daydream.

(...)

Just before he drops, he had comes to terms with leaving himself in the arms of this stranger, though it isn’t as if he had a choice. He hoped that despite all logic, the man would heed his insistent pleas to deliver him to his familiar bed where he could rest the pain off like a bad hangover. Yet despite his best efforts, Jiho had the lapse of foresight to mention one rather tiny detail,

He never gave the man an address to go to.

Hoseok winces as the taller man continues to cough up alarming amounts of blood, the pressure on his shoulder only increasing. The fox could only sympathize, as he tries his very best to keep them both balanced and functional for the most part. 

He’s certain his face visually displays the variety of emotions he’s going through at the moment as he can only shuffle and drag himself with the plus one. However, his head tilts as the stranger insists on being taken home. Home? Where... where on earth could that be? Hoseok couldn’t start to think of where this guy’s home could be, so he thinks of the next best thing.

 Man, something told him he’d regret this. 

So here he went, very subtly changing their direction towards his own apartment. His roommate was out of town anyways, which was perfect for Hoseok’s current situation. However, something stops him, the weight on his shoulder suddenly gets more intense and the other male slides right out of Hoseok’s grip before he even had a chance to regain control of the situation. Shit, shit shit. This is bad, if not worse than before. Eyes wide and alert, the fox hovers over the male for a second, the panic starting to set in. This guy really needs medical attention, and fast. 

But the odd request brings Hoseok back, the male swallowing nervously before squatting down and attempting to pick the other male bridal style. Oddly enough, and lucky for him, it seems to be working, as he awkwardly carries the male back towards his place. 

As long as the guy remains still, Hoseok is pretty sure they can make it back to his apartment in one piece.

( .... )

Seokjin stumbles over his own heel and comically throws a hand out, wobbling to steady himself again. He laughs, loudly to cover the embarrassment, and the tips of his ears and his entire face and neck feel like they’re right about to burn off. “When… when your legs don’t work like they used to before,” Seokjin says in a cheap attempt to meme away the situation. “Anyways, yeah let’s head down there then. I think my stomach is going to protest and escape my body if we don’t eat soon.”

@seokjinxobs 

Hoseok's eyes widen as his wide smile falters, a wave of concern washes over him as the older male stumbles, the fox loosing his footing slightly as well as he's tugged foward. Brown eyes flash over to the other male, though they are only met with a cute, bubbly laughter that makes Hoseok nearly melt. A small chuckle escapes Hobi's lips as a small blush is brought back into his cheeks.Though Hoseok failed to recognize which meme Sokjin was in fact referencing to, it was still cute nonetheless, besides Hoseok could have Taehyung fill him in later. 

"Is there anything you want specifically? An actual dinner? Dessert?" He asks, honestly content with whatever they come across. He was just happy to be in the taller's presence. Sneaking in another glance as the continue down the strip, Hoseok takes advantage of the moment, briefly dropping their linkage of arms, and instead hastily grabbing Seokjin's hand with his own. He gulps nervously, trying to play everything off as casual as possible, however the fox is internally screaming, his conscience cursing him for making such a bold move. Hoseok feels the tips of his ears burn, and for a moment he regrets it. But Seokjin's hands are so soft, and they fit so perfectly in Hoseok's own. Quickly, he turns his attention to something else, gaze catching on a cupcake shop. “Ah! Look, we should stop here after we eat.” He says, briefly looking up at the older. 

“I-I mean, we could get something there now of course. If you wanted to.” And now Hoseok found words just spilling out of his mouth, the fox growing more embarrassed the more he spoke. He could feel the beating in his chest growing louder like earlier, and he really hopes Seokjin doesn’t notice slight sweatiness of his palm. 

The cookie is lifted up to his lips again. Slowly, he nibbles on it while listening to the barista’s response. It did not seem like nothing to him, but Himchan could understand where he was coming from. Often times, Himchan would have to deal with unpleasant patients while in the hospital. It was just something that came with working with other people. That did not make it any less annoying.

