Jeon Wonwoo and Kim Mingyu were best friends, and had been ever since they met in their neighbourhood playground at ages 6 and 5 respectively. They had gotten into a scrap when Mingyu had pushed Wonwoo down the tube slide before he was ready, the older subsequently punching him in the nose. There had been blood and chaos and Wonwoo thought he might have killed the younger boy. In his relief to find out he hadn't, he had trapped Mingyu in a bone crushing hug and they swore to be brothers ever since.

When Mingyu learned that Wonwoo's mother had died when he was a baby he was distraught. He couldn't imagine someone not having a mum; his own tucked him in bed at night and made him waffles for breakfast. When Wonwoo had finally managed to calm him down Mingyu offered to share his own mother with the older boy. Wonwoo's little heart doubled in size that day.

Their friendship had survived a lot. They shared their good times and bad, like Kim Mingyu's fear of losing his best friend to his new boyfriend and the weirdness between them when said boyfriend dumped Wonwoo by accusing him of sleeping with Mingyu behind his back; or Jeon Wonwoo's fear of losing Mingyu to his new girlfriend, and the talk they had to have after she dumped him in similar circumstances about how they'd have to be less friendly with each other if they wanted to make it work with anyone else. Their resolve didn't last long of course, and they were back to being inseparable within a week.

There was that one time they decided to make a go of it with each other. Being together didn't really differ that much from being bros, except for the kissing - which was totally not awkward at all - and the snuggling in bed. It all ended, however, when they decided to take the next step; neither of them felt comfortable touching up on their totally best friend, and they ended up in a pile of giggles. They quickly decided to conveniently forget this part of their history.

They had survived the distance and gap in personalities and responsibilities when Wonwoo went off to university to study music while Mingyu finished his last year of high school. Wonwoo met new friends, most notably one Lee Jihoon and his teddy bear of a boyfriend Choi Seungcheol, both students of the same faculty. For that one year their friendship had gone from physical to over the phone, yet when Mingyu enrolled for his first year at the same university they went back to normal like they'd never even been apart.

Mingyu studied photography, and quickly made friends with Lee Seokmin, and his performance arts boyfriend Kwon Soonyoung, both of whom appeared to be rays of sunshine disguised as humans. It turned out that Mingyu and Wonwoo's friends knew each other from previous collaborations and so the six of them soon formed a tight bond.

University life for the pair passed by in a haze of deadlines, post exam parties, and subsequent casual relationships. Mingyu and Seokmin entered their final year while the others had already graduated and moved to working life. Wonwoo had suggested renting a flat with Mingyu, who was working part time anyway, after he found a suitably cheap one halfway between the campus and his job. Naturally Mingyu followed and everything continued much in the same way as it always had; the pair and now their friends just slotting together like puzzle pieces.

It was the friends' now annual Christmas party and everyone was gathered at Seungcheol and Jihoon's house; the pair had become quite the little celebrity couple inside the music scene having won several competitions, gaining regular collaborations, and selling their music to big names first hand. The house was decorated in Jihoon's stylish and reserved taste - a nice change from the tacky affair of last year when Seungcheol had been left to do it alone - the only garish thing in the house being the frankly ridiculous amount of mistletoe hanging off every ceiling and doorway; clearly Seungcheol's doing, and only for the pleasure of the existing couples. Wonwoo and Mingyu skilfully managed to avoid all but one of them; to be fair, who expects mistletoe to be hanging off a tree branch in the garden?

><><>< 

Really, it shouldn't have been a big deal; they were close, they had kissed before, and they trusted each other. All the same it was awkward with four other people making disgusting comments and catcalls, and Wonwoo grabbing Mingyu, bending him into a kiss Hollywood style. It should've been fine, really, yet somehow Mingyu's mind exploded.

Suddenly, in that really inconvenient moment, he realised with absolute clarity that he loved Wonwoo; he was head over heels, madly, truly in utter blinding love with his best friend in the whole world. He passed out soon after.

