by the time joshua and jun had finally found their way outside of the ice rink, it took a while because joshua kept stumbling around, a dark shadow had fallen over the sky. it had been within the hours of the early evening when the sun was just about to set when they begun with their skating and now the moon was just making its appearance, slowly creeping towards its peak as the pair made their way down the streets. it wasn't hard at all to spot the pair of teenagers with their arms joined as they stumbled their way down the dimly lit sidewalks, towards the direction of jun's home.

"who knew you were just as clumsy and childish as I am. it takes a kid to know a kid!" jun laughed out loud which was something that joshua had grown used to hearing, especially tonight. he hadn't anticipated how jovial the purple haired male would be because of their ice skating date and despite the bruises, he didn't regret planning the date at all. joshua hated the embarrassment that came with his failure, but he didn't mind brushing it all off for jun's pleasure. the chinese male found it funny to laugh about as they recalled the events of the night. "you looked like you were ready to kill those little kids too."

"hey you can't blame me for that, it was literally my first time skating! and as for those kids, they deserved to be taught a lesson. how dare they laugh at me, they look like they can barely walk at least I can do that." jun let out a loud cackle beside joshua as he muttered angrily while envisioning the faces of the little kids who had mocked him so openly. his loud cries of laughter caused for both of them to pause in jun's front yard as he caught his breath. their arms separated from each other as jun used his hands to wipe his eyes from the tears of joy that formed along with his heavy cackling. "looks like this is where we split."

"I kind of wish this night wasn't over yet. I had the best time, one of the best times in a long time." jun's hands fell to his sides as he looked down towards joshua while his laughter died down. they both glanced at each other, sensing that both were lingering on the idea that their night together was coming to an end. under joshua's watchful gaze jun sitffened. he really wanted to lean his hand in closer to the brunette's after they slightly brushed against each other. "but I guess it has to end somehow. I mean you do look like you're ready to just jump in bed and stay there for three days."

"falling over multiple times in the ice will do that for you, but of course you wouldn't know that. don't mention this to anyone we know by the way." joshua grumbled that last part angrily, somehow effortlessly transitioning from the sarcastic tone he had been speaking with all night. the purple teenager staring at him, confused, gave out a small smile when joshua leaned in and winked while whispering so that nobody could hear them (even if there was nobody around to witness the whispering). "you're the only person that's allowed to see me be an idiot on ice."

"well I feel honored then josh!" jun exclaimed enthusiastically which earned him a grin from the brunette. the good atmosphere between them died down though, leaving them both standing in silence outside on jun's front porch. the chinese male frowned at joshua, which confused him at first until jun rushed in and enveloped joshua in a tight embrace. jun squeezed the brunette as he buried himself in the latter's arms unaware of how dumbfounded his sudden action made joshua feel.

joshua masked the pain that struck him when jun threw himself onto his body with a small wince before bringing up a hand to stroke the back of jun's head. the purple haired teenager hid his bright red face that was otherwise concealed in the dark shadows of the night in the crook of joshua's neck. he did so while mumbling, making the brunette shudder as his breath tickled his neck. "thank you for such a wonderful night joshua. it was a really fun first first date."

"until next time junhui."

jun pulled himself away from the brunette as his stomach bubbled with nervousness. while he usually felt irritated by joshua using his full name rather than his preferred nickname, jun felt like it was their thing. the brunette had a way of making jun feel special; he made jun feel heard which was something that jun struggled with a lot since having an overprotective mother who never really did listen ate away at his feeling of self-value. the purple haired teenager waved eagerly as joshua began to walk away and kept waving until the senior was out of sight. that was when jun finally exhaled and turned to enter his house.

"what are you doing home? you're supposed to be out on a date with joshua!" jia whined out loud as soon as she spotted her older brother enter the vicinity of the living room. jun didn't really think much of her protesting at first, mainly because he was used to be being so negative all the time. she was at the age where she prioritized personal space and her privacy over everything else, being now a thirteen year old and all. therefore jun understood why she was usually so blunt with her complaints. things began to make even more sense though when he caught a glimpse of jia pulling her hand away from her companion's.

