“This is delicious!” Kyuhyun exclaimed as he slurped his soup as fast as he could without getting burned.

“Slow down, you’re acting like you haven’t eaten in days.” Yesung blew gently on his own soup as he watched Kyuhyun fan his mouth. “Wait for it to cool down a bit.”

Kyuhyun shook his head stubbornly. “I’m hungry! Gaming isn’t easy, you know! It takes skill! I still can’t believe I lost because the stupid game lagged right when—”

“Never mind, I take it back, I take it back! Just don’t get started on talking about gaming again,” Yesung groaned, taking a tentative sip from his own spoon. Satisfied it had cooled enough, he began drinking it himself.

“What are you talking about? Games are the best! The only reason why you don’t like it is because you’re bad at it,” Kyuhyun retorted before diving back into his soup. Yesung didn’t even bother to respond, knowing it was pointless to argue about this subject.

The two continued to eat in a comfortable silence; small talk was completely unnecessary. Kyuhyun finished first, but instead of dropping his bowl in the sink and getting back to his game to avoid doing the dishes like he usually would, he merely set down his spoon and chopsticks. He folded his arms on the table, resting his chin on top, and watched his hyung eat.

Yesung didn’t even notice, his attention entirely focused on the soup in front of him. Kyuhyun smirked slightly, an (evil) idea forming in his head. But, before he could begin to execute his plan, guilt seemingly attacked him from nowhere when he remembered Yesung’s painful wince because of his back. He bit his lip slightly, debating, before letting out his breath in an inaudible sigh.

“Jongwoonie-hyung, I’m going to get started on the dishes, okay?”

Yesung’s head immediately snapped up, his eyes wide and jaw dropped. “What did you just say? Am I hearing things? The mighty Prince Kyuhyun just offered to do the dishes?!” His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he watched Kyuhyun place the various bowls and pots in the sink, realizing he wasn’t just joking. “You want a favor, don’t you? What is it? Just spill it!”

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes. “What, I can’t do something nice for once? Please, you’re acting like I never help out! Besides, you already did all the unpacking, I’m just doing the dishes!”

Understanding dawned on Yesung at Kyuhyun’s last sentence. “Ahhh, someone’s feeling guilty, aren’t they?”

Now it was Kyuhyun’s turn to be surprised, his eyes widening. “What are you talking about, hyung? What in the world would I feel guilty about? I’m just doing the dishes, sheesh!” he denied, slightly flustered. He immediately the tap and faced the sink, pouring a very generous amount of dish detergent onto a sponge.

“Uh-huh. I’m sure,” Yesung chuckled but said no more.

Kyuhyun exhaled in relief, thankful that Yesung didn’t pursue the subject any further. He wasn’t sure if his pride would be able to take it, after all. But then again, Yesung knew him too well.

Unlike Yesung, Kyuhyun had grown up in the city, well accustomed to large schools and drama. With his handsome face, keen wit, and the fact that he was two years younger than everyone in his grade, it was impossible for him to go unnoticed. As soon as they got to the age of splitting into “cliques”, Kyuhyun found himself placed securely in the center of the popular, the “kingkas”. Guys were either his bros or jealous wanna-bees, and girls, both older and younger, fawned over him.

For Kyuhyun, though, being popular wasn’t as great a thing as others made it out to be. Sure, it was nice to be “loved”, and he supposed being alone would be horrible, but he never understood the appeal of gossip and rumors, the breaking up and then making up, the cheating and betrayals.

But what he hated the most was fakeness, the acting. Every single day, countless people complimented him on his looks, his grades, essentially up to him. Kyuhyun didn’t have a problem with the praise itself, rather, it was the sweet sickly tone it was said in and the over-the-top idolization. He knew almost none of the people said it because they truly meant it, they said it to get a good reaction from him.

He had a different problem with his closest friends. They teased, hung out, talked, and Kyuhyun truly had fun with them, but he couldn’t help but feel there was still a distance between them. He felt as though he could never truly confide in any of them. Their conversations would always revolved around girls, sports, music, celebrities, school, and games, all things Kyuhyun either loved or had an interest in, but they never ventured out of those superficial topics. Sometimes Kyuhyun wished he could talk to someone about the future, about life, or something, he wasn’t sure what, but he knew if he brought the subject up with his friends, they would only laugh and think he was joking.