“Kids these days..” Himchan clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “They just think they are on top of this world.” He likes to joke about it, but it did bear some of his true thoughts about recent generations. To him, it seems as though each generation has less respect and manners – that’s why it was his job to “raise” them. He figures the barista’s problem related to the teenagers are regarding manners, anyways.

“It is amazing as always. Thank you.” As if to drive the point home, Himchan took a long draw of the beverage. When he set the cup back down, his gaze refocuses on the barista. “I have been coming here for awhile, but I have yet to catch your name. I figure it would not hurt to know each other’s names. I am Kim Himchan, by the way, but just Himchan is fine.”

An amused laugh rises from his mouth. It was rather obvious that the poor barista was glad for the departure of the couple. He could relate, too. There were times where he was relieved of being free of particular patients. The worst part of it all was that, in these types of jobs, one is simply not allowed to voice their displeasures. They have to grin and bear through.

“Nothing, huh?” Himchan teases, recalling back to the way that the young barista referred to the situation.

He shrugs slightly, lips pulling back into a small smile. “Things really have changed..” He muses, nodding his head in agreement to the older’s comment. “I don’t even think I was that bad when I was their age.” But then again, Hoseok was too busy having his nose stuck in a book. Maintaining his grades was far more important than any mischief making, even so he was far too soft to even participate in the most harmless of pranks. 

“Man, I must sound ancient, complaining about the youth.” His smile grows as he lets out a soft chuckle, hand raisin to the nape of his neck and reassuringly rubbing it. Hopefully he’d be  able to have somewhat of an influence on the younger generations. Well, that was his plan anyways. Smile widening, Hoseok’s eyes light up. “I’m glad you like it!” He chirps, eyes glancing up at the older. “That’s so true, we’ve never really had a chance to sit down and talk like this.” 

Thrusting a hand out towards the male, Hoseok breaks out into his signature grins. “It’s very nice to make your acquaintance, Himchan-hyung.” Wow, it felt pretty nice to finally get to know the older like this. It was bound to happen regardless, but the fox was thrilled to bits nonetheless. “Jung Hoseok, but you can call me Hoseok or Hobi. Either is fine.” He had to leave his nickname as an option, almost everyone he was remotely friends with referred to him as such anyways. 

(....)

“Something fancy? Something cheap? Really, we have options,” Seokjin replies. His brain shortcircuits like the damn snake that it is, and just like out of a movie (okay maybe Seokjin has watched The Notebook and others way too many times to be considered healthy), he hooks his elbow with Hoseok’s own. “We could always just walk around and see what’s good?”

He dumbly beams a smile back at the older, shyly sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans. His heart was starting to beat a little too fast, especially for something as simple as two friends grabbing a meal. Maybe Hoseok was reading into this too much. Searching for signals that weren't there. His gaze slowly traces his facial features, the fox's mouth left open slightly as he's visibly left in awe of the male's good looks.

 Hoseok's noticed them before obviously, Seokjin's soft cheeks that always seemed to have a hint of pink. His pale lips that almost begged for contact. His eyes widen, the male having to mentally scold himself for letting his thoughts wander, a hand creeps up to cover his face as he tries to subtly clear his throat.

“Sounds good, hyung.” He chirps, offering a small smile to the taller. He really hopes he doesn’t look as nervous as he feels, the sudden contact between them literally made Hoseok’s heart skip a beat. They’ve held hands before, right? Maybe he’s just over reacting. That’s what he’ll settle with his reaction as, a mere over reaction to their typical friendliness. 

( ... )

“Uhhh… Uhhm?” He hums, needing to blink once or twice to get his mind back to the conversation. He mentally scolds himself for getting so lost in the other’s features- just as a friend would do, since of course, they are friends and all and friends compliment and hype each other up. “You look cute, it’s really okay,” he promises, accidentally letting that one compliment slip. Seokjin wants to strangle himself, almost. He’s called his friends cute over and over again before, so this is no big deal. “You can have my jacket if you’re concerned though.”

It’s as if Seokjin only just blinks before he’s left outside the store alone.

When Hoseok hurries away, Seokjin watches through the window. It leaves a soft, fond smile on Seokjin’s face. Cute.