"he got all bruised up and sulky so we left early for the sake of preserving his pride." the older teenager spoke as he removed his shoes in exchange for slippers so that he could freely walk about the house. jun remained unbothered by the extra person on the couch as he seated himself on the couch right next to jia and her guest while smirking at the television screen. "what are you guys watching? oh, is this the hunger games? mind if I join?"

"can I speak to you for a second?" jia muttered under her breath to her brother in mandarin. while jia did still retain some of her rough attitude while speaking to jun, he was able to detect an underlying tone of fear in her voice. that was why jun complied with going along with jia as they excused themselves from the couch and went over to the kitchen to speak.

"so chaeyoung's your 'boyfriend' huh?" jun gestured to the blonde girl on the couch, the same one jia had been hoding hands with right up to the point when jun arrived at the house. jun recognized who she was as soon as he got home seeing as chaeyoung was jia's best friend and had been coming over to their house since the two were in diapers. he would have never expected for the two to be romantically involved with one another, but while thinking about it it wasn't really an absurd idea. the two never left each other's sides as kids, and chaeyoung always had a way of handling jia's short temper in a way jun or the rest of their family never really could. "you could have just told me you were dating her instead of lying about it."

"I was scared you'd react weirdly if I told you I was dating her so I lied. can you just pretend you saw nothing?" jia spoke frantically. she was more than surprised that jun had gotten home so early; it was supposed to be her night alone with chaeyoung because their parents and jackson were at his school for parent teacher conferences. yet here jun was now barging in on their date night. "I don't really want mom and dad to know either, at least not yet, so please don't tell them. this is me begging by the way.

"relax jia, it'd be extremely hypocritical if I judged you don't you think?" jia seemed to be unconvinced by jun's starting argument here as he smiled at her with a thumbs up. he calmed down though when he spotted the unsure expression on his younger sister's face. that was when jun toughened up, pulling on a serious face to reassure his sister that he wasn't joking around. "I won't tell anyone jia. it's your right to tell whoever you want when you're ready to. there's no need to worry, your secret's safe with me."

"wow for once you're actually being a good older brother." jun shrugged effortlessly as if it were common knowledge. jia looked down at the floor, letting out a puff of air as she thought about how kind and understanding jun was being in the moment. it only made her feel even worse for lashing out at him weeks ago, which is why she felt the urge to give her older brother a small hug. he chuckled as she pulled away while brushing off her blouse with a stoic expression still plastered on her face. "thanks jun."

"anytime kiddo! I was only joking about joining you both anyway, you two have fun now alright?" jun spoke with a loud volume, gaining attention from chaeyoung who was sitting on the couch still while pretending not to eavesdrop on the siblings' conversation. she glanced over and gave a small smile to jia who was now frowning at the purple haired teenager in front of her as he began to revert back to his playful antics. "just not too much fun you hear?!? hey do you think chaeyoung heard me or should I shout louder so she can get the hint- okay okay fine I'm going, don't hurt me!"

jun protested loudly as jia pushed him towards the staircase all while whispering threats in mandarin that she was sure would force jun to leave both her and her date alone. the older wen sibling did leave, after being forced to that is, and to jia's surprise he stayed quiet enough so that both her amd chaeyoung could resume playing the movie they were watching.

"I always forget how weird your brother is." chaeyoung whispered over to jia as the thirteen year old sat back down on the couch. their hands instinctively laced themselves with each other again as chaeyoung leaned her head to rest on jia's shoulder. the blonde teenager laughed to herself which earned a suspicious glance from her girlfriend before she looked up and shared her thoughts with jia. "it's where you get all your weirdness from."

"chae I love you but please, I am nothing like that buffoon at all."

= = =
my apologies 😭 I got really caught up with my laziness during spring break and then forgot to update

but hey I actually started planning the next book for this series, I didn't even think of using seokhan but now I have a full blown plot ready to be developed/written! I'm actually really excited😭