Acting shy and awkward around Onew could be difficult at times. In fact, it was an act that was only getting more difficult as the two males deepened their relationship once more.

Initially, it hadn’t required too much effort at all. The two were naturally awkward due to the sudden change in their relationship and the fact that both were unsure how exactly they should interact when together; even when no one else was watching. However, as their relationship progressed once more, it became more and more challenging to pretend they were still broken up.

Jonghyun chuckled at what he had been thinking about, as he leant deeper into Onew’s embrace. The two males were currently relaxing on the main sofa in SHINee’s dorm. “Did they really think we wouldn’t realise what their plan is?”

“I don’t think they care anymore.” Onew grinned, carding his fingers gently through Jonghyun’s hair. The colour was especially vibrant today. The composer had gone and gotten it touched up the previous day and Onew had seemed fascinated by the blue colour ever since. He could barely keep his hands out of it and he had almost blown their cover when Jonghyun had first walked in for his ‘day of casual SHINee interaction’ (Manager’s words). He had been transfixed and looked like he was going to comment. Luckily, only Key had noticed his distraction and he had shrugged it off as Onew pining after his ex-boyfriend as he had been doing for months now.

The other three SHINee members had left the two supposedly ex-lovers together in the dorm under the pretence of getting more drinks about thirty minutes previous. Apparently the dorm fridge was running dangerously low on anything that could be drank, according to Taemin at least. Key had been quick to agree after he shot an assessing look at Jonghyun and Onew – both of whom were perched uncomfortably on the edges of their chairs on opposite sides of the room. Minho had seemed resistant and might have said something in protest, however Taemin quickly silenced him by forcing a hand over his mouth and dragging him out the door.

“Want a drink?” Jonghyun asked, extracting himself from Onew’s arms. The TV was on in the background but neither male was really paying attention to it, preferring to enjoy their time together. However, Jonghyun’s throat was parched.

“Not really,” Onew said petulantly, pulling the composer back towards himself. “I want you instead.”

What Jonghyun said in response was muffled by the singer’s mouth on his own, leaving him to release only a slightly strangled sound which might have been words. Onew pulled away and snickered at the ruffled look Jonghyun was sporting. Seeing the composer wasn’t going to make any further protests, he kissed him once more, burying his hands deep into the colourful strands adorning his boyfriend’s head.

A while later – the composer honestly wasn’t sure how long it was – a decidedly more ruffled Jonghyun stood from the couch. Stretching out his back from the slightly odd position he had ended up in, he quickly fixed his hair with his fingers and wiped his mouth.

“Sure you don’t want something to drink?”

“We don’t have any, remember?” Onew commented idly. He gave no indication that he was planning to move. In fact, he looked incredibly comfortable. He was reclined back into the sofa cushions, his hair mussed in a casual way that no stylist could ever imitate and his shirt rucked up a little at the front. Jonghyun blushed as he realised that that this was all his doing.

The composer walked the few meters to the kitchen and pulled open the fridge. “Oh yeah,” he commented, looking at the multiple bottles of flavoured milk, carbonated beverages and juices, “you’re completely out. Such a shame.” He snagged a bottle of orange juice and headed back to the living room, chuckling as Onew quickly rearranged himself from where he had slumped down on the sofa.

The idol lifted one arm, inviting Jonghyun to slot himself into place underneath it; an action Jonghyun gladly did, loving the feel of Onew’s arm resting over his shoulders. The heavy, warm weight was something he loved. This was a physical representation of the closeness that he had missed in those six months he and Onew were apart.

After taking a sip of his juice, Jonghyun offered the bottle to Onew. He raised an eyebrow in judgement when the singer took it gladly. He didn’t know why he had offered the beverage, to be honest. The singer had said he wasn’t thirsty and he’d had multiple opportunities to change his mind. Yet, here he was, drinking all of Jonghyun’s juice.

“So, what should we do until the others get back?”

“I dunno,” Onew replied, shrugging, the motion jostling Jonghyun a little, “Tae text me whilst you were in the kitchen, they’ll probably be another hour or so.”

“Long shopping trip.” Jonghyun commented idly.

“Yep.” Onew grinned, looking straight at Jonghyun, wiggling his eyebrows in a manner that looked a little absurd.

Jonghyun rolled his eyes at his ridiculous boyfriend but acquiesced to his silent request. Placing his orange juice haphazardly on the side table, he turned until he was straddling the older male. Onew grinned up at the composer and reached up, running a hand tenderly over his boyfriend’s neck, the other tangling in his hair once more.

“You’re really liking my hair today.” Jonghyun chuckled.

