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Renjun pulled a jacket over his shoulders before shoving his keys and his phone into the deep pockets. He had twenty minutes to get to college where he knew a rough day was awaiting, and he was still none the wiser as to how to speak with YangYang. That boy had been far too close to confessing the other day, and there were only so many escape routes one could edge through before the jig was up.

He sighed frantically before swiping his bag off the kitchen table and rushing out of his apartment, slamming the door behind him. It was merely a few quick-paced steps down the corridor before a loud clatter could be heard, and the shattering of ceramics or glass on a floor had the Chinese adult spinning around to view his neighbour's door directly beside his own. What was that? Chenle?

A silence came afterwards, and that couldn't have been a good thing. Usually some cleaning up followed, or at least a dramatic curse letting someone else know that it was merely a mistake...but no such normality could be detected. Renjun briefly weighed up the options to go to college or to check it out...and in the end, Chenle meant more to him than his degree.

He dropped his bag on the ground and hurried to the door, twisting it open since the boys never locked their apartments and dashing inside. The younger wasn't in the living area or kitchenette, which meant he'd have had to have been in his bedroom. Hopefully I'm not walking in on something, the blonde-ravenette swallowed thickly, moving slowly towards the ajar white door and pushing it gently to enter.

There on the floor by the dressing table was a plethora of china shards and some glass or crystal. Jewellery was dispersed across the tiles and perched before the mess was Chenle himself...curled him on himself whilst resting his chin on his knees. His bare feet peeked from under the lavender dress he wore, but he had no make-up nor a wig on. Just his fluffy purple hair and that similarly toned attire.

"Le?" Renjun mumbled quietly, slowly creeping forwards and suddenly feeling as though he had a tormented lion in front of him in need of care. Would he snap? Would he break? "Le, what happened?"

"I'm fine..."

"I didn't ask if you were fine. I asked what happened," the older hummed and leaned down to pick up a large chunk of what appeared to be porcelain...not cheap material, anyway. He then put it down again and crouched to be level with his neighbour. "Did you do this?"

No response.

"I'm not trying to interrogate, but I don't see an accident here. Was this on purpose?"

"Renjun, I'm not in the mood..."

"And that's perfectly fine." The shorter pursed his lips softly and decided to take this way slower than he started out. He sat down to the other's left and crossed his legs patiently. "But I want to know...was it a breakdown? Are you...okay?"

Instead of a snappy reply like Renjun and was predicting, the lilac-haired male dropped his head down to rest on the smaller's shoulder and started to play with the hem of his dress. "I'm okay...mostly. Just tired of all the shit, you know?"

"What kind of shit is getting you down?"

"The typical kind. This whole relationship wears you down every now and then, what with two actors in the mix...a popular host and a seriously troubled teenager. Not to mention tip-toeing around Hyuck so we don't stress him out. On top of that, I'm confused about my gender and emotions, and other people are equally as confused about it. My parents call once in a while to ask if I've 'fixed myself yet' instead of holding on to my boyish attributes. Some mornings it's simply easier to stay in bed instead of deciding what to wear and what mood I'm in, or dealing with an argument or bickering. Fuck, I don't want to go to work today, Renjun. I just want to sleep for three years."

"I wouldn't call any of that 'typical shit', but I understand your situation."

"It's typical here, anyway."

"Then take a day off. Take a week off, if needs be. We've both had it tough recently, so I'll join you." He looped his arm around the taller's shoulders and pulled him in closer, catching the scent of the perfume they'd bought together again. His cheeks heated up a little and suddenly the exposed shoulder he was gently caressing felt so small and warm. Sometimes it really did feel like he had a girl under his arm, and then other days he felt smaller than Chenle.

"Mhm, you smell nice," the younger hummed, tilting his head and resting it the crevice of Renjun's neck. "We're both wearing it, huh?"

"I always do. I'm running out at this stage."

"We'll have to get more then." Chenle sat up a little manoeuvred himself to sit on the older's lap, lacing his wrists around the back of his neck and kissing the boy's temple. "After all that's said and done, I still had the first date with you. And I'm one of the last to get to spend any real time with you."

"You can be more mature than the others at times," Renjun whispered as he felt those velvety lips trail from his temple to his cheek and slowly edging downwards towards his jaw and neck. "The others demand a lot of attention...but you're so patient."

"I have to be. I'm their princess, but sometimes it's better to observe the chaos. I take part in the fast majority of our craziness, but in the end...we'd be lost without each other. They need me to remind them not to overstep, and we need Nana to keep us lighthearted, and Hyuck and Ji to keep us aware and vigilant. We need Jeno for crowd control and normal etiquette at the best of times...and I suppose without Mark, we'd have been cut down too early. Society aren't all that aware of how we work, and he keeps us alive. We're pretty hopeless without each other and someday we'll tell you the story in chronological order of how we all met. How chaotic we were at the start, and how we've managed to roll with it now. You, however," he chuckled and ran his fingers through Renjun's hair, making the hairs on the back of the shorter's neck stand, "you're like a medium. Whenever you open your mouth, we all shut up to listen. Have you noticed?"

"I...haven't."

"It's a superpower, really. You're making this all much easier, and breakdowns aren't as common as they used to be. Life is fucking hard, and for some it's worse than others. But I don't think it's so bad anymore."

Renjun inhaled a deep breath and got lost in it all. The fingers in his hair, the perfume he loved to smell on his neighbour, the sight of him in this beautiful lavender dress with the thin straps sliding down his shoulders without meaning to. When they opened up to him like this, it almost felt like he was actually one of them. Like he was deserving of their stories.

"Perhaps..." the purple-haired boy whispered against his ear and brought the blonde-ravenette's hand up to press against his chest, "Now is a more appropriate time to finish our date, hm?"

"Le, the others are home—"

"And?"

Damn...he does have a point. A point I don't want to argue with...

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