This one was requested by the lovely Mischevious_Puppet :D please show her love as well <3

Let Me Love You by Mario (+)

Jongup smiled at the lights he could see shining through the curtains of the third from the left apartment on the second floor. The rain had battered down on him his whole way there and he was glad to get under the cover of the building's awnings. It had started raining moments after he left home and he’d gone in too good spirits to remember his umbrella. He looked up at the invisible dark clouds that melted into the night sky as easily as the rain into his clothing. He shook his head violently and the water pelted from his hair to the bricks behind him.

Jongup moved quickly up the stairs when a sharp, icy gust caught beneath his coat and raised goose bumps along his body. He was excited to be there, at his best friend's house after too many weeks a part. It made his heart beat quickly to imagine Junhong's bright smile. Jongup took a few deep breaths when the door was in sight. It calmed his heart but not his butterfly nerves.

Before he could knock the door opened and a taller, burly man exited. His dark fringe shaded his eyes and he didn't look up to the younger man in front of him until his name was heard.

"Hey Yongguk-hyung. You going out?" Yongguk grunted and pushed passed Jongup. The younger secretly admired Yongguk's cologne in the contact; it was a very manly, attractive scent and it was fresh. "I guess I'll see you later then." Yongguk sent him a half-hearted wave over his shoulder as he disappeared down the stairs. It was only when he looked at his back did Jongup realise how Yongguk was dressed to go somewhere nice. Yongguk was a strange man, stranger since the last time Jongup had seem him, but he just shrugged and slid through the open door.

"Junhonggie?" Jongup took off his shoes, leaving them beside the usual cluster of his friends’, and peered around each of the few doorways that led into dark rooms. His brows knit together as he continued his search out from the hallway and into the open kitchen area of the small apartment.

“Hyung!” Jongup felt his heart stop for a short second and he sighed contentedly. Junhong appeared from the bedroom with a strange smile on his lips that somehow didn’t translate to the rest of his features. Jongup cocked his head when he noticed the slight red and swollen look to his eyes. He knew what it meant but he also knew that Junhong wouldn’t want him to notice. He pretended to ignore it but he could push back the hurt he felt in his chest. Junhong stepped quickly towards him, wrapping his long arms around Jongup’s shoulders. He gasped, the sound cut in half by his teeth against his bottom lip. “You’re so wet hyung. Did you not have an umbrella?” Jongup felt his cheeks burn; a contrast to his icy cold clothes had him on the verge of shivering. He shook his head and small droplets of water added to his confession.

Junhong mimicked him but with disappointment instead. He ushered Jongup passed the kitchen and into the living room where the TV played a forgotten war movie. The excessive explosions and gun shots were enough to give Jongup a headache let alone the camera shots that made him feel like he was on a boat.

“You need to change your clothes Jongup-hyung. You will get sick.” Junhong's eyes were wide but authoritative. Jongup didn’t mind though, even if he was the older one. They were too close friends for it to matter anymore. “You’ll have to wear Yongguk-hyung’s clothes though, mine would be…uh…too long.” A shy chuckle breached his lips as he gestured down his lengthy torso and sky-scraper legs. All of Junhong’s clothes would be too big for Jongup who was broader than Junhong but almost a head shorter. “You can just go in,” he nodded the way they’d come, “I’m just going to order some food for dinner.” He smiled and spun, evidently giddy at the presence of his friend.

Jongup turned a little slower before stepping tentatively through the bedroom door. The bedroom was always such an intimate place, the core of a person’s life and Jongup felt there was no exception to Junhong and Yongguk’s room. It sent an awkward tension through the boy’s muscles as he treaded across the carpet towards three large doors that he guessed housed their clothing. The room wasn’t clean but it was fairly tidy – a product of Junhong’s tendency for order. When he opened the cupboard, Jongup could easily see whose things were whose.

Junhong’s were neat and organised into sections by colour and style, he always wanted to look his best, and Yongguk’s were placed a little more roughly, un-ordered and shoes in a messy heap.

