And so the next two weeks passed – meeting in the many nooks and crannies Hogwarts had to offer students in search of quiet places they could be alone in to do their homework (a.k.a. be self-conscious and sneak looks at each other, getting nothing done), study for their too-many-to-count tests (or try to impress each other and fail miserably when it came to Potions on Sungyeol’s part, Myungsoo trying to hide a smile), practice their DADA and non-verbal spells (ending in Sungyeol puffing up like a peacock when Myungsoo needed his help to get the Geminio charm right). Today they were revising Finite Incantatum; ostensibly easy and low-level, but needing conviction and intuition to execute perfectly. Sungyeol cast various charms on things around the room for Myungsoo to remove; and Myungsoo was getting more and more frustrated when he succeeded in all of them except Sungyeol’s Tarantellegra cast on one of their chairs.

“Finite!” Myungsoo tried again, managing to make only two out of the straight-backed chair’s four legs stop dancing, so that it began to hop around rather sadly, dragging its inanimate legs behind the two doing what looked like a jig. “Why can’t I do it?! This is a damn second-year charm!”

“Calm down, you’re getting distracted,” Sungyeol advised, walking up close to shake Myungsoo lightly by the shoulders – and in that split second the atmosphere between them changed. Myungsoo dropped his eyes as Sungyeol looked down at him from his two-inch advantage, the tips of his ears slowly turning red; always a dead giveaway. Sungyeol wasn’t exactly sure what their status was at the moment – they’d hold hands, sometimes, or let their hands brush, and Sungyeol was getting bolder in the way he’d let himself touch Myungsoo; briefly Myungsoo’s hair, or letting a hand linger on a shoulder or arm – he didn’t think they were together yet, but they were kind of dating, although they never really acknowledged the progression of their feelings and completely ignored the existence of a certain thing called ‘kissing’ or any part of each other’s body below the waist even as it was fast becoming all Sungyeol could think about these days.

He stepped away awkwardly, releasing Myungsoo. It drove him crazy. He was never good at taking things slowly – didn’t see the point of waiting if he knew what he wanted – but Myungsoo seemed genuinely too embarrassed whenever faced with the possibility of kissing or hugging even while he clearly yearned to touch and be touched; Sungyeol would put an arm around Myungsoo and he could practically see all of Myungsoo’s thought processes grind to a halt as he fought with himself not to lean into Sungyeol until he was blushing so hard Sungyeol didn’t know what to do. So Sungyeol would step back and drop his hand or arm, extremely mystified. And the worst thing was Myungsoo would droop slightly after Sungyeol moved away, the disappointment on his face well-hidden but obvious for someone who was looking for it in the slight pursing of his lips and tiny furrow of his brow.

Sungyeol wondered what would happen if he just grabbed Myungsoo and kissed him – whether Myungsoo would freeze up and just stay still, lips clamped shut while blushing furiously, or if he’d finally let himself let go and give in to what he clearly wanted. It made Sungyeol want to roar.

Anyway, Finite Incantatem; they practised a few more times until Myungsoo could stop all four legs of the chair dancing at once, Sungyeol throwing himself into teacher mode until Myungsoo had gotten over the awkwardness of earlier.

He was still brooding about it as he reached Gryffindor Tower and came upon a bedroom devoid of Woohyuns. He wasn’t in the common room, either, and there was no note left on Sungyeol’s bed as to why Woohyun wasn’t waiting there for him to go for dinner together. Sungyeol sighed, heaviness and regret settling in his chest.

A month ago the only problems he’d had was how to avoid dying of shame and ineptitude in Potions and making sure he found time to do all his homework, studying, and Quidditch training. Now where he’d always expected to have girl problems, he had multiple boy problems up to here from dealing with Myungsoo and Woohyun and he wasn’t even dating both of them.

Woohyun had been cold with him lately, and Sungyeol knew perfectly why; Woohyun, even though in many other ways was the best best friend on the planet, didn’t like to share. For all his larger-than-life personality that implied boundless confidence and self-esteem, Woohyun needed a lot of reassurance – Sungyeol had been undeniably consumed with Myungsoo, and if he knew Woohyun, Woohyun was feeling neglected. Sungyeol couldn’t help bringing up Myungsoo in almost every conversation even as he registered Woohyun’s annoyance at the back of his mind, and he couldn’t help wanting to spend as much time as possible with Myungsoo, even if it was just to surreptitiously watch him study; but ‘couldn’t help it’ as an excuse wouldn’t fly with Woohyun. He knew ignoring Woohyun’s feelings in the hope they would go away would just make it worse as Dongwoo himself had warned, but – Myungsoo. And so Woohyun had gotten colder and colder with him to the point that his silence was like a slap in the face, and Sungyeol had no one else to blame but himself.