Hoseok is thankful that the female barista strolled in when she did, giving the male a chance to gather himself before he could potentially embarrass himself any more, the fox feeling his blush grow deeper. Seokjin compliments all his friends like that, right? So Hoseok shouldn't be reading into it too much, they're just friends after all. Gaze fixated on the ground, he clears his throat before turning his attention to the fellow barista, offering her a small nod and smile. Thankfully, all he needed to do was discard his apron and snatch his wallet from the back, both easy tasks that he accomplished in record timing, however the fox spent a few minutes gathering himself in the bathroom. 

He said I looked cute.. He attempts to swallow the nerves, this was just two guys grabbing a meal, nothing out of the ordinary. Or was it? Ever since they started spending more time together, Hoseok might have dubbed their hang-outs as pre-dates, till he (somehow) could gather up the courage to ask the male out. On an official date. Though, that didn’t seem likely as of right now, he wasn’t even sure if the taller felt the same. But now wasn’t the time to worry about such things. He quickly says his goodbyes before rejoining the male outside, a sheepish smile settling on his face.

”I’m sorry, hyung. I hope I wasn’t gone for too long.” One hand occupying his pocket, while the other quickly goes to rub the nape of his neck. A nervous tick if you will. “So -- Where were we? Deciding on where to eat?” His tone is a little higher pitched than intended, but at least the heavy flush to his cheeks was gone by now. 

( ... )

As great as it seems, Seokjin knows that it’s silly of him to even think about making that kind of connection with anyone. They’re friends, and Seokjin just wants to hang out and maybe go eat something because it’s been forever since they’ve done so. The gentle chime of the door jolts Seokjin out of his thoughts, and he hastily considers just quitting his job, if he gets scared that easily. Seokjin doesn’t look up from where he’s scrolling mindlessly through his emails on his phone, until he hears that familiar voice. Seokjin should have known, he wasn’t really on stealth mode right now anyways.

“Hoseok! What brings you here?”

Seokjin is an idiot.

“A joke. That’s a joke,” Seokjin says quickly after, ears turning red. “Are you all done with your shift? I was planning on stealing you afterwards.”

Hoseok stands there, frozen for a moment. Wow, he really didn't plan out what to do from there, the male only thinking of hat to say up to greeting and confirming the male's identity. But now that this was in fact Seokjin-hyung, Hoseok's heart starts to beat a little bit faster. His palms start to sweat. Eyes widen slightly, he stares blankly at the male for a couple moments, before cheeks flourish with a soft pink, the male's lips pull back to reveal a sheepish smile. He lets out a light chuckle, before nodding his head. "That was a good one, hyung!" He chimes, trying to quell his nerves.

His eyes still remain a little wide, though his smile only grew wider at the mention of hanging out. It had been quite sometime since the two spent some alone time, not that Hoseok had been keeping track or anything. It wasn’t like he had been trying to muster up the courage to invite Seokjin out to a nice meal one night. Though, thankfully for him the older beat him to it, before Hoseok could potentially embarrass himself. 

“I just have to wait for the next barista to come in, but after that I’m all yours.” He glances back, only to be met with the same empty cafe` front he had grown familiar with for the past 2 hours. “Did you have something in mind?”

He had hoped hanging out while still within his work uniform would be okay, not that Hoseok was one to overthink his casual looks in the first place. Though, the male did take three hours with settling for a evening outfit the first time the older invited him out, but thankfully Taehyung had helped the past few times. “Ah.. I didn’t bring any spare clothes to change into..” He mutters out, feeling slightly uneasy. While he did look more casual than formal today, he still felt over-dressed to say the least. Sporting a white collared shirt tucked into a pair black skinny jeans, Hoseok was more than thankful that the apron they were obligated to wear hid out dorky he must look. 

(...)

The three of them were all friends, Seokjin tells himself. It isn’t strange that he texts the both of them, outside the group chat too. He sends them the “latest memes” and updates them of his whereabouts, when work takes him away from home for a couple of days. In a way, talking to his friends is like a sanity check; it keeps Seokjin feeling like his head actually does stay on his neck and shoulders, even when the days get too busy for him to make sure that it’s truly there. For that, Seokjin is grateful. He tries to make it up to them as best as he could, whenever he could.

