. If you can tell me you've done any of this with other people, I'll kiss your ass.”

Jongin groaned. “But even if I did want to date him – and I'm not saying I do – I don't know how to be someone's boyfriend. That's not me, bro, that's so not me.”

“It's your choice. You could be an idiot and let this crumble before you even give it a chance, or you could give it a shot and maybe something great will happen. I don't know, but don't fuck it up,” Sehun said, and only a second later there was the distinct sound of a beep and silence that signaled that he'd hung up.

-

Jongin walked into the club and his gaze immediately scanned over the venue for Chanyeol. He wasn't sure if he was going to be milling about since he'd arrived early, or if he would still be backstage. There were a few dozen people who were getting drinks and mingling with one another, and there was a strange sort of comfort in the fact that Jongin knew none of these people. Of course, they were in a completely different town, and it wasn't an interesting enough place for people in their college to visit, but he was used to being in the middle of a crowd who knew him.

On not seeing the other, he slipped over to the bar and ordered a drink. There was a photographer who he could overhear explaining that he was trying to showcase unknown talents, but mostly he didn't bother to listen to the other conversations around him. His thoughts were preoccupied, and part of him wanted to talk to Chanyeol before his show, but he knew he also didn't want to break his concentration or mess up his mood in some way. They were there for Chanyeol's show, and that was all he could remind himself of.

The show was a few different performers, all not very well known and all from various places. The first performer was a girl in a long dress with flowers in her hair, and she sang an acoustic set about the meaning of love. Jongin had to resist the urge to roll his eyes multiple times, but he didn't want to be too rude to the girl as she seemed too fragile. The second was a guy who wore too much leather for the type of venue they were playing in, and screamed into the microphone about something Jongin couldn't even bother to decipher. All he knew was that he sounded angry and pretentious.

It was an hour in when it was Chanyeol's turn to take the stage. Jongin shouldered his way to the front of the stage, and he caught the other's eye for a brief moment. A smile flashed across Chanyeol's face, his eyes crinkling just slightly before he cleared his throat and began to sing. He recognized the song immediately as the one he'd performed in the coffee shop, and a small smile rose to his face as he watched the other get lost in the song.

For the second time that day, he was captivated by the stage. The first had been when he witnessed the elegant dancers, and now he was taken by the words that spilled into the venue, by the way that Chanyeol wrapped his song around the room. He played a few more songs before he cleared his throat again and smiled at the crowd. “Thank you, everyone. I'm only going to play one more tonight...and I just want to dedicate it to someone who's very special to me,” he said, deep voice resounding into Jongin's bones.

The words weren't lost on him, especially with the faint glance his way, but he didn't know what exactly was up his sleeve. When the song began, the pit formed again in his stomach. He sang about a love that was unrequited, of wanting a happily ever after and of knowing that someone was right for him. His hands clenched the stage, knuckles whitening as he listened to the song that was unmistakably for him, and told in painful words exactly how Chanyeol felt.

When he was finished, there was a cacophony of applause, but Jongin couldn't pull himself away from where he stood, frozen in shock. He was only pulled away when Chanyeol came down the stage, having handed off his guitar. When he didn't immediately come over to Jongin, he pushed himself away from his spot and went to seek out the other.

Chanyeol was talking to one of the photographers, and Jongin put a hand on his shoulder just to alert him that he was there. He turned with a smile written on his handsome face, and reached to pull Jongin into a hug. “Thank you for being here,” he uttered, as quiet as he could manage with the sounds around them.

Jongin swallowed the lump in his throat. “You were great,” he said, and he knew that even with his reservations about what had happened that he couldn't lie to him or ignore it.

“Let's get a photo of you two together,” the photographer suggested.

While Jongin was about to protest, Chanyeol pulled him to the side and draped an arm around him, already posing for the shot. So Jongin leaned into the other, a smile slipping to his lips as well. When the shot was taken, the photographer clapped Chanyeol on the back with a quick, “Nice job. You two are cute together, by the way.”