Just as Sungyeol was about to make his way out of the bedroom down to the Great Hall to join Woohyun and Dongwoo, Woohyun entered the doorway, his gaze settling on Sungyeol for a moment before he looked away.

“Oh, you’re here,” he said briefly by way of greeting. He circumnavigated Sungyeol and went to his own bed, having come back to pick up a book he’d left on his bedside table. Sungyeol might as well have been a house elf.

“Woohyun,” Sungyeol went for it, having had enough of uncomfortable situations for one day and the closed-off look on his best friend’s face overcoming him with remorse. “Are you upset with me because I’ve been spending too much time with Myungsoo?”

Woohyun looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “I’m not upset. You can go do whatever you want.”

Sungyeol followed Woohyun out of the bedroom, feeling both helpless and irritated at how stubborn Woohyun could be. He was aware that Woohyun was reacting this way partly because he was embarrassed to be upset in the first place, but it was testament to how well Sungyeol knew him that he also recognized Woohyun’s need for Sungyeol to prove how sorry he was. “Don’t be like this, I’m not dumb. I can read you like a book and I know you’re feeling pushed aside and I am seriously sorry. Please understand that I wasn’t doing it on purpose, okay? What do you want me to do to make it up to you? Kneel in apology? Carry a sign around for a week that says ‘I’m a terrible friend’?”

“What would be the point of that?” Woohyun sniffed in the same even tone, ducking through the entrance to their common room without a look back.

Sungyeol scrambled through it, blindly grabbing Woohyun when he emerged to force Woohyun to stop and look at him. “Woohyun, please. It won’t happen again, alright? I’ll stop seeing him so much, or we’ll work something out. Please. It’s killing me that you’re mad at me.”

“Oh, now it’s killing you? Only now?” Woohyun shook his arm out of Sungyeol’s grip obstinately. Sungyeol took a deep breath, telling himself that punching Woohyun would only make things worse no matter how childish he was acting.

“You’re right, I shouldn’t have let it go on for so long. I really am sorry I made you feel this way, Woohyun. There is no way I could ever replace you with anyone. Not even Myungsoo.”

Woohyun looked slightly mollified at that, and Sungyeol knew he’d hit the nail on the head. Torn between being frustrated that Woohyun could even think that and apologetic because he knew part of the reason Woohyun was so upset was because he was also upset at himself for being jealous, Sungyeol put out his fist, and after a reluctant moment Woohyun gave it two tiny bumps sheepishly.

“Didn’t you miss me?” Woohyun asked in a small voice, still not meeting Sungyeol’s eyes.

“Of course I did, stupid, I just let myself get too caught up in him. Are you still my platonic boyfriend?” Sungyeol asked, winking at Woohyun, who rolled his eyes as Sungyeol took his chance and dragged him in for a hug. Silly insecure Nam, Sungyeol thought as they hugged it out, gladness blooming in his chest that he had his best friend back with no more residual hurt feelings that a little flattering and attention couldn’t fix. Another Gryffindor they knew from the year above them catcalled teasingly as he came out of the common room, Sungyeol giving him a friendly middle finger behind Woohyun’s back.

“Those two, seriously,” the boy told someone, laughing. “Might as well get married.”

The uncertain laugh that answered sent instant alarm bells screeching in Sungyeol’s head, and he drew back from the hug to find Myungsoo standing a few paces away, looking for all the world like he wanted the floor to open and swallow him up.

“Myungsoo?” he asked in disbelief, Woohyun fast moving apart from Sungyeol in a way that just made the two of them look even more suspicious. Of all times!

“I took your textbook just now by mistake,” Myungsoo said, holding Sungyeol’s Charms book up and rushing his words out.

“You could have just given it back to me at dinner,” Sungyeol told him, knowing as he said it that that just made it sound even more like he and Woohyun had something to hide, coming out like he was annoyed Myungsoo had shown up there but powerless to take back the words once said. Sungyeol was panicking inside as he walked up to Myungsoo to take it from him, Myungsoo quickly dropping his arm to flash him a quick smile before he walked off.

