“Wait, so, I thought that guy was in love with the blonde chick.” Jonghyun glared at the television, confused. It was 10 o’clock in the morning and Jonghyun, Kibum, Minho, and Jinki all sat lined up together on Kibum’s bed, watching some cringey romance movie. A girl Jinki knew from one of his classes had been talking about it to him, and Minho had somehow convinced the rest of them to watch it. Unfortunately, it turned out to be embarrassingly bad and Jinki had already apologized twice for suggesting they watch it without looking it up first.

“Nah, no way, man. He was just hanging out with her because of her hot sister.” Minho’s analysis made the other three look at him. “What?”

“Hot sister?” Kibum questioned.

“I mean… look at this guy, of course he thinks she’s hot.”

“I think she’s pretty.” Jinki added in, shifting his weight to lean onto Minho. Minho grinned and turned to Kibum.

“See? This guy is just stringing that blonde girl along to get to the older sister. And he only wants the older sister because she doesn't want anything to do with him.”

There was a short pause as everyone took in Minho’s words. Then, Jonghyun spoke. “You’re crazy. Have you even been watching the movie?”

“It’s not unrealistic, Jjong,” Jinki shrugged. “People do it all the time. It’s crappy, but it happens.”

This seemed like it was going to to turn into a long conversation… or probably argument. Kibum knew from experience that it would probably take a lot for Minho to change his mind. His back was starting to get stiff from sitting up against the wall for so long, but he didn’t really want to move from between Jonghyun and Minho. He’d been really mulling over what Jinki had said to him the week before, about trusting Jonghyun. He knew that it wasn’t going to be something that his soulmate could do, that he needed to take that step of showing trust himself. It was awkward, and embarrassing to him. But he decided to go ahead.

He leaned forward to the edge of the bed where the remote lay between his and Minho’s calves. He picked it up and clicked pause on it, halting the movie. The others looked at him, but he gestured to them. “Keep talking.”

“I know people do that, but he’s barely looked at that older girl the whole movie.” Jonghyun had now turned himself some to face Minho and Jinki, ready to engage in this conversation fully. Kibum stretched his arms up, pulling his ankles to stretch his back. He peered back at Jonghyun behind him, but Jonghyun didn't notice. Good.

“What are you talking about? They had a whole conversation about cars like 10 minutes ago.” Good, Minho, be stubborn and distracting.

Kibum leaned across Minho and gestured towards the two pillows next to Jinki’s leg at the head of the bed. Jinki handed them over, still listening to the debate between Minho and Jonghyun. Kibum scooted forward and lined the pillows up against the wall behind where he was sitting. One of the pillows was a bit too wide for this with how close Jonghyun was sitting, so he casually nudged the older boy a bit to get him to lean out of the way. Jonghyun did so without thinking. Then Kibum turned back forward and scooted back into the group.

With the pillows now, Kibum could lean back more, making the whole situation much more cozy. He glanced over at Minho and Jinki. Minho was still very much into his conversation, his brow furrowed at Jonghyun, but Jinki locked eyes with Kibum. His gaze shifted between the younger and Jonghyun, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly in a smile that somehow still reached his eyes.

The eldest turned and leaned back against the wall again. “Let’s just get back to watching the movie. Who knows, maybe he’s only hanging out with them because of their dog or something, anyway.”

Minho huffed, but turned back to the tv, and Kibum hit play again. He didn’t pay attention to the screen. Instead, he noticed how Jonghyun started shifted about a bit. His left arm had become pinned between himself and the pillow, and it probably wasn’t very comfortable. He pulled it out slowly. Kibum glanced over at him to see Jonghyun hovering his arm hesitantly somewhere between putting it behind his own head, or resting it across the pillows behind Kibum.

Kibum locked eyes with the older boy. He cocked the corner of one side of his mouth in a small teasing smile and then his head turned back to the screen. He felt Jonghyun’s arm come slowly down onto the pillows behind him, and saw Jonghyun’s hand appear in his peripheral vision between himself and Minho.

“This is okay?” Jonghyun whispered in his ear.

Kibum nodded, pretending to not pay attention. He felt Jonghyun relax. He wondered if the older boy might lean toward him to be closer, maybe lean his head against Kibum’s, but he didn’t. Kibum felt Jonghyun shift his hips slightly slightly, and heard the quiet bump sound as the older boy rested his head against the wall instead. He suddenly realized he wished Jonghyun would touch him, pulling his arm close around his shoulder and his cheek.

But he couldn’t ask for that. His body and heart wanted one this, but his stupid proud brain and mouth wouldn’t let it happen. Not yet. He could feel Jonghyun’s hand resting sitting gently on him, but he was worried that if he reached his own up to touch it, Minho might notice. And then there was the heat and tingling he’d felt when their skin had touched those times before. Currently, the fabric of Kibum’s shirt was keeping their skin apart, but if he held his soulmate’s hand like he wanted to… It would probably be too much for him. It was an addictive feeling that he both wanted to feel every second, but also was terrified of.

