"Kibum can you pass me the tomatoes?"

"Sure hyung." Key quickly washed the vegetables under running water and put them on the cutting board. He then leaned against the counter and watched his hyung chop them. "Sooo... have you spoken to Taemin yet?" he asked with an innocent tone.

"I didn't." Onew replied simply and placed the chopped tomatoes into a pot.

Key rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Whyyyy. You have to talk to him, this is going on for way too long. How long are you going to torment our maknae? He's learned his lesson, let it go hyung."

"I told you it's not about him learning a lesson. It's about me not being able to have a normal conversation with him. I don't want to get angry at him and make hurt him any more than I already did."

"Then don't." Key put his hands on his hips and 'accidentally' elbowed the older in the ribs.

"It's not that easy Kibum. But I'm slowly getting there." he turned around to the younger and pressed his lips together. " And don't. elbow. me. in. the. ribs." he said poking the younger's sides with each word.

Key let out a loud laugh. "S-stop it hyung. You k-know I'm v-very ticklish. HAHAHAHA!"

Onew smirked evilly. "Oh yeah? How about here? Or here?" he giggled while eagerly poking different parts of Key's body.

"H-hyung I'm s-erious! HAHAHA!" he wriggled in the older's hands laughing obnoxiously and when he managed to open his eyes a little bit he noticed Taemin standing in the corridor. When the maknae realized he had been spotted he turned his head away and headed to his room without a word.

"T-taemin! HAHA H-hyung s-stop, Taemin-..."

Onew rested his hands on Key's hips, his lips still stretched into a grin. "What? What about Taemin?"

"He just came back home. I saw him go to his room."

The leader sighed and retreated his hands, his playful mood suddenly gone.

"Hyung go talk to him. Please." Key looked straight into Onew's eyes. "You can do it, it's been long enough. Please hyung."

Onew looked away running his fingers through his hair in thought. A few seconds later he bit his bottom lip and exhaled. "Fine, okay. I'll go talk to him."

Key run his hand along the older's arm. "Thank you. It's going to be fine, I'll have my fingers crossed. And I'll finish the pasta so don't worry about it." he smiled and patted the older's for encouragement.

Onew slowly went towards the maknae's room and stopped in front of the door. He took a deep breath and knocked a few times.

"Go away! I don't want to talk to you."

The older sighed and opened the door anyway noticing Taemin on his bed, his face buried in a pillow he was hugging. Hearing someone come in the younger lifted his head annoyed to give the intruder a piece of his mind, but then he saw Onew where he assumed would be standing Key. His eyes sparkled with hope for a second but then the corners of his mouth turned downwards at the memory of what he had just seen in the kitchen. He had been replaced, he was not needed anymore in Onew's life and the older seemed to be really happy with it. Taemin shoved his face back in the pillow.

"I said go away. I have nothing to tell you."

The leader sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Look Taemin... I'm sorry. About everything. I tried my best to solve the problem professionally but it just didn't work out and the whole thing ended up being a big ugly mess. I'm sorry I acted the way I did and I'm sorry for hurting you... I should've done a better job at handling that issue, I shouldn't have let my feelings get mingled with it. I really want us to go back to the way we were before, so please... talk to me..."

Taemin remained still for a while wondering whether he should continue sulking or act mature and do what he actually ached for for ages now. Having made his decision he put his pillow away and nodded slightly. Onew gave him a thankful smile and sat on the corner of the younger's bed. "Okay, so first of all I think we should..." he started and then shook his head deciding to talk about something else first. "...I talked with Jongin... and he said you guys really aren't dating each other and that you both have someone else that you like..."

Taemin's eyes widened slightly in surprise, his heart speeding up. Onew had to realize it was him, there was no other way, he had to realize the person the younger liked was him.

"You should know that whoever that is... I'm going to support you and do my best to make it easier on you guys." Onew swallowed, the words hurting his throat. "B-but you need to remember not to make the same mistake again okay? You can go outside with that person but please be careful when showing affection for each other. It would be good if you invited him over so that I could tell him so myself." He then looked away feeling a lump forming in his throat. When he decided he was ready to face Taemin again, he found him flushed and wet-faced with tears streaming down his rosy cheeks.

"Wha-"

The younger smiled bitterly and wiped his right eye with his sleeve. "Really hyung... What do I have to do for you to finally notice me? There's a certain limit of how much a person's heart can take hyung... I was doing my best but you just keep going in circles because you can't see what's right in front of you... I really tried my best... but it's never enough, is it hyung?"

Taemin lifted himself and moved closer to the older, the bed creaking and dipping underneath him. He stopped when his face was mere centimeters from the other's and he could feel Onew's soft breath brushing his lips. He looked the other straight into his eyes. "Can you see me now, hyung?"