Something made Jongup a little uncomfortable about rummaging through Yongguk’s clothes. They weren’t his to use - only in the rare circumstance of Junhong’s offering. He pushed aside several jackets – some leather, some jersey – and passed a few t-shirts and pairs of jeans. They were all brightly coloured and what everyone considered fashionable these days. A strange smell struck Jongup when he got to the hoodies that would warm up his damp body. It was sweet, hinting on floral, and was quite foreign to his nose. It reminded him of his mum, when he would hug her before he left for school, the way her perfume floated around her like an aura from the moment she put it on.

The scent came from several dress shirts that seemed to be hidden at the back, stuffed behind the rest of Yongguk’s things like they were waiting for his return. Jongup picked one up carefully and gently placed his nose against the white fabric. If it wasn’t for the size of it, Jongup might have believed the shirt belonged to a woman. The perfume was intense in the material and it was certainly nothing Jongup had smelled before anywhere near either Yongguk or Junhong.

It puzzled him into a headache, until he went with one of Junhong’s hoodies and a pair of shorts that wouldn’t look strangely long on him. He changed quickly and got out into the lounge room before Junhong would think anything was up.

“Oh…hyung those are mine?” Junhong just pointed to the hoodie with a blank look aside from his surprised eyes.

“Ah, yeah. I just thought these might be more comfortable. And Yongguk’s smelt…weird.” Jongup his lips and rubbed the top against the bottom. He wasn’t sure if Junhong had noticed the shirt yet but a flicker of something in Junhong’s gaze made Jongup’s stomach twist uncomfortably. Junhong smiled and sighed. He had changed the channel while Jongup was gone so now a dance movie played on the large screen. They sat together on the couch, a small distance between that Jongup would forever want to close. The movie they watched was one of the Step Up series and Jongup's favourite. He was always awed at all the difficult moves and twists they performed so effortlessly. He wanted to dance like that.

It came to the finale – the dance battle – when the doorbell rang and both of them shouted happily for food. It made Jongup chuckle to see the younger get so excited, especially the uneasy feelings he had had earlier. He paused the movie before he followed Junhong who was coming back with his arms full. Jongup sat himself at the kitchen table, across from his friend. The smell of the food was making him dizzy with hunger and he was ready to eat all of it. It smelt too good to be real, thankfully though it was.

The table was covered in kimchi, noodles, stew and various starters that looked and smelled mouth-watering. They didn’t waste any time and only enough for a child was left over as they both groaned from their full stomachs.

“Thanks Junhonggie. I owe you one.” They laughed in harmony and it made Jongup feel all warm and fuzzy. His heart stopped a little when he watched the smile drop off Junhong’s face. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy, but Jongup could see the thoughts buzzing through the younger boy’s head at the speed of light. He could see how noisy it was inside.

"Hey.” Jongup leant against the marble top of the island bench in front of Junhong as he rinsed the dishes in the sink before putting them in the dishwasher. His eyes were solemn but spacey. “What’s wrong?” He asked gently. Seeing his friend this distracted, and upset, was unsettling for Jongup. In his perfect world he would have held onto the younger boy and kissed his cheek until the worries went away. His own heart would hurt when Junhong’s did because Jongup tried his hardest to never let Junhong’s smile fall.

“Nothing, hyung. I’m fine.” He looked up with a smile when he spoke. His ruse didn’t work on his hyung though because Jongup could see how the boy had piled his hurt into his eyes in order for his lips to lie so comfortably. Jongup sighed but knew it was not a good idea to press any further and assisted with the cleaning up instead.

“So,” Jongup checked to see Junhong’s reaction but he only watched his hands work, “I was surprised to see Yongguk-hyung leave.” Junhong’s body froze for half a second and the elder could tell how he had to force each muscle to relax, one at a time.

His only response was to hum curiously.

“He seemed…pissed off.” Jongup put one of the plates he’d dried into the draw in front of him, onto the pile of others that were waiting to be used. Junhong hummed. Jongup swallowed over the lump in his throat and the noise was as if it came from seven subwoofers all pointed towards them. His heart beat just as loud, pounding against his inner ears, and he took a deep breath. It didn’t calm him. He wanted to talk to Junhong about what he found in the cupboard, if it even meant anything. He wanted to know why the boy’s cheeks flushed when Jongup spoke to him. He wanted to bring his friend out of the damned rut he was so obviously in. Jongup wanted to hold him and to feel the boy’s soft skin against his own. He wanted to love him better than Yongguk and prove it to Junhong. He’d wanted to do that for so long he’d almost forgotten about his hidden feelings.

