Chapter Text
Kai lay in his bed, staring at the clock on his nightstand as the numbers ticked closer to midnight. "Tonight," he whispered to himself, hugging his stuffed penguin to his chest, "tonight is the night."
He heard a knock on his bedroom window and jumped out of bed, rushing over to let the alpha in. "You made it!" He said, smiling at Soobin as he climbed through the window, stomach fluttering as it did every time he saw the alpha.
He wasn't sure when he started to feel those butterflies with Soobin. Whether it was when they were ten and the quiet alpha tried to teach him how to cartwheel, or if it was when he held him all night after his mother passed away three years earlier. Or maybe it was sometime between those two moments. Either way, Kai was sure he had been in love with the alpha for a long time. And finally, he had worked up the courage to share his feelings.
"Welcome home." Soobin smiled at Kai, giving him a hug."
"Soobin Choi, punctual as always."
Soobin chuckled. "I haven't seen you all summer. I didn't want to waste another minute."
Kai bit his lip, wondering how he had managed to go a whole three months without talking to Soobin while he was on vacation. He knew he had to do it. "Soobin, I…" He trailed off as the words got stuck in his throats, his nerves coming at him full force. He quickly cleared his throat and tried to come up with something before an awkward silence could settle. "Have you been working out?" He playfully squeezed the alpha's bicep, but soon regretted it as the feeling of his muscles made Kai's stomach flutter even more.
"Like I have a choice." Soobin snorted. "Coach would kill me if I showed up to practice out of shape."
"Well, I don't think you're in any danger of that." Kai assured him.
"How was Wyoming?" Soobin then asked. "I'm impressed you lasted all summer in a tiny cabin without killing your sister." He was quiet for a second until his eyes widened in worry. "You didn't kill her, right?"
Kai giggled. "Believe me, there were some close calls." He sighed. "I had to take a lot of walks whenever I felt cabin fever setting in. And with no Wi-Fi and two bars of cell service on a good day…thank god for books."
"You're going to make me feel like a stereotypical dumb jock." Soobin playfully pushed Kai's shoulder. "I didn't crack a book open all summer."
"Soobin, you could never be a…" Soobin shifted on the bed, making Kai lose his train of thought as their hips and legs pressed against each other. Kai internally screamed at himself for not just being able to blurt out how in love with the alpha he was.
Thankfully, Soobin saved them from an awkward silence. "There were so many nights I tried to call you and couldn't get through."
Kai sighed again. "It killed me not talking to you or trying to talk and getting cut off every five seconds when my phone decided to drop the call."
"With you gone, it was like I was missing my own voice sometimes." Soobin's words made Kai's heart race even more. "Remember that summer where we kept finishing each other's sentences and your mom started calling me The Echo?" Kai giggled at the memory and nodded. "So much happened this summer. I feel like we could talk all week, and I'd only get to the greatest hits. And there's one thing I've been dying to tell you in particular." Kai perked up slightly at that, wondering what Soobin could possibly have to tell him. "But before anything else, I brought you a present."
"A present?" Kai asked as Soobin procured a small red box with a bow from his pocket.
Soobin nodded. "I found something from that day your parents let me come to the beach with you."
Kai quickly opened the box to find a brightly colored shell. He gently picked it up and ran his fingers over it as he was hit with a memory.
"It's okay if you want to run in the waves." Kai's mom assured the pups. "Just remember-"
"Never turn my back on the ocean." Kai finished for her, having the advice memorized from the number of times he'd heard it.
His mom ruffled his hair as she smiled at him. "Good puppy."
Soobin was bouncing with excitement next to them. "Can we see the tide pools first? I'm collecting cool shells."
Kai nodded eagerly. "I'll help you!"
"This way!" Soobin gestured for Kai to follow him as he ran off. "I think I see one already!" Waves crashed on the rocks as they reached the tide pools. "Be careful, NingNing, the tide's coming in."
"What, are you scared of some water?" Kai teased him.
