"Hyung, can I come in?" Kibum knocked on the leader's door.

"Go ahead." Jinki greeted the younger with a smile. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not really. I just wanted to talk to you about... um... Yixing." Kibum looked down, he wasn't feeling really comfortable messing with other people's business.

"Oh? What about him?"

Kibum sighed and sat next to Jinki. "Hyung, I know this is totally not my business and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but... what is your relationship with him?"

Jinki looked at him quizzically "Relationship?" Kibum nodded "He's my friend." as soon as those words left his mouth he felt as if he was lying. "Friend" was an understatement. To him, Yixing was one of the most important people in his life, he was someone he trusted and loved to no end. But Jinki couldn't find a word that would express all that. Though "soul mate" would probably be the most fitting.

What was important to Kibum, Jinki didn't use the word "lover" or "boyfriend". But it didn't mean that they had nothing going on between them. Especially not with what he had seen. "Okay. But... What meant all those kisses then?"

Jinki blushed slightly, he didn't know anyone had been watching them.

He thought for a bit. "I don't know how to explain this really.. I know friends don't kiss each other but.. it just feels right with Yixing." he looked up at Kibum to see if his face gave anything away. What surprised him was that the younger didn't seem to be even slightly shocked by his words. He continued. "When I'm with him, it just feels like it's a right thing to do. And kissing him makes me happy.". Jinki smiled to himself at the thought. Then he froze, his face fell,  he suddenly realized he was talking about kissing his dongsaeng, another male, with Kibum. He knew that the younger had nothing against gay couples but he might have something against the leader of his group kissing his male hoobaes. It was unprofessional and might cause problems for both SHINee and EXO. Jinki started to play with his fingers, he became nervous.

Kibum on the other hand wasn't concerned about those things at all. He only needed Jinki to make sure he knew what he was doing. "Hyung... Are you sure both you and Yixing view your relationship in the same way? You regard those kisses as a friendly act, are you sure he feels the same? As you said, friends don't really kiss each other. What if he's misinterpreting your intentions?" Kibum hated to do this. Everything was already a mess, and now, when Jinki was going to realize some stuff, it was going to get even worse. But it was necessary for all the drama to end.

Jinki felt his stomach drop. he looked at Kibum with widened, slightly frightened eyes. "He wouldn't... I... didn't... n-no" 

No no no no no. Jinki was praying it wasn't the truth. He would never be able to forgive himself if he ever hurt Yixing. It wasn't that he hated the thought of the younger being his lover, Jinki loved him more than enough for that to happen. But he didn't want Yixing to develop those kinds of feelings towards him now, when he was still confused about everything. He wanted to sort out his own feelings first, to figure out how to deal with Jonghyun. Everything was a mess and he didn't want Yixing to get involved in it. What scared him was that if Yixing was to confess to him right now, Jinki would accept him. He would give the younger anything he wanted, including himself. But if his feelings for Jonghyun don't disappear he would only end up hurting him. And that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

Kibum noticed Jinki was starting to panic. "Hyung, it's okay, you don't know what he's thinking yet. Don't worry. You just need to make sure there aren't any misunderstandings between you two." he put a hand on Jinki's thigh and squeezed it reassuringly and sighed. "I'm really sorry I'm meddling with your business hyung, but I needed to to do this. This is for the best." he gave Jinki a sad smile and left the room. He wasn't doing this for Jonghyun, he wasn't even going to tell him what he had learned from Jinki. He just knew that nothing will change if their leader won't sort out his feelings. 

"Can someone get the door? I'm in the shower!" Kibum yelled from the bathroom. Jonghyun got up from his bed and was about to get out of his room when he heard Jinki.

"I'll get it Bummie, it's Yixing!" he shouted and went to greet his friend. He opened the door and let the younger inside.

"Hi hyung! Yixing smiled and pecked the older on the cheek. Jinki unconsciously flinched at the action, Kibum's words were still ringing in his head. He regretted it though when he saw the hurt look on Yixing's face which he failed to mask. "Ah.. Sorry hyung." he laughed awkwardly and looked down. 

Way to go Jinki... Screwing things up from the very beginning. 

When the younger took off his shoes he grabbed his hand and dragged him to his room. He sat Yixing on his bed and gulped. He was a bit nervous.

"Xing, there's something we need to talk about..." he glanced at the younger, then proceeded to look at his toes. "I... realized that we might have... a different way of understanding our... relationship."

Ahh... So this is what it's all about. It would be a lie if he said he hadn't been expecting this. He knew that Jinki cared about him a lot and wouldn't let him misunderstand something as important as their relationship. He knew that this talk might come, but deep inside he was hoping it wouldn't. Because this talk meant that Jinki didn't want their relationship to go further. That he doesn't want Yixing as something more than a friend. He felt a pang in his chest and smiled bitterly at his own stupidity.

"Ummm... How do I say this?" Jinki laughed awkwardly "I was... w-we were starting to get more and more casual with k-kissing each other... and I thought that maybe I have given you a wrong idea about what it means..." he was struggling with his words, they were getting stuck in his throat. Truth be told it hurt him to say all this. He hoped that the younger would understand that it didn't mean that things would change between them.

Ahh... yes. The kisses. Yixing knew it very well that they didn't have any particular meaning. Friends don't kiss, it's a fact. But he knew Jinki did that because it made him feel secure and loved and Yixing was selfishly taking advantage of it. He felt guilty because while Jinki was kissing him as a best friend, he couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach and crave for more. He was digging his own grave though, because he grew addicted to his hyung's lips and to the feeling it gave him. This is what you get for being a selfish bastard.

"Hyung there was no misunderstanding" he forced himself to smile "we are friends, right?"

Jinki noticed that something was wrong. He remained silent, carefully inspecting Yixing's face.

You screwed up. "Hyung, really." he tried to smile as sincerely as he possibly could "everything's fine, I didn't misunderstand anything."

The older looked at him warily. After a few seconds he sighed and smiled. "Okay. I'm happy we've cleared this issue."

That was close. Yixing was feeling everything but fine but he needed Jinki to believe he was okay. He owed him that. "But hyuuung.. Does that mean that there will be no kisses from now on?" he whined pouting.

Jinki giggled "We'll see about that."

"It's getting late, I should get going." Yixing stood up and grabbed his stuff from the bedside table. "Bye bye hyung!" he waved to Jinki and left the room. He put his shoes on and grabbed the door handle.

"Yixing wait"

I hope you liked it! Thank you for sticking with me and my fic. See you in the next chapter ^^