“And you’re talking too much for someone on a limited timeframe.” Onew countered, pulling the other man towards himself once more.

Jonghyun let himself be pulled, muttering quietly into Onew’s ear “Yeah. Yeah. I get it.”

It was Onew who pulled back this time, “You know I love spending time with you other than,” he gestured with his hand that wasn’t tangled in Jonghyun’s hair.

Jonghyun rolled his eyes, connecting their lips in a quick kiss. Pulling back, he spoke quietly, “Not this again. I know you aren’t controlled by your hormones and you care about me as a person, yadda yadda. Now can we get to the,” He gave a gesture between the two of them, similar to the one Onew gave before. The meaning was clear.

“Well let’s get to it, we have limited time.”

Pulling away once more, Jonghyun admonished, “No hanky panky, we’re in your living room!”

“Yes sir,” Onew muttered, pulling his hand away from where it was fiddling with the button of Jonghyun’s pants. “Make outs are fine, right?” Jonghyun merely raised an eyebrow and Onew needed no further confirmation.

-

These plans to get Jonghyun and Onew together had been going on for weeks now. The frustration on the faces of the SHINee members every time they returned to a room where, after long stretches of time alone, Jonghyun and Onew sat as far apart as possible or in stony silence was a picture indeed. Taemin especially had become more and more pouty every time and Key was becoming less and less subtle in his efforts – not that they were that subtle to begin with.

Initial attempts to get them alone had been less obvious. In fact, the very first attempt had been during a group practice in SHINee’s regular practice room.

Following over three hours of intense dance practice, Taemin – who had somehow not stopped moving the entire time – had wiped the sweat off his forehead and claimed he was going to grab some water from the cafeteria downstairs. Key, who was collapsed in a heap on the floor, had pulled himself to his feet and wordlessly followed. His silence was unusual, however he had just been put through the ringer by the group’s dance instructor as he hadn’t been able to fully grasp one of the movements. Thus, he had been worked much harder than anyone else. Minho, whose loose shirt was clinging to him with sweat, rolled his eyes and followed when Taemin shot him a meaningful look.

Jonghyun looked at Onew, the other male not having noticed his group mates leaving the room. He was currently lead fully spread eagled on the floor, panting lightly. His longish hair was damp and clinging to his forehead, his shirt was stained and his muscles were shaking with fatigue. It should have been a very unattractive sight, this was the side of themselves idols didn’t show for a reason, however Jonghyun found it hard to look away.

“Are you... ok?” He asked, approaching the tired singer warily. He wasn’t sure how exactly he was meant to interact with his... boyfriend? They hadn’t really discussed how they were to go forward from here. In fact, this was the first time they had seen each other since they returned from China. Onew had started texting Jonghyun again, little messages to say good morning or comment on a funny thing he heard or saw, but messages were easier. They were more impersonal. It was harder to get embarrassed in a message than it was when talking face to face.

Onew gave a wordless groan and rolled onto his stomach in a dramatic movement. Pushing himself up, his arms feeling and acting like rubber, he gestured Jonghyun towards the seating at the side of the room. Flopping back into a seat, he flung an arm across his eyes.

“Did you get back from the airport ok?”

Jonghyun looked at his boyfriend, blushing as he realised how appealing he looked at that moment, and shrugged, “Yeah, wasn’t too bad. Jiwoong hadn’t completely destroyed the apartment either, which was nice.”

He was aware he sounded a little stilted and scripted. It was strange, they knew each other so well and he knew that if he slipped right back into the casual conversations and speech they had before that it wouldn’t be a problem. In fact, Onew would probably be thrilled. However, it felt strange to do so.

Onew chuckled, the sound a little breathless, “How is Jiwoong? Still embracing his ‘creative vision’?”

“Of course."

Onew moved, briefly stretching out the muscles in his arms and made a noise indicating that that was probably not the most comfortable thing. Standing once more, notably more stable than he had been five minutes ago, the singer started to stretch out his muscles properly. He would usually do it directly after a practice, Jonghyun remembered. He supposed his presence combined with his sheer exhaustion after the harder than usual practice was to blame for the delay.

The composer watched, entranced, as Onew stretched out. He stretched out his arms first, his shirt sleeves slipping to his shoulders and revealing the singer’s surprisingly muscled upper arms. Then he moved on to his legs. Jonghyun was pretty sure his brain short-circuited when he did that. He had always had a thing for Onew’s thighs. He wasn’t sure why, they were just appealing to him in so many ways. All of Onew was appealing, really, but his thighs were just next level.