The quip caused Jongin's brows to raise slightly, and he let out a quiet sigh. “Can we talk for a second?” he asked, head tilting just a bit to the side.

There was a look of uncertainty that passed Chanyeol's expression, but he nodded once and followed him as they went out the side exit. It was dark in the alleyway, with only a couple of other people around. “What's up?” he asked.

“That song...” he started, though his gaze fell to the ground, “Was that for me?”

Chanyeol cleared his throat, a sense of tension creeping into the moment. “What do you think?”

“I think...yes? I mean, if it was for someone else then I'll just forget this entire conversation, but I don't think I'm off base here. Why did you write that song?”

“Why do you think?” he countered, arms folding over his chest. “Come on Jongin, You aren't that dumb, I think you know.”

A hand raked through his hair before he finally leveled his gaze back at the other. “I'm tired of dancing around this subject. Do you like me or not?”

“Of course I do. I've been in love with you for a long time,” he admitted, deep voice calm in the night. “I get that you aren't into relationships, that you don't feel that way. That's who you are.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, his mind still reeling from the other saying that he loved him, confirming that he wanted to be with him. But the dismissal of 'that's who you are' pissed him off. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Chanyeol licked his lips before shrugging slightly. “I just mean that...well, you hop from bed to bed. Person to person. You've made it pretty clear that you aren't interested in more than a fuck,” he said, though his tone was more matter-of-fact than it was intending to harm him.

But the words still felt like a punch to the throat. “If that was the case, then why the hell would I bother to keep coming back to you? Why would I come all the way out here for you? If I was only interested in a fuck, I could fuck anyone else,” he pointed out, his tone harsh and bitter. “I'm out of here.”

As he walked away, he heard Chanyeol call out to him, but he refused to look back. He hadn't intended to get into a fight with the other, but hearing Chanyeol indicate that he was only interested in sex and that he couldn't ever be anything more rubbed him the wrong way. Perhaps it was true, he considered, he just didn't like to hear it coming from the other's mouth.

-

Jongin immediately went back to the hotel room, irritation still seething underneath the surface in every step he took. There was the obvious that was upsetting him – that Chanyeol had said a couple of things that stung – but part of him was also angry with himself. He couldn't blame the other so much for saying those things when he was well aware that he'd messed things up between them for such a long time already.

By the time he'd showered and changed into his sweatpants, he made the decision that he was going to depart from Chanyeol the next day without another word. Too much had happened, and they both said and did things that they shouldn't have, that much he knew. And part of it all was the entire reason he avoided the whole relationship dynamic, that everyone was bound to be hurt.

However, as Jongin settled into one of the two beds, the door opened. Jongin froze, keeping his back turned to Chanyeol in the aim of ignoring him. Perhaps it was childish, but he didn't really care.

“Jongin? Are you still awake?” came the sound of a deep voice nearer than expected.

Although he'd planned to stay silent, he was never good at keeping quiet when there was a confrontation that was imminent. He finally huffed out a sigh. “I am,” he answered, though his tone was clipped and he didn't actually turn to face him.

There was the sound of footsteps, and a sudden dip in the bed as Chanyeol sat down near his feet. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said any of that to you,” he said after a moment.

Although he rolled his eyes, he finally turned over so that he could properly glare at Chanyeol. “No, you shouldn't have. Asshole.”

“Come on, Jongin, don't pout. Can we talk? About everything?” he asked, dark eyes serious. Most of the time there was always a hint of amusement or joking in Chanyeol's gaze, but none of that was resting in his expression.

There was a long pause. “I guess. So talk,” he grumbled. Of course, he knew that he was still being a bit immature, that it wasn't although he was innocent in the scheme of things, but he couldn't help and make himself stop.

