The morning came fast, however, it was anything but unpleasant.  Daehyun awoke to the smell of pancakes, and bacon, and eggs, and his stomach was already growling so he padded into the kitchen to see what was being made.  In the kitchen stood Youngjae, who had quiet music playing that he mumbled along to as he flipped another pancake.  Daehyun looked around at the bacon in the oven, the eggs set off to the side and the 4 pancakes already made.

“Good morning,” He smiled as he made his way to set his small table.  The older boy had been tempted to wrap his arms around Youngjae thin waste, the too loose t-shirt being quite tempting, but he just pushed away the thought and hoped for days where he would soon be able to do such an action.

Youngjae jumped a little, but quickly recollected himself.  “Morning, how did you sleep?”

“I feel like I only slept for two minutes, but I had a great dream so I’m not bothered by it,” Daehyun responded, setting down the plates, forks, and knives he had gotten from the cupboard.

“What about?”

“You, “Daehyun replied, coming up to Youngjae side and smiling.  He watched with joy and Youngjae blushed and looked back down at the pan.  “They were incredible dreams.”

“erted dreams?”  Youngjae asked, grabbing the pancake and sliding it on to the plate before wiping off the pan for another.

“Hardly,” Daehyun scoffed.  He spun around the room as Youngjae watched him with slight amusement.  “I dreamed of spending nights with you, lying in bed, binge-watching movies as we pigged out.  I dreamt of you falling asleep in my arms and waking up to you in my arms.”  Daehyun dreamily smiled at his crush.  God, he really did like Youngjae.  “But this is perfect too.  I never say no to food.”  His smile grew as he started setting the table.

Daehyun mentally patted his back at how well he did right now.  Youngjae was blushing, adorable mess and Daehyun was on step closer to dating the boy.  Though, he didn’t want to put it like that because then it sounded like a game and dating wasn’t a game and Youngjae wasn’t a game and Daehyun would never do such a thing to anyone.  Relationships had never been his forte and heartbreak after heartbreak resulted in the layers that Youngjae was tearing down.  It had been hard years.  Hopeless romantic Daehyun had been through 3 serious relationships in the span of 4 years.

The first was in his senior year of high school.  Both he and the girl knew that they would separate after the summer ended due to the two going to different colleges, but that didn’t stop Daehyun at all.  The relationship lasted for a year and on the last week before they would part, he found her in bed with another man.  He was heartbroken and almost didn’t go to college that upcoming year, but last minute, his mom dragged him out of bed and told him that no one was worth this much emotion.

He knew she was right, and at the time he assumed she meant that he should stop being so emotional over a girl who didn’t deserve him.  However, his next relationship prevailed to show him something else.  Near the end of his first year in college, Daehyun found himself in another relationship.  It was like Romeo and Juliet.  They met at a party and rushed out half an hour later to settle in his bed and spend the night with each other.  It was magic, and Daehyun swore it would stay that way, however it seemed to end almost as cruelly as the profound play.  No, no one died, yet finding out that his girlfriend of seven months had recently found out that she was gay was no piece of cake.  His soul cracked, and once again, Daehyun spent plenty of time sulking in his bed.  It took days until Daehyun remembered what his mother had previously said.

“No one is worth that much emotion, Daehyun.”

She was right.  And so Daehyun spent the next week building up walls and pushing them between him and anyone else.  He lasted that way for quite some time.  Only spending time in the bed of a woman for the night rather than for days.

It wasn’t until half way through his last year in college when someone seemed to take quite a lot of interest in him.  He was a photography and had asked to use Daehyun as he muse, claiming that his handsome beauty was perfect for the route he was going on for this final project.  He offered to pay him 100 dollars and he happily agreed.  It also wasn’t that bad when Daehyun figured that this guy was hot enough to screw.

The project ended after a few weeks and during the time, the photographer seemed to slip his way between small cracks of Daehyun’s walls and soon enough, he was kissing Daehyun after their first date and Daehyun was smiling and giggling after dropping the boy off and god he felt so good.

Yet, Daehyun didn’t his boyfriend any stronger and soon realized that his photographer was slowly trying to change him.  Not just open him up, but change his personality.  Daehyun hated it.  Daehyun despised it.  Daehyun had a screaming match with his boyfriend that ended in yelling and tears and a final “I can’t do this anymore!” from Daehyun along with a slam of a door.

From then on, Daehyun’s walls were made of steel rather than stone and no one was going to get inside of them because no one loved and wanted to help him, they only wanted to change him.  It was a painful realization, but as he stormed out the door and into the cold weather, he figured that if this seasonal sudden change of winter could change then so could he. And so he spent all his savings on a new identity that was even stronger than the one before, because this time, no one would get in.

