When the sun doesn't rise above grey skies, hours of the day can pass by in the blink of an eye.

Hyunjin had woken up around midday, having slept in after staying up incredibly late the night before. Much to his personal enjoyment, he'd awoken to the coverage of warm white blankets draped across him, and a source of heat clinging onto his body.
At some point during the night Felix must've gotten a little cold, because the boy's arms were wrapped tight around Hyunjin's waist.

That little moment of satisfaction didn't last long, sadly, because soon an intruder by the name of Jeongin came barging into the pair's room, cringing to himself as he saw their close position in bed together.

"Eww, lovebirds," Jeongin had said half jokingly as Hyunjin sent him a glare. "Wake him up yourself and come find me... I have news for you both."

By the time an hour had passed, Hyunjin had successfully done so, and dragged the still groggy blonde across the house to Jeongin's room despite multiple pleas of protest.

The good news? Jeongin had found a place for them, only about an hour's drive away.

The bad news? If they wanted to get there early enough, that meant they had to eat and get ready and leave almost immediately.

So, with a rushed breakfast (lunch?) meal, and bearing a few articles of clothing which Jeongin had so kindly donated, the pair had hightailed it out to their car.

After a hasty, borderline-emotional goodbye to the Yang family, the open roads welcomed them once again, their journey continuing on.

The radio was cranked up to a horrendously loud volume, and Hyunjin didn't even seem to care, because a Twice song was blasting and Felix seemed to be having the time of his life doing the hand motions to the choreography in the passengers' seat.

"Do you think this place is actually gonna work out?" Hyunjin yelled over the loud volume of the music, knowing that they'd been driving for a while now.

Felix couldn't even hear the words over the sheer intensity of the noise.
"What?"

"DO YOU THINK— Fuck!" Hyunjin, exasperated, yanked the volume knob all the way down. "This place! Do you think it'll suck ass or be great?"

"I dunno!" Felix responded, "But if Jeongin recommended it I hope it'll be good!"

Following this statement, Felix immediately turned the volume back up, not wanting to miss out on any Twice tracks that were playing. If he could tolerate hours of Hyunjin's Got7 playlists, he felt that Hyunjin could tolerate this in return.

The elder only shook his head in amusement at that behavior.

"Jeongin gave me his number, y'know," Hyunjin commented offhandedly as he drove.

Instantly a small hand was on the radio's volume knob to shut it off.

"He what?"

"Yeah," Hyunjin elaborated. "He said to call him if one of us ever desperately needed anything or if we were about to die. Shit like that."

"Ohh," Felix slumped back in his seat, arms crossed. "You made it sound like... ah, never mind. It's not like either of us have a phone anyway."

"Do you want one?" Hyunjin asked genuinely.

"I'm not making you buy me a phone."

"Who said I would buy it?"

"You're such a criminal," Felix gently teased, and gave the driver's shoulder a light hit.

"Kinda hypocritical, coming from my partner in crime," Hyunjin responded, mostly as a joke, but his choice of words sent the younger into complete silence.

Partner in crime.
Well, that was a new addition to the list of terms Felix loved being called by the elder.

In his mind, Felix was absolutely jumping the elder boy right at this very moment. In real life, he enjoyed not being in a fatal car crash, so he refrained from acting on that fantasy.

"Hey," Felix allowed himself to have one thing, at least. "Hand?"

The elder wordlessly held out his right hand in offering, and Felix took it in his own, lacing their fingers together.

"Tell me I'm not the only one who's kinda scared," the blonde admitted, squeezing the hand in his own softly.

"You're not the only one," Hyunjin assured him from the side. "I'm surprised I'm not shivering like a damn chihuahua over here."

Felix held back a laugh at this.
"Yeah, you'd know all about chihuahuas, wouldn't you..."

"Shut up!" Hyunjin grinned despite defending himself. "You know me too well. I shouldn't have shown you my dog."

"Our dog, you mean," Felix corrected playfully. "Considering how you offer him to me almost every day."

"Nah, nah, that's only if something happens to me," Hyunjin insisted. "Otherwise that's still my dog."

