A/N: Inspired by Lovelyz's Sweet and Sour.

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Stop it, Sungyeol begged, please please stop it. It's just Sunggyu hyung, nothing to be nervous about. Yet his heart just wouldn't stop thumping away, feeling like it was going to jump out of his chest.

It's all Sunggyu hyung's fault, he thought grudgingly.

This wasn't completely true: after all, he had been the one to ask Sunggyu out first. The words had surprised him even as he uttered them, so utterly unplanned they had been; and his surprise had only increased when instead of laughing at him or being all weirded out, Sunggyu had accepted it just like that. Sungyeol couldn't think of a single reason why Sunggyu would want to go on a date with him.

Maybe he didn't know it was a date. All Sungyeol had asked him was if he wanted to hang out; Sunggyu had no way of knowing he meant it like that. Yeah, that must be it, Sungyeol told himself with a mixture of relief and disappointment. Sunggyu would never have accepted otherwise.

Where was he, anyway? Sungyeol looked around. Still no sign of Sunggyu. There were still a couple of minutes before their appointed meeting time, yet Sungyeol couldn't help the uneasy feeling creeping under his skin. He felt like he'd been waiting for hours.

What if Sunggyu just wasn't coming? Maybe he had figured out the reason why Sungyeol had asked him out and decided that he didn't really want to "hang out" after all. Sungyeol felt his stomach drop at the thought. How was he going to face Sunggyu on Monday?

But no, Sunggyu hyung wouldn't do that, Sungyeol tried to convince himself. He could be mean–quite mean, actually–but he wasn't inconsiderate. If he couldn't come, if he didn't want to come, he would definitely let Sungyeol know beforehand. He wouldn't just make him wait here like an idiot.

… Right?

By the time Sunggyu actually showed up a few minutes later, Sungyeol had worked himself into quite a state. No, Sunggyu wasn't going to come. Yes, he had been an idiot. He didn't know how he could possibly go on showing his face to the world. He should just dig himself an hole and curl up in there and never come out ag–

"Hey."

Sungyeol jumped when he felt Sunggyu's hand on his arm. He whirled around.

"H-Hyung… !"

"Uh, yeah, it's me." Sunggyu gave him a look. "Why do you look so surprised? We were supposed to meet here, weren't we?"

"I–I just–" Sungyeol fumbled. "Y-you're late!"

"Late? It's like, only 3 past 12–"

"Well, it's still 3 minutes late–"

Sunggyu rolled his eyes. "Anyway. Do you want to go grab something to eat? Since it's already lunch time and all."

"O-ok," Sungyeol blurted out, the strange lump in his throat making it difficult to utter even those few words. His heart was beating even more wildly in his chest now. What's wrong with you? He wanted to hit himself. How was he going to go through a whole date with Sunggyu if being around him turned him into such a–

"Yah–watch where you're going."

Sungyeol started as Sunggyu suddenly pulled him aside. He blinked. Without even realising it, he had almost walked into a girl who was going the other way as they crossed the road. He would have crashed right into her if Sunggyu hadn't yanked him out of the way just now.

Sunggyu's hand still lingered on his back, warm. Sungyeol blushed.

"Uh, sorry hyung."

He felt like an idiot. How did Sunggyu managed to be so damn calm, so cool all the time? He was but an awkward, nervous mess.

Sunggyu fidgeted as he and Sungyeol waited for their food, sunk in an uncomfortable silence. He'd been feeling like a nervous wreck ever since he'd spotted Sungyeol waiting for him, all tall and handsome. He'd even hesitated before approaching him, worried that he might give himself away.

Not that Sungyeol hadn't noticed anyway. Sunggyu glanced at him. What had happened to the bubbly, cheeky dongsaeng he knew? The younger almost hadn't spoken at all since they'd met up earlier. Sunggyu himself rarely ran out of words when he was around Sungyeol, teasing and nagging coming as easy to him as breathing, yet he couldn't think of even one witty or sensible thing to say right now.

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

Sungyeol looked at him. "Mh?"

"I mean, where do you want to go today?" Sunggyu asked. "Do you have anything in mind?"

Sungyeol seemed to think about it. He scratched his head. "Uh, no. Not really?"

"Not really?"

Sungyeol just shrugged.

"I can't believe this," Sunggyu huffed, annoyed but also secretly pleased that Sungyeol had finally given him something to nag about. There would be no more uncomfortable silence now. "You ask me out on a date, and you don't even bother to–"

Sunggyu froze as he realised what he had just said. Sungyeol was staring at him, eyes wide.

"D-date?"