For example: Seokjin is going to make sure Hoseok eats well tonight. His own ears flush red when he thinks about it like that, since no it’s not anything else besides two friends, eating dinner together, hanging out, and having fun. That’s the only reason why Seokjin is wearing his favorite jacket, the cool black one. Not that he has anyone to impress or anything god no. Seokjin just wants to keep up his good image.

Seokjin waits outside Sugar and Spice, sitting in one of the chairs since he didn’t exactly plan on buying anything from this cafe, and the guilt would eat him alive if he went inside and didn’t buy a thing. He’s here to pick up his favorite cafe waiter of course. If the time displayed on his watch says correctly, then Seokjin is just a little bit early, but waiting is okay. From here, he can see through the windows of the cafe, and it’s somewhat calming to his busy mind.

His gaze flickers from the clear glass front door to the smart phone loosely grasped in his hand, the fox’s day had so far been anything but eventful. While the cafe` had always been more lenient to having your cellphones on the front, Hoseok had never really seemed bored back before he upgraded. He always found even the smallest task to complete before his shift was over, but now things had changed. 

After several months of convincing (and saving up) the male finally decided to upgrade to one of the latest smartphones, a decision he doesn’t regret one bit. The male finds himself now constantly using several apps (esp the ones with filters) and had even been introduced into memes, though both Taehyung and Seokjin were still trying to actively educate the fox on. He had a basic understanding of them, but he has trouble understanding some of the more abstract ones. At least he doesn’t refer to them as ‘meh-mehs’ anymore, right?

The other thing he enjoyed most was how much easier it was to keep in contact with his friends, group chats and even video calls kept him in touch as much as he pleased. While he did enjoy texting his best friend / roommate, there was another Hoseok especially enjoyed receiving texts from. A tall male who’s sense of humor compliments the fox’s own. A warm smile on his face settles at the thought of the other male, he makes a mental note to shoot him a text once his shift finishes to make sure he was doing well. 

Slumped behind the front desk, his eyes catch on a familiar shape moving around outside. Was that.. Seokjinnie-hyung? He straightens himself up, stretching over the counter to get a better look, mouth slightly agape. He only had a view from the back of the other male, but Hoseok could recognize that black jacket anywhere. His smile starts to grow, the male resisting the urge to burst out the door and greet the older in a hoseok esque that only the energetic male could pull off, but he decides to go for a more calm approach. 

There’s a bit of an extra spring in Taehyung’s step as he makes his way back to the apartment, a small smile tugging at his lips. While the past few days have been extremely hectic, they’ve also been equally as fun and exciting so he really can’t complain, and doesn’t want to either. There are a few bags in each hand (a new toy, because he’s bent on spoiling Yuja) and a few more odds and ends and a jacket - with maybe a matching smaller one - in preparation for winter.

It’s a little early still, but he likes to play it safe with the cold.

When he pulls up to their door and starts to unlock it, he can already hear soft sounds from behind it. His smile widens. Taehyung immediately sets his purchases down as he enters, kneeling to greet their new housemate with copious amounts of affection. Namely kisses.

“Did she really?” He’s delighted at the thought. Logically, he knows that there is a certain amount of novelty that’s playing part in this excitement, but even when that settles he’s confident in just how much they adore her that they won’t get bored. “Maybe I should have come home later - you could’ve gotten a nice picture, hyung.”

He moves further into the apartment, Yuja around his ankles, to shift the bags onto the couch. She’s fairly adamant and eager for attention, but she hasn’t been forceful or aggressive or jumpy - Taehyung is honestly rather impressed.

“She’s settling in well, isn’t she?”

His eyes bright with excitement, a wide grin plastered his face as stands off to the side while both Taehyung and Yuja shower each other with plentiful affection. As hectic as the past few days had been, the payoff was so much sweeter than the fox could imagine, the energetic pup manages to keep the pair on their toes. 

Thankfully, she hadn’t chewed on anything important,Yuja seemed more interested in the good amount of toys than a pair of shoes or even a cell phone charger. Both of which Hoseok managed to hide just in the off chance she got curious.