The days following only served to affirm the realisation - instead of making it a drunken mistake like Mingyu had hoped - and what's more is he came to understand how long these feelings had been growing inside him. Living with Wonwoo suddenly became incredibly awkward for the younger man and apparently that didn't escape Wonwoo's attention as he brought Mingyu breakfast in bed on the morning of New Year's Eve and insisted they needed to talk.

"So..." Wonwoo sighed as he sat opposite Mingyu on the bed. "Tell me what's wrong then, gentle giant. You've been acting weird all week."

Mingyu cringed inwardly; Wonwoo was using the affectionate nickname, which meant he wanted answers and there was no wriggling his way out of this. "Have I?" He tried, unconvincingly.

Wonwoo merely stared into Mingyu's eyes with an expression that Mingyu had come to know as "bull me again, I dare you."

"I'm just really stressed about my final project." Well, he wasn't completely lying, the final project was hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles "Sorry if I've been weird; I don't really know what I'm doing these past few days."

 His half lie seemed to work as Wonwoo visibly relaxed and grabbed a spoonful of rice from Mingyu's bowl. Instead of eating it himself he shoved it in Mingyu's mouth with a grin.

"Oh thank God. I thought I had done something stupid to make you angry again. I honestly had no idea what I had done." He chuckled. "So explain the final project again; maybe you could bounce ideas off me." He offered with a smile.

The problem was that now that smile that had served to merely relax him all these years was suddenly heating up Mingyu's core and quickening his heartbeat; his thoughts just evaporating into thin air. So he just stuffed food into his mouth and shrugged.

"Alright, I get the hint." Wonwoo said with mock disappointment, and winked. "I'll get out of your flawless hair. Just... are we still on for tonight?"

"Of course." Mingyu answered, perhaps too quickly "I'll be ready at eight."

"Alright." Wonwoo said from the doorway. "I'll be out for the day so I'll see you tonight. Eat your breakfast."

With that Wonwoo was gone and Mingyu was free to slap his own face multiple times.

><><>< 

Meanwhile, Wonwoo was having a panic attack outside. Sure, he had loved Mingyu since they had first become friends and had quickly realised when his feelings turned romantic during their little teenage experiment. Sure, he had freaked out at first but quickly realised that he could never do anything to jeopardize the friendship that was his whole world. And yeah, sure, he couldn't keep a boyfriend to save his life, but he was prepared to live going through meaningless relationships if it meant he could stay by Mingyu and see him be happy; it was something he felt natural to decide upon. Mingyu meant everything to him and so it was never in question that he would lose him.

Wonwoo had learned to manage his feelings perfectly; it was greatly eased by the fact that Mingyu was helplessly oblivious to everything important. So when he kissed Mingyu at the Christmas party it should've been fine, it should've been safe; instead he felt Mingyu tense up in his arms, with a bewildered look on his face, and he knew he had ed up. Thankfully, Mingyu had passed out not half an hour after, and Wonwoo could unload to his circle of friends who all smiled affectionately, told him he was an idiot, and that it would all be fine.

His panic had not receded, however, as Mingyu kept avoiding him at home and flittering about nervously always just out of Wonwoo's reach. He didn't buy any of what Mingyu was saying during breakfast and now he was standing outside with no idea where to go and about to start hyperventilating. Mercifully, his phone decided to ring at that moment.

"Dude, what time will you be at the JiCheol's tonight?" Soonyoung's overly chipper voice inquired on the other end.

"Uh... We were gonna leave here at eight." Wonwoo managed to croak out, realizing he only had on a jumper and no coat in the freezing wind.

"Sure." Soonyoung said, and paused for a second before continuing. "Hey, are you alright? You sound weird."

Wonwoo sighed and his teeth chattered. "No. I don't think things will be alright between Mingyu and I."

He could hear Soonyoung already on the move "Where are you? I'll come get you."

><><>< 

It was three in the afternoon when Mingyu couldn't take the silence in the flat and decided to call Jihoon.

"Hello?" Came a somewhat muffled reply. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry, hyung. Am I bothering you?" Mingyu let out a dejected sigh. "I can call back later."

"No, you've interrupted me now anyway. What is it?"