The pair bickered with each other for what felt like ages, making the long car ride pass by in mere moments. Soon, the scene of a large building came into view as they began to enter a more city-like area, with more frequent houses and shops dotting the roadsides.

"I'm pretty sure this is the right address...?" Hyunjin leaned to get a better view of the building as he pulled into the parking lot area, not seeing any signs.

"Whatever, we can just get out and look around," Felix suggested, and the elder seemed to agree, swinging the car around into a parking space.

"I think I see some kind of entrance over there," Hyunjin spoke as he swung open the car door and stepped out onto the asphalt, Felix copying his actions.

"Sooo, we're trying there first then?" Felix asked, shutting the door behind him.

"Yep," came the response, the elder hurrying over to walk next to Felix first. He calmly slipped his hand back into the blonde's, returning it to its rightful place before continuing to stroll.

The pavement was silent aside from the sounds of their footsteps. Thankfully despite the dreary skies, the weather was clear for now, allowing the two to scurry over to the noticed entryway in peace.

"Come on," Hyunjin pulled Felix alongside him as he stepped up to the doorway, finding it unlocked. "It's definitely this way."

The pair found themselves stepping into a beige-walled hallway, rather dull and nondescript. Jeongin had warned them beforehand about a lack of signage or obvious labeling on the place... but hadn't elaborated too much on anything otherwise besides assuring them that there would be rooms available.

"Hmm," Hyunjin found himself saying as they proceeded down the hall. "On second thought, maybe..."

"Oh, hello?" a voice seemed to appear out of nowhere, startling the hell out of both boys.

Hyunjin and Felix whipped around to see a girl poking her head through a doorway, from a side room that had been closed when the two had entered.

The girl stepped out into full view, revealing her rather striking appearance. Her hair was cropped in a short pixie cut, and dyed black with streaks of green. Her body drowned in an oversized and colorful Hawaiian shirt, which was tucked into a pair of cuffed jeans followed by boots.

"Are you two here for Miss Kim...?" she asked, shoving her hands in her pockets as she seemed to size the two boys up.

"Um..." Felix began to speak up, his hands nervously searching to grab onto Hyunjin's arm for moral support.

Hyunjin cut in immediately.
"We were told to come here for a place to stay?"

"Right," the girl nodded. "You came to the right place. At a bad time, though. Miss Kim is out right now, and she deals with all the rooming situations."

The three looked at each other in silence for a moment.

"Well, who cares! It's nice to meet both of you," she held out a hand, which Hyunjin opted to take and give her a firm handshake.
"My name's Sookyung! Let me show you both to the common area."

Sookyung ushered the pair to begin walking, and they reluctantly followed her down the halls.

"Mind if I ask who sent you guys here?" she asked, making small talk.

"Uh, a kid named Jeongin did. Yang Jeongin?" Hyunjin answered, and the girl's face lit up with delight.

"Oh, Jeongin?" she repeated with a glee in her voice. "How's he doing? I haven't seen him in like two or three years!"

"You know him?" Felix couldn't help but ask.

Sookyung nodded eagerly.
"He's a good friend of ours. We met when he stayed here a couple years ago after his parents kicked him out."

The two boys stared at her.

"When his what—"

"Anyway, since his grandma took him in we haven't seen him much. We all miss him lots," she continued, pushing open a door when she came to it.

"Ladies, I think we have some new arrivals!" Sookyung clapped her hands as the trio stepped into a large, open room, likely "the common area," as she'd said. Lots of couches, chairs, and rugs laid about the space, accompanied by various assortments of game tables and activities which laid scattered about.

On one of the couches sat a pair of girls— one sat upright, the other with her head laid in the first's lap, relaxing as her hair was put into tiny braids.

That girl instantly sat up upon seeing the newcomers, as if embarrassed to make her first impression that way.

"Hello!!" she gave a tiny wave, pressing up to the girl she sat next to as if attempting to hide herself behind her taller companion.

"The one waving at you is named Yoojung," Sooyoung pointed at her, a smaller girl wearing a large striped sweater and a beanie.

