They meet at the age of five, awkward and shy as their teacher pushes them together, encouraging them to become friends.

“Luhan-ah is new,” she says, smiling brightly, “so please help him. You’ll do that, won’t you, Minseokkie?”

Minseok tilts his head to the side and gives Luhan a once-over; the latter merely staring at him, his eyes seeming impossibly wide against his small face.

“Yes, seonsaengnim, I’ll help him!”

Minseok smiles widely and bows to Luhan, introducing himself slowly to the Chinese boy. “I’m Kim Minseok, and I’m five years old! I like playing with cars and tag, and also snacktime! I hope we can be good friends!”

Luhan blinks at him once, saying nothing.

Minseok’s smile begins to slip off his face, and he worries that he may have frightened the other in some way, maybe he spoke too loudly again?

Suddenly, Luhan reaches out and pokes Minseok's face, giggling softly to himself.

“Baozi,” he says, and Minseok stares at him, not comprehending the foreign word.

“What’s a baozi?” he asks, his teeth tugging on his lower lip, “is it something bad?”

“…food,” Luhan says, his assault on Minseok's cheeks unrelenting, “hěn hǎo.”

“FOOD?” Minseok shrieks, jumping back and narrowing his eyes at Luhan, “I’m not food!”

Luhan grasps the air for a few moments, pouting, before Minseok can see his large eyes shine with tears.

“No! No, don’t cry!” Minseok scrambles back over, grabbing Luhan’s small hand and placing it on his cheek. “You can touch it if you want, just don’t cry!”

Luhan wipes his eyes with the back of his free hand, then proceeds to molest Minseok's cheeks with both hands, babbling in happy-sounding Mandarin (but for all Minseok knows, he could be cursing him to the high heavens).

“Péngyǒu,” Luhan whispers, “zuì hǎo de péngyǒu.”

Minseok recognizes the first word, and he smiles. “Chingu. We’re going to be best friends now.”

Luhan merely squishes Minseok's cheek again, nodding in agreement.

~*~*~*~*~

Hardly a day goes by without Minseok and Luhan being seen together, usually involving the former teaching the latter something about Korea while his cheeks are squished. Luhan all but demands that Minseok be with him every moment of the school day (and sometimes afterwards, too), and Minseok complies, a smile ever-present on his face.

“Bao~zi~” Luhan chirps, toddling up to Minseok as fast as his short legs can carry him, “seonsaengnim said it was your birthday today!”

Minseok looks up from his picture book and nods. “Uh-huh.”

Luhan grins, bouncing up and down. “I have a present for you!”

“What is it?” Minseok asks.

“Come closer,” Luhan whispers, and Minseok stands and approaches the younger.

“Okay, now wha—”

He’s abruptly cut off by something feather-light touching his lips; he blinks, and it’s gone, replaced with a satisfied Luhan standing in front of him.

“My mommy and daddy said that’s what you do when you really love someone!” Luhan links Minseok's arm with his, displaying his small teeth in a wide grin. “Sa-rang-hae-yo!” He sounds out the words slowly and carefully, the syllables slightly stilted, but the sentiment is plain as can be.

“Luhan, saranghaeyo,” Minseok replies, tucking Luhan a little closer to him.

“Wǒ ài nǐ,” Luhan says, glancing at Minseok expectantly, gesturing for him to repeat the words.

“W-wo ai ni,” Minseok stutters, but his response seems to satisfy Luhan, who pulls him back to the classroom so that the rest of the class can celebrate Minseok’s birthday too.

~*~*~*~*~

Luhan is not much more mature at the age of fifteen, but his Korean has vastly improved.

“Baozi!” Luhan yells, “come sit over here!”

Minseok purses his lips and takes a deep breath, telling himself not to strangle Luhan as he approaches the table that the younger sits at, his arms waving frantically.

“Luhan, can’t I sit with other people?” he sighs, plopping himself down on the bench and taking out his lunch box.