Mingyu twiddled his thumbs for far too long while he fought with himself; he could practically hear Jihoon roll his eyes at him.

"Well? Spit it out."

"I think I'm in love with Wonwoo." He blurted out to his own dismay.

There was faint giggle and muffled words on the other end of the line before Jihoon's voice returned "What do you mean "you think" you're in love? You either are or you aren't."

"Fine." he pouted "I'm in love with Wonwoo."

"Yes, we know. What about it?"

Mingyu was about to continue before he realised what Jihoon said. "Wait. What do you mean you know?" He started panicking."Does Wonwoo know?"

"Of course he doesn't, he's an idiot. I know because I'm not an idiot, and Seungcheol knows because I told him." Mingyu could hear a faint "hey, I'm offended by that" uttered by Seungcheol in the background.

"Um. Okay. Wow. How can you know when I didn't until a few days ago?"

"Because you're also an idiot, my friend. You've been in love with Wonwoo for as long as I've known you. Most likely longer. You were just too stupid to notice." He could hear Jihoon's smile through his words "So, what finally brought on the realization?"

"The kiss at the Christmas party." Mingyu could feel the embarrassment creep up his face.

"I knew that mistletoe would do its' work!" Jihoon exclaimed in triumph and laughed.

"Wait. You hung them up to set me up?" Mingyu was starting to wonder whether he had fallen back asleep on his bed this morning and this was just a really bizarre dream.

"Yes." That was it, no further explanation escaped Jihoon's mouth.

"That's it?"

"Yeah, that's it." Jihoon smirked.

"What am I supposed to do with that information? I've just told you I'm in love with my best friend who, by the way, doesn't seem to see me as a romantic prospect, and you're just sitting there all calm and snarky and . Help me, damn it!"

Jihoon let out sigh "What do Osmium and Kim Mingyu have in common?"

"Damn it, hyung. This is no time for your weirdness!"

"Just answer the question."

Mingyu groaned. "What do they have in common?"

"They're both dense." Jihoon burst out into obnoxious giggles and Mingyu had to fight the urge to jump through the phone and stab him.

"Gee, thanks."

"Just tell Wonwoo how you feel. You know you have to eventually, and the sooner you do the better you'll feel."

Mingyu knew Jihoon was right, but the risk of losing Wonwoo was playing on his mind. What if he ruined the friendship they had? Would they ever recover if Wonwoo felt Mingyu had crossed a line? His gut told him Wonwoo would never stop being there for him, but his brain was countering and he was a mess.

Finally he spoke "I guess. Thanks hyung. See you tonight?"

"Yeah, and good luck. Now hang up so I can go back to off my boyfriend."

It took Mingyu four seconds before the last bit of information sunk in and he screamed, hurling his phone at the wall and trying bleach the image from his mind.

><><>< 

The car ride back to Soonyoung's had been quiet, Wonwoo just playing with his sweater paws and looking several shades of devastated. Now he was sitting on the couch, wedged between Seokmin and Soonyoung, with a cup of coffee in his hands.

"So what happened?" Seokmin asked carefully "Did you fight?"

"What?" Wonwoo's head snapped up. "No! We've only ever fought once, when I was 11, and we both ended up with broken noses."

Soonyoung sighed. "Then what is it? Why are you so down?"

Wonwoo took a deep breath and looked between his two friends. "I think Mingyu knows I have feelings for him."

"How would he know? Did he say something to you?"

"Well, no. I don't know. I know you said that kiss thing was all in my head but Mingyu's been acting really weird the last few days. He won't come near me. I tried to get him to talk this morning but he lied to my face. I didn't think he'd ever do that."

It was the lie that really hurt; Mingyu had never intentionally deceived him. Was Mingyu slowly trying to put distance between them? Was he disgusted by Wonwoo? The thought alone nearly killed him. Wonwoo hadn't noticed he was holding his mug in a death grip until Soonyoung gently took it away from him.

"Hey, calm down." Soonyoung smiled at him "I promise it'll be fine. We just need to work through this. Now, how do you know he was lying and not just really stressed?"

