The moment he gains consciousness, the first thing that Donghae’s mind registers is the warmth.

It encases him comfortably, gentle yet almost protective, and he couldn’t help but snuggle even further into the source of this vaguely familiar heat. Almost as if on instinct, the warmness pulls him even closer, tightening its hold on him and allowing him to bury his face into something soft and smooth. It smells nice, and Donghae finds himself nuzzling into it as his fingers curl around thick fabric.

There is something oddly soothing about this scent and warmth, something that makes him unknowingly release a low satisfied purr. It’s something he doesn’t have the pleasure to wake up to on a daily basis, and at that thought, he begins to wonder just what it is in his bedroom that is giving him this much comfort.

His eyes flutter open in mild alarm.

He is not in his bedroom.

The bed doesn’t feel like his – in fact, it doesn’t even feel like a bed. And his favorite bolster shouldn’t contain this much warmth. In fact, his pillow should not be breathing, and it shouldn’t have a pulse – something that is steadily thumping directly against Donghae’s temple.

He blinks away the bleariness, and as his eyes begin to gain focus, he realizes that he is indeed not hugging his favorite pillow, but in fact, another human being. His face is not squashed against the soft cover of his bolster but instead, he’s been breathing in the scent of someone’s pale, smooth neck. The fabric he’s been clutching is not a part of his blanket or pillowcase, but is actually the back of the sweater belonging to the person in front of him.

Donghae breathes.

It’s almost a struggle to pull away – the hold on him is a little tight, and he only manages to pull his head back slightly, enough to take a glance at the peaceful expression on the sleeping Hyukjae’s face.

And there goes the stuttering inside his chest.

In the back of his mind, he finds himself wondering how in the world they ended up in such a compromising position, and yet, as Donghae stares up at the perfection in front of him, he finds himself becoming breathless. It’s been a long while since the last time Donghae had seen him asleep, but the effect the sight has on him has not changed at all – if anything, it’s probably even worse now, seeing as Hyukjae has grown into a such a fine and handsome young man.

Before, he had been cute, but now he’s nothing short of gorgeous. His features have become more defined and angular, although not completely losing the baby fat that resides in his cheeks. His single-lidded eyes, currently shut closed, sometimes make him look fierce when he’s awake, although there are instances when they make him look like a puppy. His nose, straight and pointy but slightly rounded in the end, gives him a beautiful side profile, along with his sharply defined jawline. His lips, a pale shade of pink and deliciously plump, are all sorts of perfect, especially when they stretch happily over gums and teeth. His red hair, although messy and sticking out in different directions at the moment, frames his face perfectly, the color setting off his pale skin and making him look ethereal.

Donghae sighs, feeling his cheeks warm up.

It’s a wonder why they call him the angel at school, when clearly, if they could just see this side of Hyukjae, they would all realize who is more deserving of the title.

Actually, Hyukjae deserved all of the titles – Siwon’s included.

Unconsciously pouting, Donghae allows his eyes to slip close and proceeds to bury his face once again into the redhead’s neck – staring at his sleeping face embarrasses the blond far too much, and he knows he couldn’t get away from the older boy’s strong hold anyway without waking him up. He feels his heartbeat accelerate just at the mere action of snuggling into Hyukjae, and he forces the ridiculous thoughts away, choosing to focus instead on reminiscing what happened the previous night.

He opened up.

It wasn’t easy. He didn’t even plan it, but he did it. Donghae opened up – he broke down and bared all of his pent up emotional distress to Hyukjae and even cried while he was at it.

A part of him tells him that he should be angry and ashamed. That such a thing cannot be tolerated by his pride. He couldn’t even open up to Sungmin and Ryeowook, the friends who have been nothing but kind to him, and yet he managed to do it in front of Hyukjae – the one person he should be the most wary of. It’s unacceptable, no matter what. And yet, the bigger part of him feels none of that. In fact, Donghae feels relieved. It feels as if a huge weight has been lifted off his chest, as if the boulder he’s been carrying on his shoulders has crumbled into nothingness the moment Hyukjae embraced him from behind and apologized.

That’s right.

Hyukjae apologized.

He too had cried and broken down, showed Donghae just how deeply he regretted what he did in the past. And while the blond admits that there’s a part of him that’s still hurting at the mere thought of Hyukjae’s betrayal, he had no hesitation in forgiving the other. There wasn’t any time for him to hesitate – not when he has already forgiven the redhead even before he said sorry.

Donghae blinks, a shuddered breath escaping his lips as he realizes just how truly pathetic he is. He doesn’t know how he managed all these years, trying so hard to despise Hyukjae, when in the end, although he refused to admit it even to himself, his feelings for the older never really changed at all.

He’s still hopelessly, irrevocably in love with Hyukjae.

♦

“I’m sorry.”

His face is flushed, and he couldn’t bring himself to meet Donghae’s gaze. After waking up and finding himself curled protectively around the half-asleep blond, Hyukjae immediately spluttered and pulled away, endlessly spewing apologies. Now, they are both seated on the couch, a bit of awkwardness lingering in the air as the redhead feels himself blushing to his ears, his eyes glued to a random spot on the floor.

“I… I don’t know what happened, when I fell asleep it wasn’t like that, but somehow we – I mean, I…” Hyukjae exhales, bringing up a hand to scratch the back of his head. “I’m really sorry. If I made you uncomfortable.”