Luhan shakes his head. “What if I don’t know what they’re saying?”

“You’ve been learning Korean for ten years, you idiot, what could they possibly say that you don’t understand?”

“Something that you may have learned in your first five years of life that I missed out on?”

Luhan barely dodges the packet of soy sauce that Minseok throws at his head, cackling with his mouth wide open.

“God, can’t you try to laugh like a civilized person?” Minseok sighs, rolling his eyes and stabbing a piece of beef.

“I haven’t for fifteen years,” Luhan says sagely, “and I’m not about to start now. Are you going to try out for the soccer team?”

“I might.” Minseok shrugs. “Don’t know if I’ll have time.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun! I’m gonna too. So I can join Man U someday.”

“You can’t even speak English.”

“Who cares?” Luhan shrugs. “I can be like Park Jisung.”

“You’re not Korean either.”

“Then you can be like Park Jisung,” Luhan sighs. “Details, details.”

“I’ll think about it,” Minseok says, but they both know that he means that he’s going to, because Minseok is always a pushover when it comes to Luhan.

“It’ll be fun. Trust me.”

~*~*~*~*~

‘Fun’ turns out to be running around the soccer field many more times than either Minseok or Luhan would like, then getting stuck in the goal while the seniors kicked balls at them.

Minseok got the hang of it fairly quickly, but Luhan, who’d never had much experience in the goal, was trying harder not to get hit by any of them, instead ending up playing some sort of twisted version of dodgeball.

Minseok winces every time a ball hits Luhan (which is pretty often), but he knows that once Luhan hits the field, there’s no stopping him.

His predictions are proven right once they give Luhan a ball, as he zips around all the seniors and scores goal after goal, Minseok screaming his name from the side.

The seniors say nothing, but they are clearly impressed, scribbling down notes and nodding appreciatively in Luhan’s direction.

They’re cleared to go at half past six, and the group of boys hit the locker room while the seniors discuss the results of the tryouts.

“I don’t think I did very well,” Luhan sighs, toweling off his hair until it puffs up.

Minseok rolls his eyes, doing the same, although his hair sticks up more because it’s not as wavy. “You kicked , Lu. Shut up. If anyone failed, it’s me.”

“Have more faith in yourself, baozi!” Luhan whips his towel halfheartedly in Minseok’s direction, spraying him with water.

“Yah! I just dried off, you punk!”

~*~*~*~*~

The results for the soccer tryouts are posted the following week—as expected, Luhan’s been accepted, but Minseok’s name is conspicuously absent.

Luhan starts cursing in Mandarin (Minseok prays that nobody can understand him, otherwise they’d be in a whole new world of trouble—Luhan had explained to him what they meant once, and suffice to say they weren’t particularly school-appropriate).

“How stupid can they be?” Luhan hisses, glaring at the list with such intensity that Minseok is surprised that it doesn’t spontaneously combust. “You’re a fantastic soccer player!”

“Not good enough for them, obviously.”

“Well, them,” Luhan states, crossing his arms. “I’m not joining if you’re not.”

“If you don’t join, then I’ll plaster embarrassing baby photos of you all over the school,” Minseok threatens. “You’d have to be a complete idiot to pass up this chance.” Minseok isn’t exactly pleased with the turn of events, but he always wants what’s best for his best friend.

“But—”

“Luhan, when have I ever been wrong?”

Luhan opens his mouth to protest, but says nothing.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Fine. But you better come to all the games. And the practices!”

“There’s no guarantee for the practices,” Minseok sighs, resigned to his fate, “but I promise to make it to all the games.”

Luhan sticks out his pinky, glaring expectantly at Minseok.

“Are you serious? We’re fifteen, we don’t need to—”

“Do it, baozi.”

Minseok sticks his pinky out, and Luhan links it with his, shaking with so much vigor that Minseok fears that his finger will fall off.