Wonwoo rolled his eyes. "Because I've known him since he was five. We've practically lived together since. He offered me his mum. We've been best friends, boyfriends, brothers. Of course I know when he's lying to me!"

Seokmin held up his hands "Alright, alright. We believe you."

"So what do you want to do?" Soonyoung asked.

"What if he thinks I'm disgusting? I can't come out and tell him. What if he won't want anything to do with me?"

"Okay, now you're being hysterical. I promise you there is not a snowflake's chance in hell that he would ever want to cut ties with you. You said as much yourself, you're inseparable."

"Yeah, but..."

"Look, you both tried this being together thing in high school right? If he was okay with that there is no way he wouldn't be okay with this."

"But this is different. This would be me actually telling him I love him. That I'm in love with him. That I've been in love with him forever." Wonwoo sighed "He'd feel deceived. I know it."

Seokmin just side hugged him "Hey, from what I've noticed I don't think that is how he'd react at all."

Wonwoo looked at him in confusion "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying you should trust me and tell him. I promise. I promise it will not end up like you fear."

"Easy for you to say, you two are happy together. I've been trying not to pine over my best friend for years."

Seokmin and Soonyoung sighed in unison. "Look." Soonyoung finally said. "Be honest with yourself. Are you ever going to stop loving him at this point?"

"Honestly? No." It was never in question and Wonwoo knew it.

"Then you need to air this out properly. If you keep being awkward with each other you're going to grow apart. At least by telling him and talking about it you'll have a chance to sort things out."

Wonwoo buried his face in his hands and tried very hard not to break down; he felt Seokmin squeeze his shoulder in sympathy.

"Yeah. I know you're right. I just...I'm scared."

"We know, but we're all here for you."

><><>< 

It was seven in the evening and Mingyu only had an hour to get ready before he had to face Wonwoo again. He was slowly going insane, switching between wanting to tell Wonwoo as soon as the other came through the door and wanting to bury his feelings and try to go back to normal. When he heard keys in the front door and the familiar sound of Wonwoo's feet in the apartment he made his decision; he would tell Wonwoo tonight, after they got back from the celebrations. He was terrified beyond belief but decided to tamp that feeling down as he got ready.

At five minutes to eight there was a soft knock on his door making Mingyu jump; he took a deep breath, grabbed his camera, aimed it, and opened his door.

"Say cheese!" he shouted and took the photo before Wonwoo could react.

It was only after he lowered his camera back down that he noticed how Wonwoo looked, and his smile faltered a little. He swallowed nervously. Wonwoo's eyes were lined and smoky and he was wearing all black; a skin hugging shirt with pressed trousers, a classy black leather belt holding them up; on his feet were shiny leather brogues. Mingyu fell in love just a little more.

"Christ, don't do that!" Wonwoo complained with a pout. "I almost had a heart attack."

Now you know how I feel, Mingyu thought. "Sorry, but you should know by now I love taking photos of people when they don't expect it."

"Anyway, I'm having a hair crisis. Help me?"

Wonwoo held his tub of hair gel for Mingyu, who took it, and stepped in to sit down on Mingyu's bed.

"How do you want it?" Mingyu blushed at his own unintended innuendo and mentally slapped himself.

Wonwoo coughed. "Oh.. um... Just whatever you think will look good."

Mingyu set to work, enjoying the feel of his friends hair, fighting his urge to yank it slightly so he could crash their lips together. Wonwoo smelled amazing and all Mingyu wanted to do was to bury his face in the crook of the other's neck. He shocked himself with how much he wanted Wonwoo in this moment; clearly making a decision about his feelings made him more determined to succeed. He was breathing unsteadily and he knew Wonwoo had noticed as the older kept playing with his hands nervously.

"Looks good. What do you think?" He handed Wonwoo a mirror who glanced at it all too briefly.

"Brilliant. You ready to go?" Wonwoo stood up abruptly and made his way to the front door.

Mingyu heart sank as a piece of his confidence chipped away. Wonwoo was acting cold and all of Mingyu's previous fears came back as he made his way to his friend and they headed out.