It had been three years since then and Daehyun had perfectly kept that façade up, but then Youngjae walked into his life and demanded to be seen as more than a toy and so here Daehyun was, attempting to impress the younger as he set up a table and sneakily watched his crush make food.  And though Daehyun was more than worried about the outcome of this relationship he was also 100% willing to throw himself into it as well, fully aware that Youngjae wanted to break his heart as much as Daehyun did to his.  Which was not at all.

“How long to breakfast?”  He finally asked, interrupting his own thoughts and most likely Youngjae’s.  Daehyun momentarily wondered what he was thinking about and slightly hoped it was about him.

“A few minutes, you’d probably have time to change,” Youngjae responded, still staring at the food instead of Daehyun.

“No, it’s okay,” Daehyun took a seat on one of his chairs, “What do you want to do today?”

Youngjae shrugged, “Anything, I don’t really mind.”  Daehyun paused to think for a bit and after a few minutes, Youngjae spoke again, “Breakfast is ready.”

Daehyun immediately disregarded his thoughts and jumped up at the idea of eating.  He grabbed his plate and began piling it high with pancakes, fruit, eggs, and bacon.  He smiled as if it was a masterpiece he had finally finished creating and made his way back to the table, Youngjae following behind with a much smaller plate.

“So,” Daehyun began, his mouth stuffed with pancakes, “I was thinking we could hang out in the city.  Shop, eat food, all that jazz.”  Daehyun watched Youngjae’s face contort into thought and was slightly worried that Youngjae would oppose his best idea.  But then his face changed from grimace to a smile.

“Sure, as long as it’s not too much walking,” Youngjae finalized before eating a piece of strawberry.  Daehyun laughed at the joke except he ended up distracted and couldn’t help but stare at Youngjae’s lips as he ate and Daehyun really, really wanted to kiss the pink skin.  Not in a ual way, however, but more in a ‘I’m going to kiss you because you’re adorable and this is one of my attempts to tell you how much I like you and how much you mean to me’ kind of kiss.  Except Daehyun remembered they weren’t dating and remembered that kissing friends was frowned upon so he just stuffed his mouth with more food.  “If you eat any faster you’re going to puke, Dae,” Youngjae spoke again, his voice just slightly more serious and the tone made Daehyun slow down so fast that he almost go whiplash.  Speaking of whips, Daehyun or may not be contemplating whether he is whipped or not.  He’s leaning on the whipped side.

“Sorry,” He mumbles out after chewing his food and he was oh-so-suddenly graced with a breathy laugh from Youngjae and Daehyun thought that he could still puke if Youngjae kept that up.

When the two finished breakfast they separated and began doing their own things.  Daehyun had showed Youngjae how to use his shower and promised not to come in while he was using it.  To distract himself, he made quick work of cleaning up the food and dishes, grimacing every so often when the food looked so gross Daehyun wondered how he could have ate that.  The faint sound of water could be heard whenever the sink’s water wasn’t running and Daehyun smiled for no real reason.  It was nice to be doing this.  A warm feeling grew inside his chest, knowing that Youngjae was only a couple rooms away. It felt good helping out and cleaning.  Youngjae made the food, so Daehyun should clean it up.  He looked down and his brain fell into a sweep of imaginative scenarios where Daehyun loved like this.  Where they’d have lazy Sunday mornings, or where they’d begrudgingly get ready for work.

Lost in his thoughts, Daehyun barely noticed the singing that began overpowering the shower’s water.  When he did hear the melodic voice, Daehyun took a seat at the dining table to fully hear what was happening.  Youngjae was singing, and though Daehyun couldn’t make out all the lyrics, it still sounded beautiful.  He stood up and got back to work, using Youngjae’s voice as his personal playlist.

Youngjae finished before Daehyun and came out with a towel wrapped measly around his waist.  It was cliché the way water trickled across his bare chest and Daehyun’s breath hitched, but he made nothing of it.  Youngjae padded towards the kitchen and stopped next to Daehyun.

“Thank you for cleaning.”

Daehyun scoffed, “It’s my house, and you cooked.”

Youngjae shrugged.  He knew Daehyun got the message that he appreciated this act and he also knew that Daehyun appreciated him cooking.  During his shower, Youngjae thought.  He thought a lot, even if it was covered by his voice.  He thought about Daehyun and only Daehyun and that had never happened before and so Youngjae’s brain was going a little crazy, but he knew he wanted something warm.  He wanted to be touched by Daehyun, not ually however.  In a spur of the moment, Youngjae wrapped his hands around Daehyun in a back hug and pressed his chest to the other’s back.

“Thank you for yesterday, and pre-thank you for today,” He mumbled against Daehyun’s back.