But there was nothing Kyuhyun could do about it. He liked to think that he did whatever he wanted to and didn’t care about what others thought, but in the end, he too was an actor. He played the part of one of the kingkas: cool, handsome, and suave.

He was almost relieved when his parents told him they were moving. It meant a fresh start, and hopefully, he would no longer be a part of the “popular”. He would avoid it at all costs, he told himself firmly. He supposed he might miss a couple of his closest friends, but wasn’t all that sentimental about it. After all, it was much too easy to keep in touch these days.

When Kyuhyun approached Yesung on the first day of school, being friends was the last thing on his mind. He really only wanted to borrow his map. But Yesung’s reaction to him was so drastic from what he was used to, he couldn’t help but be intrigued. Yesung hadn’t been exactly scared of him, per say, but extremely cautious and suspicious. The fact that he refused Kyuhyun’s offer in such a straightforward manner made Kyuhyun strangely ecstatic.

Kyuhyun finally found someone he could just be himself around. He knew that seemed horribly cliché and cheesy, but it was true. Yesung was a dreamer, and they talked about things Kyuhyun would’ve never even thought of before. Before long, he also found himself pouting and whining like a child, something that would’ve been absolutely inconceivable before.

But most importantly, there were no pretenses between them. Yesung always gave his honest opinion with blunt straightforwardness and did as he pleased. And yet, he was always so caring, putting others before himself. He was patient, putting up with Kyuhyun’s evil pranks and childish antics.

To Kyuhyun, Yesung was more than just a best friend. He was like his soul brother, in a way. They understood each other so well, Kyuhyun almost felt like they were twins sometimes, only to remember their personalities were opposites. Being an only child with no siblings, Kyuhyun didn’t know what having a brother would be like, but if he had to guess, he’d say Yesung was probably the closest thing he’d ever have. In fact, he truly wished Yesung was his real brother sometimes; maybe he wouldn’t have felt so crowded yet alone at the same time growing up.

“Aish, just let me do the dishes, you’re so slow!” Yesung complained as he set his now-empty bowl in the sink. “I’ll finish it in like two minutes.”

“No. I said I was going to do it, so I’m going to finish it,” Kyuhyun balked. “I’m not that slow, either!”

“Fine, fine.” Yesung put his hands up as if he was surrendering. “I’ll go finish unpacking then.”

“Noooooo!” Kyuhyun whined, shaking his head. “You’ve been unpacking all day! I wanted to watch a movie!”

Yesung laughed, ruffling Kyuhyun’s hair. “Okay, okay, I’ll go set up the tv then. Hurry up with the dishes, though!”

“I’m already hurrying!” Kyuhyun said stubbornly, but grinned at getting his way.

Yesung rolled his eyes as he went to pick out a movie from his extensive collection. No matter what Kyuhyun said, he acted like a complete child half the time. He settled on an action movie that he figured Kyuhyun would enjoy, popping it into the DVD player before grabbing a bag of chips from the kitchen.

“Done!” Kyuhyun announced, wiping his hands on his jeans before settling down on the couch beside Yesung. “Oh, I like this movie,” he said before reaching for the chip bag.

“Nuh-uh, get your own.” Yesung moved the chip bag out of reach, glaring petulantly at Kyuhyun. “You always eat all of them!”

“That’s your own fault. You eat too slowly,” Kyuhyun rebutted. He scooted closer to Yesung as he attempted to grab it.

“No, you’re just a pig! Get your own chips for goodness sake! You’re just too lazy!” Yesung desperately tried to keep the bag out of reach, leaning far over the side of the couch.

“That’s it,” Kyuhyun growled with a playful smirk. Yesung let out a startled yelp as Kyuhyun body-tackled Yesung, throwing the both of them over the couch.

“Y-Yah! Cho Kyuhyun you’re going to crush the chips!” Yesung protested as the two landed in a heap on the floor. He’d managed to hold onto the chips, and was still attempting to keep them away from Kyuhyun. But unfortunately, Kyuhyun had already changed tactics.

“Hyunggggg~” Kyuhyun whined, throwing Yesung off guard. Then, with a smirk, Kyuhyun pressed his fingertips against the elder’s sensitive sides.