><><>< 

Wonwoo's hands were shaking as he dressed himself for the night. He had a plan to look so good Mingyu would never refuse him once he confessed after midnight, but honestly he was so nervous he had to give himself smoky eyes because he kept messing up his eyeliner. Finally he looked at himself in the mirror and smiled slightly, he looked y and, hopefully, irresistible. He grabbed his hair gel and made his way to Mingyu's room. His plan to seduce Mingyu would start now.

Hesitantly, he knocked on the door and was greeted with the flash of a camera when it opened. He reminded himself to delete the picture if he ever got his hands on the device; unlikely, since Mingyu guarded it with his life.

While Mingyu was busy doing his hair - which felt amazing - he was having a good look at his friend. Mingyu not only smelled sinfully good, he looked it as well; on his feet were loosely laced biker boots, white ripped skinny jeans hugged his hips and  a loose black jumper hung off one sculpted shoulder. His brown hair was styled up away from his forehead in a y bead head look, revealing every glorious inch of skin on his face.

A sudden wave of anxiety hit Wonwoo; he was acutely aware of Mingyu's unsteady breathing and interpreted it as discomfort. His nervous habit of fiddling with his fingers made itself known again and he was ready to faint by the time Mingyu finished with his hair and showed him the mirror.

He knew he was overly abrupt but he had to put distance between them. He couldn't do this. He just couldn't confess. Mingyu would hate him and he would lose his best friend in the whole world. He would lose the man he loved as much as he loved his own life. So instead he kept his eyes ahead of him, making minimal small talk and set about trying to ignore Mingyu for the rest of the night.

><><>< 

They arrived at Jihoon and Seungcheol's house after thirty excruciating minutes.  Mingyu was about to knock when the door slammed open and a somewhat tipsy looking couple greeted them with wolf whistles.

"You guys went all out tonight!" Jihoon grinned and grabbed them both in a hug.

"Right? Too bad we didn't think to invite any suitable singles to the mix. Your looks are going to waste." Seungcheol winked and sauntered back inside.

Wonwoo detached himself from the group hug and went with Seungcheol, while Mingyu stayed with Jihoon and hugged him a little tighter.

"I don't think this is going to work." He whispered in Jihoon's ear.

The older man squeezed him once more and let go, smiling gently. "Don't be silly. Of course it will. Look at yourself, you're irresistible." The gentle groping of his backside did not go unnoticed by Mingyu.

"You're already drunk, aren't you, hyung? You get handsy when you're drunk."

"Eh, maybe a little. But I'm a truthful drunk. So trust me, it'll be fine."

Mingyu let himself be glued to Jihoon for a few moments longer, drawing courage from the smaller man; thankfully his friend was also an affectionate drunk.

><><>< 

Wonwoo was moping; he hated himself more by the minute. He had successfully managed to avoid Mingyu all night and the more he did the more miserable he became. Was this really how he was going to end this? Why was he being so stupid? He couldn't stop fighting with himself. Outwardly he looked like any other partygoer, happy to get rid of the past year and welcome in the new with drinks, friends, and kisses. Now it was close to midnight and he was hiding on the patio behind a huge potted plant, tearing at his hair and trying not to cry.

Suddenly the flash of a camera went off in his face and he was momentarily blind. When he recovered he found Mingyu's face inches away from his own, studying him in a half amused manner.

"What's got you so wound up tonight?" Mingyu enquired.

"Nothing." He snapped, and immediately regretted it when Mingyu flinched. "Sorry. I'll be alright in a minute."

"Don't want to talk about it?"

"Not really, no." That was a lie. He wanted to throw himself at Mingyu and promise him the world, but he was just a coward.

"Okay." Mingyu shrugged and stayed there in silence, staring at starless sky.

Wonwoo couldn't love him more in that moment if he tried; his friend was always ready to accommodate him, to follow him without a word. His heart swelled up painfully as he looked at Mingyu's ridiculously beautiful face. How was he even real? He was intimidatingly attractive, yet possessing the most tender heart imaginable.

"Hey, wanna go in?" Mingyu said as he turned his attention back to Wonwoo. "It's almost time to welcome the New Year."