A few minutes of silent stretching later and Onew turned back to Jonghyun. The composer was very deliberately not looking in his boyfriend’s direction. In fact, he seemed to be finding his cuticles simply fascinating.

“Like what you see?” Onew asked.

Jonghyun startled, not expecting to be addressed and certainly not in that teasing manner. It was so reminiscent of how their relationship used to be. It was both nostalgic and comforting at the same time.

“My nail beds are looking pretty good,” He commented, angling his hands better under the light.

“Of course,” Onew said, rolling his eyes. Advancing towards the composer slowly he moved until he was directly in front of him. Placing his hands either side of the other male’s head he leant close and whispered, “Your nails are definitely what you were looking at.”

Jonghyun was saved from answering when the door opened. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how he would answer even if he had to. He was pretty sure his vocal cords had frozen up and the connection between his brain and mouth was pretty much non-existent at that point.

The other three SHINee members entered the room holding a cooler full of water bottles and chatting happily. Taemin trailed off as he walked into the room to see Jonghyun sat in the seating at the side of the room, a completely blank look on his face, and Onew on the other side of the room stretching out his muscles.

Huffing audibly, the dancer dropped his side of the cooler causing Minho to stagger under the sudden weight and drop the box to the floor with a loud thud. “Let’s get back to work then, I guess.”

As the SHINee members set up to begin their practice again – sans dance instructor for at least thirty minutes more – Onew made eye contact with Jonghyun when the others weren’t paying attention. Jonghyun chuckled at the obnoxious wink the other male sent him and stuck out his tongue in response, turning it into his lips when Key looked at him suspiciously. Pulling out his notebook, he flipped to the page he had been working on before.

-

There was a photoshoot a few weeks after that. Taemin and Onew were scheduled for pair photos for a magazine or CF or... something. Jonghyun wasn’t entirely sure. Manager had explained it to him but he couldn’t really remember the details.

As Taemin shot his part, Onew and Jonghyun were conversing quietly. They had to be careful, from his position in front of the camera, Taemin could see where they were sat. So, they had the challenge of conversing casually, without giving away that they were doing so.

“You’re a loser.” Jonghyun commented, deliberately not looking at Onew.

“What did I do?” Onew complained. Jonghyun was sure that if he had been able to react as he wished, the singer would be dramatically clutching his chest and pouting like a child. He almost chuckled at the mental image before catching himself and schooling his features once more.

“You know what you did.”

“I really don’t.”

Jonghyun pulled out his phone and pretended to check it quickly. Shooting a quick glance at Taemin and seeing his was busy talking to the photographer, he passed the device to Onew. The singer chuckled at what was on the screen. It was a photo from the group’s most recent fan meeting. It had been a small event with only around a hundred fans who were lucky enough to have won a competition. In the image, the singer was wearing a pair of pink bunny ears a fan had gifted him and was talking casually with an incredibly nervous looking girl. It wasn’t the image that was of interest, however; it was the comment that Jonghyun had screen capped along with it. The girl in the image had given an account of what she and Onew had discussed and one of the points he had mentioned was that he loved ‘unnatural hair colours. Like blonde or blue’.

“Way to be obvious.” Jonghyun said, taking his phone back from the singer.

Onew made a disagreeing noise and shrugged just enough for Jonghyun to see, “As if anyone would connect that statement with you.”

“Not what I meant.” Jonghyun said, flipping through the pages of his notebook. “Did you not see Key’s face? He looked totally suspicious.”

“How could he be suspicious?” Onew disregarded what Jonghyun said, “I’ve never hidden that I still care for you.”

“Sure, sure,” Jonghyun rolled his eyes. “You are the master of subtlety.”

He looked up in confusion when Onew suddenly talked over him loudly, “Taemin! How was your shoot?”

“Good,” Taemin said, extending the o’s in response to his leader’s strange behaviour. “You were watching me, shouldn’t you know.”

“Of course,” Onew said, leaping to his feet. “Anyway, my turn I guess. I should go do that.” That said, he bounded off towards the photographer who looked a little startled at his exuberance.

Jonghyun rolled his eyes again, something he had done a lot today for some reason. “Master of subtlety,” He muttered quietly.

“What was that?” Taemin asked, “Did you say something?”

“Nope,” Jonghyun said, “I got some good notes though. I actually think I can draw some good inspiration from this experience.” Taemin didn’t need to know that it was the subterfuge and not that photoshoot itself that were most inspiring to the composer right now.

“That’s good,” Taemin grinned.

