Frost

the more things change (the more they stay the same)

"Don't think we're letting you off the hook this easy." Taehyun picked at his food, glaring at Yeonjun while trying to pretend he wasn't at his favorite restaurant.

"You left with no explanation." Beomgyu was more serious, more hurt. His food was untouched, his hands folded in his lap.

They sat across from him in the small booth, glaring at him like kicked puppies. Yeonjun was absolutely crushed under their rightful guilt-tripping.

"I'm sorry." He said, meaning it from the bottom of his heart.

"That's it?" Taehyun asked, unimpressed.

"What do you want me to say then? That I was selfish? An ass? Inconsiderate? Don't deserve so much as touch the ground you walk on? Because I don't."

"Yes." Slightly mollified, Taehyun took a bite of chicken. "To be fair, you warned us that you'll leave eventually."

Yeonjun sighed. "I skipped town with no warning."

"You did worse. You skipped town without us."

"I'm sorry."

"You damn well should be." Taehyun gestured at Beomgyu. "He and Kai cried rivers."

"And you didn't?" Beomgyu nudged him, annoyed. "You once drunk-hugged a stranger because he had pink hair."

"I did not."

"I have video footage."

"No you don't!"

Watching them argue, Yeonjun felt the tension in his body slowly draining, loosening. He had been afraid of losing them after this. Of not being accepted back.

Of getting what he deserved.

As he was thinking this, Beomgyu suddenly turned back to him. "Hyung."

"Mn?"

"You're back for good now, right?"

"Mhm."

"Just so you know – your location stays on. If there's something going on, you're talking to us first." Beomgyu wasn't often described as threatening – but in this moment... Yeonjun never wanted to ever see his friend's bad side.

"I know."

Softer, Beomgyu reached across the table to take his hand. "We were so worried."

"I know."

Their first trip together was somewhat odd. It was different, the atmosphere was different.

For once, Taehyun was driving, and Soobin still called shotgun, wincing every time they flew over a speed bump, and holding onto his seat belt for dear life.

Beomgyu was on his phone, reading reviews for a psychic he had found at the fair they were going to, and every once in a while, his eyebrows would bunch together and he would start typing furiously, as if he were engaged in a deathly battle over text.

Kai sat next to him, head against Yeonjun's shoulder as he scrolled through baking recipes, stopping to save a few more interesting ones.

Music played in the car, and sometimes Taehyun would burst into song, and Soobin would worry more, and Beomgyu would look up to shake his head, before nudging Kai to show him yet another crazy review on the 'mysterious' psychic.