The atmosphere became dense and heavy and the only thing Onew managed to do was to stare into Taemin's incredibly dark eyes, his heart speeding up more and more with every second. He felt like he had to say something but his mind was all fogged up and he couldn't think of anything appropriate. He wasn't even sure what the younger meant asking him a question like that.

Time passed and after a while Taemin bit his lip and finally put some distance between them, his eyes tearing up once again in disappointment. He looked up at Onew pleadingly. "Hyung... Have you really never thought that that person might be you?" his bottom lip quivered. "Is the thought of me liking you so ridiculous that it hasn't crossed your mind even once?"

Onew's eyes widened in shock, he couldn't believe what he was just hearing. "T-taemin..." he whispered shakily.

Taemin reached out and clenched his fist on the older's shirt as if he was clinging to life. "Because here I am, liking, no, loving you, and you won't even look my way. You make plans for me and some other guy, saying you'll support us no matter what and that ing hurts hyung! Because I want no one else but you and you..." he sobbed. "...won't look... my way."

Onew held his breath as the younger leaned his forehead against his chest wetting his shirt with his tears. He looked down at the maknae sadly and his hair. "Taemin-ah" he muttered quietly.

The maknae shook his head and snuggled even closer to the older.

"Taemin-ah..." Onew tried once again and put his hand on the maknae's cheek trying to pull him up. When he finally succeeded Taemin looked at him with teary eyes as if begging not to reject him. Onew smiled softly and pulled his face even closer before pressing their lips together in a gentle kiss. Taemin let out a surprised whine, one last tear making it's way down his cheek when he slowly closed his eyes and melted into those soft, plump lips.

After a few seconds Onew leaned away and watched as Taemin's eyelids fluttered open, his lips slightly parted and wet. He smiled at the younger, his eyes crinkling and wiped his cheeks with his thumbs. "I can see you Taemin-ah... I've seen you for a long time now..."

The younger looked at Onew, million questions pooling in his head. If this was some kind of sick joke he was going to die, his heart would be torn to pieces and he'd be never able to recover. But... if it was real...

Onew reached out for Taemin's hand and slowly laced their fingers together. "You see Taemin-ah... I had this best friend once. He was younger than me but we got along so well that I sometimes forgot about it. We would spend a lot of time together and he became a person that was really dear to me, a person I cared for more than I gave myself credit for. As time flew by that friend became a stunning young man and piece by piece he started to steal my heart. I just let it happen because he was special to me and if it was him then I was ready to let it be taken away. Everything was going in the right direction, I kept falling for him more and more with every passing day and before I knew it I was whipped for good." Onew laughed and poked Taemin's nose. "But then... I was shown pictures where that friend was kissing someone else. I wanted to believe him when he was saying that there was nothing going on between them, but I was so hurt I just couldn't bring myself to do so. I thought he fooled me, that he made me fall for him while he was in a relationship with another man. Everything got out of control and I just kept hurting that friend even though I wanted nothing more than hug him and tell him that everything was going to be fine. It took some time but one day I finally decided I was ready to talk with that friend. I accepted the fact that he loved someone else and that I was never going to have him. I decided to forget about my feelings and do my best to make him happy no matter what it took." Onew lifted his hand and wiped the tear that just fell from Taemin's eye. "But guess what? That friend told me that he loved me. That friend, who I was ready to give up on said that he loved me. So I kissed him. And I'd like to do it again if he lets me."

Taemin's lips quivered before he launched himself at Onew, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tightly. "I love you, I love you, I love you." he whispered repeatedly.

The older's lips stretched into a warm smile as he hugged Taemin back. "I love you too Minnie."

After a few minutes the younger leaned back and rested his forehead against Onew's. The leader shifted his head a bit, smiling, and went in for another kiss but Taemin's hand covered his mouth.

"Wait."

Onew looked at him questioningly wondering whether he did something wrong. Didn't they clear up all the misunderstandings?

"You took me by surprise last time so I didn't have time to prepare myself. I want to remember each and every bit of our kiss so I need to be prepared."

The older laughed at Taemin's cuteness. "Okay. Tell me when you're ready then." he grinned.

Taemin nodded and once again rested his forehead against the other's. He lifted his hand and Onew's cheek softly, lovingly, making the older nuzzle into the touch. His heart sped up when he suddenly smelled his hyung's cologne, the one that always made him go insane. Taemin's breath hitched when he leaned in, almost brushing lips against the other's before retreating and then going in again. They were so close their breaths mingled with each other, making the whole situation somewhat more intimate and Taemin was starting to lose his mind bit by bit. He slowly reduced the distance between them, stopping a few millimeters from Onew's lips. He breathed out shakily and slowly closed his eyes shut.

"Now"

THE END.

Okay this was way longer than a normal chapter but I didn't want to divide it into 2 parts to keep the flow. I hope you enjoyed reading this fanfic, despite the fact that I'm not a native English speaker and I might have made some mistakes. I'd like to thank all those that encouraged me with their comments, you guys are the best <3