Author: wookiebear

Pairing: Henhae

Song: "What is Love"- Exo-M

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Henry sat with a thoughtful look on his adolescent face, studying his ice cream without really eating it.  Donghae paused mid- when he saw that his dongsaeng's brain was occupied to the extend of letting his vanilla treat drip down his arm.

"Henli?"

Henry blinked and looked up at his taller friend, smiling sheepishly.

"Ah, sorry hyung, I was thinking"

"About what?"

Donghae continued to eat, but this time his focus was completely on the nine year old boy seated next to him.  He watched as Henry's babyish face furrowed with obvious confusion.

"It's just... what is love?"

Donghae blinked, startled by the sudden question.  He had never given the question any thought before so he didn't know how to respond.  However, when he saw Henry looking up at him eagerly he was reminded that he was older by a year and therefore should know the answer to every question his friend might ask.

"Um, love is when you share everything"

Henry stared at the elder trying to decide if he should believe him or not.  Donghae smiled confidently, showing the empty space where he had lost a tooth.  Slowly Henry nodded, his forehead uncreasing  as he chirped,

"Oh, so like when my mom shares her dessert with my dad?"

Donghae agreed easily, seeming more sure of his answer.

"Of course, just like that!  See?  Hyung told you"

Henry nodded again, a wide smile making his eyes all but disappear behind the fluffiness of his cheeks.  Donghae laughed softly before leaning over and quickly lapping up some of the liquid ice cream that was starting to drip from his friend's cone.

*********

Henry and Donghae were relieved to be away from all the work of junior high, summer break couldn't have come an sooner in their opinions.  The two sat lazily on the small patch of grass that seperated their two houses.

They had spent the day discussing what they would do this summer, making endless plans for sleepovers and trips to the amusement park.

The two had lapsed into a comfortable silence, and Donghae closed his eyes with a contented smile as a gentle breeze tickled his face.

"Hey, hyung?"

"Hmm?" Donghae hummed in response to Henry, not bothering to crack open his eyes.

"What does it mean to be in love?"

Donghae finally opened his eyes to see Henry looking at him playfully.  The topic of love had become sort of an inside joke between the two, mainly because when they were younger Henry tried to run away from home because he didn't think his mom loved him.  It was Donghae who was forced to explain that the younger had run away because his mom wouldn't share her wine with Henry.  After that incident, Donghae was forced to admit that maybe his answer wasn't 100% accurate.

Donghae chuckled at the memory, flushing slightly when he realized how foolish he was when he was younger.  He put his folded his arms behind his neck and laid back in the grass while pondering the question.  He was older now and  three years wiser.

"Love is when everyday seems to fly by because you're having so much fun with the other"

Donghae glanced up and Henry nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.  The chubby cheeked boy laid down beside his elder thinking that the answer made way more sense than the previous one.

Once again the two simply let the comfortable silence settle around them, enjoting each other's company.  They both sat up when they heard Mrs. Lau's voice call,

"Henry, dinner's ready!  Hae are you staying over tonight?"

The friends exchanged surprised glances as they noticed the setting sun for the first time.  The two scrambled to their feet and headed towards Henry's house, both wondering when they had lost track of time.

**********

"Shhh, it's okay Henli" Donghae soothed as he rubbed comforting circles on his friend's back.

"N-no it isn't!" Henry cried as a fresh batch of tears flowed down his face.

Donghae sighed and hugged his friend tighter, wishing he could do something to take away his pain.

"I-i... I just really l-liked him hyung"

Donghae nodded, he knew it was going to take Henry a long time to get over his ex-boyfriend.

"He didn't deserve you" Donghae said with finality, making Henry's sniffles die down a little bit.

While they might have been silly, meaningless words to anyone else, Henry knew his hyung meant them.  He squeezed his puffy eyes closed and buried his face in Donghae's chest wishing his heart would stop hurting.

"Sungmin was never good enough for you.  When you love someone you're supposed to take care of them and protect them.  True love will make anyone into a true hero... Sungmin sure as hell wasn't any hero"

Henry let out a small, dark laugh and snorted,

"No kidding, heroes are suppsed to fight bad guys and defend the weak.  All Sungmin ever did was sleep around behind my back"

Donghae winced at the raw bitterness of his friend's words.  They lapsed back into silence and Henry slowly started to dry his tears.

"T-thanks" he whispered when he felt like he could talk.

Donghae looked down at him and smiled,

"No problem, that's what I'm here for"

Henry smiled sheepishly and pulled out of his hyung's embrace.  Donghae frowned slightly, but it was quickly replaced by a grin.

"You think Sungmin will even bother to show up to school with a black eye tomorrow?"

Henry chortled loudly as the image passed through his head.

"I doubt it.  There's not enough concealer in South Korea to hide that shiner"

Donghae nodded, but Henry didn't miss the satisfied little smirk that flittered across his friend's lips.  Henry hid a smile because Donghae had been the one to punch Sungmin when he found out that he was cheating.  Henry had been too shocked, too weak to do anything, but his hyung looked angrier than Henry had ever seen him before.