Chanyeol let out a soft sigh before glancing away. “You already know how I feel. I wrote you that song, I told you I've been in love with you for a long time. I think as early as when you came to see me sing that first time. I don't know how you feel, I just sort of made my own assumptions about that.”

It dawned on Jongin that this is what he'd been dreading the most, that he would one day be in a position of having a conversation with someone about emotions and the possibility of commitment. Chanyeol seemed to make it so easy, he just let the words about love and feelings trickle from his mouth without seeming petrified about the end result. Jongin wasn't like that. He knew that the power of words could be merciless, could destroy something or someone in just a few utterances. “I don't...I'm not good at this,” he said, and there was a slight whine that crept into his voice.

“Try. For me?” Chanyeol reached out, a hand resting on Jongin's hip that was still clad in blankets.

The request left him with a warmth and a tingling sensation whispering across his skin. “I don't...do relationships. You know that much. I've never really dated, I don't like commitment,” he stated, though he had a distinct feeling like he was stalling for time. “But I also don't usually come back to people. Usually we fuck once or twice, and then we don't ever really see each other again – not in that way. But I keep coming back to you, and I guess I haven't tried to think that much about why.” He finally moved to sit up, letting the blankets fall from his shoulders and pool into his lap.

Chanyeol stared at him for a long moment before he finally let a faint smile slip onto his expression. “You're just thinking out loud aren't you?”

Jongin let a soft laugh tumble from his lips. “Maybe, yeah. But come here, listen to me think through this. That way if I come to some kind of decision then you won't have to wonder why,” he patted the seat next to him for emphasis.

The other rolled his eyes, but the motion was playful, and he stood to go to the other side of the bed. Saddling up, he settled down next to Jongin, an amused look still resting on his expression. “Alright. If I'm going to be with you, or be without you, I can stand to listen to a couple of your weird musings,” he joked.

He glowered for a brief moment before settling back into the blankets. “Good. So basically, you and I have become...well, I don't know. Friends with benefits? Maybe? Something like that. But then everyone started saying things about us being together or making a cute couple and I just...kind of freaked out?”

“Is that why you were avoiding me for so long?”

Jongin paused, not expecting him to actually bring that up, but a part of him was glad to have it all out there on the table. “Yeah, I guess.”

“And is that someone Sehun?”

“...Maybe.”

“He's a pest,” Chanyeol let out a loud laugh, but he didn't seem all that bothered.

“He is. But basically, yeah. Because I didn't want people to think that I was with anyone. And it sounds ridiculous, I know, but relationships terrify me.”

“I noticed. You don't believe in happily ever after.”

A faint smile passed over his lips, remembering that conversation again. “Just because I'm really scared of the idea that two people could so easily hurt each other, that so much pain could happen with just a few words. And then you end up hating each other, and I can't even imagine hating someone that I cared about for so long, you get me?”

Chanyeol considered for a long moment before finally nodding his head. “You know, I think underneath all of your fuckboy behavior – you're kind of a secret romantic,” he said, and held up a hand to silence the protest building on Jongin's lips – “Hear me out. You're afraid of hurting someone you love. It isn't that you're too selfish or you want to fuck everyone in sight, it's that you can't handle falling out of love.”

Now it was Jongin's turn to pause for a long moment. “That's...okay, I'm much more of a pussy than I even realized,” he grumbled to himself, sinking further into the blankets.

There was a laugh beside him. “You're definitely a lot sweeter than I think anyone would guess,” he admitted, “But okay, now that we've analyzed your reasons for avoiding relationships...go ahead. Why do you give a shit about me?”

“Narcissist. Can't just let me work through my own shit,” he tutted, though his tone was still playful as ever. “Alright, well, when I first saw you it was just wanting to fuck you. You know that. So we did, and I thought it would be the end of it myself. And then I saw you perform...” he paused, letting out a soft hum of consideration. “And I was amazed. I'd never seen that side of you, I hadn't wanted to. But I was forced to see it and I guess I really liked seeing you being so passionate and in love with what you were singing. So I kept wanting to see you.”