“You’re bound to your fate now, Kim Minseok! If you break this promise, a thousand horrors will rain down on you!” Luhan yells, grabbing Minseok’s hand and dragging him down the hall.

“A thousand? Like what?”

“Like… first, your food supply will vastly diminish!”

“Using big words are we? Impressive.”

“Shut up.”

~*~*~*~*~

True to his word, Minseok attends the majority of Luhan’s practices, squeezing his way through amidst the throng of girls who gather to watch. He notices that Luhan’s already gathered a rather impressive bunch, who scream his name every time he makes a goal, as if he’s won the World Cup and not just doing drills.

Luhan basks in his newfound popularity, smiling and waving at the girls during his breaks, eliciting high giggles every time.

The sound grates on Minseok’s ears, but he doesn’t complain (it’s not really their fault that they were born with horrific voices), but he does notice when Luhan’s eyes skip right over him and onto the girl next to him.

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t hurt, but he tries not to mind too much. He knows that Luhan’s growing up, and so should he. They can’t be together forever, after all. They’re going to grow up and go to college, and inevitably grow apart.

Might as well get used to it now.

When it’s clear that Luhan’s too busy flirting with a slim girl with wavy hair reaching just shy of her shortened skirt, Minseok gets up and leaves without a word.

He doesn’t get very far, though, before his collar suddenly presses up against his throat and he’s being dragged backwards. He drops his books and scrabbles at his neck, trying to pull his shirt back down while trying to get enough air to scream.

“Baozi, why did you leave?” he hears Luhan sigh, and the pressure around his neck subsides. Minseok rubs his neck, coughing as he tries to get enough oxygen back into his lungs to for coherent sentences.

“You were busy,” he wheezes, “and I have homework to do.”

“No you don’t” Luhan replies, placing one hand on his hip in an extremely sassy manner, “we’re in all the same classes and I know you did your homework in class.”

“Well, I have to catch up on my anime—”

“You don’t watch anime. You said it was for losers.”

“I have a book to read?”

“Just yesterday you were complaining about not having any books to read.”

Minseok groans in desperation, throwing his hands up in the air. “I give up, Luhan!”

“You could just tell me why you’re leaving!”

“Because!”

“Because what?”

“You-you were flirting with that girl!” Minseok exclaims, scowling at Luhan. “Are you happy yet?” He shakes his head, muttering curses under his breath as he bends down to pick up his fallen books.

“Aw, is baozi jealous?” Luhan coos, squatting down next to Minseok and poking his face.

Minseok swats his hand away feebly, sighing. “No, I’m not jealous.”

“You are~”

“Am not.”

“You are!”

“Not!”

“You can say whatever you want,” Luhan sings, smiling impishly, “but I’ll always know the truth.”

“You can think what you want, but you’ll be wrong. I’m leaving now.” Minseok shrugs his bag back into place on his shoulders and shifts his books in his arms, preparing to walk to the bus stop.

Luhan grabs his sleeve, tugging him in the opposite direction. “Oh no you’re not. You’re staying. You promised.”

“I only promised for the games, Luhan.”

“Don’t care. You’re staying.”

Luhan drags Minseok back to the soccer field, pointing at a spot in the front row of the bleachers and threatening to steal all his food for the next year if he leaves early.

And Minseok knows that Luhan always makes good on his threats.

~*~*~*~*~

By their final year of high school, Luhan has only grown more and more popular, eventually becoming the captain of the soccer team (everybody saw it coming, though), and Minseok finds it harder and harder to keep Luhan present in his life.

He’d always thought that Luhan was the clingy one, but every time Luhan declines to hang out with him in favor of someone else, he can feel his heart pang a little and his stomach seems to sink into a void of darkness.

It’s normal, he tells himself while loading StarCraft, because Luhan can’t possibly only have me as a friend, right?

But the more time he spends alone, the more he realizes that since he’d spent so much time with Luhan, he really didn’t have too many other friends.

