Chapter Text
Changbin is a sexually wired kind of guy. One could call him hormonal or pent-up or maybe even a little bit of a man-whore, but those are just more crude ways of referring to the root of his being. There's nothing particularly wrong with it either—other than maybe jerking off a little more than is healthy—it's just the way he is. Having impulsive, suggestive thoughts about his best friends is just another part of that. Right?
"It's not like anything'll be different." Seungmin says, wandering not so discreetly towards an ice cream cart on the sidewalk. "Even if every one of us gets a partner right away. Which we won't, you know. No matter how many times we're called the 'hottest bachelors' of our generation."
"I know." Changbin shrugs half-heartedly. "But I'm still... I don't know." This is a lie. Changbin knows perfectly well what's got him down, and it starts with a 'Fe' and ends with a 'lix.'
"Worried about someone in particular?" Seungmin asks, raising a brow and receiving the popsicle he paid for. They're inching into fall, and it's going to start to be too cold for ice cream—maybe that's why he wants one.
Changbin glares at him, wishing(not for the first time) that his friend would quit being so damn perceptive. He sees too much, connects dots of a color that Jisung's eyes haven't even evolved enough to see. That's a part of the reason why talking to Jisung acts as his 'time off,' so to speak. The way Changbin sees it, he hardly thinks about whether or not he tied his shoelaces, much less about the inner-workings of other's brains.
"No." He lies through his teeth, hands deep in his pockets.
"Well, if you were, I'd tell you that there's nothing to worry about." Seungmin says casually, his tongue slowly taking on the bright blue of the popsicle. "They're not gonna just disappear. I'm sure they're just as concerned about you."
"Yeah right." Changbin scoffs. He sneaks a glance at Seungmin, his airy, careful gait and his mouth on the ice cream. Not much else to say but wow.
"You're thinking about it too much," Seungmin says, "Which is off brand, but expected."
Changbin hits his arm, and he chokes on the popsicle, sending a shiver up Changbin's spine. "Asshole! That's an oxymoron."
"I meant generally." Seungmin corrects himself, self-consciously touching his throat. "Generally off brand."
"What does that even mean?"
"Figure it out, you've proven you can use your brain."
Changbin hits him again for that, and Seungmin holds the popsicle at an arm's length. "You're such a smug bastard."
"Anyway," Seungmin pushes through, "You should just relax. Nothing's gonna change. The day is gonna come and go and you'll regret ever thinking this hard about it."
Changbin shrugs, feigning indifference. "Maybe."
There's silence for a bit, and Changbin's eyes keep darting to Seungmin's mouth, his lips fastened around the criminally phallic ice cream. He snorts at himself, unable to hold back the thoughts of I wish that were me.
"What?"
"Nothing," Changbin says, "Just wondering what Minho is gonna do."
"What is there to do?"
"Nothing, really." Changbin says, with an admittedly cruel sort of smile. "But he's gonna have a hard time holding onto Jisungie."
"Are you kidding?" Seungmin scoffs. "What makes you think Jisung's going anywhere?"
Changbin blinks at him, surprised they're not on the same page. "He's straight."
Seungmin laughs out loud, bright and shocking. "That's a good one! Ha—wow, you're a riot."
"He isn't?!"
"Do you have eyes?" Seungmin says incredulously. "I thought you and Chan-hyung knew him better than anyone."
"It's not like we talk about this stuff!" Changbin defends himself, mildly offended. "And like, Minho's definitely gay, no question. But Jisung? Really?"
"He's not straight. Not even bi." Seungmin snorts. "Please. That man has never felt the touch of a woman, and he never wants to."
Changbin's brain wins over his confusion, considering the two of them together. They'd certainly make an attractive couple. "...So do you think they'll fuck?"
"Without a doubt." Seungmin says immediately. His popsicle is starting to melt from the warmth of his mouth(keep it together, Changbin), little sugary blue trails running down his hand and forearm. "I'd put money on it."
"I wouldn't," Changbin says, bemused, "Cause now you've convinced me I'll lose."
"Damn," Seungmin grins, "Could've made some easy money. If only I wasn't so persuasive." He punctuates the statement with a purposefully seductive lap at his ice-cream, and it's so surprising Changbin doesn't have to fake his laughter.
"I guess I can see it." Changbin says as they approach the dorms. "Now that you mention it. It's just that Jisung is so stubborn. He like..."
"He doesn't wanna see it." Seungmin finishes for him, holding the door open. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
"Age old question." Changbin says, rubbing his hands together, and Seungmin huffs knowingly. "What do you think?"
"Can you even picture it being the other way?" Seungmin says.
"I could." Changbin says with a shrug. "It's not likely, but it's possible."
"It is not possible." Seungmin denies. "Minho is a control freak and Jisung hates making decisions."
"He doesn't hate making decisions." Changbin corrects. "He just prefers following directions. Okay—well, now that I put it like that..."
