Although it may sound cheesy and clichéd and unrealistic, Dongwoo thinks that he and Howon are one of those couples that were meant to be together from the start.

Part of the reason goes to their understanding bandmates who are (thankfully) not homophobic. Dongwoo and Howon are still trying to figure out how to break the news to their bandmates when Woohyun barges in on them one day- Howon laughing softly as Dongwoo trails quick butterfly kisses along his jaw and down his throat- and announces it to the rest of the group before Dongwoo and Howon can even get up from where they’re lying on Howon’s bed, by yelling at the top of his lungs that Dongwoo hyung and Howon-ah are face!

All the members congratulate them and the two rappers receive a fifteen-minute warning lecture from Sunggyu before Woohyun forcefully tugs the overly-concerned leader out of the room, raising his eyebrows suggestively at Dongwoo before shutting the door. Dongwoo rolls his eyes.

“What?” Howon asks, and his eyes are laughing yet curious at the same time.

Dongwoo just shakes his head (because it’s Woohyun and Woohyun is stupid) with an off-handed shrug, before eyeing Howon teasingly and pouncing on the younger boy, causing Howon to yelp in surprise as the two boys go tumbling back onto the mattress in a mess of tangled limbs again.

Dongwoo starts to leave a trail of kisses down Howon’s face and Howon squirms. “Hyung- ”

“Roar.”

And Howon suddenly flips Dongwoo over and crashes his lips against his boyfriend’s, muttering something along the lines of don’t be so cute all the time as Dongwoo laughs his carefree laugh and tangles his fingers into Howon’s soft hair.

(The other part of the reason, Dongwoo thinks, is because he and Howon are so crazily, stupidly, and totally in love.)

-

The first time Dongwoo and Howon make love, Infinite is in Japan for a concert and promoting Paradise.

The relationship between the two boys was progressing smoothly. They still made sure to promote their pairing onscreen, Dongwoo always remembering to turn to Howon first when he laughed or had something to say, Howon always remembering to stick close to his hyung’s side and whisper things into his ear. When they were off camera and were just lazing around in the dorm or practicing their routines in the dance studio, Dongwoo perpetually had an arm wrapped around Howon, and Howon would always lean into Dongwoo during breaks and group talks.

Whenever the two were alone, Howon would always be the first one to start something, would always be the first one to start nipping at Dongwoo’s neck, slip both arms around Dongwoo’s waist, or trail a finger down the length of Dongwoo’s toned arm. Whenever night fell and they were shrouded in the darkness of whosever room they were sleeping in for that night, Dongwoo would always watch Howon sleep with the most tender of smiles, would always sweep Howon’s hair away from his face, trace the lines and curves of Howon’s face, or brush his lips ever-so-softly against the tender, pink flesh of Howon’s. Dongwoo always found it hard to keep his hands to himself whenever Howon was involved, and Howon did, too.

So they probably had it coming, really, when they finished their performance with satisfied smiles and could spend the night in a comfortable Japanese hotel. Myungsoo had snatched a key card and tugged the confused choding along with him as soon as Hyoan hyung had finished checking in for them, and Woohyun had wheedled the leader into sharing a room with him after much whining and greasy aegyo. (But they all knew about Sunggyu’s soft spot for Woohyun, just like Dongwoo’s soft spot for Howon.) Sungjong had playfully pushed Dongwoo and Howon into an elevator together before ing a key card into Dongwoo’s face, waving and laughing as the elevator doors slid shut before them.

Dongwoo was silent as Howon pushed open the room door and dumped his bag on the small couch at the corner of the room, and nodded absentmindedly as the younger kissed him sweetly on the lips before saying I’m going to take a shower and slipping into the bathroom. Dongwoo sat down slowly at the edge of the bed, remembering how he had recently been craving for more and more and more of Howon physically, and wondering whether this could possibly be it, does Howon want the same thing, too?

Still absorbed in his thoughts, Dongwoo takes his turn in the shower to calm himself and slow down his runaway thoughts, trying not to pay too much attention to how it was just him and Howon tonight, no managers, no bandmates, but just them.

He takes his time to clean up in the bathroom, but all efforts at dispelling any unwanted thoughts from his mind fly out the window when he sees Howon tug his loose white wifebeater off his frame and hang it over the couch, and he only manages to see Howon’s eyes widen in surprise before he’s got the younger boy pinned down onto the bed, arms encasing him under his body.

Dongwoo hears the frantic pounding of Howon’s heart as he rests his forehead against his, and slowly, he opens his eyes to meet Howon’s, and he sees his boyfriend gulp in nervous anticipation and a flash of uncertainty pass through Howon’s eyes, and Dongwoo immediately regrets his impulsiveness and makes to push himself off of him, apology at the tip of his tongue.

But then arms have locked themselves around his neck and Dongwoo is forced back down again, lips meeting Howon’s in a desperate collision of lips and teeth. He feels one of Howon’s arms slip from around his neck to tug at the hem of his shirt, and Dongwoo pulls back quickly, one hand wrapping around Howon’s that’s gripping onto his shirt. He leans into murmur a soft is this what you really want against Howon’s lips, and when Howon gives him a shy nod and leans up to press his lips against his again, Dongwoo lets the younger boy pull his loose-fitted shirt over his head.

Dongwoo feels slightly trembling fingers run up his bare chest and over his arms, and he feels a rush of protectiveness and affection for the boy beneath him, who’s clueless and scared and nervous but yet loves him enough and trusts him enough to always take care of him, so much so that he’s willing to give Dongwoo his everything.

And Dongwoo thinks he can’t count the number of reasons why he fell in love with Howon in the first place.

Slowly, Dongwoo breaks the kiss he’s sharing with Howon to cradle Howon’s face between his hands, and he feels Howon’s fingers dig into his shoulder blades, feels Howon’s fingernails carve crecents into his muscles. So Dongwoo makes it a promise to himself to let Howon know how much he loves him, how much he wants him and how much this means to him, and busies himself with trailing his lips across Howon’s face, down his neck and to his collarbone, murmuring soft I love yous and thank yous and I’ll always protect yous into every available expanse of skin he can find, and he swears his heart positively overflows with love and affection when Howon threads his fingers into his hair and goes- in that same shy, quiet voice he fell in love with since the beginning- Dongwoo hyung, I love you, too.

-

The next morning when Infinite’s gathered at the hotel lobby and ready to head back home, Dongwoo smiles softly when he sees Howon desperately tugging at the collar of his blue polo shirt in a feeble attempt to hide the purple bite marks and bruises and hickeys dotting his collarbones and shoulder blades, and he laughs along with the other members when Sungyeol calls him out on it and Howon blushes a crimson red, slipping both arms around his precious dongsaeng’s waist and pecking him quickly on the cheek.

Infinite groans and starts complaining about sickly sweetness and disgusting PDA (though Dongwoo thinks Woohyun honestly has no right to say anything), but Dongwoo doesn’t mind because when he gives one of the little teeth marks he left on Howon’s neck last night a brief kiss, the intensifying flush on Howon’s face is worth all the teasing they’re getting.