It was 11pm and the group sat on the few couches in their dorm, all undeniably tired and worn out from their schedules. Daehyun groaned as he turned over in the armchair, alerting his band mates to the fact that he was actually asleep despite his constant chatter about him being the one to stay up late that night. Himchan heard someone scoff at him and turned to see Youngjae shaking his head towards his unconscious best friend. Himchan felt his heart speed up and looked to his own best friend who just gave him a weird stare, Yongguk silently asking him why the hell he was looking his way. Himchan yawned and it caught Youngjae’s attention as well.

“Are you tired hyung? It’s okay if you go to sleep, Daehyun beat you too it anyway.” He smiled tiredly and the elder just shook his head. Within the moment Himchan's mind sparked. He jumped up with a grunt which frightened Daehyun out of his nap as Himchan ran into the kitchen.

He dug into the fridge, pushing passed some leftover food and half empty jars. “I can’t believe I forgot! And I also can’t believe Daehyun hasn’t eaten it yet but…” The others had followed him in and were standing at the counter. “I made a cake!” Everyone woke up to the word – even sleep came second to their stomachs, especially when cake was involved.

It wasn’t very big but it was large enough. The cake was just vanilla with chocolate frosting smothering it haphazardly. It said ‘Happy Birthday Jae’ in wonky letters on top. Himchan could almost hear their stomachs begging for it as he fumbled through the cupboard for candles. When Daehyun spotted them in Himchan’s hand his voice became whiny and high-pitched,

“Ah, hyung! Can’t we just eat it? It’s so late and the cake looks soooooooo good.” Himchan chuckled but shook his head again.

"No, we'll do this properly." When they were lit he lifted his hands like a conductor and the group began to sing.

Youngjae’s cheeks flushed red and he smiled sheepishly at them shouting the song since everyone was too tired to sing properly, even though it was their job. When Himchan caught the boy’s gaze his heart stopped for a moment and he missed a few words just as the song ended. He nodded at Youngjae who bent over the counter and blew out the tiny flames with one breath.

They all cheered and Daehyun continued to hurry Himchan up, prompting the elder to deliberately make him wait for the last slice. When Daehyun finally got it, he ate loudly and sloppily.

“Mmm, this is delicious.” Daehyun spoke around his mouthful of mashed up chocolate and vanilla, giving everyone a better view of it than they would have liked.

“It’s really good hyung.” Youngjae smiled, squishing his eyes against his cheeks in a way that Himchan thought was perfectly adorable. The elder nodded shyly, cursing his nerves and hoping that Daehyun would fall asleep as quickly as he did before.

“I’m so full and tired.” Junhong muttered almost inaudibly and after putting his plate in the kitchen he went into the bedroom. Himchan knew that as soon as he stepped through the door it would be a miracle if the boy made it to the bed.

The rest of the room was silent and Himchan gathered the plates of the others and took them into where Junhong’s was. He started filling the sink with hot water, adding some soap, and pulling on a pair of awfully yellow rubber gloves. Himchan picked up the stack of plates and dumped it into the water, grabbing the sponge and washing off the cake residue.

“You don’t even know if you’ll stay awake Channie.” Yongguk whispered quietly but clearly, coming to stand beside Himchan with a cloth to dry the plates.

“But I will Yongguk. I know I can. I have to.” The last part was muttered but Himchan knew Yongguk heard each word. He would have known Himchan was thinking it anyway. Yongguk sighed heavily and Himchan huffed finishing the last plate as Yongguk put the rest away. When they were finished Yongguk strode confidently back into the lounge room and Himchan didn’t understand how he could do it even though he would have been the most tired of all of them.

“Come on Jongup, we’ve got dance practice in the morning.” Himchan caught the tired wink he sent the boy as Yongguk signalled for the younger to follow him and after letting out a heavy breath Jongup took the leader’s hand and followed him quietly. Himchan admired how frank Yongguk could be despite being the shyest of the group. When the leader had discovered his feelings he kept them bottled up for so long that they just rushed out at what Himchan would have considered an inconvenient moment. Jongup however thought it was admirable and accepted Yongguk straight away. Himchan fantasised that he could be accepted just as easily but Youngjae was the most stubborn of their dongsaengs.

Being the second eldest, he took it as his responsibility to help Yongguk in taking care of the rest. In doing so, he not only gained a best friend, but also some deep and confusing feelings. He was hesitant at first when he discovered how his heart beat insanely fast the moment his eyes locked with Youngjae’s but Himchan enjoyed the bright smiles that the younger boy shared and revelled in the small moments they were able to share both on and off camera. The hardest part of the whole ‘liking your band mate’ thing was the fact that their fans knew everything that went on between the members with their keen sense towards skinship – something Himchan had no avoidance for.

When he sat himself down again, it was in one of the lonesome arm chairs. Daehyun had snuck over onto the loveseat where Himchan had been sitting earlier, next to the birthday boy. Jongup, Yongguk and Junhong were gone but had left Himchan with the most difficult obstacle. Daehyun was Youngjae’s best friend and it was unbearable for the elder of the three to see how their eyes twinkled when looking at each other. The jealousy he felt made Himchan want to puke. Whenever he saw them together, Himchan felt anger flow through him and make his limbs tingle. He had no idea if there was something more between them or they really were just friends. Himchan begged the stars for it to be the latter.

The jingle of their harmonised laughter broke into Himchan’s thoughts and his eyes snapped to their smiles. “Aw, hyung are you tired? You can go to sleep too if you want.” Daehyun spoke around his yawn, inviting Youngjae to join in and finally Himchan found himself stretching his lips to take a deep breath as well. The two singers laughed again and hearing Youngjae’s sent a shiver down Himchan’s spine, but Daehyun’s sent a fire through his chest.

