Hyukjae woke up to the bright rays of early morning sunshine seeping in from his mildly open blinds, glimmers of stardust fleeting their way down from the silky blue curtains that framed the glass.

He rubbed his eyes drowsily with the back of his hand, irritated slightly by the rude and somewhat unexpected awakening. Groaning, he flipped over onto his backside and shoved his nose deeper into the plush pillow, feeling the warmth engulf its way around his facial features.

He needed more sleep; staying up for an extra few hours to speak to his father the night before about Donghae had him feeling a little lethargic. He didn't regret it at all though; at least now he was clarified about both what his mother and father thought about his feelings towards the little brown ball of wonder right beside him, dozing off naively with graceful innocence.

Hyukjae flipped over onto his side gingerly, facing the direction of the brunette while his arms stretched out to form a comfortable distance for both Donghae and himself.

He couldn't help but stare at the younger; watching as his eyelids were closed perfectly, framed by those lucious lashes that were so adorable to Hyukjae. Donghae's mouth was slightly open, gap only big enough for his warm breath to exhale and inhale at a steady but gentle pace, creating a lulling intonation that nearly guaranteed Hyukjae another flight off to dreamland.

Admiring Donghae's endearing sleeping habits and unblemished 'sleeping beauty' traits, Hyukjae couldn't help the slight grin that played its way onto his lips. He just couldn't control himself; whenever he looked at the younger, nothing else was visible except for the face of someone who was clearly crafted by the angels and God himself, paying careful attention and giving extra time for other-wordly beautiful details.

Still keeping that bashful smile, Hyukjae continued to watch Donghae from short-distance; appreciating and cherishing every detail of the other man's face when suddenly, the brunette moaned on a small scale, eyebrows furrowing before he began to stir on the bed, adjusting his position comfortably.

Donghae began to fidget a bit more until he gave in; cutely scooting his way over to Hyukjae in defeat of finding a good enough position. Donghae pressed his nose against the crook of the blonde's neck; inhaling his manly scent, lazily bringing his arm over Hyukjae's upper torso only to smile faintly at the newfound tenderness and warmth that edged protectively around his own body.

Donghae stayed still for awhile, deciding that this was by far the most relaxing and cozy position he'd ever slept in.

Hyukjae felt a shade of red crawl its way up his cheeks for the millionth time since he's met Donghae.

His innocent baby Donghae; the brunette had no idea how hard Hyukjae's heart was pounding in his chest, how trillions of butterflies were cheesily making their presence known inside his stomach, and how beads of sweat were starting to form on his palms.

Despite the assumed three to four years over that seperated Hyukjae from Donghae; the blonde's feelings around the younger were mixed and nothing short of the average, or maybe not-so-average adolescent falling for his first girlfriend feeling. It was that birthed and raw emotion of quick heartbeats and easily pulled strings that connected the comparison, but still, there was absolutely nothing Hyukjae could do to calm his hyperactive heart.

Hyukjae wasn't sure if he should love the way this innocent first love chase felt like, or hate the fact that he was falling intensely hard and remarkably fast for the younger male; homouality in Korea was vitally condemned.

All of his uncertain thoughts seemed to fade to grey though when Hyukjae felt the brunette's eyelashes tickle his collar bone, a clear indication that Donghae was slowly starting to wake up. The younger yawned cutely, just a little before swallowing dryly; Donghae then humbly pressed his lips against this portion of Hyukjae's skin before inhaling sharply, seeming to never get enough of the older's dignified manly fragrance.

"Good morning Hae," Hyukjae greeted warmly, smile brightening all the more as he pressed his face deeper into the brunette's brown locks, breathing in Donghae's morning aura himself.

Donghae immediately stopped in his ministrations; darkening ever by the minute blush slithering its way up his face, stopping at the tip of his cheek bones. He wasn't even slightly aware that Hyukjae was awake, much less experiencing his chaste touches and eyeing him non-stop as he continued on with his embarrassing portrayal of morning cuddles. Donghae had always just been a cuddler in the mornings from as far back as he could remember.

