_

"did you want something to eat, mingi?" yunho asked as he returned to his seat across from the other boy.

the truth was that mingi was feeling incredibly self-conscious in the coffee shop and wanted nothing more than to go back to yunho's house and hide under a blanket.

with yunho.

but before he got chance to answer the elder's question, the bell rung on the door and in came bounding a boy that mingi had never seen before. it was a boy san new very well though.

"sannie!" he exclaimed at the top of his lungs, earning an irritated look from most of the shop's customers. jung wooyoung never got embarrassed though.

"oh hey yunho!" he called as he spotted his boyfriend's bestfriend by the window.

"hey, wooyoung" yunho smiled, "san was just on his break, you've come at a perfect time"

"oh cool" he beamed, and then he finally glanced at mingi, who was playing with his sleeves again, eyes averted to the table. "who's this?" he asked. "wait... haven't I seen you around somewhere?"

panic set in in mingi's chest. he didn't want to see or speak to anyone who recognised him from being on the streets: the embarrassment was just too much.

"wooyoung!" san called, just in time, from behind the counter. and instead of pressing the issue, the silver-haired boy made a bee-line for his boyfriend.

"yunho?" mingi whispered anxiously.

"yeah? is everything okay?"

mingi glanced up slightly to try and read the expression on yunho's face as he spoke. as usual it was nothing other than kindness.

"can we go back to your house.. please.."

yunho's brows furrowed as he felt concerned for the other boy, "of course. what happened? did something make you feel uncomfortable?" he paused, "was it wooyoung?"

"no, no. it's fine, I just..." he trailed off.

"I'll go buy us some sandwiches and we'll head off home, okay? don't worry, I'll be two seconds"

mingi tried to nod convincingly and then continued keeping his eyes on the table as he waited for yunho.

there were no other customers so he returned pretty soon. "let's go, huh?" he smiled as he placed the sandwiches inside a paper bag. mingi didn't have to be asked twice and hurriedly scurried behind the other boy towards the exit.

"see you soon, mingi!" san called as they left, but mingi felt far too anxious to turn around and reply. not with wooyoung right next to him.

yunho felt saddened at the sight of mingi: he was usually so cheerful and talkative. perhaps in some ways he was used to his life on the streets and all this just felt far too much for him.

he hoped he could change that.

_

"please eat something"

mingi had barely touched his food, this whole day having been hugely overwhelming - and it was only 3pm.

"I'm sorry, hyung. I'll finish it later"

yunho sighed sadly, "will you tell me what's wrong?"

mingi pushed his sandwich aside before he began to speak; "today has just been a lot. being in that coffee shop... and that guy who recognised me..."

yunho just looked at mingi as if he needed more information.

"I'm embarrassed, yunho. I want people to know me as mingi, not that guy who lived on the streets"

"oh mingi, I'm sorry" the older boy replied sympathetically. "I don't see you like that, and san doesn't either. I talked to him, he's cool with you"

mingi didn't seem totally convinced.

"plus - soon, people will know you as the very attractive guy who works in the flower shop"

mingi felt his face begin to heat up at yunho's words. "you think I'm attractive?"

"I sure do" yunho smiled.

I think you're beautiful, mingi wanted to say, but instead he settled for; "thank you"

_

it was now almost 11pm - the time that yunho would usually go to bed. truthfully he felt a little nervous about the first night with a stranger sleeping in his house - even if the stranger was mingi.

he showed the younger boy to the spare room, which would now be his room, and hung around the open door while mingi climbed into the double bed.

yunho watched as the boy took it in disbelievingly; the fluffy white sheets, the soft pillows, the sheer comfort of being on something that wasn't a piece of cardboard.

mingi kind of felt like he was dreaming. and he wanted to smile, he did. he wanted to show yunho how grateful he was for everything. but the thought of being alone in a bed in a random house when it was so far away from what he was used to... he wasn't sure what the feeling was exactly - he just knew it wasn't going to be an easy night.

"I'll be right in the other room if you need me for anything, anything at all. any time, okay? please don't hesitate to come find me" yunho told him before he closed the door softly.

mingi laid there staring up at the ceiling for what seemed like hours. he thought about how he wouldn't have to worry about getting rained on tonight, or getting his stuff stolen. or getting woken up by some drunk guys thinking it'd be funny to harass him. and this was simply too much for his brain to process - too much for him to handle. so he didn't. instead, he fell asleep before he even knew it.

but in the middle of the night, yunho was awoken by the sound of yelling coming from mingi's room.

though he hadn't honestly expected mingi's first night in his house to be completely without issue, panic set into his whole body when he heard the distressed noises travelling down the hall.

he immediately jumped from his bed and sprinted towards the door mingi was behind and turned on the light.

and the sight that greeted him was a tangle of bedsheets and the other boy twisting and turning between them, every so often pulling at his hair or slamming his hands down on the mattress beneath him.

yunho reached the bed and began to try and gently shake mingi away from whatever nightmare he was clearly having.

"hey, hey, wake up mingi, you're dreaming!"

"get away from me!"

"mingi, it's me, yunho. you're in my house remember?"

"I said get the fuck away from me!"

fuck, yunho internally cursed. he had no idea what to do in this situation. perhaps this was the kind of trouble san had been talking about...

"mingi, listen. I let you sleep in my house remember? I'm yunho, from the flower shop. we're friends, yeah?"

but mingi didn't hear. and in retaliation he sat up and shoved yunho heavily away from him, causing his body to crash into the closet that stood against the wall.

yunho felt a pain course through his back where the closet door handle had made impact. but the bang seemed to have awoken mingi, and when yunho looked up the red-headed boy was cowering in bed.

"y-yunho?" his voice croaked out, tears in his eyes threatening to spill over. "I'm s-... I'm so sorry" he whispered.

yunho moved to sit on the edge of the bed, his hand still rubbing the pain in his back away.

"I didn't know it was you.. I didn't, hyung. I must have been having a bad dream. I'm so, so sorry. please - I'm sorry.. please don't make me go back out there". he spoke at a hundred miles an hour, tears beginning to fall onto the pillow.

"shh, it's okay. it's okay" yunho soothed as he pulled mingi's body into his and wrapped him in a tight hug. "you're not going anywhere, I promise"

"I'm so sorry" mingi kept repeating as yunho shushed him and kept him locked in his embrace.

"shhh, don't worry now. you need to try and sleep some more, huh?"

mingi nodded against the older boy's chest.

"we'll talk about it tomorrow, but don't worry about a thing"

"don't leave me alone" mingi begged. the nine months on the street had taught mingi not to be needy or rely on anyone. but something about yunho made his presence vital for mingi's comfort.

"what do you mean?"

"can.. can you stay here?" mingi tried timidly, "in this bed, with me?"

yunho was unsure about the request initially, but when he looked into mingi's eyes, the sadness he found made him never want to leave the boy's side.

so he stayed.

_