The two slipped into an easy conversation – Jonghyun still got along incredibly well with Taemin – and Jonghyun breathed a sigh of relief. Onew hadn’t given away their plot today.

-

“Jinks, please. I am not made of glass!” Jonghyun growled at his boyfriend. “I know we said we would take it slow but this is ridiculous. It’s been weeks and we haven’t even-“ He cut himself off with a sound of annoyance and gestured angrily at his other half, “you’re being all caring and crap, I get it. But this is glacial.”

SHINee were abroad once again; Japan, this time for a variety show taping. Once again, Onew and Jonghyun were ‘manipulated’ into sharing a room. The two had put up some token protest as was expected of them and had acted suitably silent and awkward around each other all evening. However, when it became time to head to their rooms, Jonghyun had found it hard to suppress his happiness. Finally, he was to be alone with Onew and there was even a lock to keep other people out. They hadn’t had such privacy since they got back together. Unfortunately, Onew couldn’t even go back to Jonghyun’s apartment as, since the breakup, he hadn’t gone outside often and the others would notice a sudden increase in his trips out of the dorm and become suspicious.

However, what was to be an evening of peace for the two of them had soon devolved into an argument. It had all started when Jonghyun had moved towards Onew as they were watching TV and attempted to snuggle with him on the bed. He knew the action was a little teenage girl but he really wanted the closeness of it all. Unfortunately, Onew had stiffened at the contact and began to look uncomfortable. Jonghyun had pulled away and asked him what was wrong only to feel rightfully annoyed when the other male claimed nothing was wrong and had blown him off. After much debate it had come to light that Onew was worried about pushing the other male too far.

“I know you’re not and I know it is. But I don’t want-“ Onew implored, looking up at Jonghyun through his lashes.

“Me, apparently,” Jonghyun muttered, standing up and pacing across the room. “It all makes sense now. Let’s keep it secret so I don’t have to hurt Jonghyun by telling him I don’t want to kiss him or touch him or anything. This way you can wait for me to break it off when I get annoyed with the secrecy.”

Jonghyun knew he was being irrational but he was annoyed and, in that state, his thoughts weren’t exactly clear. Onew watched as the composer paced back and forth, muttering inaudible but clearly angry things to himself.

“You know that’s not it!” He cried, standing up too. Moving towards the fuming blue-haired man, he reached out to touch him, only to have his hand slapped away.

“You do not get to touch me now, Lee Jinki! Not after rejecting me so many times.”

“So many...” He parroted, sounding confused. “Jonghyun, I didn’t reject you!”

“Sure you didn’t,” Jonghyun hissed, “Your little squirm away when I sat next to you on the bed was you wanting to touch me, of course.”

“It was actually,” Onew said quietly, looking at his feet. “I was scared you’d get spooked if we moved too fast. I’ve had more time to come to terms with this than you have.”

Jonghyun growled again, like an angry dog, and spun on his heel to face his boyfriend. Pointing at him, enjoying the little cringe away from his finger that the singer tried to hide, he repeated, “I. Am not. Made of glass!” Gesturing in front of him with his arm, uncaring of how close he came to hitting Onew, he advanced closer as he spoke. “I get that you’re all caring, I get it and usually I would appreciate it.” Advancing closer, he kept walking as Onew backed slowly into the wall, “But it has been weeks and I am not some blushing teen girl who is content to touch hands and just thinks that’s the cutest thing ever.” Onew was completely backed into the wall now, the smaller male blocking his escape with his arms, “I am frustrated. I am tired and I want you.” Onew made to speak but Jonghyun spoke over him, “I’m not saying let’s have right now. But when I initiate the contact, I’d appreciate if you don’t pull away ‘for my own good’. Chances are, if I initiate it, I want it. Got that?”

Onew nodded mutely. Honestly, this forceful aspect of Jonghyun’s personality had always intrigued him. The composer was usually so calm, excitable maybe, but it was difficult to get the man truly angry or worked up. So, to see this was new and interesting and honestly, a little hot.

Seeing that the singer wasn’t going to say anything in response, Jonghyun leant close to his ear, “Now, you won’t resist this time?” Feeling, more than seeing, the singer’s head shake, Jonghyun smirked. Catching his boyfriend’s lips in a kiss, one that resulted in the man’s head hitting the wall with quite a lot of force – he never stopped responding to the kiss, so Jonghyun assumed he was fine – the composer prepared himself to enjoy the evening.

When they finally got their wits together enough to have a proper conversation once more, Onew looked at the wall where they had spent a large portion of their night. “Isn’t that the connecting wall to Key and Minho’s room?”

Jonghyun looked up absently, “Oops.”