Eventually, Kibum was able to turn his focus back to the movie. At one point, towards the end, he shifted, moving one of his legs to cross in front of him, and stretching an arm above him, behind his head. He was confused for a second before remembering Jonghyun’s arm was also behind him. He let his fingers play with Jonghyun’s sleeve for a few seconds before dropping his arm back down.

Then, in a moment of courage, he shifted his upper body a bit to the right and rested his head onto the pillow. He felt his head also touching part of Jonghyun’s chest. He felt Jonghyun stiffen for a moment. Then the older boy leaned into him. He felt Jonghyun rest his chin in Kibum’s hair. There was no tingling feeling, but maybe that was just because their skin wasn’t technically touching. It felt more like a warm, low buzz the resonated in the aura around them. Kibum liked it. It felt… natural, comforting.

As the credits rolled, Jinki took his turn to stretch his back, arms forward and pulling him towards his feet. He turned his head and gave Kibum as smug smile. Kibum glared daggers back at him, which only made the older boy smile wider.

“I can’t believe Jinki was right. He was after the dog the whole time.” Minho looked utterly perplexed. He placed his hand on Jinki’s back, rubbing slowly up and down as the eldest stretched. He shook his head slowly, disbelieving that such a dumb movie could exist.

Kibum watched the movement of Minho’s hand upon Jinki’s back. He wanted that. He pursed his lips in envy. This made Jinki chuckle, which he somehow managed to turn into a rather convincing cough. Minho’s hand movement changed from gentle rubbing to soft but firm patting.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” said Jinki, clearing his throat. “Just had a little tickle in my throat.”

Minho furrowed his brow. “Do you want some water?”

If Minho left the room to get Jinki water, it was highly likely that Jinki would also leave the room. He wouldn’t want to be in here alone with Jonghyun and Kibum in… this position for the first time. And if Jinki left the room too, how was Kibum supposed to get out of this position naturally? Or would Jonghyun want to talk about it? That would be super awkward for Kibum. Why did this have to be so hard?

As Jinki sat up, Minho pushed himself off the bed and headed for the door. Kibum made the decision, scrambling off the bed to get there first.

“I’LL GET IT!” Kibum accidentally shouted. At Minho’s surprised expression, he swallowed and tried again. “I’ll get it. A glass of water. For Jinki. It’s my house, after all.” He turned and wrenched the door open.

As he hurried into the hallway, he could hear Minho and Jinki talking behind him in the room.

“His house? Like I didn't also basically grow up here?”

“Maybe he’s trying to be polite. Technically, you don’t live here.”

“What, so I haven’t spent at least half my life also sleeping in this bed?”

Whyyyy did Minho have to say that last line?? Kibum squealed internally, making a mental note to smack Minho later for that. He didn’t have to bring that up now… in front of BOTH of their soulmates!

Kibum rounded the counter and reached for a clean glass for Jinki. As he filled it with water, he let his mind run back over the whole movie watching event. He’d cuddled with Jonghyun! Granted, there had been a barrier, but still! It may not have been much to some people, but for Kibum, to initiate a moment like that, it was a big deal.

“You slept in the same bed with him?”

Kibum whirled around, nearly throwing the glass. Standing fairly close to him was Jonghyun. His hands were held casually behind his back and he was looking at Kibum was such a cute smile. And his eyes… they were glowing, again.

“I… of course I did. You heard, we’re basically brothers.”

Jonghyun chuckled a little. He didn’t say anything else, just smiled and looked at Kibum in that way that the younger still couldn't quite figure out. And Kibum didn’t really mind, because the way Jonghyun’s eyes were glowing with that golden light… he could stare into that sun his entire life and never have any regrets.

“Was that your comfort level? Were you okay with all of that, before?”

Kibum blinked. “What?”

“During the movie. I didn’t overstep any boundaries, did I?”

Kibum shook his head. “No... I wasn’t bothering you, was I?”

Jonghyun chuckled again. “Did it seem like I was bothered?”

“No… but some people don’t like to be touched, but they’re too polite to feel comfortable saying anything about it, and I just…”

“Kibum. You could touch me all day, any way you like, and I won’t be bothered by it.”

Now, Kibum was the one staring, not speaking. How could he respond to that?

“I…”

“I go at your speed, Kibum. If you’re ever uncomfortable, just pull away. I will always listen. I promise.”

A shiver ran down Kibum’s spine and he had to put his hands on the counter behind him. He knew that if he didn’t ground himself, he might just step forward and…

“What’s wrong?” Jonghyun asked.

“You… you do weird things to me.”

“Yeah, the feeling’s mutual.”

Minho’s voice suddenly rang out loudly from across the room. “Helllloooooo! Water???”

The sound broke the tension. Kibum was able to grab the glass of water behind him, skirting around Jonghyun and passing it off to Minho.

“I… I think… I could really go for a coffee right now…” Kibum spoke slowly and glanced up at Jonghyun to see his response. The look on the older boy’s face changed from… whatever it had been before to now a more playful and happy expression.

“Let’s go!”