“So –“ the two both start talking and stop, staring at each other, eyes wide.

“Um, you can go first,” Hyukjae says quietly, looking down, flushed.

Donghae nods. “I’m sorry I kissed you…” he says. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to see what it’d be like.”

“I’m sorry I ran away,” Hyukjae replies. “I was just… startled, I guess.”

Donghae smiles a bit sadly. “Sorry,” he whispers.

“It wasn’t a bad thing!” Hyukjae correctly immediately. “I just didn’t know what my feelings were back then…”

Donghae stares at Hyukjae. “… do you know them now?” he asks a bit timidly.

“If I didn’t, Sungmin would’ve killed me by now,” Hyukjae replies, trying to lighten the mood. He succeeds a bit when Donghae cracks a small smile. “But first… do-do you like me?” he asks, a bit more scared than he expected to be.

“Yes,” Donghae replies, not a bit hesitant, although he seems a bit scared to hear Hyukjae response.

Hyukjae takes in a sharp breath. Somehow, hearing it from Donghae himself is a lot different than hearing Sungmin yell it at him. It makes knots form in his stomach.

“I have for a while now,” Donghae admits.

“How long?” Hyukjae asks, still finding a bit hard to breathe.

“Maybe… a little before I left for China. When we were walking in the park and eating,” he says, smiling a bit at the memory. “I remembered all of the things we did in that short amount of time, and how it made me happier than I’ve been in a long time. I guess I’ve always liked you, but I didn’t know it until then.”

Hyukjae wants to just collapse even though he’s already sitting down.

“But really,” Donghae says, his voice gaining more strength. “What took you so long?” he demands, narrowing his eyes at Hyukjae who’s just sitting there, a bit surprised at the stronger outburst. “I mean, I know you’re not the brightest monkey out there, but even I figured out my feelings before you did!”

Hyukjae can’t help but fight back. “Hey! Who said I even like you anyway?” He immediately regrets that when Donghae slouches a bit, losing the light in his eyes.

“R-Right,” he mumbles, looking down, his hair covering half of his face. “You never said anything yet… Sorry.”

Hyukjae sighs, tilting his head back in frustration. “I don’t mean it like that,” he says. “I mean… I like you.” Donghae is still looking down. “Did you hear me?” Hyukjae demands, moving closer. “I said I like you, Hae.”

Donghae doesn’t move.

“Aish, you better not be crying…” Hyukjae mutters, running a hand through his hair.

Donghae looks up, his face brighter and there are no tears to be found. “Hey!” he yells. “I’m not crying! I just wanted to let your words soak in!” Hyukjae smiles, relieved. “Why would you scare me like that?” Donghae yells, smacking Hyukjae’s arm with more force than intended.

Hyukjae winces at the hit. “I didn’t mean to – “

“Scare me like again and I’ll steal all of your strawberry milk,” Donghae warns.

Hyukjae narrows his eyes at Donghae. “You wouldn’t.”

Donghae laughs, moving his body so that his head is on Hyukjae’s lap now. Hyukjae sits there, startled at first, but gets used to it and stares down at Donghae, smiling now. The two sit there for a moment, just staring at each other.

“Want to know a secret?” Donghae finally whispers, his eyes teasing as he smiles up at Hyukjae. He doesn’t need Hyukjae to reply; he knows the boy is asking What? with his eyes. “I don’t even like strawberry milk that much,” he whispers as if it’s a scandalous secret – which it is for Hyukjae.

“Take that back!” Hyukjae yells louder than he intends to, staring incredulously at Donghae who is just laughing on his lap. “Why would you always take mine if you don’t even like it that much?”

“Because I love anything that’s yours,” Donghae replies with a bright smile. “Even if I don’t really like it by itself.”

Hyukjae can’t help but smile. “You’re a funny fishy,” he says.

“And you’re mine, Monkey.” Donghae moves to lightly kiss Hyukjae’s nose, then the two just sit there, enjoying each other’s company.

-

Kyuhyun smirks as he watches the two walk together to lunch, Donghae’s arm linked through Hyukjae’s enthusiastically. Even Kibum and Shindong are looking at them curiously. Sungmin just smiles, and Ryeowook has to bite his lips from gushing over how cute the two look.

“I thought you weren’t gay,” Kyuhyun teases Hyukjae, who just elbows the younger boy.