Felix gave her a little wave in return.

"And the one sitting next to her is Doyeon," Sooyoung gestured towards the taller girl, in a simple loose t-shirt, more relaxed.
"They're our resident gross PDA couple, just warning you in advance."

The pair almost began to laugh at this, but immediately stopped upon realizing a certain fact.

"They're... dating?" Hyunjin asked quietly, glancing back at the two girls on the couch, now noticing the way that the shorter had her leg swung over the taller's knees.

"Yeah. Three years strong now, I think!" Sooyoung nodded. "Thankfully they share a room, so no one else has to witness... everything."

"Hey! I heard that!" the taller, Doyeon, yelled out from the couch, mock offended.

"Anyway," Sooyoung changed the topic rather fast, "Most of our other people are busy right now. We were having a sort of... singles' pity party in that room over there. That's why these two were exiled."

"Not just us! You're only forgetting about Junhui and Minghao because they went back to make out in their room or whatever," Yoojung backed her girlfriend's argument up.

"Shit, you're right... Don't tell the boys I forgot about them!" Sookyung laughed as she acknowledged her own fault.

Turning back to Felix and Hyunjin, she seemed to let out a breath.
"I'm assuming you guys want a room together?" she inquired, unknowingly sending both of them into a state of momentary panic.

Hyunjin only glanced towards the blonde next to him.

"Yes...?" Felix forced himself to speak up. "Yes. We do."

"Mhm. Miss Kim may not be here, but I have a pretty good idea of where you'll probably be put. I can show you, if you'd like?"

Not really knowing what else to do, the pair agreed to her offer. And thus she beckoned them to follow once more, down the long and winding halls.

The more people they passed by, the stronger a nervous feeling within Hyunjin's chest grew, because he began to notice a peculiar little pattern about this place which they were in.

"This room is empty," Sookyung announced as she swung open the door to reveal an appropriately barren room, clean, but not containing much aside from the typical bed-table-lamp combination.

"I never caught your names, by the way," she noted as she showed the pair inside.

"I'm Hyunjin," the elder stated, before nudging the younger with an elbow.

"And I'm Felix," the blonde finished.

"Felix?" Sookyung raised an eyebrow in a confused amusement. "You grow up somewhere foreign?"

"Australia—" both of the boys answered in unison, before a slight embarrassment overtook them.

"Australia, eh? That's cool," the girl rocked back and forth on her feet as she spoke. "So what's your deal? If I'm allowed to ask?"

Felix didn't exactly comprehend her question, and just blinked in return. Her gaze flickered down to Felix's hand, which he hadn't even realized was holding onto Hyunjin's wrist, and she seemed to come to a conclusion.

"I'm guessing it's like Doyeon and Yoojung, huh?" Sookyung mused to herself out loud before clarifying. "Those two ran away from home together."

"I mean—" Felix began to explain, but was promptly cut off by the elder.

"Yeah," Hyunjin responded, shooting Felix a look which said to just go with his improvising. "It's kinda the same for us."

Sookyung gave the two a sympathetic smile.
"I understand," she said. "If you guys need any help with bringing in luggage or anything, I can assist with that."

"Don't worry about it," Hyunjin shook his head. "We don't really have much."

"Okay!" the girl gave him a thumbs up. "Are you two alright with just staying and waiting for awhile? I have to go back to the group, and Miss Kim isn't here yet, so..."

"Yeah, that's fine," Hyunjin waved her off. "Do you mind if we look around?"

"Of course not," Sookyung reassured him. "If you get lost, someone will show you guys the way back. Go explore if you want."

The pair bid her farewell, and the girl gave a warm smile to the two before slipping out the door. Loud footsteps suggested she was absolutely booking it down the halls, probably not supposed to have been gone for so long.

An awkward silence was left in her wake.

"So... do you actually wanna explore, or like— what are you doing?" Hyunjin's inquiry was interrupted by Felix, sneaking behind him and placing his hands upon the taller's shoulders.

"Nothing. What are you doing?"