Sungyeol's mind was all in a whirl. Had Sunggyu really said that? Or had he just heard it wrong? There was no way Sunggyu hyung would actually–then again, it really sounded as if he'd said–

"Is it?"

Sungyeol shook himself out of his daze to look at Sunggyu. "W-What?"

"This," Sunggyu gestured at the two of them. "Is it a date? Or isn't it?"

"Oh. Well–yes. I mean, yes it is. A date, that is–"

"Good."

Sungyeol froze. He wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him or something, but unfortunately (or fortunately, perhaps) a waitress showed up at that very moment, carrying their dishes.

"I don't mean to be rude," she said as she placed Sungyeol's dish in front of him, "but have we met before?"

"Uh?" Sungyeol glanced at her distractedly. He was still thinking about what Sunggyu had or hadn't said; he couldn't even focus enough to make out what the girl's face looked like. "I don't know. I don't think so. I have never been here before."

"Are you sure?" The girl peered down at him, brows knitted in concentration. "Yet it really feels like I've seen you before… Oh, I know! You remind me of someone!"

"Someone?" Sungyeol asked, suddenly interested. "Who?"

"That guy, what's his name again–"

The girl named a famous model, and Sungyeol laughed. "Woah–I'm flattered, but we look nothing alike, really–"

"You do though!" The girl insisted. She fished her phone out of her pocket. "Wait, let me show you–there's this picture where–"

"Are you kidding me?"

Sungyeol turned around to look at Sunggyu. He was gazing at the waitress with a strangely dark expression. "They look nothing alike. Like, nothing."

Sungyeol felt pricked by Sunggyu's words, even though he had only just said the very same thing. "Well, why not? Maybe in her opinion–"

"It's not a matter of opinion, Sungyeol. There's not even the slightest resemblance–"

"But that's what you think! You can't speak for somebody else–"

The waitress looked at Sunggyu, then back at Sungyeol. Something seemed to change in her expression.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise–I'll just–"

She scurried away. Sungyeol hardly noticed, too busy arguing with Sunggyu.

"I can't believe it, hyung! The one time someone compliments me–"

"What compliment?" Sunggyu scoffed. "Do you really think she was comparing you to that guy? It was clearly just an excuse."

"Yeah, right–because no one could ever think I look like a popular hot model, huh?"

"That's not it, you idiot! You're a lot more handsome than him–"

"You say that now, but–"

Wait, what?

Sunggyu squirmed under Sungyeol's gaze. "What?"

"… D-did you really mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"What you just said… that I'm m-more handsome than– "

"Uh, yeah."

"R-really?!"

Sunggyu nodded. "You–you're very attractive." He cleared his throat. "Let's just eat now."

Sungyeol looked down at his dish, flustered. He ate as if in a trance, not even paying attention to what the food tasted like. It was always like this when it came to Sunggyu, he thought–hot and cold, nice one moment, mean the next. An emotional roller coster. It was dizzying, yet Sungyeol didn't really mind. For some strange reason, he realised, he actually kind of liked it.

This is going all wrong, Sunggyu thought as he waited for Sungyeol. He'd handed the younger a 10,000 won note and sent him to buy some snacks to eat while they watched the movie, just an excuse to get away from him for a bit. He needed to take a breath of Sungyeol-less air.

It seemed like he couldn't help acting like an idiot around Sungyeol. He cringed as he thought back to the scene at the restaurant. He hadn't meant to act like a jealous boyfriend, although that's probably what he had come across as–no wonder the waitress had run away, with the way he had been glaring daggers at her. Truthfully, what had irked him the most wasn't the girl's flirting itself, but rather how utterly oblivious Sungyeol had been to it. Sungyeol just seemed to be so completely unaware of his own worth, and it drove Sunggyu crazy. For all of his gigantic ego and unwavering self-confidence, Sunggyu knew that Sungyeol could do a lot better than him; he could have anyone he wanted if he put his mind to it, yet here he was, on a disastrous date with Sunggyu.

A date. Sunggyu remembered the rush of excitement he had felt when Sungyeol confirmed that yes, this was indeed a date. He almost couldn't believe it. He'd felt the same way when Sungyeol asked him out a few days ago; he had had no idea that Sungyeol wanted to go out with him. Of course, Sunggyu himself very much wanted to. Why wouldn't he? Sungyeol was great, even though Sunggyu would be caught dead before he admitted out loud. He'd been actually playing with the idea of asking him out for a while, but he kept putting it off again and again, until Sungyeol had beaten him to it.

"Hyung, can you hold this?"

Sunggyu turned around.

And stared.

"What the–"

Sungyeol was holding a huge bowl of popcorn (the king size, by the look of it), two cans of coke, and a bag full of snacks. Sunggyu wondered how he was even carrying all of it by himself.

