cold | junhao

九

"Thank you."

The words appear out of the blue from the other side of the wall of cushions. Jun peeks his head out to stare at Minghao, who is stringing up fairy lights. Furrowing his eyebrows, Jun tilts his head - looking for a second like a lost puppy. "What for?" he asks.

Minghao averts his gaze, quickly going back to wrapping the strings of light around the inside of their fort. "Yesterday, you called me cute... thank you." Behind him, Jun can look out the window to see a darkened sky warped by falling rain. The dimness casts shadows over their faces and the room, so Jun can't clearly make out the younger's facial expression.

"I didn't know you heard." He nods slowly. "Oh..." Jun smiles, "You're welcome."

Silence falls between them - but only for a few seconds - as Jun disappears again. Something crosses Minghao's mind, and he sighs. "I don't really like the phrase 'you're welcome'."

"Why?"

Minghao drops his hands to his lap, while staring at the floor. "Don't you think it sounds too much like they know they did you a favour, and they're saying you should be grateful? It feels snarky, like that person thinks they're above you."

Jun pauses, a blanket hanging between his hands. "I never thought of it like that. But yeah," he nods, though Minghao can't see him. "You're right."

"Being alone so often kind of gives you time to think," Minghao says, hanging the last of the lights. "There, I'm done!" He shuffles round to the opening of the small fort and smiles at Jun, who's transformed the interior into a welcoming haven of blankets and pillows. Around the edge are more fairy lights that glow a warm golden colour. "Shall we watch a movie?" Minghao asks, reaching to swipe the controller from where it had been thrown on the floor. He switches the TV on and starts flicking through the channels, his tongue slowly peeking through his lips in his concentration.

Jun's eyes are drawn to him - the fact that Minghao isn't facing him lets him admire the boy, and his chin drops into his hand as he stares at Minghao with a smile on his lips and shining eyes. After a couple of minutes, Minghao stops on a programme with a small gasp, and a subtle smile appearing for a split second. It vanishes as Jun shuffles on the beanbag, and he looks over his shoulder.

"Come sit next to me, sweetheart."

Minghao frowns and doesn't move. "Why do you call me that?" he asks. "That's twice now."

"It suits you."

Deciding to ignore Jun's comment, Minghao settles himself beside him - not quite close enough to be touching, but close enough to feel his body heat radiating under the blanket that Jun pulls over them.

"What's this?" Jun asks, nodding to the TV screen. Either Minghao doesn't notice the way Jun's arm is slowly snaking over his shoulder, or he pretends not to.

With a start, Minghao remembers what he's chosen to watch. He hadn't even been thinking of Junhui when he did, just automatically clicked OK when he saw the title. It's a show that, on the rare occasions he's managed to make it through a whole class, he's heard his classmates talking about it and how bad it is. But when Minghao watched it, he didn't hate it.

"Uh, it's just something I watch sometimes.... we don't have to if-"

"It's fine," Jun places his hand on Minghao's arm, where he's just snatched up the remote again to quickly change the channel, and lowers it. "I think Soonyoung likes this show, but I've never watched it."

Minghao relaxes back again. "Is Soonyoung one of your famous friends?"

Jun lets out a laugh. "No," he says, "Soonyoung works at the café by the beach - the one that's along the boardwalk. His boyfriend however is one of my 'famous friends' as you called them."

A sudden bark cuts off their conversation, coming from behind another door. Minghao sighs, "Lulu," he says, "Has a habit of wanting to cuddle when she hears me watching tv." He pushes himself to his feet and ducks out of the fort, padding over to the door with bare feet.

He opens the door and immediately the dog bounds out, stopping at Minghao's foot and her tapping her feet frantically, tail wagging. "Come on," Minghao says, and Mei follows. He leaves the door open instead of shutting like he normally does and scoops Lulu into his arms, carrying her over to where Jun is still sitting.

"Why do you have so many pets?" Jun asks.

As he strokes Lulu, Minghao shrugs. "They're not really my pets. When I find abandoned animals on the streets, I bring them home, help with any injuries, feed them, wash them - all that stuff. But eventually I have to give them to shelters."

"What about their old owners? What if they just got lost?"

"I have a microchip scanner. If they have one, I ring the family once the animal's healthy. If they still want their pet, I take them back home." He smiles to Jun.

"Have you ever thought of keeping one?"

Minghao scoffs, "Of course I have." He lightly kisses Lulu's head, and chuckles when Mei leaps onto his shoulder and starts nudging his cheek with her head. He doesn't make to elaborate, instead focusing his attention back onto the screen and leaning back into the mound of cushions beneath him.

But again, Jun's eyes are drawn to him. He tries to pick Minghao apart - figure out why the boy he found half-conscious in the middle of the street is making him feel this way.

"Are you warm enough?" he asks softly as he pulls the blanket further over his own shoulders.

Minghao nods, "I'm fine." But still, Jun notices the way Minghao cuddles Lulu a bit too tightly against his chest, so when she squirms and gets up, his arms cross over each other.

Raising an eyebrow, Jun shuffles closer to Minghao - until their legs just touch - and puts his arm around him, pulling the blanket further up.

"What are you doing?" Minghao stares at him.

"I don't want you to be cold."

———
a/n: ok just I'm sorry
I spent four hours writing this last night lmao and got a mighty 300 words done before giving up and leaving it for today