"Uh, bending down apparently," the elder commented as Felix forced him to lean forward, quite obviously prepping to climb onto his back.

"Please try not to choke me when you do this," Hyunjin pleaded. "Here—stop— I'll make it easier for you."

He couldn't even be mad upon seeing the giddy smile on the blonde's face, and slightly bent his knees, allowing Felix to hop onto his back with a laugh.

"Woo!" Felix cheered jokingly as Hyunjin struggled to adjust to the new weight on his back, having to shift his stance to compensate.

"So we're exploring like this, huh?" the elder felt a warm, almost embarrassed sensation brewing in his stomach as Felix's legs wrapped around his waist. He had to remind himself that he was needed to help out... he almost felt guilty as he brought his hands to hold up the boy's thighs.

"Yep!" Felix agreed, noticeably more comfortable now that the two were alone. He rested his chin upon the elder's shoulder, arms draped over them as well.
"We can go when you're ready."

"When I'm ready?" Hyunjin repeated, a hint of mischief in his voice. "Honey, you're the one who needs to get ready for this."

Felix didn't even have time to open his mouth and ask what that could possibly mean before the elder took off running, out the door and into the empty hallways with the younger still clinging to his back.

"Shit!" was all Felix could say, holding on for dear life as Hyunjin made a few rather daring ducks below doorways, and near-missing a couple of corner turns.

Stumbling upon a room with a table, fridge, and mismatched chairs strewn everywhere, Hyunjin came to an abrupt stop, making a detour towards the fridge.

"Already?" Felix whined as the elder leaned forward to rummage through the various snacks and drinks contained within, somehow keeping balance with the younger on him.

"Sorry," Hyunjin shut the door with a kick, not finding anything he wanted at the moment. "Habit, I guess."

The elder kept strolling for a while, commenting on various decorations or making jokes to Felix about whatever objects they found. At one point they reached a sort of empty lounge area, with a long, flat couch taking up one side of the room.

"Let me set you down on that," Hyunjin offered, beginning to approach it.

"Whyyy?" Felix whined childishly, not wanting to lose this opportunity for contact just yet. As if in protest, he pressed the side of his face to Hyunjin's annoyingly, squishing their cheeks together.

"My arms are tired, sweetheart, give me a break," Hyunjin begged, the pet name making Felix struggle to detach himself from the boy even harder.

"Weak," Felix teased as he was set down on the couch by the elder, who stayed standing to stretch lightly.

"Whatever you say, blondie," Hyunjin agreed sarcastically, only making the younger pout at his provoking failing.

Admittedly, Felix was incredibly clingy. So it didn't come as a surprise when he reached up and tugged at the hem of the taller's shirt, trying to pull him to sit down next to him.

"Let me go for jusstt one second," Hyunjin gently pried the younger's fingers off of the fabric. "There's a bathroom right there and I really need to go. I'll be back in a minute," he persuaded sheepishly, pointing towards an open door right next to the entrance of the room.

"Fine," Felix crossed his arms, fake mad. "You have one minute."

Hyunjin only gave him a grin and a shake of the head, abandoning the younger to the couch as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Alone, Felix let out a deep breath and reclined on the sofa, having a moment to himself just to think, relax, or do whatever else he felt like. If he had a smartphone in his possession, he might've put on some music. But as he was now, he found himself content with quietly humming a song that was stuck in his head, playing with his own fingers subconsciously.

His thoughts drifted back to the people they'd met earlier. Sookyung. The couple, Yoojung and Doyeon.

Felix wasn't stupid. He could tell from the way that Sookyung treated him and Hyunjin, and from the way she compared them to the two girls, that she'd made certain assumptions about him and Hyunjin. And he understood why. How else could he expect to be viewed? They'd shown up holding hands, wanting to room together, and not denying...

Right. Hyunjin had made a point thus far not to deny any of Sookyung's quite obvious hints.
"I'm guessing it's like Doyeon and Yoojung, huh?" the girl had said.
In other words: I'm guessing that you're dating.

And Hyunjin hadn't denied it at all.
Felix loved that.

