Ellie finished cleaning up the kitchen and glanced up at the clock.

Almost 6pm.

She dried her hands off and removed her apron.

She made sure the front door was unlocked then ran up the stairs to her room.

She changed clothes into a pair of jeans and a tee, then went to her bathroom to fix her hair and touch up her make-up.

Downstairs she heard the front door shut.

"Ellie?" came Dae's voice. 

"I'm up here!" she hollered.

After a moment she heard his footsteps on the stairs and her door opened.

She stood looking into the bathroom mirror, pulling her hair back into a ponytail when Dae's head peeked inside.

She met his eyes in the mirror and they both smiled.

"I hope you're hungry." he said.

She smiled. "Starving."

"Good." he grinned. "Almost ready?"

She nodded.

"K. I'll go ahead and start the fire."

He gave her a quick wink and disappeared.

She smiled as she finished up with her makeup and grabbed a hoodie.

They'd spent the last couple weeks catching up and taking things slow.

Daehyun wanted to be sure any hurts were healed, questions were answered, he wanted nothing between them. 

She was glad he hadn't given up, that he'd kept fighting for her.

It scared her to think where they'd be if he hadn't.

She couldn't believe she'd almost walked away.

She'd been home for a month now, and Daehyun had been on break. He had met with his groupmates and they had decided to file a lawsuit against their company.

There was no telling just yet how long this was going to take...but for now, he was home. 

They spent as much time together as possible, becoming inseperable just as they had as kids.

She went downstairs and found Dae's stuff sitting in the living room and smiled.

Finally, they were having a campout together.

They hadn't had one since jr high at least.

Dae must've got the fire going because he came in just then and met her in the living room.

"Your favorite color is still blue right?" he asked picking up a bag from the floor.

"Mm." she nodded.

"Good." he smiled handing the bag to her. "I figured it's been quite awhile and our old sleeping bags weren't going to cut it, so i bought us new ones."

Inside the bag was a new blue sleeping bag.

''And," he continued, "I got a matching one...and better yet, they can actually be zipped together to make one big sleeping bag." he smiled. "For later..you know."

She blushed at the thought.

"I guess that was kinda presumptuous of me huh.." he said suddenly.

Ellie shook her head. "No, I thought it was romantic."

He smiled bashfully.

"I prepped the food ahead of time, so all we have to do is cook it." she said changing the subject.

They were still taking things slow and hadn't done more than hold hands so far, or soft kisses on the cheek or forehead.

The idea of sharing a sleeping bag was exciting.  She'd be lying if she said she hadn't wanted to be more intimate, and she was sure he felt the same way, but she also understood the reason for Dae wanting to move slow.

She followed behind Dae into the kitchen, listening to him hum to himself as he went.

They were going to have a small BBQ outside and sleep under the stars in her backyard. 

She grabbed the iced tea container and a couple glasses while Dae grabbed the food for the BBQ and they went outside.

The fire was ready, and Dae put the food on while Ellie poured them some tea, and put on some music, then they both sat in the chairs on the back porch.

"Perfect timing." Dae said, taking a sip of his tea. "Sun is just starting to go down."

"Mm." she agreed.

"I won't be throwing up in your bushes this time though." he chuckled.

She smiled as she remembered that night.

He reached over and took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.

"I could do this everynight for the rest of my life and i'd never get tired of it." he said softly.

He was staring off in the distance, caressing her hand, a smile on his lips as they watched the sun go down together.

She watched him, the last of the sun's light reflecting in his eyes.

He sensed her staring at him. "I love you." he said before turning to look at her.

She smiled and dropped her gaze. "I love you too."

It moved her whenever he talked about doing things together in the future. It was nice knowing he included her in his future thoughts and plans.

They ate and talked while the music continued to play in the background.

Daehyun missed s and missed being on stage. He hoped the lawsuit would be dealt with quickly so they could get back to making music, but he was enjoying his time at home too. She could tell how torn he was. She tried to encourage him, suggested the members get together to hang out, and encouraged him to continue practicing his singing and dancing.

She loved his voice, she'd always found it soothing. He was always singing, or at least humming some little tune. Didn't matter what he was doing. When they went to the store, when he was doing dishes, or working in the yard.