“Aw, how cute. We're retracing our friendship.”

“Fuck off,” Jongin laughed. “Either way. I guess I just didn't know what to think about it, but I also kept wanting to see you. Even when it didn't make that much sense. And I was still fucking other people, but you became someone regular.”

“And now?”

“Now...I guess it's not so easy to just say. I've talked to Sehun about it, and he still gives me shit about you. But he also thinks that I would be really dumb if I just let it all go to waste,” he admitted with a little shrug, turning to look closer at Chanyeol.

“I know pretty well by now what Sehun thinks about us,” Chanyeol mused.

“Shut up. Sehun is really sweet when he isn't an ass,” he defended his friend, although he knew that Chanyeol wasn't necessarily insulting him either. “I guess...I maybe want to try? I'm just scared of fucking things up and then we don't even talk anymore. You know?”

“I know. But it might also end up really great,” he pointed out, giving Jongin a long look.

He let out a soft sigh, leaning until his head rested upon Chanyeol's broad shoulder. “The thought of not seeing you anymore is worse than the possibility of a breakup,” he finally muttered, though his skin tingled with the possibility of what he was saying. “So let's try it.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. I want to give it a go, but can you promise me something?” he asked, adjusting slightly so that he could actually look up at Chanyeol. “Promise me that even if we don't work out, we won't hate each other?”

A smile graced Chanyeol's lips, his eyes crinkling in such a way that one of them squinted a bit more than the other. “I promise,” he agreed. A hand reached up and cupped Jongin's cheek, pressing their lips together softly. It was warm and gentle, with lips pressing so delicately against one another that it almost felt new. “So I can start calling you my boyfriend?”

The word caused a grimace to appear on his face, but he fought it. “I guess that's what I'm saying. But be gentle with me on using that, it's going to freak me out,” he admitted with a laugh. Before Chanyeol could answer him, however, he pushed the covers off and moved so that he was straddling the other's lap. “Well then, boyfriend,” he had to fight not to cringe at the word, “Can we commemorate this with a good fuck?”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes, but amusement still glinted in his expression. “You're insatiable,” he joked, but it was only a moment later that he wrapped his arms around Jongin's waist to pull him even closer, lips finding lips in a passionate dance.

They kissed for what felt like hours, their tongues sliding against one another and teeth brushing against lips in need. Though they'd kissed dozens of times, Jongin could feel something different in the way they did so this time. Emotion danced behind the kiss, with the way that hands roamed along skin and caressed softly, with every soft sound that was pulled from their throats.

After they were both breathless, Jongin slipped out of Chanyeol's lap and began to slowly strip off his clothing, giving the other a little bit of a show as he did so. The Chanyeol's gaze was heavy on him, and he loved the way that all of his thoughts were on him. When he was naked, he offered a slight little smirk. “I'm not going to be the only one without clothes, am I?” he asked playfully, reaching out to pluck at the button on Chanyeol's shirt.

The words seemed to spur him into action, with him quickly shedding his clothing (though even Jongin could admit that it was with far less finesse than he had). Jongin pushed Chanyeol to lay back on the bed, and he made his way to kiss along his body, tongue lapping over his pink budding nipples and dipping into the crevice of his bellybutton. Chanyeol let out deep groans with each new piece of skin he paid attention to, and as Jongin's tongue caressed over his hipbone, he finally reached to grab Jongin's hair. “Quit teasing, oh my god,” he commanded, though his voice was too breathless to sound very demanding.

His lips spread into a slight grin, but after pressing a quick kiss to Chanyeol's thigh, he moved on to let the head of the other's cock fall into his mouth. Fingers reached to stroke and twist him into full hardness, and he let out soft moans as he continued to take in more of him.