Oh gods, Sungyeol thought. If he left Woohyun alone now to run off and explain things to Myungsoo it would just make everything worse with Woohyun, but if he didn’t – he had no idea how much Myungsoo had heard or seen, and for Merlin’s sake did that goddamn seventh-year have to go and say that to Myungsoo? Also what in all hells was Woohyun doing, jumping apart from him like that as if they’d just both been caught making out or something –

“Go.” Woohyun was suddenly at his side, taking the textbook from him to add to the one he was already carrying. “I don’t know what the hell he possibly thinks just happened, but it doesn’t look good. Go.”

Sungyeol searched Woohyun’s face to see if he really meant it, and to his surprise, Woohyun did. He squeezed Woohyun’s arm in thanks, and jogged off in the direction Myungsoo had taken. He made it all the way to the ground floor without seeing him, and neither was he in the Great Hall – Sungyeol even wandered down to the kitchens in a futile attempt to see if Myungsoo had gone back to the Hufflepuff Basement, even though he knew that there was no way he was going to gain entry to be able to check. Most students were in the Great Hall for dinner by then, so no one was coming in or out - this was ridiculous.

He hadn’t thought Myungsoo would be the jealous-jump-to-conclusions type, but his face when Sungyeol had drawn back, still with Woohyun’s arms looped around his waist – that had not been a happy face. Myungsoo had to know that despite whatever he thought he’d just seen, Woohyun was just Sungyeol’s friend, right? Sungyeol talked about Woohyun enough for Myungsoo to know –

Ohh. Oh, gods.

Sungyeol wanted to smack himself in the face. It was very possible that he had relied on talking about Woohyun a bit too much to cover up the awkward patches him and Myungsoo still encountered in their conversation here and there – Woohyun did a lot of absurd things, after all, which were always good for a laugh, but he hadn’t thought that he may have been talking about Woohyun so much to the point Myungsoo would actually get jealous. Woohyun was jealous about Myungsoo and Myungsoo was jealous about Woohyun – how absolutely dumb.

He gave up the search for the moment to go for dinner – his stomach was growling – and wedged himself in between Woohyun and Dongwoo once he’d found them. Dongwoo was delighted to see that Woohyun and Sungyeol were talking again, and very thoughtfully didn’t laugh when he heard what had happened with Myungsoo, which was typical sweet-hearted Dongwoo.

“You didn’t find him?” Woohyun asked, looking somewhat guilty. “He hasn’t come in for dinner, I’ve been keeping a look out.”

Sungyeol just shook his head and the other two took it upon themselves to try and lift his spirits by rambling on about whatever silly thing they could think of.

“Think of it this way,” Woohyun said cheerfully as the three of them left the Great Hall half an hour later. “If you break up, at least you’ll have more time to spend with me!”

Sungyeol just punched him. “You’re back to normal, I see,” he said flatly.

“Dongwoo,” Woohyun complained, nursing the arm Sungyeol had punched. Dongwoo raised his hands, shaking his head.

“You deserved that one, .”

*

Sungyeol bombarded Myungsoo with notes of apology and enquiry the moment he got back to his dorm and the next morning when he got up – none of which got a reply, and the wait until he could see Myungsoo in Potions after lunch was excruciating. Not that he could try to communicate with him across a room full of students with Snape hovering around breathing down all their necks as he tried to complete his practice worksheet on something that made no sense to him, of course. To compound this, he remembered with a jolt that him and Woohyun hadn’t come up with a plan B for their project, to be handed in the week after; his life just got better and better.

They were supposed to meet that afternoon as usual in their normal spot, but Myungsoo had just given him a small wave and short smile when Potions ended and disappeared with his friends. Sungyeol was ready to tear out his hair. What did it mean? Myungsoo ignored his notes, but still waved him goodbye after class, and then didn’t show up for their ‘date’ – study date or whatever date or not-even-a-date, Sungyeol was screwed if he knew anymore. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, feeling for the first time that Woohyun was right – he’d rushed things with Myungsoo and he didn’t really know him all that well, after all. Fighting with Woohyun was different; he knew exactly why Woohyun was mad even if he thought Woohyun was stupid for being mad in the first place, but with Myungsoo he was completely at sea. He thought Myungsoo was jealous about what had happened the night before, but he couldn’t even begin to understand the mixed signals Myungsoo’d sent him today.

The Hufflepuff-Gryffindor game was on Monday. If they didn’t sort things out now there was no way Sungyeol was going to be able to fly near acceptably, not with Myungsoo on the pitch right there with him and the weight of this misunderstanding hanging between them. For Merlin’s sake, they weren’t even together yet!