"Hyung, help me!" Sungyeol whined. "I'm going to drop the popcorn–"

"Are you out of your mind?" Sunggyu exclaimed as he hurriedly took hold of the popcorn bowl, edged precariously between Sungyeol's long arms. "I said to buy some snacks, not the whole shop!"

"I only wanted to buy popcorn, but then I saw the snacks and…"

Sunggyu shook his head. "How are you even going to eat all this by yourself?"

"I'm not. This is for you too, hyung."

"What? I'm not even hungry. We just ate."

"Then why did you ask me to go get snacks in the first place?" Sungyeol said, walking right past him into the screening room. "Come on, let's get the best seats while we can~"

Sunggyu followed him, looking suspiciously at the small smile playing on the younger's lips. Ever since they had left the restaurant, Sungyeol had mysteriously turned back into his usual hyper self. Sunggyu did like this brighter Sungyeol better, but now he was suddenly reminded of all the reasons why he found him annoying: he was reckless, loud, childish–and the list could have gone on forever. The more he thought about it, the more the idea of the two of them dating seemed ridiculous. He and Sungyeol? Really?

And yet, he only had steal a glance at Sungyeol's profile for his heart to start beating wildly in his chest. No matter what his mind said, it seemed like his heart just wouldn't listen.

"Don't choose a row too far from the screen," he admonished Sungyeol, just looking for an excuse to nag at him, really. "Not everyone is a giant, you know."

"Here's fine," Sungyeol said, plopping down on a seat that was almost at the back of the room.

Sunggyu made to protest–but then he just sat down with a sigh. He didn't care for the movie anyway: he had chosen it randomly, still reeling from what had happened at the restaurant. It wasn't worth getting into another pointless argument with Sungyeol.

When he turned to look at at him, Sungyeol was giving him a somewhat intent look. His face broke into a grin as he met Sunggyu's gaze.

"You look kind of cute like that, hyung."

Sunggyu choked. "W-what?"

"I mean, the popcorn bowl is bigger than you," Sungyeol chuckled. "You look like a child holding a huge teddy bear–"

"I told you, not everyone is a damn giant like you!" Sunggyu shoved the bowl into Sungyeol's arms. "Here, take your damn popcorn!"

"But–I'm already holding the cokes and the snacks, there's no way–"

"I don't care," Sunggyu barked. "You bought it all, you deal with it."

Sungyeol pouted. "Can't you at least take the bag of snacks?"

"No."

Nevermind his foolish heart, his mind was right. There was no way he and Sungyeol could ever work together.

Sungyeol squirmed in his seat. The movie had started for some time now, but he couldn't have cared less about it. It was a sappy romance, one of those Myungsoo would have liked. He wondered why Sunggyu had chosen it.

Sungyeol glanced at the man in question. He was staring straight ahead at the screen, still looking somewhat pissed. Sungyeol didn't understand why he had gotten so angry earlier. He really did think that Sunggyu looked cute holding the bowl of popcorn–cute in a slightly funny way perhaps, but still cute. He hadn't mean to tease Sunggyu or anything. Yet it seemed like no matter what they did, they were destined to misunderstand each other.

Maybe we really aren't suited at all, Sungyeol thought as his gaze wandered back to the screen. It was currently showing the main couple on a date, acting like lovebirds. Sungyeol couldn't help compare them to himself and Sunggyu. He almost snorted out loud. Nothing could have been more different: Sunggyu would never flirt with him like that, would never smile at him so warmly. By comparison, his and Sunggyu's date didn't even feel like a date at all; it eerily reminded Sungyeol of that one time Sunggyu had tried to tutor him in maths, almost ending up killing him in the process. The amount of nagging and bickering on Sunggyu's part was about the same.

But Sunggyu had actually complimented him, Sungyeol reminded himself. He had called him handsome. Sungyeol couldn't help grinning like an idiot at the memory. It still felt like a dream. Sunggyu thought that he, Sungyeol, was handsome. Handsome! And hadn't he said something about being glad this was an actual date? Sungyeol still wasn't sure he had heard it right, but if he had…

He felt his heart swell as the thought formed in his mind.

Maybe… maybe Sunggyu actually liked him?

On the screen, the couple were finally holding hands. Sungyeol automatically glanced at Sunggyu's, resting conveniently on the armrest between them. He bit his lip.

Should he… ?

Or maybe not–maybe he should just wait for Sunggyu to take the first step. If he had misunderstood him all along and Sunggyu really didn't think of him that way, he would just make a fool of himself.