The hands remained in his hair, tightening a bit when Jongin's tongue ran across a particularly sensitive spot. Of course, them having been together so many times helped to aid Jongin in knowing the other's weaknesses, and he was never shy about using that knowledge to his advantage. It wasn't long before Chanyeol was pulling Jongin away, a soft gasp leaving his lips. “Stop, I still have to fuck you,” he said, though amusement and desperation still danced in his tone.

Jongin let out a quiet laugh. “I don't know when it changed so that you fuck me way more than I fuck you, by the way,” he mused, though truthfully he didn't care – and he knew that Chanyeol didn't either. He didn't allow him much of a chance to actually respond, however, before he moved to grab the supplies he'd thrown in his bag as a just in case measure, and plopped them down onto the bed. “How do you want it? Want me to ride you or do you want to pound me into the mattress?” he asked, voice a seductive purr as he leaned near Chanyeol's ear.

There was a groan in response to the question, before Chanyeol reached to grab at Jongin's waist, turning and flipping their positions. Jongin let out a sound of surprise, but immediately settled into the pillows and pulled Chanyeol to him. He pulled him into another kiss, tongue swiping against teeth with needy desperation. “Don't bother to finger me, baby, just fuck me,” he requested, voice rasping out.

Chanyeol stared at him for a quiet moment before he leaned back, reaching for the lube and condom. It only took him a moment to sheath his cock and slick up his length. He reached for Jongin's thigh, pressing it upward and near his chest before he aligned himself. There was just a moment's hesitation before he began to push his way inside, Jongin letting out soft whimpers as the other filled him up.

His arms laced around Chanyeol's neck, pulling him close and pressing kisses against his shoulder as he continued to be split open on his cock. When the other bottomed out, he let out a quiet sigh, head tilting back and onto the pillow. “You feel so good,” he whispered softly.

The words brought a quiet groan from Chanyeol's lips, and he pressed a kiss against Jongin's jaw. “Tell me when,” he said, and the strain in his voice gave way to the fact that he was straining not to just fuck into Jongin openly.

Taking a deep breath, he finally gave a slight nod, and settled into the sensation of the other beginning to fill him with long thrusts. His lips parted and a soft 'ah-ah-ah' of pleasure escaped, eyes slipping shut. Chanyeol was never too rough with him, he always knew the perfect way to make his toes curl with pleasure and never cause him to whimper in pain.

As the other fucked him, pace even and steady, he realized that he didn't regret the decision as he feared he might. A contented sort of smile twitched at the corner of his lips, and his gaze opened to watch the look of pleasure cross Chanyeol's face. There was a frown of concentration, and sweat was beading on his brow, and Jongin had never seen him look more beautiful. It was strange the way that he had seen him in so many ways, with looks of pleasure, of hurt, of sleepiness. And yet none of them compared to the way he was overcome with the sense that Chanyeol was his, and the sense of something more beautiful blossoming between them.

Chanyeol reached up to brush the hair out of Jongin's eyes, his hips never faltering their uneven strokes inside of him. As they rocked together, he leaned down so that his weight was resting on his elbows, and his head fell to rest in the crook of Jongin's neck, hot breathy moans fanning over his skin with each thrust.

Jongin began to rock against each thrust, pushing himself deeper on the other's cock and pulling him in for more pleasure. It wasn't long until his legs and back ached for relief, but more than that was his desire to come. When Chanyeol's hips sped up to pound into him, Jongin couldn't resist moaning his name loudly, a hand reaching between their bodies to feel himself. His thick cock twitched with every brush against his prostate, and his fingers moved desperately in seeking his release.

Chanyeol was the first to come with a deep, guttural groan, his release spilling into the condom. As he rode out his orgasm, his hips continued to rut into Jongin, milking himself of his release. Jongin continued to twist and stroke himself, the feeling of Chanyeol softening inside of him strangely alluring, and it wasn't long after that he was crying out the other's name and coming between their stomachs.

They lay there for a few minutes, both trying to regain their breath and calm their sore muscles from the exertion. “That was amazing,” Chanyeol finally uttered as he began to right himself, carefully slipping out of Jongin.

