area 7

four.

I finally planned this story mostly out... there will be a LOT of fantasy and sci-fi later 💕

While they had only intended to get cleaning supplies, Yugyeom realized that Bambam had no clothes of his own, so he and Bambam went to the shoe store first.

"Pick some out, but don't get anything expensive okay?"

Bambam hadn't even been listening though, and he'd already blasted off to some random section.

Yugyeom felt worry bubble in his chest at the thought that Bambam might actually try to get something expensive and not be able to afford it. That would be really embarrassing, but he would also feel really bad...

"What about these, Yugyeom?" He heard Bambam call. He placed over to where he heard his voice and blinked in confusion at the shoes Bambam was holding.

"Those boots have heels on them though." He pointed out. "That isn't very... I dunno, masculine?"

"What defines you humans' term 'masculine' and why must I be it?" He sat the shoes down on the seat beside him.

"Well, you..." Yugyeom paused to think. Masculine... as he pondered the word, he realized the fault in his stereotypical thinking. "You know, you actually have a point. It doesn't really matter, I'm sorry I said that.. How much are they?"

Bambam glanced at the section where they were stacked and roamed his eyes around for a price tag. "They are 27-point-98."

"That's ridiculously cheap," Yugyeom commented, "If you want them then let's go buy them and we can go get a few more outfits for you."

Bambam thanked him and they left to go clothes shopping.

"So... see anything you like?"

Bambam pulled a pair of ripped soft blue jeans with black fishnet in the rips. "I think I like this."

Yugyeom felt his face heat up at the thought of Bambam in such revealing pants. The skin on his arms was so tan and soft looking, so when he thought about his legs...

"Oh, and this!" Bambam snapped Yugyeom out of thoughts he knew he would regret as he blasted past Yugyeom and away from the pants to grab a shirt. It was a fluffy looking black sweater.

"Why don't you go try it on?" He offered. Yugyeom gestured to the changing room in the corner but Bambam had set the clothes down and was taking his shirt off in the middle of the aisle.

"No!" He shouted loudly. A few people looked over at them in interest and Yugyeom felt his heart rate speed up at all the unexpected attention. "Sorry, don't... don't change right there like that." Bambam pulled his shirt down and furrowed his brows.

"Then what should I do?"

"Look over there. There's a changing room. Go enter a room that nobody is in and see if they fit."

So Bambam went, and Yugyeom waited patiently on a bench outside the door. When the male came out, the first thought that came to Yugyeom's mind was snacc snacc, but he forced himself to pull a Tumblr and push the dirty thoughts away.

"Is it okay? I don't know about human fashion," Bambam fidgeted nervously outside the door. "but I think it looks nice."

"Yeah, it looks really good." Agreed Yugyeom. "You should definitely..." He couldn't believe himself as he was saying such things, "definitely buy it."

"Okay."

Yugyeom told Bambam to go change into the clothes he arrived in and then they checked out.

"I really appreciate your kindness, Yugyeom." Bambam said suddenly, amidst the silence of the walk through the parking lot.

The younger (though, he wasn't really sure about age) just shook his head. "Don't worry. I don't have much to spend this money on even though I work part-time all year. My brother pays all the bills, so I just have to care for myself and that isn't too bad."

"Not just for the clothes. Tell me, your people... don't really interact with aliens, do they? But I crashed into your backyard and made a big hole, made a mess out of your kitchen, you even had to brush my hair, which is apparently a menial task for humans, and them you bought me clothes. This kindness you've shown me is really shocking. Humans must be very generous creatures."

Yugyeom snorted at the last comment. "Generous creatures, huh? Well, like I said, don't worry about any of it. If I was an alien that crashed on to another planet, I would really want someone hospitable to help me out too."

Bambam gave him a big smile and Yugyeom couldn't help but note that he had a small mouth but large, full lips. "That doesn't change anything for me."

Yugyeom just looked away with his pulse speeding up. No, no, he couldn't do this. Was there a disease for people who caught feelings overnight?"

Bambam climbed into the passenger seat and Yugyeom say down in the drivers and pulled off into the road to head home.

Yugyeom glanced briefly over to Bambam, who had his bags in his lap and his head leaning against the window. He looked so calm that Yugyeom began to feel a smile creeping up into his cheeks.

"So that spaceship of yours... you don't need any parts, do you? I have some leftover money if you do." Yugyeom offered, as nonchalantly as he could. Honestly speaking, he hadn't had a close friend to buy things for in a long time. After Youngjae had moved away, he'd really had nobody... and that had been 6 years ago.

"Are you sure? That it's no issue?" Bambam had a hopeful look in his eye that made Yugyeom feel a quick slash of fondness.

"Sure. What kind of things do you need?"

Bambam listed off some things that Yugyeom somehow recognized as he nodded along, changing his route to a nearby mechanic shop.

Yugyeom realized, pulling in to the parking lot, that Bambam would eventually be leaving. If he got too attached too quickly, there would be a lot of issues for him when he left.

"Hey, how long will it take you to fix up your... spaceship?"

"Uh," Bambam tilted his head sideways in an innocent looking gesture, and Yugyeom wasn't sure if he should sigh or squeal, "maybe a couple months.

Yugyeom felt his stomach drop. There was no way that he wouldn't get attached to Bambam in that time. Then what would he do when the other left?

Bambam climbed out quickly when the car came to a stop but Yugyeom found himself hesitating. The alien practically pranced to Yugyeom's window and tapped on it expectantly. As Yugyeom mouthed "I'm coming!" and unbuckled, he decided to just not worry about anything.

He hadn't had to say a goodbye in 6 years. Maybe it wasn't as difficult as he remembered.

Maybe, just maybe, saying goodbye wasn't really hard at all.