Even if they weren't dating, Felix knew that whatever it was between the two of them was creeping towards the borderline where friendship ended and intimacy began. The area where boundaries blurred, and Felix wanted to start taking risks... testing the waters with certain things.

He had no idea what had gotten into him. Felix was clingy, sure, especially with friends. But being around Hyunjin seemed to give him a strange surge of confidence...
He wanted to do things that couldn't easily be swept under the rug as friendly gestures. More than holding hands, or messing with hair, or play fighting—

"Um... hi?" the voice of a boy ripped Felix from his thoughts.

He sat bolt upright, startled, to see a dark haired, tallish male standing hesitantly near the entrance of the room, eyeing Felix with a look that obviously read: who the hell are you?

"Oh!" Felix gathered his wits together, realizing that without Hyunjin there, he would have to do all of the talking himself.
"Hi...! Sorry, did you want to sit?" he gestured towards the space next to him on the couch that he'd been lying on.

"No, no, you're fine," the boy waved it off, but wandered over to take a seat anyway.
"Who... are you, though?"

"My name's Felix..." the blonde answered, nervously playing with the ends of his hair. "I'm, uh, new here... I guess?"

"Ahh," the boy seemed to realize something at those words. "Right! Welcome then, cutie! I did hear Miss Kim saying we might have some new people this week."

Felix simply nodded, shifting in his seat as he didn't know what to say.

"You came at a good time," the boy put a hand on Felix's shoulder, his immediate friendliness almost off-putting. "We're having some party games in my room around midnight tonight. Food, drinks, all that. You should come when it happens!"

"Mhm," Felix agreed hesitantly. "Sure. I'll just have to ask..."

His voice seemed to escape him as he realized what he was about to say. He had to ask? Was he really that incapable of doing anything without a certain boy at hand?

"Yeah!" Felix agreed instead, clearing his throat. "Sure. I'll be there."

"Great!" the boy gave him a grin, standing up from the seat. "My room's just down the hall from here," he pointed in said direction.

"Wait—" Felix forced himself to speak up as the boy seemed to be backing off. "Can I... can I bring someone?"

"Of course," the stranger smiled, walking backwards a few steps towards the exit. "The more the merrier! I'll see you then, I guess?"

"Yeah, see you then...?" Felix waved at the boy as he vanished behind the corner, just as quickly as he'd come.

Dear god. Was he that rusty at interacting with people his age, or was that awfully quick to get himself invited to a party?

He barely had time to sit and process the whole thing before the sound of a door creaking open grabbed his attention, and he turned his head to see Hyunjin stepping back into the room.

"Am I crazy, or did I hear talking out here?" Hyunjin strolled over with his hands in his pockets, sparing a few glances around the room.

"You did," Felix let out a breath, staring in the direction the random boy had left from.
"We've been invited to a party, I think?"

"Interesting," Hyunjin swung an arm around Felix's shoulders as he sat down, giving him a gentle squeeze. "Are we going?"

This question threw Felix for a loop, naturally.
Are we going?
The implication that it was either both or neither made the younger's cheeks just a little warm.

"Do you want to?" Felix inquired.

Hyunjin shrugged.
"Might as well. I'm not really a party person, but considering how things have been lately..."

The two shared a look, both knowing exactly what he meant. It would be nice to have a night of not caring, for once. Not worrying about where to go or what to do. To get as close as they could to a normal teenage experience.

Felix didn't respond, rather, leaning into the other's hold and resting his head upon Hyunjin's shoulder.
"How long do you think this place will last?" he mused, not trying to be too much of a downer, but needing to be real.

His answer came in the form of a shake of the head, and the elder's arm sliding down to rest around his waist instead.
"No idea," the elder spoke up eventually. "Long enough, hopefully."

"If we find out their secrets, maybe we can blackmail them to hide us from the cops," Felix suggested jokingly, with the beginnings of a grin tugging at his lips.

"Ah, you little devil," Hyunjin reached over and pinched at one of Felix's cheeks. "Do you think I'm evil enough to consider that?"