He let out a soft whine of agreement, hand reaching for tissues on the nightstand. “You'd better recover quickly, because here in a minute I'm going to fuck you,” he informed him with a cheeky grin.

“Christ, Jongin. Are you trying to kill me?”

“Maybe,” he said, and leaned to kiss Chanyeol again, all soft and sweet.

-

The next morning, Jongin awoke with a sense of disbelief weighing heavily on his mind, and muscles that ached from their activities. Realization settled over him on what had happened, that he'd agreed to be in a relationship with someone – and that someone was Chanyeol. He turned his face slightly to look to the sleeping man beside him, his face settled into one of absolute calm. His lips were parted prettily, and hair was swept over his closed eyes.

While there was still a slight tentative feeling, he knew that he could easily imagine waking up to his face for a long time. He let out a quiet sigh, and reached out to let a finger drift across the bridge of his nose. “Chanyeol,” he cooed softly, voice barely above a whisper.

After a moment, his eyes fluttered, and he blinked a few times before his gaze focused and settled on Jongin. “Oh, hey. Morning,” he said, deep voice raspy from sleep.

A slight smile slipped across his face. “Morning. Come on, we should get ready. I want to have breakfast,” he demanded playfully.

Chanyeol snorted. “You don't have any regrets?”

The question was unexpected, and Jongin's eyebrows raised slightly in his surprise. “What? You think I'd go back on my word?” he asked. “Sorry. You're stuck with me.”

“Good.”

-

By the time they got back to campus, it was already mid-afternoon. On the ride, they'd ended up stopping at some of the tourist traps just for a good laugh. Truthfully, Jongin suspected that it was just because they were both afraid of how things might change once they made it back to their regular lives. Being away from it all was easy, it was just the two of them with little distraction. When they were in school they had work to do, they had friends who had strong opinions about their lives, and they had their own reputations to uphold.

“So? Are we going to tell people?” Chanyeol asked suddenly as he turned off the car.

“Why wouldn't we? Are you ashamed of me now?” Jongin joked, but at least a small part of him wondered if that was the truth. They came from different worlds. He was a frat boy, Chanyeol was a music nerd. They didn't exactly have a lot in common from most perspectives, and even less did they usually run in the same circles.

Chanyeol shook his head. “No. Just making sure,” he said and leaned in to press a quick kiss to Jongin's lips.

Entering the frat house was met with its usual buzz of chaos. There was the usual mix of yelling and loud music, sprinkled in between with those actually studying. The first person he went looking for was, of course, Sehun. His roommate had been very vocal about his opinions on he and Chanyeol, and he wanted to get it over with.

When he opened the door to their room, however, he was affronted with a sight he hadn't anticipated. Yixing and Sehun were laying on the bed making out, and Yixing's shirt was nowhere to be seen. “What the fuck?” he couldn't resist asking.

They both jumped visibly at the sudden voice, and Yixing moved to sit up, a shy smile on his face. “Welcome back, Jongin,” he said, soft voice as friendly and unfazed as ever.

Sehun shrugged. “Whoops. So how was your trip?”

Jongin blinked at them for a moment. It wasn't as though he and Sehun hadn't walked in on each other more than a handful of times, but it was the fact that it was with someone they both knew so well that was keeping him in a state of perpetual shock. “Fine, good. You first, though. Are you two...? Is this a thing or just a...thing?”

“Well said,” Sehun snorted. “Well...you remember I told you about what happened with Luhan, right? I guess I felt kind of shitty, and Yixing noticed and we went out to dinner. And, well, I don't know. It just happened?”

“We haven't said we're dating, but Sehun, do you want to date me?” Yixing asked, turning to look at the other beside him.

“Sure,” Sehun agreed with a shrug.