They finished in complete silence; aside from the murmurs of the kitchenware as they were cleaned and a single sigh from Junhong when he stood from putting the yellow gloves away. The younger sat on the couch first, Jongup giving him a little distance on the three-seater. The elder’s heart was on the verge of stopping. It was slow and quiet, robbed of its tempo by the worry that was over-powering him.

They started watching a TV show about a man concealing his love for his friend’s wife. How fitting. Jongup had never had to think too hard about it to know he loved Junhong; it had been so long since he had thought those words to himself. Jongup had loved him since before either had even met Yongguk – the manly, charming guy who stole hearts with his gummy smile. Jongup knew Yongguk was trying to take too many at one time.

Jongup sighed and looked discretely at the younger boy. His breath hitched almost inaudibly and the sound broke Jongup’s control.

“Is he cheating on you?” The words came out quieter than he expected but Junhong glanced at him, his features betraying him and shame quickly covering the fear he had been keeping to himself until then. Junhong’s glistening eyes started to leek but Jongup wasn’t sure what to do. He knew he should move closer, but what then? He was a toddler calling for his mum after a nightmare and Jongup was not good at comforting people.

“Not exactly.” Jongup would only have gone so far as to call it a worded breath when Junhong spoke. It made Jongup’s heart jump. Was he glad that it was not so bad? Some part of him was hoping it was so that Junhong had more reason to look at Jongup.

Jongup swallowed his tension and moved over to Junhong. He placed his palm gently against the younger’s shoulder, still a little unsure of himself. Junhong leaned into Jongup’s touch, into the elder who wanted nothing more than to just hold him even when he had no right.

“He looks after me hyung.” Junhong’s eyes were pleading, but not to Jongup. He was pleading to himself, trying to believe his own lie. It made the elder angry, his body heated up and he clenched his fist against Junhong’s back.

“I could a hundred times better.” It was a mixture of shame and fear to admit that to Junhong. Jongup could never tell why it was so difficult to tell someone how he felt about them and his mind fought over whether he had really wanted Junhong to hear him or if he wished his friend had ignored him for that second he spoke.

Junhong let out a singled, hushed laugh before his lips hung open. It took him a moment to speak but Jongup wasn’t in a hurry. He was still looking down at his hands when he spoke. “You really could, hyung.” A smile hinted on the younger’s mouth and Jongup felt himself doing the same.  If anything this was improvement, which was more than Jongup had expected from this visit.

“Hyung?” Jongup hummed. “Thank you.” He elaborated when he caught the elder’s confusion. “For liking me. You might not worry for me the way you do. Thanks.” There was no doubting how he smiled, how it made Jongup’s heart beat hard, how it made his head spin and made him crave this boy all at once. The smile was intoxicating. But there was no denying how Jongup’s body seized up and how his muscles burned. Junhong knew.

Junhong suddenly looked around him, glancing at their positions before standing quickly. Jongup’s hand fell to the sofa that was warm where Junhong had been sitting. The younger’s eyes worked around the room before settling just above Jongup’s eye line. “It’s getting late. Yongguk might be home soon.” He wiped his palms against his jeans as he spoke faster than normal.

Jongup stood too and placed his hands on each of Junhong’s shoulders. The latter’s gaze fixed on Jongup’s and the worry in the subsided a little. “It will be okay. I promise you.” He pulled on the younger’s shoulders in a loose hug. When their chests met, Junhong wrapped his long arms right around Jongup’s waist, resting his chin in the elder’s neck.

Jongup had never been so warm. He had never been so relieved. He was holding onto his best friend and he didn’t want to let go. He felt like the world was cuddling his soul.

Finally updated! Sorry it took so long, hope it was worth it :) Also sorry if there are mistakes....editing is too much for me at the moment >.>

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