-

It had been on that very same trip that Manager had discovered their changed relationship status. The two men had discussed when they first got together, the option of telling Manager of their new status. At the time, both had been open to telling the man, feeling it would be better that way. However, actually telling him was more difficult than they had thought it would be and they just never got around to it.

The two had been relaxing together watching bad Japanese variety shows – Onew was translating everything important – and cuddling together in Onew’s bed when the door had clicked open. They had forgotten that Manager held a master key.

Both males had made a token effort to move and not be caught however that only resulted in Jonghyun halfway to the bathroom and Onew in a pile of blankets on the floor. Honestly, their effort to avoid being seen probably made the situation look far worse than it had actually had been. The fact that both males were shirtless and Onew was so wrapped in blankets that his bottom half couldn’t be seen was something that was sure to spark many ideas in a person’s head.

Manager had merely raised one eyebrow at them and rolled his eyes, “Be careful.”

Jonghyun, who was practically hyperventilating, unfroze from where he had stopped when the man had entered and practically sprinted to the bathroom. He was sure his face was cherry red. Once his breathing had calmed a little he turned around in the small room, he pressed his ear to the door and listened to the conversation outside.

“Of course I knew, you two aren’t that subtle.” Manager’s voice sounded.

A rustle of fabric indicated Onew was moving and the creak of bedsprings could be clearly heard, “Do other people know?”

“No,” the man said. “I only know because I know you well enough. You two have been remarkably good at hiding it.”

“We were hiding it from the member’s.” Onew commented.

“Scared they’ll react badly?” Jonghyun was surprised, apparently Manager wasn’t as aware of the true extent of their relationship prior to the breakup, or he wouldn’t have asked that question. He felt a swell of pride as he realised that he and Onew really had been very discreet.

Onew said nothing, Jonghyun assumed he had shaken his head. “They know my feelings, they’ve been trying to set me and Jjong up for weeks.”

Manager’s deep chuckle sounded loud in the room, “And you’re torturing them. Well, just be careful. You’ve been very discreet so far. Keep this up even once the others know. We can’t have the media catching on.”

“Of course,” Onew agreed readily. Jonghyun found himself nodding along to what Manager said. “We will.”

“Now get to bed, Jinki, You too, Jonghyun.” Manager’s voice raised in volume and Jonghyun could imagine him having turned towards the bathroom door, “We have a long day tomorrow.”

-

 

Jonghyun gasped as he heard the orange juice bottle thump as it hit the ground. “You’re lucky I sealed that,” He muttered, pulling away from Onew’s mouth. Onew merely shrugged and pulled him back in for more. The sound of the TV in the background was still going, the show they had been watching had apparently ended a while ago and a reality program had started up instead. The high-pitched voice of some whiny woman was the only sound, other than those created by the two males, in the room.

“You taste like oranges,” Onew commented, as the two came up for air.

“I wonder why,” Jonghyun mocked, looking into his boyfriend’s eyes. Leaning in, near to his ear, he whispered sensually, “Do you think it was the orange juice?”

Onew chuckled, and pushed Jonghyun lightly. This didn’t do much as Jonghyun had a pretty good grip onto Onew’s legs from his straddled position, “I think it might be.”

“Maybe you should keep kissing me, then we can find out if it really is the orange juice.”

“How will that prove-“ Onew started, before seeing Jonghyun’s raised eyebrow. “I see your point,” That said, he captured the composers lips once more.

The two kissed for a while longer. Onew seemed determined to taste every inch of Jonghyun, as if he was really determining what was the orange juice taste and what was Jonghyun’s natural taste.

Jonghyun wasn’t going to protest.

Pulling away, Onew commented idly, “I don’t see why you wouldn’t let me go further than kissing today.”

A loud thump sounded from the doorway, followed by the sound of many bottles rolling across the tiled floor. In the doorway stood the three other SHINee members, each with a stupefied look on their face. As he watched, Taemin’s expression morphed from one of shock to one of annoyance. Key just looked completely stupefied, as if he couldn’t believe he could be tricked in such a way, and Minho was looking at the floor in dismay. One of the milk cartons had burst open and brown flavoured milk was seeping across the floor. Little runnels of liquid raced down the spaces between the tiles and the liquid was already slowly soaking into the welcome mat.

“That would be why,” Jonghyun commented, shrugging.

 

---

CHAPTER NOTES: Another long one. Apparently having Onew back around makes me verbose :P

I got back from orientation today (I am so tired, oh my stars). So updates should be more regular again from now on. I promise not to make you wait almost a week ever again :3