Jongin stared at them for a long moment. “Are you two kidding me? That's it? Just 'hey want to date?' 'Sure?' What the hell is that?” he grumbled, going over to flop onto the bed. “You're over the Luhan thing that quickly?”

Sehun shrugged again. “It's not as complicated as you make everything, Jongin. Sure, I was bummed about Luhan, but whatever. I'm over it. I don't dwell that much.”

“Alright. Congratulations. I think,” he said, though he was still feeling a little perplexed at how easy they'd made it all seem. There was no argument, no fight, no conflicted emotions.

“Your turn. What happened?”

“Yixing can you at least put your shirt back on? Your nipples are staring at me,” he grumbled.

Yixing laughed, but reached to the end of the bed and grabbed for his white t-shirt before slipping it on. “I can go if you'd rather talk to Sehun,” he offered.

Jongin appreciated that Yixing was always so understanding, he never seemed offended if someone didn't include him or said something odd. “Nah, you're good,” he confirmed. “Well, Chanyeol and I are...dating.”

Sehun's eyes widened slightly in his excitement, though he quickly tried to regain his usual composure. “Seriously? How did that even happen, Mr. I-don't-do-commitment?”

“Fuck off. I don't know. We had a fight. And then we talked through it. And it just happened.”

While he was expecting a few jabs from the other, all he received was a rare, wide smile. “Good for you.”

-

Jongin sighed as he settled into the booth of the coffee shop, clutching his drink in his hand. Chanyeol slid in after him, and it was almost immediate that Jongin reached to lace his fingers with the other's. Sehun and Yixing weren't long after, both of them plopping across from them. “Hey, you guys want to come to open mic night?” Chanyeol asked the table.

Sehun glanced toward Yixing. “As long as this one isn't reading another poem, sure.”

Yixing stared at him for a long moment. “You said you liked my poem.”

“I was being nice,” he admitted with a dry smile.

“I'll be there. But this weekend you are coming out to the club with me,” Jongin said. While they tended to have very different interests (outside of each other), they had started agreeing to explore different interests together. So Jongin would agree to go to things like open mic nights and listen to the music majors performances, and Chanyeol would come to some of the frat parties and the clubs that Jongin liked to frequent.

“Hey, did you hear about Luhan and Kris?” Sehun suddenly piped up.

“Are they fucking?”

“Yep. Yesterday morning I was going downstairs and I caught Luhan trying to sneak out of Kris's bedroom without anyone seeing him. It was great, he was embarrassed,” he snorted, “So apparently they're a thing now. According to Kris.”

Jongin looked over to Chanyeol and Yixing before asking a quiet, “Does that bother you?”

Sehun rolled his eyes. “Why would it? I'm not a pussy, I don't care. Good for them. Besides, I have this loser,” he gestured to Yixing, though there was a slight smile on his face. “That reminds me. Yixing, we're going on a double date tomorrow.”

“With who?” the other boy asked, not seeming put off by the idea, but merely curious.

“I'm going to try and see how Junmyeon and Jongdae work out. They both tell terrible jokes, and Junmyeon can help give Jongdae a brain. How could it go wrong?”

“You always say that. And it always goes wrong,” Jongin reminded him.

Sehun turned to fix him with a glare. “Baekhyun and Kyungsoo didn't.”

“One match out of dozens, and you're never going to let it go,” Jongin snorted.

-

When they left the cafe, Chanyeol's arms snaked around Jongin's waist, pulling him flush against his body. “Can I say something lame?”

Jongin couldn't help the smile that came to his face. “You're always lame,” he said with a quiet laugh, tilting his head back to kiss Chanyeol's jaw.

There was a swat to his hip. “You make me happy. I've never been this happy,” he finally uttered, voice deep and low in the chill night.

The smile spread, almost without him even realizing it. He twisted in his arms so that he could face the other. “That was lame,” he agreed, “But you make me happy too.” They kissed for a few long moments before Jongin pulled back again, “Can I be your happily ever after?”

(LJ Post)