Ellie stood, and picked up their plates, taking them inside and put them in the sink.

The music outside suddenly became louder and she returned to find Dae waiting for her.

He reached his hand out toward her. 

She took his hand and he pulled her closer.

"Dance with me, please?"

She smiled. "Of course."

She put her hand on his shoulder and he put his at her waist, their other hands joined and they began moving slowly to the music.

He continued talking, a mile a minute.

As she listened she couldn't help but feel happy. Just being around him made her feel safe, and happy...like she could handle anything, because she had him at her side.

She leaned in, letting her head rest against his chest.

He felt his heart flutter.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her waist, and kissed the top of her head.

He loved feeling her close like this.

He wanted to protect her, hold her, love her.

They continued to dance, slowly, and close.

He pulled her tightly against himself, burying his face in her hair, his nose brushing against her neck.

His lips lightly pressed against her neck and her eyes closed slowly. 

He moved upward, kissing her neck again, then her jaw.

Part of her wanted him to continue, but she knew he wanted to take it slow, and she didn't want to rush anything. 

They had lots of time. And she wanted to do this right, just as he did.

"Dae." she said softly.

"I know, i'm sorry." he said pulling away.

She shook her head. "Don't be sorry. I liked it, i did. I just-"

"I know. You're keeping me in check, thank you." he chuckled. "Im the dummy that made the rule, and i can't seem to stick to it."

Ellie yawned suddenly, and Dae smiled. "I guess it is getting kinda late." 

"Sorry." she laughed, covering in an attempt to stifle another yawn.

"Don't be. It was nice to just be with you, and relax, watch the sun, and eat while enjoying your company. And besides, the night's not over yet."

She smiled at him, and he leaned in placing a kiss on her cheek before he let go of her. "Let's get to bed."

Dae added some wood to the firepit and set up their sleeping bags.

Ellie pulled her hoodie on and Dae held open her sleeping bag for her to get in.

After she got in he zipped it up then got into his own bag right next to her.

He his side facing her.

She yawned yet again, rubbing her eyes.

Dae scoot a little closer.

She looked over at him and smiled.

"Thank you." she said softly.

"For what?" he asked.

He lay snuggled up in his sleeping bag, his hood over his head, drawstrings pulled tight, the fire flickering about in his eyes as he smiled at her.

"For today...for this. I missed you terribly. I missed doing things like this."

He reached over, slipping his hand inside her hood and caressed her cheek. 

"I've missed it too." he admitted. "But this was just the first of many." 

She smiled. "I love you Daehyun."

He grinned. 

"Oh hey, guess what i brought." he said suddenly rolling over to retrieve something behind him.

He rolled back to face her, holding a teddy bear in his outstretched arms.

"Benji!" she said smiling as she took the bear.

He smiled as she tucked the bear into her sleeping bag.

"It made me so happy when you gave it to me after my Dad's funeral. Honestly i'd forgotten about him until you gave him to me. It was really sweet, thank you."

She smiled back at him. "I wanted to return the favor. You gave him to me after i lost my dad and, being only 10 it just felt like my whole world was ending. But having that bear helped me a lot. Thank you."

His thumb moved slowly across her cheek, his hand warm against her cool skin.

His eyes moved from her eyes to her lips back to her eyes.

He swallowed hard and cleared his throat. "Can...Can I kiss you?" he stuttered, suddenly embarassed.

She blushed, but nodded.

He leaned in slowly and gently pressed his lips to hers.

Her hand came out of the sleeping bag and came to rest on his hand that was still caressing her cheek.

He kissed her a second time, but harder this time.

His lips were soft, and warm. She could smell mint, probably from his toothpaste.

The tip of his nose was cold and pressed into her cheek.

As he started to pull away, she reached out and grabbed his sweater, keeping him from pulling back and leaned into him, pressing to his.

She told herself no tongue, but she continued to kiss him repeatedly.

He sighed softly, enjoying the affection.

When he finally pulled away, he opened his eyes and smiled at her. 

"I could do that for a lifetime and never get tired of it either."

They both chuckled. 

"I love you Ellie. You mean the world to me, I mean it."

"I feel the same way. And I love you too."