"See?" Seungmin says.
"Alright, alright, I see."
"See what?" Jeongin asks, poking his head over the back of the couch.
"Minho and Jisung." Seungmin says. "What do you think? Jisung, top or bottom?"
Jeongin gives a sputter that turns into a laugh, and Changbin perches himself on the back of the couch as Seungmin throws away the remaining wooden stick from his ice cream.
"Uh, well..." Jeongin thinks for a moment, his eyes flitting up to the ceiling. "...bottom. Power bottom."
Changbin tilts his head in respect. "Hm, that's interesting."
"He's too annoying to take it lying down." Jeongin says matter-of-factly, and then his face starts to heat up. "I wish I didn't say that. Yah—someone stop me from imagining it!"
Seungmin laughs, jostling his shoulder. "I don't wanna imagine it either. Minho's scary enough with his clothes on." He says, and Jeongin shudders.
Changbin, personally, cannot relate. He's been cursed/blessed to have supermodels as his best friends, so he makes the best of it by admiring them all from afar. Minho's frightening aspect only adds to his allure, and the idea of poor Jisung under him invites imagination.
"Where are they, anyway?" Changbin asks curiously. "I haven't seen them all day."
"They're doing the TwoKids interview." Jeongin says.
"Oh yeah, that's right." Seungmin realizes. "I should take this opportunity." He quickly climbs the stairs, and Changbin and Jeongin exchange shrugs. They both return to their rooms, and Changbin is met with the sight of Felix sprawled across his bed, wielding two cookies.
He has to force himself not to stare, only giving Felix a friendly smile before sitting on his own bed and pretending to be absorbed in his phone.
He looks gorgeous like this, in such a casual, mundane setting that STAYs will never get to see. Changbin's whipped, totally whipped, but somewhere amongst all of it, he keeps his cool. He probably wouldn't even be having such thoughts about Felix if it wasn't for the date. Their five-year anniversary is coming up, which dictates the start of their careers as bachelors. Changbin's actually kind of excited, cause he needs to get over Felix(and fast), but it also fills him with a sense of dread.
The idea crushes him: Felix, blushing when someone else compliments him. Felix, coming back to their room later than normal, leaving Changbin with the excruciating task of guessing where he was. Felix, asking someone else to kiss him. Felix, and someone else.
Because it's inevitable, and Changbin knows it. Felix is an angel on earth, a ray of sunshine. Once he's available, it won't take long for someone to scoop him up. Changbin's honestly kind of enjoyed their joint celibacy, cause it meant that no one else could have him. Selfish, yes, he knows. They're both clingy(him more than he'd like to be), and he doesn't want Felix to share that with someone else. He doesn't want to look for a replacement, either.
There are two soft raps against the wood of the door, and Changbin knows who it is: he knocks the same way every time.
"Come in." Changbin calls, putting his phone down to stretch.
"I found this in my room." Seungmin says in place of a greeting. It's one of Felix's bracelets, and Changbin quickly understands why Seungmin left so suddenly.
Felix grins, springing up from his bed. "Thank you, Minnie! I've been looking for this."
"Yeah, I bet you have." He says dryly. "Minho's got a little stash in his nightstand. I don't even know who half this stuff belongs to."
"Lemme see!" Changbin grins, eager to poke through Minho's belongings. Seungmin leads him back to the room, the drawer of his nightstand still open.
Felix comes as well, tilting his head curiously. "What inspired you to look?"
"I don’t know when else I’ll be able to. And I’ve been looking for my phone charger." Seungmin says with distaste. Seungmin's own side of the room is spotless, but Minho's neatness is artificial, and carries a comical air of restraint, like there would be a tidal wave of dust and misplaced jackets should one open the closet door.
"Hey, this is mine!" Changbin realizes with offense. It's a half-empty bottle of creatine. Changbin thought he was going crazy when he realized it was missing. What a little crook. He'd even convinced Changbin to forget about it and just buy a new one.
"Ah, that's where this went!" Felix says, plucking a laptop charger out of the drawer. "It's Jisung's. I was so worried I lost it."
There's actually quite a lot of Jisung's things here, and Changbin huffs with bemusement. Minho's thievery is a game of sport, but there's something so clearly possessive about his focus on taking from Jisung. Like he's reserving a part of Jisung to keep for himself, or to ensure he comes back. If the latter is his strategy, he better rethink it. Jisung is so forgetful that he's probably never noticed anything was missing, and he likely never will.
"Do you think these earrings are Hyunjin or Chan-hyung's?" Seungmin asks, pointing to a silver pair next to a wristwatch.
"Hyunjin-ah." Felix says with confidence, taking them from the drawer. "Chan wears gold."
"Hey ugly!" Seungmin calls. "I found your watch!"
"What?" Jeongin yells back.
"Your watch!"
There's a loud clap from downstairs, and then Chan projects his voice across the house. "Everyone, come to the living room!"