“Same goes for you,” he replies, smiling still because nothing could bring him down now.

“I came to accept my feelings,” Kyuhyun says, tugging Sungmin closer, who just sat there, leaning against Kyuhyun comfortably.

“I did, too,” Hyukjae says, looking over at Donghae who’s talking lively with Ryeowook, most likely over how the two got together.

“What changed your mind?”

“Your boyfriend,” Hyukjae laughs.

Kyuhyun grins. “He’s quite demanding, isn’t he?” Sungmin just glares up at Kyuhyun, not saying anything. But the two finally break out smiling at each other, and as Kyuhyun leaves over to kiss Sungmin, Hyukjae throws a cookie at the two.

“Hey!” Sungmin yells, glaring at Hyukjae.

“Don’t do that in front of me!” Hyukjae whines.

“Then go kiss your boyfriend, you smelly brat,” Sungmin snaps, still annoyed at Hyukjae for interrupting the two. When Hyukjae just flushes, Sungmin is suddenly smirking deviously – something he obviously quickly picked up from his boyfriend – and says, “You haven’t kissed him yet.” It’s not even a question.

“We just got together!” Hyukjae defends, red in the face.

“We kissed before we even got together,” Sungmin says.

“First of all, Kyuhyun kissed you. Second of all, that’s different!”

“No it isn’t! Now go kiss him!”

“You can’t rush things like that!” Hyukjae yells.

“Things like what?” Donghae asks, suddenly appearing by Hyukjae’s sight.

“Kisses!” Sungmin bursts before Hyukjae can drag him away. “Hurry up and kiss him!” Sungmin yells as Hyukjae drags him away, not wanting to listen to Sungmin anymore.

When the two are elsewhere finally, Hyukjae is a bright crimson and Donghae is just smiling at his silly boyfriend. “Don’t listen to Min,” Hyukjae mutters, rolling his eyes.

“Why not?” Donghae asks, pouting. “I think it’s a good idea.”

Hyukjae stares at Donghae, surprised. “But we just got together!” It’s not that he doesn’t want to kiss Donghae, but he’s nervous about it. Donghae senses this and decides to take a step forward, and Hyukjae just stands there, unmoving.

Donghae continues leaning in, and as he does, Hyukjae’s eyes widen. His breaths become more shallow, and just as their lips are about to touch, Donghae pulls back, laughing.

“You’re too cute!” he exclaims, tears of laughter falling from his eyes.

“Hey!” Hyukjae yells, frowning.

“We don’t have to kiss until you’re ready,” Donghae says, smiling at his boyfriend. “But don’t take too long, will you?”

The two eat lunch separately from their friends. You can say it’s their first ‘date’ with many more to come. While the two are lovers, they are best friends above all. Jokes and teases, secrets and shared moments make up their dates. Quick kisses became more frequent, and the two were always seen hugging sooner or later.

There was a time when the two were separated. They had no idea that they’d be reunited, something new blooming between the two that was definitely not there before. Neither of them regret anything that happened. In fact, Hyukjae’s only regret is that he almost let Donghae slip right through his fingers…

… but in the end, he caught him right at the last moment, and this time, he doesn’t ever plan on letting go.

------

A/N: Originally, I had an idea that could’ve left this couple hanging and then it would’ve led into a sequel, but then I was like, ‘I’m getting bored with this, so I’ll just let them finally get together in this story to escape the possibility of a sequel.’

THE END! FINALLY! Man, I’m not all too impressed with this story, but I’ll use the excuse that it’s my first Eunhae story to cover that up. xD I wanted this story to be a bit more angsty, actually, which was why I had the idea of leaving the two hanging and incomplete, but... I don't know. My Eunhae-shipping heart couldn't do that. Maybe as I progress, I'll get better at this :)

Thank you to all who read, subscribed, and/or commented! 168 subscribers for my first story on here is freakin' amazing! <3 I really hope you all enjoyed this. I'll be writing a new Eunhae story very soon, and maybe even a Kyumin one once I clear out some of the details. Thank you so much everyone!

[[And yes, I left this story without the two ever actually kissing. I'm sorry, but if I wrote about a kiss, you'd see how badly I fail at writing kisses. D: THAT, and I do want to keep Eunhae's innocence evident throughout the story, and by making it that they waited to kiss, it shows how natural the two are that they can remain lovers and friends.]]