"Oh, but of course! You're so evil," Felix insisted, liking the way that the elder boy leaned closer as he got more riled up.
"The worst, in fact."

"I know what you're doing," Hyunjin's warm smile turned to one of pure mischief within a split moment.

"What...?" Felix feigned innocence.
He did know what he was doing, in fact. If things kept as they were now, the elder should be all over him in seconds.
"I don't know what you could be talking about."

Hyunjin's free hand came to hover just next to the other side of Felix's waist, making the blonde's mind go absolutely haywire.
Yes, Felix thought as he felt fingertips brush against his side, followed by a more confident hold through the fabric of his shirt.
Finally. When it wasn't him initiating the touch, it somehow felt that much more... special? Exciting?

"You're really good at this, y'know?" Hyunjin leaned further forward, making Felix lean back in turn.

All Felix could do was wear a coy smile as his back pressed against that of the couch, and the elder had swung a leg across as to be kneeling over him, one knee on each side of Felix's thighs. And to be clear, the smile was mostly to hide a mix of sheer nervousness and giddiness, the same emotions he felt damn near every time he saw Hyunjin anyway, just amplified now by three hundred.

"Good at what?" Felix kept up the act faithfully, seeing a little glint of annoyance in Hyunjin's eyes.

"This. Your acting would be better, though, if you learned how to contain those hands."

Felix's face fell at this, and as he glanced downward, a shock came at the realization that his hands had crept up to hold the sides of the elder's shoulders without even warning him.

"Fuck—" he swore under his breath, yanking both hands away.

The smug grin on Hyunjin's face seemed to soften into one of adoration as he watched the younger become absolutely flustered over himself.
"I'm sorry, but it's just really noticeable. Your hands always give away how you feel."

Felix just groaned, burying his face behind those same hands that had brought him embarrassment.
"What the fuck does that even mean, Hyunjin?" was all he could whine in response.

"It means I know that you want a hug right now," the elder offered up, draping his arms around Felix's neck as if to show he was more than willing.
"So come here."

All Felix could do was give in despite his haywire emotions, and wrap his arms around the dark haired boy's back, pulling him closer without any will to fight left. The elder was right— scarily so, yet also so wrong.
Felix did want a hug.
Felix wanted kisses, and touches, and bites, and squeezes... but for now, he'd settle with a hug. He'd settle for holding Hyunjin's slim waist between his arms as tight as he possibly could, as if he'd fall apart upon being let go.

With Hyunjin's chin resting on his shoulder, Felix found his voice lowering, knowing that he didn't have to speak as loud to be heard. And yet the softer tone he took on held a sort of secrecy with it... marking the conversation as truly private, just for the two of them to hear.

"You better explain the whole hands thing, or else," Felix warned in a whisper, and felt a quiet laughter from the boy he held.

"It's pretty simple, darling," Hyunjin spoke in a sort of old-timey lilt, likely for comedic effect. "I just noticed the way you tend to act with them."

"That really doesn't help anything."

"Fine," Hyunjin rolled his eyes, although the other couldn't see it. "Let me explain it this way."

Hyunjin leaned back, still close but now face to face with the blonde, who watched him curiously.
"Whenever you do this," he said, placing his hands lightly upon Felix's shoulders. "You always hug or cuddle me right after."

"And whenever you do this to me," the elder continued, removing his hands and letting both grab firmly onto Felix's arm instead, just above the crook of his elbow. "You're always shy, or nervous. You do that if talking to a stranger starts to psych you out."

The blonde stared at him with a look akin to abject horror, watching the male continue on with his lecture.

"Or this," Hyunjin said, holding onto Felix's wrist. "It's never my hands when you're scared. It's always the arms or the wrists."

"You..." Felix spoke, almost breathless. "You can stop now... I get—"

"I haven't quite figured this out yet," the elder mused, placing a palm against Felix's knee. "But I'd guess that it's—"

"Hyunjin."

The elder's voice trailed off at Felix's stern tone, expression flashing with alarm as if wondering what he'd done wrong. Upon seeing the blonde's face... wide eyed, staring at him with confusion and fear, he immediately recoiled with the knowledge of all that he'd just put out in the open.