Hyukjae chuckled underneath his breath, flustered and not the least bit bothered by Donghae's affectionate displays. Of course, him developing lingering feelings for this boy had garnered him the pang of early love-sickness trait number one; whatever the other did, whenever he did it was absolutely and utterly adorable.

No exchanges. No excuses. The feeling was just there and by God it was there to stay.

Donghae did nothing more but giggle lightly at the sight of the beautiful morning Hyukjae with his tousled blonde hair and gummy smile; all uncertainty and embarrassment fading away to create a new sense of pretty and delicate feelings. For some reason he liked spending his moments with Hyukjae in the mornings when he woke up; it was by far more stunning and marvelous to wake up to a protective and loving blonde than to anyone else in this world; which only goes to say that he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Come on Hae, time to wake up. Let's get breakfast," Hyukjae chided, crawling his body regretfully away from Donghae's grip, in favor of wriggling himself toward the foot of the bed to eventually make his way down.

However, as soon as Hyukjae was about to take the first lagging step onto the ground, Donghae bounced up from behind him and wrapped his fragile arms all the way around the blonde's chest, making the older stop in his movements and just admire the brunette's soft touches.

Adorable.

Just plain adorable.

Nothing in this world can get any cuter than an early morning Donghae, Hyukjae thought to himself, turning behind him to see those beautiful brown orbs so full of life and dedication. His beauty matched up to his huge heart rather well, and the blonde couldn't help yet another gentle caress of crimson its way around his cheeks. It was insane how Donghae could make the blonde's insecurities and blockaded walls just fade away into oblivion, all just by giving him a simple hug.

Hyukjae got an idea. An idea that formed all over again.

As the brunette was busy squishing his face into the back of the older's shoulder blade as close as he could cuddle into, the blonde put both of his hands on the back of Donghae's knees, lifting them both up; carrying a giggling Donghae on his back.

Hyukjae jumped straight off of the bed, aware that the sound might echo through downstairs to his parents eating breakfast, probably sounding not quite so innocent.

He didn't mind it for now; just as he bounced off the bed, he ran straight toward the door, turning the handle quickly before bursting out, giggling along all the while with the brunette that was wonderfully on board behind the S.S. Hyukjae.

The blonde took the stairs one by one as he exaggerated the plunges and leaps to give Donghae a supposed 'bumpy ride'. The turbulence was enough to have the brunette chuckling away as he tightened his arms around Hyukjae's neck; immediately remembering the sunset just the day before when the older did the same exact thing on the beach.

It had kind of become their inside joke of some sorts.

As Hyukjae's feet landed on the cold hardwood floor of the downstairs, he immediately forwarded his motions until he could sit the surprisingly light Donghae onto the barstool.

The blushing Donghae smiled gratefully, not willing to let Hyukjae go just yet without his one last and final hug of affection.

The blonde's heart swelled with pride and joy at the Donghae that was beginning to light up his days more and more each time.

Mrs. Lee was sitting opposite of Donghae, facing the brunette before she sent a warmhearted smile in his direction. She swallowed the pancake piece that had been stabbed into her fork after a number of seconds, chewing away at the fluffy substance. Then she turned her attention to her son, casting him a grin before asking pleasantly,

"Do you need any help packing to go home today? Your father and I already purchased both Donghae's and your plane tickets just to save you money and hassle. I can drive you to the airport too if you'd like."

Hyukjae smiled at his mother and her kind actions before waving her off,

"Mom, you really didn't have to do that. Really I can provide for me and Donghae just fine. We can call a cab to get to the airport and Donghae and I could just pack ourselves, we didn't bring much anyway."

However it was Mr. Lee that waved his son off this time, scrunching his eyebrows in a sense of ridiculousness,

"Nonsense child! We'll drive you to the airport, what's the point of calling a cab? And don't worry about the tickets, they're just a late present for everything you've done for my birthday."

