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[braced]

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[minsu]

i worry about corrupting you.

i know.

i know he'd rather be here too.

[he's pouting, sad but at least not lonely thanks to junsu.]

we need some board games to play before bed.

oh! we should make a ouija board!

[braced]

corrupting me? oh, honey. youre so cute

yeah. even i know that. he loves you the most, minsu.

...that's a scary game though! you really want to play that before bed?

[minsu]

sage says that the ghosts here are either shy or gone.

ah, but maybe we should play that game instead. our own version of "never have i ever".

[braced]

oh, yes, lets do that one. i like that better than ghosts

[minsu]

ok! your place or mine?

[braced]

mine?

[minsu]

[it's only a few minutes later when minsu shows up at his door, with popcorn and licorice, two beers.

ok, wine coolers. someone drank all their beers.

and yes, he knocks with their special knock because of course they have one.]

[braced]

[ junsu's already laughing, returning his side of the special knock before he opens the door, giggling. ]

Right on time! [ his eyes fall to the snacks and drinks. ] Oooh, this can be like our own little sleepover party!

[minsu]

I've gotta quit eating so late at night though.

[his hands are kinda full, so minsu just bumps his forehead against junsu's before continuing on to the bed.]

I think I've gained weight. [he tears open the licorice once he's settled, biting one of the vines in half.] I'll stop tomorrow!

[braced]

[ junsu laughs, joining him on the bed and helping himself to the licorice, talking as he chews. no respect!! but also no need for fancy etiquette with the person who's basically his other half. ]

Tomorrow. We'll go out for a run too.

[ he takes one of the bottles he brought, eyeing it. ]

Was this all that's left?

[minsu]

[this is one of the reasons minsu loves being with him. it feels nice to not need to impress, to not need to do anything to make omeone love you because you know they already do.]

My mom used to drink those.

[minsu rests on his stomach, lightly smacking junsu's leg with his licorice whip as he chews.]

We don't want to be too hung over when we go for our run.

[braced]

Did she? Did she let you have some sometimes?

[ junsu's voice is soft, curious. he wants to know more of these things about minsu, about his family, his life. he opens a bottle and takes a sip, then hands it to minsu. ]

Let's just share one, then. That'll be a little buzz for our game.

[minsu]

Not that I remember. So maybe she did.

[minsu smiles before taking a sip from the bottle. it's a little sweeter than the stuff they normally drink. a little deceptive.]

I know my mom loved me, but...she was too quiet. My dad came first. And he would've died if he caught me drinking a wine cooler.

[braced]

[ junsu reaches for minsu's hair, threading his fingers through it, back and forth. ]

I'm sorry. Maybe this is why people like to love you so loudly now.

[ like the universe knows minsu needs a lot of people to be talking about how much they love him, often. ]

You didn't do this sort of stuff when you were younger? Stuff that might have gotten you in trouble?

[minsu]

I want to yell twice as loud about how much I love them.

[he's only had one sip, so he can blame the alcohol for feeling warm. but he does feel loved now, and he's amazed and lucky, and he'll never take it for granted.]

What, was I a rebel? [minsu laughs at that as he shakes his head.] No I was very good until around sixteen. That first kiss changes everything!

[braced]

[ junsu takes the bottle from minsu gently, taking a couple of sips this time before passing it back. he keeps playing with minsu's hair. ]

I think at sixteen I was re-reading Harry Potter. Or maybe my third read through of Lord of the Rings.

[ he giggles. ]

No kissing for me. I used to be like, awkward and weird and just wanted to live in magical worlds.

[minsu]

[between the wine cooler and junsu playing with his hair, it wouldn't take much for minsu to start getting sleepy. but he wants to stay awake and talk more, learn all the details about someone he already understands on a fundamental level.]

Oh! I bet you would've been house Gryffinclaw!

[why doesn't that sound right.

please don't hate him or send him away.]

[braced]

[ junsu gasps. his hand leaves minsu's hair, and he grabs another vine, holding it out like a limp wand. ]

Is my best friend... not into Harry Potter?

[minsu]

He is now!

[minsu hops up onto his knees and grabs another vine of his own, holding it out like they're about to duel.]

Teach me, Obi-Wan.

[that's not-

whatever, hopefully junsu still has some of the books.]

[braced]

That's Star Wars!

[ he laughs, slapping minsu's vine with his own before he takes a big bite of it, chasing it down with more wine cooler. he giggles, putting an arm around minsu's middle and pulling him back down on the bed. ]

It's okay, baby. I just want to know the kind of stuff you liked instead.

[minsu]

But I want to know yours too.

[he rests his head on junsu's shoulder, thoughtful for a moment.]

I wish we'd been friends then. [his voice is softer, a soft pain in his heart that things hadn't turned out that way.] I would rather have been reading Harry Potter with you than doing the things I was doing.

[braced]

Yeah. I wish that too.

[ somehow, he believes they would've been friends like this too. that them being human in a world so changed brought them close, but that this closeness was inevitable. no matter the circumstances.

he thinks it might have changed his life, to have someone like minsu in it back then. ]

What were you doing?

[minsu]

[minsu shrugs. it's almost embarrassing to admit, but if there's someone who might really get it, he always thinks of junsu.

plus, what embarrassment. he sent him a picture of a mosquito bite on his almost-ass.]

Doing things to make people like me. It didn't get really bad until I turned seventeen. My sisters were out of the house by then, and I couldn't stand being there with my dad. But I didn't have any friends like you. So I just...any reason to stay the night with someone, you know?

[braced]

[ junsu gets both his arms around minsu, keeping him where he is, head against his shoulder. he turns his head and presses a kiss to his hair, too. ]

Yeah. I know.

[ it wasn't exactly like this for him back then, but after. and still today. sometimes he finds someone's bed to get into just because he doesn't want to sleep alone. he's happy minsu doesn't have to live like that anymore. ]

It's good you have someone special now. Someone that loves you.

[ he means every word, too. someone like sage is right for minsu. as much as part of his heart thinks the opposite, thinks that it should be him, the rest of him knows sage can and will keep minsu safer than junsu ever could. besides, he loves minsu. thats all junsu could ask for. someone that adores him too. ]

And you have a friend like me now. I'll keep you company and play games with you, while Sage is gone.

[minsu]

[minsu giggles softly to himself. when junsu said that, about someone special who loves him, he thought he was talking about himself. because junsu is special, and minsu knows that he loves him, and he's so lucky to have so many people in his life who fit that description that he mixes them up sometimes.]

Games though, are you ready to start?

[they have a whole wine cooler left, time to get wild.]