He had received several warnings of how she might behave, but honestly, Hoseok didn’t even mind if that was the case. She was already a perfect companion animal, she already was already taught a handful of commands which the male was nearly overjoyed after learning. Definitely took several videos because who wouldn’t want to show off their new dog. Keeping his wide smile, he nods his head, joining Taehyung over by the couch.

“Ah.. a picture would’ve been nice..” He agrees, but shakes his head, “But there will be many more opportunities.” He chirps, his gaze flickering from Yuja back to the other male. “What did you get?” He asks, glancing over at the bags curiously. Yuja too, seemed curious regarding the bags contents, but only for a few seconds. Her head tilts to the side slightly, Hoseok swears that that’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen, before turning her attention back to the younger. 

Though he barely manages to squeeze the words out from his formerly bleeding mouth, he can’t even bring his head around to look at the stranger’s face. Jiho wonders what he looks like; it’s hard to remember a face during circumstances like this. For such a total stranger to be helping him like this… he finds it hard to believe that someone would be so courteous. His brain trails off for a moment, and he pulls himself back. He needs to focus. For the time being, he focuses on his breathing. He isn’t entirely sure where they’re going, so he needs to stay awake. He needs to try… to bring out more words. He coughs rather coarsely, and coughs up an unpleasant amount of blood.

He spits to the side, somehow finding enough energy in the moment to jerk his head over without much thought. He readjusts himself a bit and tries again, managing to get out a somewhat comprehensible sentence out in-between coughs.

“Pl…ease..t-..take me…home…”

He could assume what the stranger might be thinking; he’s going to be taken over to a hospital or clinic of some kind. Jiho scowls at the mere thought of it. He always despised hospitals, and had seldom had the need to visit one ever since he obtained his abilities.

His left side tightens up out of nowhere, and he brings an arm over to grab it. The pain, as it seems, hasn’t entirely gone away. He can’t help but wince and cough at the sensation.

He’s been through worse. He’ll certainly be fine.

He winces slightly, the extra weight being pushed on him was well over what he was used. Albeit, he’s never supported someone in a situation like this, the taller male could recall helping a friend with a sprained ankle once or twice. This was much more serious than those handful of times. He was really trying to push himself, well, as much as the fox could. 

At this point he was certain his shirt if not his entire outfit would be blood-stained, something he might have a little trouble explaining to his room mate during laundry night. Not that it was a problem, it was just his work uniform, and he was fairly certain this could be washed out with ease after maybe watching a youtube tutorial or two on the best methods for lifting blood stains from your clothes. He nearly forgets about the pair of work shoes firmly grasped within his free hand, Hoseok had admittedly gotten sidetracked with making sure the man was at least standing upright and had the proper support.

 As they silently trudged for what seems like hours though in actuality was probably 20 minutes at the most, Hoseok debated if he should offer up the shoes now, even willing to assist the other male with getting them on. He gaze flickered towards him every now and then, though he held it for a couple minutes when he could’ve sworn he heard him speak. It was very soft, but Hoseok was sure he heard a faint ‘Thank You’ from the male, a weak smile forming. “It’s no problem..” He replies softly, though his voice came out much clearer than he expected. His smile falters for a minute, the male witness the vigorous cough with blood following not too soon after.

He adverts his eyes as the male proceeds to spit out an alarming amount of the blood, Hoseok starting to grow concerned with his worsening condition. He already had them walking en-route to the nearest hospital, though he stops dead in his tracks at the male’s request. “Home?” He repeats, peeking at the other male making sure he heard him correctly? “You.. you want me to take you home?” He frowns slightly, unsure if that was the smartest thing to do. He didn’t know the extent of the other male’s were abilities, but he was certain that even his own healing factor would need medical assistance if the situation had been any different. 

He took a much needed sip from his iced americano. The day had been too long, and the bold eruptions of flavor cascading along his taste buds was an indicator that his choice to visit had been the right one.