He wasn’t a complete hermit, of course, as he did know a good number of other people, but nobody he would ever really consider saying more than ‘hi’ or ‘see you tomorrow’ or ‘did you understand the homework?’ to.

Luhan’s absence leaves him feeling drained and empty most of the time, filled only when Luhan decides to take note of him with a little wave, or a smile, or if he’s lucky, then a hug.

It finally hits him one day, though, when he sees Luhan kissing another girl in a hallway that they’d probably thought was abandoned.

Minseok’s heart pounds as he watches Luhan bend down and press his lips to hers, and breaks as she wraps her arms around his neck to pull him closer.

He makes no sound to give away his location, but Luhan turns around and fixes him dead in the eyes anyways, his expression morphing from one of shock to one of tears.

Minseok shakes his head, as though trying to tell himself that what he’s seeing isn’t true.

But it’s so clear, so vivid, that he knows that this is reality.

He turns and runs, runs until his legs give out and he collapses on the sidewalk, gasping and panting for air.

Even nearly an hour later, when his breathing has calmed and he can finally stand without wobbling, his heart still races, each beat a painful reminder of what he’s just lost.

Luhan’s heart.

~*~*~*~*~

From that day forward, Minseok does his best to stay out of Luhan’s way. Sometimes he can’t help seeing Luhan (there’s no way that he’d be able to change his whole schedule), but he doesn’t look Luhan’s way during class, leaves as quickly as he can to avoid confrontation, and eats lunch by himself in empty hallways.

It’s better this way, he tells himself, because he can’t stand to see Luhan, not when a single glimpse of the boy sends his heart into a frenzy and his mind into an incoherent mess.

True to his word, though, he does attend every one of Luhan’s soccer games, even the ones held at other campuses that require him to travel for an hour, sometimes more. He screams his throat raw and waves their school colors, almost as if every one of Luhan’s goals was one of his own.

Minseok owes Luhan that much.

He notices, though, when Luhan looks into the stands, his eyes sweeping the crowd, locking in on his features, the sides of his lips curling up slightly in acknowledgement.

Minseok ducks his head and tries to lose himself amidst the crowd, but he knows that Luhan will find him every time, like opposing magnets, forever fated to attract.

He doesn’t understand why he torments himself so—Luhan doesn’t come to look for him after the game (no, it can’t possibly be because Minseok runs to the bus stop immediately after the game’s conclusion), or try to give him a call (it’s not because Minseok changed his number when he got a new phone and forgot to tell anyone else besides his parents).

But he does it anyways.

(It’s not because he loves Luhan.)

~*~*~*~*~

The months pass by quickly, filled with empty days that Minseok spends alone. There’s not much for him to do, especially when he has nobody to fill the long hours of the day with. The major blocks of his time are spent with school and soccer.

Unsurprisingly, Luhan had led his team to the soccer championship game, and he would be squaring off against a team spearheaded by a kid named Jongin, rumored to be one of high school soccer’s biggest dark horses (quite literally, at that, as Jongin was known for his darker skin tone) in recent years. The date of the final game is in mid-December, and the day is cold, with dark clouds overhead, but the game will be played in rain or shine.

He gets to the field early; there are only around twenty spectators there. He chooses a seat in the bleachers, high enough that he won’t accidentally get hit with a ball, but not so high that he won’t be able to see anything.

A perfect seat for a perfect game.

Thirty minutes later, the seats are packed and the audience thrums with energy, anxious for the game to begin.

When the players finally enter the field, the crowd starts screaming, waving banners, signs, flags (Minseok swears that he sees one girl wave a bra) in their school colors.

Luhan and Jongin approach each other and shake hands—Luhan looks terribly small next to the taller boy, but Minseok knows that Jongin is doomed to lose.

The coin is tossed, and Jongin's team is given the ball.

The players take their places, and the referee blows the whistle.

And the game begins.