Soobin's eyes widened and he shook his head, becoming desperate to prove himself as an alpha as many pups that age did. "No! I wouldn't care if I were by myself, but with you here-"
Kai cut him off with a scream as a giant wave loomed over them. Soobin rushed over to him and pulled him into a hug, turning so that he would take the worst of the wave as it crashed over them. "You just saved my life, Binnie!" Kai stared up at the alpha in awe once the wave had retreated. "I owe you."
"You could never owe me." Soobin insisted, shaking water out of his hair. "You're my-check it out!" Soobin pulled Kai over to the closest tide pool where they could see something glimmering in the sand. He dipped his hand in and pulled out a vibrantly colored shell, holding it out for Kai to see.
"It's the prettiest thing I've ever seen!" Kai gasped, reaching out to touch and accidentally brushing Soobin's hand.
Kai quickly pulled back, a little embarrassed. Soobin seemed flustered too, as he stammered over his words before holding the shell out to him. "You should take it. It's all yours."
"No." Kai shook his head. "I can't. I don't even collect them! Besides, you found it."
"Only because you brought me here." Soobin then smiled. "We can share it. Weekends at my house, weekdays at yours."
"Deal!" Kai agreed with a giggle, then the two pups ran back down the beach to Kai's mother.
"Oh, how beautiful." She gushed as she crouched before the two pups. "Do you mind if I listen?" She held the shell up to her ear with a smile. "It reminds me of something my grandfather asked me when I was little. How can a shell contain an ocean when an ocean contains so many shells?"
Kai giggled. "It just sounds like an ocean, Mommy."
His mother laughed. "When did you get so practical?"
"I always have been." Kai insisted, putting his hands on his hips.
"What do you think the answer is?" Soobin asked her.
Kai's mother smiled. "To me, it means everything in life is a contradiction. The shell is tiny, but also infinite." Something flickered in her eyes as she glanced down at the pups. "Just like you, huh? Tiny and infinite? And getting bigger every day." She sighed as she continued to smile down at them. "I can't wait to see what the future holds for the two of you."
A single tear drop fell on the shell as Kai sniffled. "Are you okay?" Soobin asked quietly, rubbing his hand along Kai's back comfortingly.
"When I hold it…" Kai wiped away another tear as it slipped out. "It's like she's staring forward at me from the past."
"I'm sorry." Soobin whispered. "Maybe I shouldn't have brought it."
Kai shook his head and turned to wraps his arms around Soobin in a tight hug. "No, it's amazing. It's perfect. Thank you." He was forced to pull away from the alpha by the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Your dad!" Soobin whispered, jumping off the bed. Kai jumped up too as Soobin ran for the window, stumbling into the alpha and sending them both to the floor, Soobin on top of Kai. "Sorry." Soobin scrambled up, helping Kai onto his feet.
"Hurry, before he sees you!" Kai hissed, shoving Soobin to the open window. The alpha swiftly climbed out and onto the tree outside as Kai remembered what Soobin had said before giving him the shell. "Wait, what did you want to tell me?"
"Don't worry." Soobin waved off his question. "It's silly anyway."
Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "But-"
"Kai?" His father called from the hallway. "Are you still awake?"
"Shit." Kai cursed under his breath before faking a snore.
Unfortunately, his father didn't fall for it. "Congratulations, that was the worst fake snore ever. Get to bed."
As his father's footsteps faded down the hall, Kai turned back to the window and looked down at Soobin. "Just tell me!" He whisper yelled into the night air.
"Okay, I, uh…" Soobin nervously played with his fingers as he cleared his throat. "I kind of have a boyfriend." Kai felt his heart sink as Soobin smiled up at him. "I swear I will tell you all the gory details later!"
Kai was left staring out his bedroom window in shock and hurt, only being brought back to reality by his dad's voice again. "Kai? Everything okay in there?"
"Yeah, everything's fine!" He called back weekly. "I’m just…murdered."
"What?"
Kai sighed. "I said everything's fine!" He said louder, moving to his bed as he tried to hold back tears. "Boyfriend?" Kai whispered to himself as he hugged his penguin. "Who?"