“You look tired too Daehyunnie, why don’t you go to sleep?” Himchan sent him a cocky stare but Daehyun just stretched his arms across the back of the couch and flicked a smile to the boy beside him.

“I’m not really, I think your cake woke me up. Why don’t we watch a movie then? Might get us to doze off.” He lifted a brow as if to challenge Himchan’s authority as the eldest in the room. They let Youngjae pick and he chose a horror movie. Himchan couldn’t watch the screen, he hated the suspense, but the only other place his eyes would land was the snugglers on the sofa.

Himchan hadn’t had time to plan Youngjae’s birthday other than making the cake so he couldn’t be sure if Daehyun was intentionally getting on his nerves or just acting like his usual greasy self. He didn’t know how the fans couldn’t see it. They all thought he was an angel, the most adorable aside from Junhong, and Himchan was the sly guy who loved it up with the rest of the members. Daehyun made it a habit to get in the way of Himchan’s day to day business with Youngjae.

About halfway through Himchan got sick of the other two and decided to finally pay attention to the movie. Some pretty young girl with long black hair was creeping through an old abandoned house. He could already feel the tension when the girl walked past a mirror and a shadow in the clear shape of a person flickered through the frame. He jumped at the part where the ghost – typical grey skinned girl and white dress – yanked the main character down into the cellar by her hair. He hurriedly shushed the other two who screamed like girls, making him laugh shakily, in order to stop them from waking up the others. Himchan could guess though that Junhong was the only one really asleep, and he always went out like a light.

By the end of the movie Youngjae was asleep too, on Daehyun’s shoulder, and the latter was trying his best to be able to move without waking him. Youngjae groaned but leaned back against the sofa which allowed Daehyun to disappear into the bathroom. Himchan took his turn to sneak over and sat himself next Youngjae, pulling the boy’s head onto his shoulder even if he didn’t look quite as comfortable. Himchan hoped that Youngjae wouldn’t wake up from the ridiculously loud beating that ran through his chest. It was loud enough in his own ears that he thought he might become deaf.

Youngjae grunted and his eye lids slid open. He blinked blurrily, taking in his position and Himchan chuckled at the confusion that took over his expression when he realised the hyung he was leaning on was no longer the same.

“Himchan hyung? Where did Daehyun go?” Himchan’s body tickled, he wanted Youngjae to forget Daehyun for just a moment.

“Uh, he’s in the bathroom. How about I take you to bed?” The younger nodded and Himchan put his hand on Youngjae’s waist, pulling the boy’s arm around his shoulders. It wasn't really neccessary for him to do it, other than that Youngjae closed his eyes the moment he stood up and kept them shut. When Himchan laid him down on the bed, he crouched next to him. The boy’s soft breathing was in time to his own and when Youngjae his lips, Himchan felt a little flustered. He’d had the urge to kiss Youngjae before, but this didn’t seem as controllable. He pressed his lips to Youngjae’s cheek and was surprised that only a small crease formed between his brows rather than suffering from some sort of verbal attack.

“I don’t think you know how much I like you, Youngjae.” The boy was nowhere close to lucid but Himchan still wondered how he was so confident to just blurt out his feelings. “Do you like anyone Youngjae? Or is it Daehyun?” He didn’t expect an answer, or at least not the one he got.

“Pabochan, you didn’t notice how Daehyunnie looks at Junhonggie?” Himchan’s breath caught in his throat and Youngjae spoke so low and quiet that Himchan almost missed it, but a big bright smile crossed the elder’s face when he heard what Youngjae had to say. “Since I noticed that,” Youngjae turned his head to look straight at Himchan and he knew exactly how awake Youngjae really was,
“I do know just how much you like me hyung.”

Himchan was frozen and heart pounding like a drum. Youngjae didn’t answer to those feelings though; he just told Himchan that he knew - and it nearly killed him. Youngjae had known for God knows how long and now he was withholding from Himchan his own feelings on the matter. He chuckled at his own slow timing; of course the ‘Brain’ would know everything, even a secret Himchan had only told Yongguk.

“Goodnight Jae.” He kissed Youngjae’s temple again which prompted the younger to let out a whisper.

“Night hyung.” Himchan’s head snapped to the door where Daehyun stood with a slightly pained smile. His eyes dropped to the floor as he hurried to his bed, climbing onto the bunk above Youngjae. Himchan guessed it was because Daehyun's feelings for the youngest of the group were now common knowledge. With the two singers in bed Himchan thought it a good idea to put them to sleep properly.

“Happy birthday to you~ My beautiful love~ Baby, only for you~ Because you’re here, I’m happy.” Himchan was glad they had released that song when they did, or he might not have anything to sing to Youngjae.

“Hyung, that’s my part.” Daehyun called down, rubbing his eyes as he peeked over the railing of the bed.

“Shut up and go to sleep.” Himchan finally realised who wasn’t sleeping when four different chuckles echoed through the room, two from the same bed. His heart stopped again but he couldn't force down the blush in his cheeks. He'd not only just confessed to Youngjae, but he'd done it in front of all the members. He took a breath to calm himself, thanking the heavens that they couldn't see him in the darkness of night time.

“Happy birthday to you~ Just like today, forever~ Baby, only for you~ We’re going to be together.” Himchan finished the song, skipping over Yongguk and Junhong’s raps for obvious reasons, and the sounds of soft snoring from the other five filled the room. Himchan smiled to himself, brushing the blonde from Youngjae’s forehead before heading off to prep himself for bed.

6 to go~! :)

Okay, not such a long one but I think it's cute :)

Enjoy/comment/subscribe/do your thing haha :D