“Y-YAAAHH!”

The movie was long forgotten; instead, a vicious, one-sided tickle war ensued.

“Okay, I give, I give!” Yesung managed to get out between his giggles after struggling for about thirty seconds. “Take, the dang, chip—BWAHAHAH~”

“Are you sure?” Kyuhyun grinned as he tickled the thrashing Yesung for a few more seconds, before snatching up the bag. “Oh, you’re too kind. Thanks, hyung~”

“I swear, you, are, pure…evil,” Yesung panted as he lay on the floor, exhausted from the ordeal. “Why do I even put up with you?” he moaned.

“Because I’m awesome,” Kyuhyun replied without missing a beat, causing Yesung to moan again. “Oh come on, Jongwoon-hyung, we’re missing the movie!” Tossing the bag of chips onto the couch, he reached down and pulled Yesung to his feet. “Stop being such a party pooper!”

A few moments later, the two had finally settled down on the couch, the chips situated in between them. Like Yesung predicted, Kyuhyun finished most of them within the first ten minutes. They continued their banter for a while (mostly Yesung complaining about Kyuhyun being a pig) before becoming fully immersed in the movie. Or at least Yesung was.

“Kyu-ah, you’re gonna like the next part,” Yesung commented with his eyes still glued to the tv, breaking the comfortable silence. Surprisingly, he didn’t get a response. “Kyuhyun-ah?” Yesung tore his eyes away from the movie to look beside him to see Kyuhyun, fast asleep.

“Yah, I picked this movie because I thought you’d like it! If I knew you were going to fall asleep I would’ve picked a different one,” Yesung complained to himself, but couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Kyuhyun had his arms stretched across the top of the couch, his head drooping with his chin against his chest.

“Didn’t I tell you to go to bed early instead of playing Starcraft last night?” Yesung continued to talk as he turned off the tv. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

Yesung shook Kyuhyun’s shoulder gently, causing him to whine softly. Not waiting for Kyuhyun to wake up fully, Yesung pulled him to his feet, and proceeded to half drag and half carry him to their shared bedroom.

After he managed to get Kyuhyun onto his bed on the right side of the room, Yesung carefully tucked him in, chuckling when he imagined teasing Kyuhyun about it later. Just as he was about to leave, he found Kyuhyun had attached himself to his arm, and was snuggling it as if it was a teddy bear.

“Kyu-ah, let go,” Yesung implored softly as he tried to detach Kyuhyun’s long fingers. But, his grip only tightened. Sighing in resignation, Yesung sat down on the bed. “Fine, I’ll stay for a little bit then.”

But inwardly he couldn’t help but coo at his dongsaeng’s cuteness. Kyuhyun looked so innocent when he was sleeping, so much younger, and Yesung suddenly felt an unconscious desire to protect him.

Before he even knew what he was doing, he found himself Kyuhyun’s hair, brushing the soft fringe away from his forehead, his hand then trailing down to his cheek. His stomach fluttered when Kyuhyun shifted his sleep, burying his head against the crook of Yesung’s elbow. Yesung suddenly felt hot, and when he brought his free hand up to his face, he knew he was blushing.

Yesung quickly detached his arm from Kyuhyun’s grasp, stumbling across the room to his own bed. Falling on it face down, he shivered slightly. For a couple months now, he’d been feeling these strange flutters in his stomach, and they always seemed to come with an uneasy feeling afterwards. Yesung shook his head sharply a couple of times, turning onto his side. ‘Don’t think about it too much’, he told himself sternly. Once again pushing the strange feeling away into the back of his mind, Yesung chose not to dwell on what had just happened.

What was the use of worrying over something that probably nothing anyways?

A/N: Hey, it's lahdeedah000! Anyways, here's chapter three! Thanks JJT for editing it! ^w^ Haha I think we can stop thanking each other, just assume each chapter is edited by the other person. ^^

There's more insight into Kyuhyun's thoughts in this chapter, and then a bit more into Yesung's too. Hope you guys enjoyed! :D You guys have been getting pretty fast updates from us if I do say so myself, so please leave COMMENTS! And thanks to those of you who did, every one is appreciated!! :D