Kibum breathed heavily, arms clinging at Minho’s uniform as lips pressed, and pulled at the skin of his neck, far enough beneath the collar that any marks could be hidden. They knew how to be careful. They knew what would happen if they were ever to be found in the act. Especially when on duty. Not like they had a lot of options. Making out in either of their bunks was out of the question when they shared a room with four other young men.

It was bad enough that their relationship was taboo already, but for them to sneak off to any kind of hidden space in the sub just to “ face” was more or less a dangerous gamble. Many others they had known before were found and forced to leave the army simply from the humiliation and the ridicule that was upon them. And the assaults. The very knowledge that there had been young men like themselves who had been forced into ual acts against their will because “they would like it because they liked men” was a horror for them both.

And yet they couldn’t bring it upon themselves to stop. The need and simple primal drive to touch and and hold and caress was too strong to resist – so much so that Kibum was surprised that Minho hadn’t pounced him in the showers or at the controls where they worked. Minho’s stare was somewhat intense a lot of the time. Something in his eyes spelled danger but he was nothing but a yapping puppy beneath it all, the kind to roll over at the very promise of a belly rub. He was the type to touch gently with a feverish kind of passion, nipping and skin raw. The one who was unsure their first night tangled in sheets one hotel room away in another country when they’d landed at a dock, who prodded carefully and with eyebrows turned upwards in concern as Kibum urged him to continue, spilling reassurances through gasped breaths, fingers pressing bruises into Minho’s biceps. And then he was on his back, sharp eyes staring Minho down as he rode them both to oblivion, to the point of no return.

In fact, Minho and Kibum were so different that many were surprised to find that they were friends at all, let alone “best friends”, even among their non-military friends. It worked in their favour as it provided little cause for any to assume that lingering hugs or pats were anything other than one hundred percent friendly.

Still, despite all of that, Kibum hated to keep secrets, as good as they both were at keeping them, it still tore a little hole in him, knowing that for their own safety he had to keep this wonderful thing, this beautiful thing, a complete secret from their other friends and even their families. He wanted to shout to the world about this wonderful person who treated him so well, so much better than any girl he’d tried to date before, who deserved to be shown off and not pulled into a random closet just to kiss.

He hated it. But he loved Minho. So, he figured, that for now they would just have to wait. And he would have to wait, along with the ring he kept tucked safely in the very bottom of his private belongings. One day it would be right to ask, one day he would make sure Minho knew exactly how he felt.

And he couldn’t wait.