“It is busy. I just finished a rotation and–” Himchan would have gone on, but was interrupted by the barista’s comment. It did not bother him, knowing the man should tend to other customer’s needs as well. That did not stop him from being nosy and watching the exchange. He noticed the tense air, and when the man returned, it was blatant that something happened prior to his arrival to the cafe.

For a moment, his eyes scan over the barista’s uniform for any indication of a name tag, finding none. He cautiously looked from the couple to the man and back. Himchan quirked an eyebrow, his voice lowering to a hushed whisper. “Is everything all right?”

Excitement lit up in his eyes as he noticed the older enjoying the gifted baked good, Hoseok had developed a recent habit of swiping cookies from the front display. Mostly for his room mate, but for himself - He did help make some of cookies afterall. His wide smile falters slightly at the mention of the couple behind them, the fox sitting down across from the male like before. His eyes quickly dart over at the pair, an uneasy look replaces his typical cheerfulness.

 "Ah.. It's nothing." He replies, flashing him a weak smile of reassurance. He didn't want his hyung to worry, let alone get involved with what was just two teenagers making his job more difficult than it had to be. This was a moment where Hoseok could gladly say he was happy in his future career choice of being a kindergarten teacher. He doubts he could have the patience or even the guts to deal with the dreaded teenagers. He tries to shrug off the uneasy feeling in his stomach, clicking the ballpoint pen in his grasp as if to help keep his mind off of it. 

“Just kids.. being kids.” He laughs lightly, really trying to play it off like those two didn’t worry him in the slightest. Not that they honestly did, Hoseok just couldn’t handle situations with high tension very well. “How’s your drink, hyung?” He decides to change the subject quickly, hoping he made it to the older’s liking. He wasn't one for caffeinated beverages, though he did find himself taking a double shot of espresso every now and then, mostly during the morning shifts. Hoseok was his own naturally source of energy, as he likes to joke. Caffeine only adds to his hyperness, and that was something that could be taken down a couple notches as is. 

At least, that’s what he assumes.

He manages to finally stand up on his own two feet, though his balance is questionable at best. He stumbles and throws a hand on Hoseok’s shoulder to catch himself before he falls, somewhat relieved that he stuck around after witnessing that horror of a magic trick.

“Hey, uh. Sorry you…had to see that.”

Jiho’s still struggling to keep himself upright, and could fall over any minute, but he’s feeling rather accomplished at the moment. He feels as though he’s deserved the right to stand up; that wasn’t easy by any means.

He glances towards the stranger, anxiously anticipating a response to his admittedly dumb question. He rightly expected a sarcastic response, Hoseok had grown accustomed to anything in that tone due to his knack for asking dumb questions. His eyebrows raised slightly, the man managing to choke out a reply that sounded more friendly than anything. Perhaps Hoseok misheard him? He tilts his head slightly at this, mimicking one of those many videos of dogs tilting their head in confusion as the owner asks them repeatedly if they wanted to go for a walk. He takes a few cautious steps towards the male, leaving a good gap between them.

Before he could offer his assistance yet again, it seemed Jiho was one step ahead of him like before. Hoseok was almost grateful of how the other male took control of the situation, despite his worsening condition.

He flinches noticeably, as a bloody hand reaches out towards him, a sight that he could’ve sworn he’s seen in a horror movie before. He resists a sudden urge to pull back, and was instead pulled inward quite literally. Before he could respond to Jiho’s request for help, his hand was wrapped around Hobi’s. This only brought them closer to each other, the male now inches away from the frightened fox. He peers down curiously at Jiho, trying to anticipate his next move. This was however, unexpected in every sense of the word. Despite his scent of familiarity in were, this was far from what Hoseok expected. His eyes widen in shock as he on-looked the transformation. 

Now was a prime moment where Hoseok was thankful how quick and painless his shifts were, the male able to shift in and out of fox form rather easily. Really, the only downside to his shifts was the clothing that draped over his smaller form, sometimes difficult to wriggle out of. Especially in times of intoxication, getting out of human clothes is a difficult obstacle. Nothing he’s ever experienced could even compare to what he’s currently witnessing, Hoseok having to squeeze his eyes shut until the transformation was complete. Well, from what he could hear, it must have been completed. When he finally opens his eyes a large vulture stood in place of the nearly half-dead man he saw only a couple of minutes ago. Though, Hobi was surprisingly not as terrified of the large avian as he should have been. He almost finds comfort in the fellow were, although he wouldn’t go to far as describe this feeling as comforting. 