"I— I'm sorry, was that weird?" Hyunjin's voice took on a slight panic as he saw the younger still at a loss for words.

No, Felix didn't think it was weird.
He thought it was absolutely terrifying. It was as if Hyunjin had pried him open, just like one of his little chapter books, and read the very contents of his heart out loud, marking and annotating his personal thoughts about every word.

"It's..." Felix struggled to quell the stress showing on the elder's face. "No! No, don't go anywhere!" he pleaded, holding the boy still as he seemed to be leaning away from Felix.

"Have you always been this observant...?" Felix gave an extremely nervous laugh, and Hyunjin seemed to furrow his eyebrows, as if trying to figure out whether or not this meant the younger had taken the whole thing decently.

All at once, it struck him that yes, Hyunjin had always been this observant. From the day they'd met, and Hyunjin had chased him down because he could tell that Felix was worse off than he. And in the way that the boy had figured out Felix's escape method, and wouldn't let him run away to avoid conflict with whatever stupid excuse he'd thought of. Even how he had his breakfast order memorized, and knew every freckle on his face, and countless other instances Felix knew he was forgetting about right now.

"It's not weird!" Felix blurted out, wanting Hyunjin to stay more than anything. "I was just... surprised! I didn't even realize that I do all that..."

"Sorry," Hyunjin just repeated in a small voice.

"No," Felix insisted. "Stop apologizing. It's not weird. It's actually kinda..."

"What?" the elder asked at the hesitation.

Countless answers flooded Felix's mind. It's amazing, being one. It's cute, being another.
It's heart-wrenchingly adorable, because I'm in love with you and the idea of you knowing me by heart makes me so happy...

Felix let out a deep breath to fight off that last thought.
"That's actually really sweet..." he chose cautiously. "I was just kinda shocked that you knew me so well."

A tiny smile tugged at the corner of Hyunjin's lips, and Felix knew he had to jump at this chance.

"Come on, there's no need to be all down about it!" he insisted, reaching up and placing both of his hands on Hyunjin's cheeks. "Can I get a smile?"

Now, Hyunjin seemed to be fighting back a grin.
"You're so..." he mumbled, biting his bottom lip as to keep himself from giving in now.

"Hmm?" Felix hummed playfully, squishing the boy's cheeks together. "What was that?"

"You're so annoying," Hyunjin mumbled affectionately.
"Hold my hands instead."

"Will you give me a smile if I do that?"

"Yeah, whatever," the elder agreed, and Felix promptly released his poor face. He sought out the boy's hands and laced their fingers together at record speeds, giving them a firm squeeze before raising an eyebrow and nodding for Hyunjin to do as told.

The elder finally gave in, letting a stupidly amused grin wash across his face as he shook his head in a mock disbelief.

"After we get settled in, let's have some actual fucking fun at that party tonight. Okay?" Hyunjin shifted the topic subtly.

Felix gave a curt nod. "Okay."

With the comfortable silence setting in, Felix got to work sneakily pulling the sleeves of his sweater over Hyunjin's hands as well, making the boy roll his eyes.

"We should go back," the taller tugged on his hands. "We should at least bring in some of the stuff Jeongin gave us."

"Ugh, fine," Felix groaned as Hyunjin climbed off of him, and tried pulling the younger to stand up as well.
"Carry me?"

"You have to walk at some point, Lix," Hyunjin killed the request on the spot. "You have legs. Use them."

"Mean," Felix huffed, yanking his hands away from the elder as soon as he'd gotten to his feet.

"Yeah, yeah," the taller took none of his bullshit, letting a hand rest upon the small of Felix's back as to keep him up to pace when he began to stroll.

And Felix simply crossed his arms as he took those reluctant footsteps, already plotting how to enact revenge upon the elder boy.

Hyunjin had no idea what was coming for him, he thought, as if an evil mastermind plotting his demise.

Yet it was safe to say: neither did Felix. For the future, as safe as it may seem, is not known for giving warnings.