Seeing as his parents were in no way willing to argue, Hyukjae just nodded and conjured a simple thanks before grabbing two plates and setting them on the granite table tops; one for Donghae and one for him.

He grabbed two pancakes from the serving dish at the center of the table and placed them onto his plate before Donghae imitated his actions.

Whatever Hyukjae did, Donghae followed shortly in suit.

Just like always.

They ate together in silence for awhile before the back door of the kitchen swung open in a haste, and in came bounding a very shaken and sleep deprived young man that Hyukjae recognized in an insant;

his high school best friend Jongwoon.

This was the one friend he had that had kept him sane all throughout those roller-coasters of four years.

The male's dark black hair was tousled and whipped dramatically, causing him to appear mysterious even when he was the exact opposite while his eyes were still slitted and small as ever. His frame was skinny, but muscular and almost similar to Hyukjae's own.

"Hyukjae! Long time no see! I have amazing news!" Jongwoon shouted, running up to the still eating Hyukjae and nearly giving him a heart attack with the bear hug that he engulfed him in; which was in no way even remotely similar to how soft and gentle Donghae's touches were.

"Jongwoon! Yesungie! What the heck are you doing here?" Hyukjae stood up immediately and hugged the darker headed male ecstatically, crushing the living air out of him.

The last time the blonde saw him was years and years ago, and besides social networking websites; he hasn't seem him at all.

He would always trudge through the back door just like that when they were younger.

It seemed as though the eldest of the three didn't change, still keeping that playful spirit and bright smile; but still, Jongwoon always held that same air of awkward as he did during childhood.

"What is it?" Hyukjae asked curiously after letting go of Jongwoon and resuming his spot beside Donghae, who was inspecting the darker headed male casually.

The brunette only knew Jongwoon after the first few seconds of him recklessly foraging straight through the back door and hugging Hyukjae, and for some reason, even though he liked the strange sense of sweet aura that surrounded the black headed male, there was also a pang in his heart that felt unmistakable.
 

Jealousy.
 

"Well..." Jongwoon dragged on, taking the seat directly across from Hyukjae, eyes finally landing on Donghae's kind brown orbs and gentle smile.

Jongwoon's eyes darted back and forward from Hyukjae to Donghae and back; "Hyukjae...wow! I knew it! You were slightly different all the way through high school man! Never would I ever think you'd get such an attractive boyfriend after just a few years of finishing college though! Congratz man!"

Jongwoon held up his hand in a high five motion which Hyukjae quickly took to pressing flat down back onto the tabletop.

"No he is not my boyfriend!" the blonde sulked, flushing harshly while taking note of Donghae's own embarrassment making its way known through his cheeks;

"Just...what's the big news?"

Jongwoon shook his head, winking at Hyukjae, murmuring so softly, the blonde could barely catch it, but he heard it nonetheless;

"I bet they make amazing love when they sleep together."

The black headed male quickly straightened up before nearly cheering, "Anyways, you know that pathetic little town where you live? It's going to be mine too! I got accepted into a high paying job of being in the investigative unit there at that one station! I wouldn't have taken it, but the price was just beyond the roof so what's the point of staying here and keeping up with the unit when I could get paid even more for the same thing over there? I came to tell you because I'm leaving tomorrow and I heard you were back in town for your dad's birthday until this afternoon."

At that, Jongwoon immediately piped up, waving his hands in an S.O.S like motion while shouting "Hello Mr. Lee! Happy late bithday! I got you a present!"

And again, Jongwoon's childish presence left back behind the kitchen to get the gift he hid in plain sight whilst walking in.

Great, Hyukjae thought, Jongwoon now lives near me again.

Let the adventures begin.

But Hyukjae didn't catch the slight glimmer of feigned happiness and hidden guarded envious feelings behind Donghae's eyes that very same moment.