He finished eating the matcha ice cream tube and immediately opened a new one. Mint & Chocolate chips, that er’s favorite, he felt like crying again but still began eating anyway, with a pout on his face though.

There he is, the great and lovely Boo Seungkwan, making a scene and just being a general mess for something that could arguably be his own fault (kind of).

A whine came out when he remembered the whole ordeal again and he could only manage to ask himself where the did they leave yesterday pizza’s leftovers. He was trying to find a way to open the fridge without falling down when a hand bigger than his own trapped his wrist.

-What are you doing there? And how did you even get there? – Oh, it was the human puppy.

-Well pupper, wish I could tell you how but I was in such an emotional crisis that it’s a mystery even to me, only got like some crazy war flashbacks – He could feel Mingyu’s eyes on him, staring him down and taking in the gross picture he made. Yes, it was sad and it was gross and if Seungkwan himself admitted it then it got to be pretty ing bad.

Mingyu made a move to try and take the ice cream tube from his hands but Seungkwan was faster, sticking his tongue out to the older and Mingyu frowned.

-I’m changing my question, why are you there? – Seungkwan sniffed, crossing his legs and mixing the ice cream with some chocolate-ish syrup he found with Seokmin’s name on it while pretended to not care that much (even if he did, a lot).

-You know, teenager stuff; moping around the house, stuffing my face with ice cream to conceal my depression… hating myself and wishing to die, the usual stuff –

- Is it the thing Jeonghan-hyung told me about? – The innocent yet firm tone Mingyu used to ask almost distracted him from the fact that holy Jeonghan can’t ing keep a secret can he?

-HE TOLD YOU?! – Mingyu took that opportunity to take the ice cream away from him and just shrugged before putting it inside the fridge again.

-Why are you even surprised? He tells everyone anything that he finds remotely amusing you should know that already – Well yeah, he should have known but sometimes you just gotta cry on someone’s shoulder and Jeonghan was the first one he saw at the moment.

Sighing, he realized he had lost his appetite. Out of all his friends he really didn’t want to have this conversation with Mingyu who had been pretty privy about it from the beginning. He didn’t know if he hated to admit that Mingyu was right or if he just didn’t want Mingyu taking pity on him.

But there was no trace of any of that in Mingyu’s eyes. He wasn’t judging his bad decision making, he was just concerned and it tugged at Seungkwan’s heart somehow. All their hyungs were out today and he had just assumed he had the apartment to himself; to mop around and cry his heart out so he could at least pretend everything was fine when everyone was back, he didn’t count on Mingyu returning early from basketball practice.

Having Mingyu’s big puppy eyes on him made him sober up, remembering the other issue here which he had to admit, was really ing ridiculous.

-I… -

-You…? – Mingyu arched an eyebrow, curious. Seungkwan puffed his cheeks, indignant. 

- I can’t get down – And with that Mingyu definitely laughed making him blush and pout offended.

-Don’t laugh pupper! I’ve been here for more than 2 hours straight and my is starting to get numb so if I don’t get down right now it might never be the same again! Do you really wish that for me? To lose my greatest quality? – Mingyu stopped laughing slightly only to look at him as if thinking about it seriously.

-We can’t have that happening, I wouldn’t want to be the responsible for that – Even if he was the one to say it, having Mingyu playing along so easily was embarrassing him but he didn’t say anything.

Mingyu opened his arms, offering his hands for support and it was just weird. Seungkwan draped his hands on his shoulders and Mingyu took him by the waist to bring him closer to his chest and finally got him down the cupboard without making a mess.

Mingyu. Kim Mingyu. He has always been his dumb friend; even if Soonyoung or Seokmin could fit that role as well there was something special about Mingyu that made him different, a special kind of dumb.

Maybe it was the way he kept losing stuff around (like his keys), maybe the fact that he was always dropping like it was hot (like his driving license) or that naïve way in which he took everything literally and trusted everyone blindly (even Jeonghan). It almost felt wrong to make fun of Kim Mingyu because it was almost as making fun of a puppy that’s being learning how to walk.

Not that that ever got in Seungkwan’s way anyway.

And now, right in Mingyu’s arms, with this strange and strong aroma coming from him that just now he realized was indeed coming from Mingyu, he became dizzy. He was thankful to be held in such a strong grip or he would have fallen on his knees.

What was going on?

Swallowing down harshly, he became more aware of their surroundings. Of the fact that they were alone. Of the fact that he could perfectly get himself down but didn’t and he just stayed there between those big manly arms that belonged to his dumbest friend.

-You got stronger – He marveled, feeling the indeed bigger arms filling his hands at the touch.

Mingyu let out a small, somewhat shy laugh that made Seungkwan’s own body shake with it.