He got up to leave, and when he opened the door Myungsoo was standing right outside it like in one of those Muggle comedies. Surprise turned to embarrassment turned to resolve all in a few moments on Myungsoo’s face as they stood there gaping at each other, and finally Myungsoo nudged Sungyeol back into the classroom, letting the door swing shut behind them.

“Sungyeol, firstly, I’m sorry,” he said, words rushing out once more, as if the faster he got them out the easier it would be to say them. Sungyeol didn’t know whether to stand or sit, so he compromised by leaning against a table. “This is going to sound really pathetic to you, and I’m completely aware of that but I hope you can understand.”

Sungyeol began to panic even as he tried to stop his heart from pounding so hard. He wasn’t being dumped, was he?

“Um, Myungsoo, before you say anything, I just want you to know that Woohyun is really just my best friend. Nothing more, at all,” Sungyeol jumped in. “I know you’re probably jealous, but what you saw last night was completely… friend… ish. No funny business.”

Myungsoo blinked, nonplussed. “I know.”

“You – what?” Sungyeol stammered, feeling thoroughly wrongfooted. “You know?”

“I know you and Woohyun are just friends,” Myungsoo repeated, puzzled.

“Oh,” Sungyeol said intelligently. “Then…?”

Myungsoo sighed and hesitated for a moment, marshalling his thoughts. “I know you’ve noticed that I get a bit jumpy when you touch me,” he started, tips of his ears predictably reddening. “And it’s not because I don’t want you to. Touch me.” He squeezed his eyes shut before he carried on, as if he just couldn’t live with himself at the moment. “It’s because I want to touch you too much. I can’t even think sometimes around you because I just want to be holding you, or-. I need that. I mean, I don’t do it to my friends because they get weirded out when I try to hug them or just play with their hair and stuff and – I’ve been told that I don’t know my limits,” he paused to give a nervous laugh. “, I sound like a ert.”

Sungyeol raised his eyebrows at this, the first time he’d heard Myungsoo swear outright. Myungsoo had dropped his face into his hands, apparently too mortified to carry on.

“Um, so… last night with Woohyun…?” Sungyeol prompted, completely unsure where all this was going, but so far he really liked the sound of Myungsoo saying he wanted to touch him too.

“When I saw you two together, I just – I really don’t know. A part of me was kind of jealous at how good you looked together, you know, so comfortable with each other, but – mostly I was just upset that he got to hold you like that when I can’t even bring myself to make the first move to get closer, you know? And I don’t want to scare you off, because – I can be really needy,” he finished, voice barely above a whisper. He forced himself to look up at Sungyeol, fingers picking unconsciously over and over at the same spot on his school robes.

“I mean, I know we hardly know each other and we’re not even really together, and I handled this really ing badly,” he continued, taking a deep breath. “Oh, Merlin. I know how crazy all this sounds, and I completely understand if you don’t want to see me anymore.”

Sungyeol pursed his lips together, watching Myungsoo watch him earnestly. “Okay,” he said slowly. “One, from now on, we have to tell each other things. Whatever we’re feeling, and if we’re not happy about something. Keeping it inside obviously doesn’t help.” Myungsoo nodded readily, ashamed.

“Two, you need to be better friends with Dongwoo. He’d let you hug and hang off him all day long if you wanted.”

Myungsoo let out a surprised laugh at this. “Really?”

“Really. And Dongwoo hugs are the best kind of hugs.” Myungsoo smiled at this, defeated expression lifting somewhat.

“Three, I have no idea why you swearing is so hot.”

Myungsoo’s hand jumped to his mouth. “I try not to do it but it slips out sometimes.”

“It doesn’t matter. Do whatever you want around me, that’s kind of the point. Which brings me to four…” Sungyeol trailed off, opening his arms wide in invitation.

Myungsoo bit his lip, letting what Sungyeol had just said sink in. He took one halting step forward, and then another, eyes not leaving Sungyeol’s until he was close enough to bury his face in Sungyeol’s neck, Sungyeol’s arms coming round to hold him as he stood in between Sungyeol’s legs. He circled Sungyeol’s waist with his own arms, feeling the warmth of Sungyeol’s body seep through his school robes into his skin as Sungyeol tightened his hold on him, pulling him closer. Sungyeol smelled of books, and ink, and something that was uniquely his own; Myungsoo had caught whiffs of his scent before when Sungyeol had been close to him, but being surrounded by it as Sungyeol held him near was a different thing altogether. He breathed it in deep, hands flattening against Sungyeol’s back to feel him, his eyelashes fluttering ticklishly against Sungyeol’s neck making Sungyeol chuckle, the sound intimate and deep. The relief that coursed through him at the feel of their bodies against each other was almost tangible – warm heat tinged with a hint of something undeniably ual.