Thankfully, the transformation back was less painful to watch, though Hoseok did take note in his noticeably destroyed articles of clothing. Hobi debated offering his work shoes as a temporary substitute for the pair he had just lost, the less-than-comfy loafers placed neatly in his charcoal backpack. He starts to reach for his backpack, but stops dead in his tracks as soon as a hand is placed on his shoulder. He soon wraps a hand over Jiho’s shoulder, in an attempt to help the other male regain his balance

“Y-Yah..It’s fine.. I feel for you.”

With only a few customers left on the floor, Cris was free to manage the bar again. Wiping down the counters and preparing the bottles for the night, he kept himself busy until a familiar scent made its way into Pride Rock. The scent had caught him off guard at first, since he hadn’t visited as much as he use to. But once his hostess walked toward the bar, a wide smile formed on his face. Seeing this she could already tell the notice was not necessary, and stepped back to get his visitor. 

“Go ahead.” She said flashing him a smile, before returning back to work. 

Back at the bar, Cris moved out from behind the bar approaching the younger male with his arms outstretched. Hugging was a necessary greeting between the two close friends. “Hobi! Long time no see.” Cris loved when his friends came to visit.  

He could barely contain his excitement as he awaited for the hostess’s return. There were a few fresh faces around the establishment. Well, ones who he hadn’t nicknamed at least. Most of the employees, well the regulars, had received from Hoseok and Cris alike, most bore nicknames from a favorite film that the pair watched together on multiple occasions. Always a favorite of the fox, he and the other male even had nicknames for each other regarding their film counterparts. He was often referred to as Tod, while Cris was Simba. 

It had been sometime since either referred to eachother as such, but still adorable nonetheless. His shy smile turns into a wide grin at the hostess’s return, her motioning for him to go ahead.

“Ah! Thank you Nala!” 

He says cheerily as he heads for the stairs, a familiar scent hitting him euphorically. Excitement bubbled within him, Hoseok nearly tripping up the stairs as his pace quickened. He has to slow himself down, in actual fear that he might actually fall up the stairs. As he neared the top, the fox peered around the corner, his gaze locking on to the older male. He nearly trips (again) as he rushes in to Cris’s arms, giving him a tight hug.

“Hyung! It’s been too long!”

He makes it there, and that’s really what matters the most, right? He tries to look around the henhouse for Hoseok, but ends up asking about where his friend is. Sure enough, the person running the front of the restaurant directs him to where he needed to be ten minutes ago.

He sits down with a firm plop in his seat across from Hoseok, and spreads out in his seat to a really comfortable position.

“Hey man, sorry I’m late. Didn’t leave you waiting too long, right?”

Hoseok glances around occasionally, hoping to spot his friend who he had hoped would have been here by now. Not that he had an issue with Sangmin’s tardiness, he just liked having company and was admittedly awkward when he was by his lonesome. He flips open his dated phone, in hopes that perhaps he missed a text. No texts, but his gazed did flicker over to a couple teenagers who happen to watch the fox as he withdrew his phone, snickering at its age. 

He pouts slightly at this, shoving his smaller phone back in to his pocket. Thankfully, Sangmin had already arrived and was approaching the table as soon as Hoseok glances up. His pout quickly fades, a bright grin replacing it. 

“Hyung! You made it!”

He greets cheerily, forgetting the fact that Sangmin was late. He scoots his chair closer to the table, still smiling as the other male apologizes.

“Hm? It’s fine. I just got here a few minutes ago myself.”

Not entirely true, but Hoseok really didn’t want Sangmin to feel bad. He chooses to change the subject, more curious about how his friend was doing. As over dramatic as Hoseok could possibly be, it felt like he hadn’t seen the male in years, when in actuality it had been a week or two at the most. 

“Hyung, how have you been? How’s work?”