He was soaking up all of Daehyun’s warmth, but didn’t have much time to because Daehyun turned around and looked into Youngjae’s eyes. There was something shared between the two, something unknown and neither dared to make a move on it just in case.  They stayed that way for a minute or two, under each other’s spells.

“You’re always welcome,” Daehyun broke the silence and had the urge to lean in for a kiss, but was too afraid to risk it.

Little did he know, Youngjae wished he did, but didn’t complain when he hadn’t.  If their relationship was going to continue down this path, there would be much more than kissing in the future.

“Do you really wanna go out?”  Youngjae asked.  Maybe the kissing could start today.  He smiled and little in hope Daehyun would catch on.

He did.  “Yeah,” Daehyun whispered as if too loud of a voice would scare away Youngjae, as if Youngjae was a precious deer he wanted to observe.  No more time for absorbing though.

Neither had brushed their teeth, except they didn’t care.  Daehyun gently pressed his lips against Youngjae’s and came back to look at his crush’s eyes before going in for another kiss.  They quickly found their lips molded together, occasionally separating for hot air that matched how they felt.  Daehyun was right, Youngjae’s lips were soft, oh-so-soft.

Youngjae was even more pleased, if that was the word that could be used.  His head was spinning faster than before and he felt dizzy.  To solve his problem, Youngjae grabbed onto Daehyun’s shirt and dragged him to the couch in hope that it would help.  They fully separated when they got there and spent the next few seconds looking into each other’s eyes once again.  They were breathing heavy, and they felt like they didn’t really wait that long, but neither of them cared.  Both of them knew how ready the other was for this relationship and though they had planned for weeks until the first even happened, they were okay. They were great.

Daehyun grabbed Youngjae’s hand and didn’t feel the other boy stiffen like he usually did.  He felt comfortable, content.  Youngjae blinked longer than usual and when he opened his eyes, they looked all the more beautiful than before.

“I’m going to put on some better clothes,” He spoke before pecking Daehyun’s lips and leaving him alone with the sound of a door closing.

Daehyun felt amazing.  He touched his lips and smiled so big.  This was just what he wanted.  Small pecks that held big messages, days on the couch and if he was lucky, cuddling and fleeting touches.  He could cry out of joy, but instead he looked in his television’s reflection and began cleaning himself up.

Youngjae felt exhilarated.  Never had he taken a relationship so casually, but never had he felt this good.  He pulled on some basketball shorts and a t-shirt before looking in the mirror.  His face was so red, he was blushing so bad.  He attempted to fix his dilemma and then took a deep breath, preparing himself so he’d get used to heat on his cheeks and dizziness.  He’d never get used to the way Daehyun made him feel.

Their day proceeded to consist of movies, food, and constant kissing.  On occasion they’d go so long that Youngjae would complain and rewind the movie.  “I can’t believe we missed it!”  He’d whine, but Daehyun didn’t take the complaint as anything big because minutes later Youngjae would be kissing him again.  Around late noon they ordered a pizza and around 9 pm, Youngjae was saying his goodbyes in various ways—if you catch my drift—and by 10 pm Youngjae was finally leaving.  Let’s just say Daehyun could be quite convincing when he wanted to be; let’s also say that Youngjae could also be convincing and ended up escaping Daehyun’s clingy arms.

“I’ll see you at work and listen, I didn’t know today would end like this so don’t tell anyone.  Let’s just take the week to figure everything out because God knows I can barely think correctly around you, but that’s not the point . . .” Daehyun almost blocked everything else out, including the blush Youngjae had grown on his face because it seemed like Youngjae just didn’t want to publicize he was dating someone like himself.  He couldn’t though.  “The point is, Himchan will tell everyone, and I wanna see if we’re just dating or in a relationship.” Oh.

“Well, I want you as my boyfriend.”  Daehyun almost groaned, “I was willing to wait for you, Jae Jae, and I know you need it, but after today I don’t want to anymore.  I want you as my boyfriend and I am going to let you figure this out, but I need and answer Friday.”

Youngjae’s face looked so sad for just a second that Daehyun was about to take back what he said, but then Youngjae spoke.  “I didn’t know you felt that way.”  He shook his head and nodded, “You’ll know by Friday.  Thanks for giving me time.”  Youngjae kissed Daehyun once again and both of them already knew Youngjae’s answer.  Youngjae just wasn’t going to say it out loud yet.

Daehyun had a problem with commitment and Youngjae had a reluctance with commitment.  They were for different reasons, but both had similar effects.   For Daehyun, he knew that he liked Youngjae quickly and he knew that Youngjae thought so too.  Daehyun put his past aside in favor of Youngjae and Youngjae hadn’t. Honestly, it hurt like hell, but Daehyun completely understood what Youngjae wanted to do with how Daehyun acts.  They dealt with commitment differently, but Daehyun was sure they’d end up on the same page.