Yet again, Sunggyu was just so slow at everything–if he waited for him, Sungyeol might very well end up having to wait forever…

He somehow found his hand edging slowly towards Sunggyu's. He fixed his eyes on the screen, gulping, his heart beating so loudly in his ears it drowned out everything else.

He got nearer and nearer, until his little finger brushed against Sunggyu's, and then…

Sunggyu moved his hand away.

Sungyeol froze. Here it was–his worst fear had come true. Sunggyu had rejected him. Sungyeol was ready to beat himself up and drown in his own misery until the end of time, but then he glanced at Sunggyu. The elder was still staring at the screen, expression untroubled. It didn't seem like he had even noticed Sungyeol's hand touching his. Maybe it had all just been bad timing after all.

Sungyeol swallowed as he gathered back his courage. He would try again.

Slowly, nearer… and nearer… and–

"Ah!"

Sunggyu's screech was covered by the movie's soundtrack, but Sungyeol heard it well enough. He jumped, quickly retracting his hand.

"What even… " Sunggyu mumbled as he cradled his hand, looking suspiciously at the place where it had been resting before. "I swear I felt something brushing against my hand, twice–something warm and sticky, like a bug or–"

Sunggyu felt troubled as they walked out of the cinema. The movie had been a total bore, but that was the last of his problems. Sungyeol was sulking again, for no reason that Sunggyu could fathom. Was it because Sunggyu had unceremoniously dumped the bowl of popcorn on him? Yet he hadn't seemed particularly upset about it at the time…

Sungyeol's bad mood had somehow cancelled out Sunggyu's, and he was now trying to cheer the younger up as best as he could. Which wasn't much.

"Do you want to go somewhere now?"

A shrug.

"What about getting something to eat?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Uh... coffee?"

Another shrug.

Sunggyu sighed. Maybe they should just go home. This whole dating thing had turned out to be a total failure. He didn't know why he was surprised: anyone could have told him that he and Sungyeol just didn't match, like honey and vinegar, a sweet and sour taste that just weren't supposed to be mixed together.

Still, Sunggyu didn't feel like going home yet; he wanted to spend more time with Sungyeol. I really do like him, he thought, not without some bafflement. He couldn't make out how or why, but somewhere along the line he had fallen for Sungyeol, and even though everything about the younger promised a whole lot of frustration and endless headaches, he just couldn't bring himself to turn away.

Sunggyu's gaze fell on Sungyeol's hand as they stood stiffly side to side, waiting to cross the road. Maybe Sungyeol would just push him away, but it was worth a try…

"W-what are you doing?" Sungyeol jumped as Sunggyu took his hand. He tried to pull away, but Sunggyu only held on tighter.

"It's not my fault you can't even cross the road on your own," he blurted out, hoping he didn't sound as nervous as he felt. "I need to make sure you don't walk into someone or get run over by a car."

"… Oh." Sunggyu had expected Sungyeol to protest some more, but the younger just looked away." Ok."

The traffic light turned green and they crossed the road in silence, hand in hand.

"You can let go now," Sungyeol said as soon as they stepped onto the sidewalk.

"Oh." Sunggyu blinked. "…Can I hold it some more?"

"But… why?"

"I just like it."

That seem to shut Sungyeol up.

Sunggyu focused on the feeling of Sungyeol's hand in his as they kept walking. It was nice, he thought; warm and soft, only slightly damp with sweat, just like–

Sunggyu stopped in his tracks. "No way."

Sungyeol looked at him. "What?"

"… It was you!" Sunggyu let out a snort. "Back at the cinema–you were trying to hold my hand, weren't you? And I thought it was a bug–"

Sunggyu was howling with laughter now. "You idiot!" He hit Sungyeol's arm playfully. "You should have just said that you wanted to hold hands–"

His grin faltered as he caught Sungyeol's eye. He was scowling. The thought crossed Sunggyu's mind that he might have done something wrong again when Sungyeol suddenly burst out.

"That's it! I've had enough!"

Sungyeol snatched his hand away from Sunggyu's, fuming. This had all been a mistake–asking Sunggyu out, thinking that he could ever possibly like him back. I've been so, so stupid.

"You're such a rude, self-absorbed prick who can't see an inch beyond his own nose!" he yelled at Sunggyu. "I don't know why I even like you! I must be an idiot, too!" He kicked a pebble in frustration. "Why did you even come if you were just going to laugh at me? Is making me feel like an idiot so much fun to you? I-I know you don't like me and never will–I guess I'm not good enough for your high standards, am I–but you could at least have the decency to tell me straight up instead of playing along like–"

Sunggyu grabbed his arm. "Sungyeol."

"What?!"

"Just… shut up."

"What? You–"

Sungyeol made to shout something back at him, but he was silenced by Sunggyu's lips on his.