-I’ve been working out with Seungcheol-hyung – And even if he sounded nervous he could still sense a tinge of smugness in his voice, typical Mingyu. He feeds on compliments. In that aspect he and Mingyu were the same.

The between them wasn’t really that big and they even were in the same grade and yet, Seungkwan never felt smaller than Mingyu in all this time they have known each other. A strange kind of small. 

Mingyu has been getting taller, bigger. Stronger.  And more handsome each day so Seungkwan could only wonder why he noticed just now.

A sigh left his lips and he wondered why Mingyu wasn’t letting him down on the ground yet and even if it made him anxious he realized he didn’t quite mind. It was warm, a comforting kind of warm.

Feeling Seungkwan relaxing against him, his grip seemed to get stronger, bringing him closer to his body and pressing him tighter into it. Seungkwan wondered what was happening.

Turning his head, they momentarily faced each other and it was a world difference feeling. Staring at each other’s eyes it felt only natural for Seungkwan to press his lips against Mingyu’s.

And Mingyu seemed to agree with that thought, not taking a second later to return the gesture, gently kissing back as if he were afraid he would scare Seungkwan away and yet so eagerly like he wasn’t going to get another chance ever again.

He never felt more wanted in his life until that moment and suddenly there was a pang of sadness –almost guilt – in his chest.

Mingyu was the first one to break away and without a word, he let go of Seungkwan’s body ever so gently, allowing him to set himself securely on the kitchen’s floor and in that moment Seungkwan realized. This was nothing new. Mingyu’s treatment to him has always been tender and gentle in a way friends normally aren’t.

All this time, like the rest of the guys he had dismissed this caring as Mingyu babying him too much. It was no secret to anybody that Mingyu saw Seungkwan as something cute that had to be protected so Seungkwan would only brush him off when he took it too far.

Now those memories left him breathless, a whole new color tinting them. A heavy feeling in his whole body as Mingyu turned his back on him, leaving him to his own devices while both made their way to their shared room in complete silence and began undressing so they could change into their more comfortable pajamas.

Still with their backs turned Seungkwan gave a secret glance at Mingyu’s direction, watching him put on his shirt and marveling at how big it looked compared to his own.

That same feeling of smallness from earlier hit him again and a need to be embraced against that wide chest invaded him. The thought was embarrassing; to admit to want Mingyu, his dumb friend, close to him, holding him between his strong arms and yet again Seungkwan couldn’t find anything wrong with it.

 Mingyu finished dressing and turned to look at him, making him realize he had yet to put his shirt on. While doing so he could feel Mingyu’s eyes fixed on him and that anxious feeling from earlier increased. Once he was fully dressed he turned to Mingyu and the boy left his gaze drop to the ground as if to hide the fact that he was watching him dress.

Seungkwan felt like smiling but didn’t, instead he took a step forward and when Mingyu lifted his head to look at him he could see the surprised look on his face as he took his hand on his. He could see his confusion, the silent question, but he didn’t say a thing to the older.

He lead Mingyu to the living room and took the TV remote laying on the couch to turn it on, zapping between channels until he found that cartoon they both have been following recently, once he was content he made Mingyu sit on the couch and reached for the blanket on the coffee table before setting on Mingyu’s lap, covering them both with it.

Mingyu was still confused; he could tell from the way his body tensed under him, taking pity on the boy he lightly turned his face to him, only enough for his eyes to find the others.

And yes, he definitely looked like a lost puppy. Again Seungkwan wanted to smile but decided not to.

-Hug me – he said instead of any explanation.

Mingyu had so many questions in his eyes, and for a whole minute he doubted, only returning Seungkwan’s gaze before obeying. He slowly settled his arms around Seungkwan’s waist and after a few seconds of adjusting to the new feeling they both relaxed in each other’s warmth.

A million thoughts were running around Seungkwan’s head and he just knew Mingyu was the same. And even if all this was out of place, made zero sense and came out of nowhere he was amused by the fact that he liked it quite a lot.

Mingyu’s grip on his waist got tighter, not enough to crush him and yet he couldn’t breathe. Normally he would have complained but something told him not to, to let Mingyu have this, let him have his way this one time.

It was the least he could do to make it up to him for the lack of explanation to what was happening right now.

What was it? How did things turn out like this? What triggered it?

Maybe, just maybe, it was bound to happen eventually.

Once again, he sighed, and even if people said sighs were happiness that runs away this one was full of joy that couldn’t help but escape because if it didn’t, his body wouldn’t be able to handle it. He started wondering why they never did this before, all the lost time they wasted until this moment.

They should definitely do this more often.

And if there’s time, they could think of an explanation.