"Nah, I'd like to stay out here for a while. You go. Find someone to kiss."

Mingyu smiled at him sadly but did as he was told,  as always. Wonwoo let his tears fall once he was sure Mingyu was back inside. He heard the countdown, the revellers' cheers, and he let himself sink deeper into his broken heart.

Then all of a sudden there was a pair of hands on his cheeks and a pair of lips on his forehead, before he was pulled into a tight hug.

><><>< 

Mingyu felt his heart break at Wonwoo's words; every step he took away from the other was more painful than the previous. He heard the party goers start the countdown and looked at the scene in front of him. He didn't want to be there, he wanted to be out here with Wonwoo. Every fibre of his being was screaming at him  and he turned back, taking long strides until he reached Wonwoo just at midnight. He could see the older man's tears and could no longer control himself; he took Wonwoo's face in his hands and kissed his forehead tenderly.

He hugged Wonwoo tightly as he whispered. "Whatever it is, don't cry. I'm here, I'll always be here."

Wonwoo's hands came up slowly to Mingyu's back and the taller felt his whole body sing at the touch.

"You might not. You might leave me."

Mingyu only squeezed harder "I would never leave you, I'd follow you anywhere; I always have, you know."

They stayed quiet for a while, listening to the distant fireworks and the dying cheers of the party inside the house. With every breath Mingyu was getting more and more lost in Wonwoo, surrounded as he was by the man, and he let go of himself. He turned his head and placed a deep kiss  to the skin below Wonwoo's ear. He heard the other gasp before he was pushed away slightly.

"Why did you do that?"

Wonwoo's eyes were challenging him and he stared back with just as much intensity; he would not lose now, he would not back down. He breathed in heavily, once, letting it shudder as it came back out.

"Because I love you."

Wonwoo's eyes were full of conflicted emotions as he whispered "I love you too, you know that. But why did you kiss me like that?"

"You don't get it." Mingyu groaned and ran a frustrated hand through his hair "I love love you."

Wonwoo was looking at him blankly "What? What are you...? I don't..."

"Oh for god's sake, you sloth! I love you! I'm in love with you!"

It was only silent for a few seconds but it was enough to make Mingyu regret everything.

"Oh." Wonwoo said.

He was about to turn away so Wonwoo wouldn't have to see his tears when he was pushed against the wall of the house and thoroughly kissed. Every nerve in his body exploded as Wonwoo's lips and tongue moved against his; his hands came to hold on for dear life, afraid it would all end suddenly.

Wonwoo pulled away slightly to whisper. "Say it again, Mingyu, please."

Mingyu let his tears fall freely down his face. "I'm in love with you. I always have been, but I didn't know it until you kissed me at the Christmas party."

Wonwoo smiled against Mingyu's cheek. "I'm in love with you, my gentle giant. I always have been, but I thought...These past few days you've been ignoring me and I thought it was because you knew. I thought you knew when I kissed you  and that you didn't love me back. I was sure you'd leave me."

"I'll say it again. I would never leave you."

><><>< 

They gripped each other tighter and brought their lips together again and again, their kisses slow and passionate and filled with years of love and desire. Nothing existed except the two of them. Well, nothing except their best friends who decided to interrupt the moment by piling out with drunk cheers and wolf whistles.

"ing FINALLY!" Jihoon screamed and fell down in giggles.

Seungcheol was struggling with his own drunkenness as he tried to help his boyfriend up. "Took you two long enough." He slurred.

Seokmin and Soonyoung were clinging to each other, cheeks pressed together as they cooed at the new couple.

"See we told you. Didn't we tell them, Seokmin?" Soonyoung hiccupped.

"We sure did. This was all our doing. We did well. We deserve cake." Seokmin was rambling and trying to lead them back inside.

Wonwoo and Mingyu groaned in unison, ready to whoop , but then looked at  each other and smiled; there was too much catching up to do. Silently agreeing, they decided to ignore their friends and walk straight past them to make their way home.

That night neither of them was hesitant about exploring the valleys and plains of the other's body as they whispered affirmations of love long into the morning.