“It’s ridiculous, but I really like you,” Myungsoo whispered into Sungyeol’s skin, Sungyeol’s hands finding their way underneath the school robes to caress his back. “I don’t even know why.”

“Thanks a lot, Myungsoo,” Sungyeol said, feeling Myungsoo shake soundlessly in a responding laugh. Myungsoo’s body was warm and firm underneath his robes, and whatever he washed his hair with smelled amazing. Sungyeol closed his eyes and just let himself enjoy the feel of Myungsoo in his arms and under his hands. He a hand through Myungsoo’s hair to play with the ends at the nape, caressing the soft skin there and loving how Myungsoo was the perfect height to fit just nicely into him. He was sure Myungsoo could feel how fast his heart was going, Myungsoo’s warm breath on his neck and hands moving over his back – finally, finally – making his pulse jump with the knowledge of how easily he could just move slightly and capture Myungsoo’s mouth with his, and valiantly tried to ignore how he was becoming, his blood and teenaged hormones racing through him starting to chant something that sounded very much like .

Myungsoo drew back slightly to look at him, eyes darting for an instant to Sungyeol’s mouth and then back up to Sungyeol's eyes; what he wanted written blatantly on his face but waiting for Sungyeol to show he wanted it too. Sungyeol brought the hand at Myungsoo’s nape up to cup his cheek, his heart pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears. Myungsoo was so close, his face only inches from Sungyeol’s own.

The doorknob jostled once or twice, and the two of them sprang apart. Only then did Sungyeol remember they’d forgotten to lock the door, and Sungyeol forced his face into something approaching nonchalance as the door opened, someone he vaguely recognized as a Slytherin third or fourth-year poking her head into the room.

“Oh, sorry!” The girl apologized, closing the door again after seeing that the room was already occupied, barely even looking at their faces.

Myungsoo had his hand over his heart, letting out the breath he’d been holding. “Oh, Merlin.”

Sungyeol swallowed, chills running down his body as he thought of how close they’d been to getting caught. Always lock the damn door, Sungyeol!

He looked at Myungsoo sheepishly, the moment lost, but Myungsoo grinned back at him anyway. It felt like a great weight had been lifted off the both of their shoulders now they’d talked, Myungsoo’s smile widening as Sungyeol walked over to cup his cheek once more; no more blushing or uncomfortable fidgeting, Sungyeol was glad to see.

“I’m going to need to spend a bit more time with Woohyun, Myungsoo,” Sungyeol told him. “What all that yesterday was about was that he’s kind of jealous of you. He thinks I’m forgetting about him and he becomes a huge pain in the when he’s feeling insecure.”

“Oh! Sure, of course,” Myungsoo agreed, looking surprised. “He’s your best friend, I understand.”

“Or we could all start hanging out together, you know,” Sungyeol suggested. “You could get to know Dongwoo better, and that way Woohyun won’t feel left out. I’d like for you two to be friends, too.”

Myungsoo made a strange amused face at him. “Am I meeting the in-laws?” Sungyeol made a face right back at him.

“We should slow things down, huh?” He asked, remembering Woohyun’s nagging voice. Boy, you crazy. “We haven’t even known each other a month.”

“Hmm,” Myungsoo pretended to think. “No.” He grinned, Sungyeol mock-rolling his eyes at him. “I like you. You like me. We still have a long way to go in getting to know each other, but I don’t think this is just a phase. Is it just a crush for you?” Myungsoo looked suddenly serious.

“I think… that if it was just a crush I would have run three miles away the moment you started getting weird on me,” Sungyeol answered honestly, only realizing it was true as the words came out of his mouth. “Gods, I think I really like you.”

“Well don’t sound so horrified,” Myungsoo scolded, smooshing his cheek into Sungyeol’s palm, then removing it from his face so that he could hold it with both of his. “No more weirdness, I promise.”

“Better not be or Huff, you are out of here,” Sungyeol joked, ending up in a shoving match with Myungsoo.

Woohyun was back to being his normal irrepressible self and things were better than ever with Myungsoo; all in all, life was pretty damn good.

*