Eric woke slowly, stiff from a night on the floor. He rolled onto his side, reaching up for Hyesung as he had last night. His hand brushed empty air, then rough cotton.

He sat up abruptly. The couch was empty. The blanket lay, folded neatly atop the pillow. , he thought, shoving aside his own blanket. Where did Hyesung go? Had he gone back home, back to those...creatures? No, he couldn't have, not with how terrified he'd been last night. Eric pushed himself to his feet, groaning as his aching muscles protested.

The apartment was still. Someone—he had a pretty good idea who—had taken the time to straighten the few pictures on the walls, tie back the very basic curtains, shift the rug on the floor so it wasn't lopsided. Eric winced; maybe a little cleaning was in order. He headed into the kitchen, which smelled faintly of bacon and oil. The scent made his stomach rumble. Though he could cook, he didn't do it nearly so often as he should.

A note sat on the kitchen table: 'Bacon and eggs in the microwave. Needs about 3 mins. Meet me in the garage. Hyesung.'

He grinned. Just how had he done all that without waking him up? Hyesung moved like a cat, always had: Quiet and light, as if gravity simply had no hold on him.

Eric ate quickly, feeling strangely bright. If Hyesung was down in the garage, he intended to spend his day with him again. Two days in a row...they hadn't done that very often since graduating high school. God but he missed those days.

He found Hyesung in the garage as promised, Boys II Men blasting from his stereo. As soon as he noticed him he turned the music down. Hyesung smiled, then turned back to what he was doing. Eric took the time to notice him. He wore a pair of overalls, one of the smaller sets he kept around just for him. The top was a bit loose; it slipped off one shoulder, showing him Hyesung's bare shoulder, and the fact that he wore little beneath those overalls.

No you may not pounce on him, he told himself. But he approached him anyway, came up behind him and slid his arms around Hyesung's waist. When he didn't flinch away he rested his chin on Hyesung's shoulder. Just for a moment, that was all.

"You didn't have to sleep on the floor, you know," Hyesung said.

Eric let the moment pull him in the direction of honestly. "I wanted to be near you."

He went still but didn't pull away from him.

"Thanks for breakfast," he went on, sliding his hands down to Hyesung's hips. He tried to get himself to stop, before he crossed a line, before it went too far, but...

"You're welcome. Gonna hold onto me all day?" Hyesung questioned

"Hey, we got music. We could dance." Eric replied.

He laughed.

Yet Hyesung swayed in his arms, swinging his hips back against him. Don't do that, Eric thought, his breath catching in his throat. Then he thought, Oh yes, yes, do that. Because Hyesung moved so well. He leaned into Eric, tilted his head back, gazed at him with those eyes he liked looking at so much. A few times over the years Hyesung had flirted back like this. Maybe this time Eric shouldn't let it slip by.

Hyesung swallowed. He stopped moving, slid out of Eric's grip. His cheeks were nearly as red as a tomato.

"Sorry. I don't know what—guess I'm out of sorts."

Eric watched his chest rise and fall with each ragged breath. Oh no you don't, Eric thought, stepping towards him. Hyesung backed up until he came in contact with the hood of the car he'd been working on. Eric caught him there, between his arms, pinned with nowhere to run. He watched carefully, every aspect of Hyesung's body language; if it looked like he pushed too far he'd back off. At the moment Hyesung didn't seem as if he really wanted him to stop.

"Eric, what—what's happening here?" He asked

"What do you want to be happening, Sunggie?" Eric questioned

"I..." Hyesung swallowed. "I don't know. We've been friends for so long. You—you usually don't—and with everything going on, I...What do you want?"

"That's...complicated," Eric admitted. "But we don't have to do anything about it right now. Just...I want you to know that we can, if you want it."

Eric didn't know what possessed him to say that. Maybe it was last night. All this weird stuff with Faerie, the way Hyesung had run to him, trusted him with something most people would be unwilling to believe. Hyesung trusted him. Always had, in ways most people never bothered. Maybe, he thought, just maybe, it can be different with Hyesung...

"I...right now, I want you to play for me," Hyesung said.

Eric's eyebrows rose. "Play for you?"

"Yeah. You haven't played for me in a while. I want to see if all those music classes are paying off." Hyesung quipped.

"I thought you said I'm already a genius." Eric pouted.

Hyesung grinned. "You are. That's why I want you to play for me."

"Why? When you already play me like a fiddle?" Eric asked. Smiling, he paused a moment as if in thought, then said, "Fine. On two conditions."

"And those are?" Hyesung asked

"First, tell me why you were so determined to be friends, years ago." Eric inquired.

Eric had never asked. Now he wanted, needed to know. Hyesung turned red again and looked away. Eric backed off a little, giving him space. Hyesung shifted from foot to foot, fiddling with the front of his overalls. Finally he shrugged and smiled wryly.

"To be honest, at first I just thought you were handsome. I was...kind of drawn to you. Then I got to know you a little and, well. You were like a prince. The least charming prince on the planet, I guess, but so different from the other boys." Hyesung shrugged again. "I liked that about you. That you fixed cars and played guitar and did things most of the guys at school never would."

Eric touched Hyesung's cheek, which had gone so red the color reached up to his ears. Hyesung's honesty felt good. He must really want me to play, Eric thought, because Hyesung didn't protest at all. Eric liked that. Before he'd met Hyesung, Eric hadn't played his music for other people. Hyesung had been the one to persuade him to do it, the one who convinced him to go to college, to try out for a band that he now played with.

"Okay, there. I said it. What's the other thing?" Hyesung asked

"Kiss me." Eric replied

Hyesung's eyes widened then he stared.

Eric waited. He wouldn't actually make Hyesung kiss him—he'd play for Hyesung even if he didn't want to—but the prospect was too tempting to let it pass.

"Okay," Hyesung finally breathed. "But...then you'll play anything I want, right?"

Eric nodded. Anything, he thought. Even you, if that's what you want. Hyesung leaned forward, rocking onto his toes. Eric caught him around the waist, steadying him. Eric watched as slowly, ever so slowly, Hyesung stretched up to reach him. Hyesung's lips touched his so lightly Eric wanted to scream. Then Hyesung lost his balance, fell into him—or maybe he did it on purpose. The kiss deepened, slightly clumsy but oh, it set him on fire. Eric had to pull away before he got carried away.

"Um...no good?" Hyesung asked, looking unsure.

Eric shook his head. "Too good," he corrected. He backed off, turned away from Hyesung. "So what do you want to hear?"

Eric kept a guitar at the back of the garage; not his best one, just one he could keep close at hand. He retrieved it and settled down on a chair near the car Hyesung was working on.

"Just warm up," Hyesung said. "I'll think of something."

Eric checked the tuning, then played a few chords, adjusted the strings again. While he had his head bent to the task, Hyesung approached him. Eric looked up—and started in surprise when Hyesung's lips met his. He put his hands on Eric's shoulders, holding him there as his mouth tasted Eric's curiously. Hyesung's tongue brushed his lower lip, slipped into his mouth for the barest of seconds. Just when Eric thought he might lose control, Hyesung pulled away.

"Play me some Ed Sheeran," he said, walking back to the car. "Give Me Love."

"Sing it for me?" Eric asked

Hyesung tossed back his head back, laughed, and started singing, "Give Me Love, Like Her."

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Alright I am finally happy with how this chapter turned out. I want to rewrite some parts but I can live with the way it is right now. Sorry no yet. I am trying to build the tension. I feel like if I add the too soon the story will be lost to the . So I added a cute kiss and some flirting for all those who wanted .  Please Comment and Subscribe!