Henry didn't think Donghae had ever looked more heroic than he had at that moment.

**********

"Oh God... I c-can't... I can't d-do this"

Henry rolled his eyes and shoved Donghae slightly,

"You'll be fine hyung, seriously, I've seen you do this a thousand times and it's always perfect"

Donghae shot his friend a panicked look and Henry noticed how pale his face was.  Henry immediately gave Donghae a reassuring hug.

"Just pretend that the audience isn't there.  Just pretend you're at home and you're just practicing in your bedroom"

Donghae bit his lips anxiously and Henry noticed that his hands had started to tremble from the nervousness.

"Relax hyung, just pretend you're dancing for me, just like always"

Donghae still looked a bit uneasy, but he managed a small smile and a slight nod.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Lee Donghae to the stage!"

Henry could hear Donghae's sharp intake of breath and he placed an enouraging hand on his shoulder.

"You'll be great"

Donghae sent him another pleading look and Henry made a fighting sign with his hand.  Donghae gulped and shakily made his way towards the stage curtain.  He sent one more look back at his best friend and Henry promised,

"I'll be right here the whole time"

Donghae smiled and Henry noted that he looked a little less tense.

Donghae's music started and after taking a dep breath he glided onto the stage.  Henry hurried from his spot to get a better look at his friend's performance.  He grinned triumphantly as Donghae slipped into his well rehearsed routine without any trouble.

Donghae caught his dongsaeng's eye and he sent Henry a sly wink before really stepping up his performance.

Henry grinned because Donghae was shining brilliantly on that stage.

**********

"What is wrong with me?" Donghae asked himself as he tugged on his hair.

He had known Henry his whole life, and the kid had always been cute.  So why was Donghae only noticing now how adorable Henry's cheeks were and how sweet his friend looked when he smiled?

"Seriously, I must be insane" Donghae whimpered as he slammed his head against the table in frustration.

"What's up?"

Donghae's head snapped up and he found Henry looking down at him with an amused expression on his face.

"" was all Donghae could think before he lost his train of thought... yet again.

**********

"Well I can't help it if you're an idiot!"

"Just shut up already!  God I can't stand you sometimes!"

Donghae and Henry glared at each other.  Ryeowook watched, slightly concerned.  The two were best friends and Ryeowook hated to see them fight like this. 

"Don't worry"

Ryeowook glanced up to see Kyuhyun smiling at him knowingly.

"They fight like cats and dogs, but in a few hours it will be like nothing even happened"

Ryeowook bit his lip, his eyes darting between the two who were still locked in a screaming match.

"Trust me"

Ryeowook blushed slightly when Kyuhyun's hand closed around his own and he finally nodded.

Sure enough, before the day was over Donghae and Henry were back to their normal selves, climbing all over each other trying to grab the tv remote.

"I told you not to stress"

Ryeowook smiled as Kyuhyun's breath tickled his hair.

"That's love you know" the smaller said, looking up at Kyuhyun.

"How do you figure?" the taller asked, wrapping his arms around Ryeowook's neck.

"Even though they fight, they can hug like nothing even happened.  They fight badly because they know each other so well, but even though they hurt each other they can still forgive"

"When did you get so knowledgeable?" Kyuhyun asked, a soft smile on his lips.

Ryeowook simply shrugged in response and returned his gaze to Donghae and Henry who were now engaged in a tickle war, both laughing like they didn't have a care in the world.

**********

Henry wondered when things got like this.  This had never seemed to happen to him before, but now it was an almost constant occurance.

He snuck a glance at Donghae who was talking to his friend Eunhyuk about a new dance routine they were planning out.  Right at that moment Donghae happened to look up and he met Henry's eyes.  He waved and smiled brightly, making Henry flush slightly and look away.

"There it goes again" Henry muttered to himself as the world seemed to slow down around him... yet again. 

**********

Henry snuggled closer to Donghae and the elder smiled before wrapping an arm around him.

It had been fifteen years.  Fifteen years since that day when Henry first asked Donghae what love was.

"Hae?" Henry mumbled and he felt Donghae's arm tighten around him ever so slightly.

"Hmm?" the elder asked, looking down at Henry expectantly.

"Tell me, what is love?"

Donghae grinned and slowly bent down to press a gentle kiss onto Henry's lips.  When they pulled away, neither spoke, but they didn't need to.

Love was the feeling they got when they were together.  It was the same feeling they had had towards each other for their whole lives.  It was the same feeling as when Henry fisrt shared his ice cream at the park.

The kissed again and they smiled against each others lips.

They smiled because they knew that same feeling would never change.

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Yay, I finally got a fluff-tastic song!

I hope you enjoyed all the cuteness!

And yes I made ninja-Kyuwook, don't judge me!