~*~*~*~*~

Luhan’s team takes an early lead, but Jongin's team starts gaining near the end, leaving the score tied at 1-1 before the half ends. Minseok can see Luhan’s frustration as he kicks at the ground, his mouth moving to form words that Minseok can’t hear. He gathers the team around and talks to them, and they go into the second half with a renewed vigor to win.

That’s not to say that Jongin’s team isn’t trying either, though, as they’re still as menacing as before, and they refuse to allow Luhan’s team to get a single goal in.

Fifteen minutes until the end of the second half, rain starts to fall from the sky. It’s a light drizzle at first, but it soon becomes a torrential downpour.

Luhan remains undeterred by this, merely flicking his hair back and kicking the ball, passing and shooting at every opportunity he gets, although the game still doesn’t progress much.

There’s only five seconds left on the clock when Luhan draws his leg back for the last time and lets the ball fly.

The world seems to move in slow motion as Luhan’s cleat connects with the ball and it soars towards the net.

The goalie, Jongin, bends his knees to leap upward, but loses his footing in the mud.

He falls on his face, and the ball enters the goal with an anticlimactic sploosh in a little puddle of muddy water.

The entire stadium is silent for a heartbeat, until Minseok screams Luhan’s name.

And the stands are filled with noise, half elated and half disappointed, but Minseok can only hear Luhan’s name being chanted as his teammates lift him up on their shoulders and run around the field (until one of them falls and the whole thing comes crashing down).

Minseok decides to take this opportunity to leave, squeezing his way between the tightly pressed bodies and doing his best not to get too trampled in the process.

“YAH! KIM MINSEOK, I SEE YOU!”

Minseok freezes momentarily at the sound of Luhan’s voice, then moves faster, pushing people to the side when they don’t move fast enough for him.

“Oh no you don’t!” Luhan hisses, grabbing his shirt and dragging him out of the stands and onto the field. “You’re not getting away this time, goddammit.”

“Luhan…” Minseok says, his brain refusing to string words together into a coherent sentence.

“Shut up, Minseok, and listen to me. Why the hell do you keep leaving? Why aren’t you talking to me? Why are you running away?”

“I—”

“You never gave me a chance to explain, Minseok. I was never with that girl. I don’t even remember her name, and the only reason why I even remember her at all is because she’s the reason why I lost you.”

“Lu—”

“Stop running away from me!”

“What else was I supposed to do?” Minseok hisses, glaring at Luhan. “You’re better off with someone like her anyways, you don’t need me around.”

“I need you!” Luhan yells, grabbing the front of Minseok’s t-shirt, dirtying it with mud. “I need you in my life. When you’re not there, it’s like everything’s out of my life and all there’s left is just existing.”

Minseok says nothing, because that’s exactly how he feels too.

“So stop running,” Luhan whispers, staring into Minseok’s eyes, “and stay right here with me.”

Luhan pulls on Minseok’s shirt, slamming their lips together in an extremely sloppy and undignified manner, but Minseok wouldn’t have it any other way, as he threads his fingers into Luhan’s hair and pulls him deeper, even though Luhan tastes of sweat and dirt and grass and they’re kissing in the middle of a ing soccer field in the rain with at least two hundred people watching them.

Because it feels so right to be with Luhan, like his soul is finally complete.

When they finally part, they’re both breathless, but Luhan’s grinning like a fool and Minseok’s pretty sure that he looks exactly the same way. The rest of Luhan’s teammates start whistling and yelling, but Luhan (in a completely un-captainy move) gives them the finger and leans down to kiss Minseok again, but this time, it’s sweet and tender and filled with emotion and untold words, effortlessly communicated without a single sentence.

“Stay by my side, Luhan,” he whispers, “until the day we die.”

“You’re stuck with me, then. Forever and ever.”

eh... he... he... i bet you thought it was going to be angsty, weren't you...

nope! felt like making cheesy cheesy xiuhan fluffy happy stuff and here we are ^^ hope you liked it!