He sighs, biting his lower lip as he scolds himself mentally for being such a clingy little bastard when asleep. He doesn’t see Donghae holding back an amused chuckle.

The younger boy stands up, turning to fold the blankets they used as he says casually, “It’s fine, Hyukjae. Anyway, I’m hungry. Do you still feel sick? I can cook if you’re still not feeling well.”

The redhead looks up and blinks confusedly at him before quickly getting out of the couch as well. “Y-You don’t have to, I’m fine. My throat still feels stuffed but I’m not that dizzy anymore so… I’ll cook. What do you want for breakfast?”

Donghae smiles and shrugs. “Anything. Though you should probably take medicine again after eating.”

Hyukjae watches him, a little dumbfounded. Honestly, he still hasn’t fully come to terms with the previous night’s incident. It feels like a dream, and even though he’s aware that it really happened, he isn’t quite sure how he’s supposed to interact with Donghae now. He shifts awkwardly on his feet, eyes glued to the blond who is busily folding blankets, a small serene smile still present in his angelic countenance. Almost as if feeling his gaze, Donghae pauses and turns to look at him, making him jump a little and instantly cast his eyes towards the floor. He hears a small chuckle.

“Hyukjae. It’s okay,” Donghae says. “We’re okay.”

And it’s more than enough.

Hyukjae finally meets his gaze and smiles back.

♦

Despite Donghae’s reassurance, however, Hyukjae still couldn’t help but be a little awkward and shy during breakfast. It is, after all, the first actual meal they’re sharing ever since they started becoming rivals. The little snacks they shared during the time spent together working on the project hardly counted – it was all junk food, and their conversations consisted of nothing but school-related matters. Last night’s soup couldn’t even be considered a full meal, and although it led to their ultimate reconciliation, they were still too emotional and sensitive to actually have a decent conversation.

Now, Hyukjae couldn’t stop fidgeting on his seat, absently poking his fork at the scrambled eggs as he struggles to think of something they could possibly talk about. Something casual – one that wouldn’t bring more awkwardness into this little bubble of peace they finally have.

He knows there are still a lot of things left to say between the two of them, such as his real reasons for doing what he did to Donghae years ago, but he doesn’t really feel ready for it at the moment. It basically means having to confess his feelings, and while in the back of his mind he does plan on doing it in the near (or far) future, he doesn’t think it should be done immediately.

He’s still hasn’t gathered enough courage for such a thing.

Having breakfast in complete silence is awkward though, and as Hyukjae racks his mind for any topic, eyes trained on a slightly burned piece of bacon on his place, Donghae watches him in mild amusement as he chews on a piece of toast.

“Hyukjae.”

He pretty much jolts on his seat, eyes widening and voice making a ridiculous squeaking noise in the back of his throat as he drops his fork onto his plate accidentally. He winces at the sharp clang. Donghae blinks at him in surprise before sniggering, lip caught between pearly whites, before he bursts into loud laughter, eyes crinkled into crescents and head thrown back.

“Y-Yah!” Hyukjae exclaims, feeling his face flush as the blond laughs heartily on his seat, clutching his stomach with one hand and lightly slapping the edge of the dining table with the other. “Stop laughing at me!”

“B-But your face –” Donghae practically wails. He pauses to do a lame imitation of Hyukjae’s wide eyes and squeal before bursting into unstoppable cackles again, causing the older boy’s face to become as red as his hair.

“S-Shut up!” Hyukjae yells, although he couldn’t stop his lips from twitching, and soon enough, he’s laughing too, both at Donghae’s imitation and at himself.

They couldn’t stop laughing for over five minutes straight, bodies convulsing on their seats and tears forming on the corners of their eyes. Eventually, they calm down, reducing only to small chuckles as they wipe their tears and exchange stupid grins, and Hyukjae thinks he couldn’t possibly love his dining table more than he does at the moment – simply because it is at this table that he reconciled with his old best friend, the love of his life. It is at this table that they’re sharing their first meal in years, where from uncomfortable silence, they turned into laughing goofs, eliminating the left-over tension and awkwardness in the air.

Most of all, Hyukjae thinks he couldn’t possibly love Donghae more, for giving him another chance despite the fact that he probably didn’t even deserve it at all.

And as he watches his angel start talking about some casual topic regarding school, Hyukjae thinks maybe it isn’t all that impossible after all. Maybe there’s a small chance that this Donghae, his beautiful Donghae, truly is the one destined for him.

Maybe, just maybe, this Lee Donghae is his soulmate.

♦

After taking a quick, warm shower in the guest bathroom, and dressing up in his now dry school uniform, Donghae is escorted by Hyukjae to the gates. The redhead had lent him an umbrella, as the sky is still a light shade of gray and according to the weather forecast, there will still be some slight drizzles throughout the day.

As they stand by the black gates, Donghae turns to face Hyukjae with a small smile, feeling a bit of shyness creeping in as he utters softly, “Thanks… for letting me stay the night. And for the food.”

“It’s nothing,” Hyukjae returns the gesture. “It’s the least I can do.”

Donghae hums lightly. “See you on Monday.”

“See you.”

Just as he turns and takes one step out of the gate though, he feels a sudden tug on his sleeve. He blinks in surprise as he faces Hyukjae once again, eyebrows ra