They finally broke their kiss and Youngjae finally left and Daehyun sat on the couch with a sigh.  Most of him was utterly excited, but part of him was just the littlest bit scared that Youngjae would say no.  He shouldn’t worry though and so he peeled away his clothes and made his way to bed, wishing that Youngjae was there with him.

~

When Monday came around, Daehyun and Youngjae were both in anxious states.  Both for different reasons.  Daehyun walked into work and waved at the people who waved at him before sitting down.

“Daehyun!”

He slowly turned his head towards the voice yelling at him and saw Himchan, face red with anger.  He marched right up to his desk and crossed his arms.

“I have been trying to contact you all weekend.  How did the date go?”

“It wasn’t a date,” Daehyun calmly responded before turning on his computer.

“Okay, okay.  How did your not-a-date go?”  Himchan corrected.  He had started tapping his foot and he looked so impatient, but Daehyun could hardly care.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”  He whined, his arms uncrossing and a pout forming on his face.

“Youngjae and I agreed to not tell anyone just yet,” Daehyun explained as he began pulling up everything he’d need for today.  He was quite nervous, but seeing Himchan’s face look like that made him a little happier and he had to work to hide his growing smile.

“So something juicy happened?”

Daehyun shrugged.

“You can’t even tell me that?”

Daehyun shrugged again.

“Fine,” Himchan huffed.  “I’ll get the information from you at some point.”  He stomped away and left Daehyun to finally smile.

He looked up and saw Jongup staring at him with an eyebrow raised.  “Did something bad happen?”

Daehyun shook his head, “No.”

Jongup nodded and looked back to his work, understanding that Daehyun was going to be quite serious about keeping what happened secret.  Daehyun silently appreciated his reaction and went back to work, hoping to distract himself from how nervous he was.  He’s be seeing Youngjae today.  Would they talk?  Would Youngjae ignore him?

Just in time to interrupt Daehyun’s mind from wandering too far, Youngjae walked in.  He looked completely fine, but Daehyun could see just how nervous he was.  His eyes moved left and right and he seemed to refuse to look at Daehyun.  Except, instead of sitting in his desk, he walked up to Daehyun and planted big peck on his lips.

“Good morning, babe,” He spoke before taking his seat and getting to work.

Everyone was looking at Daehyun.  Jongup was staring, Himchan looked like he would pass out.  It was havoc. Daehyun touched his lips, recalling when Youngjae had done the same thing as a goodbye.  He could get used to that greeting and going.  More importantly, however, Youngjae kissed him in front of everyone and that meant that their relationship was public.  Based off the way Youngjae kissed him, he’d assume they were boyfriends too.

He looked over at Youngjae and saw the boy’s head down and his cheeks aflame.  He looked so adorable and that must have taken so much courage for him to do.  Daehyun would have to thank him later.  He couldn’t help but smile at how sweet Youngjae had been and his heart was currently soring. Instead of spending the next twenty minutes in am astonished state, he went back to work.

Every now and then, Youngjae and Daehyun would sneak peeks at each other and even less often, they’d look at the same time.  That resulted in Daehyun winking and Youngjae blushing once more.  Both of them missed Daehyun’s flirtatious side, but with part of their journey passing, Daehyun was sure flirting would be a common experience.

When lunch came around, both boy immediately exited the room and raced into Youngjae’s car.  One reason for doing so was to prevent anyone from being able to bombard them with questions and the.  The other reason was known when they got in and Daehyun grabbed Youngjae face before kissing him.

When Daehyun pulled back, he took quick note of Youngjae’s appearance, something he had found himself doing more often.  Youngjae was surprised, but nonetheless pleased and began smiling.

“What you did this morning made me feel so amazing.  It meant so much to me,” Daehyun explained, still holding Youngjae’s face and making sure they were looking each other in the eyes as he spoke.

“I know it does, that’s why I did it,” Youngjae looked down at his lap and back up.  He flashed Daehyun a polite smile.  “I kind of wanted to do it too, though.”

Daehyun laughed and let go of the other boy’s face.  When he stopped laughing with a sigh he looked back to Youngjae. “So what are we?”

“Well, I’d hope you’d be my boyfriend,” Youngjae said, watching Daehyun smile again.  The older boy grabbed his hand and slowly rubbed his thumb over the other’s back palm.  “Don’t think you can kiss me anytime though.  Just because we’re in a relationship now doesn’t mean I won’t still be on my toes.  I’ll be watching you, Jung.  Do you know how much—”

Youngjae was interrupted with a kiss from Daehyun and when he pulled back with a smile, Youngjae hit him in the chest.  “Stop doing that!  I can’t handle it, I get dizzy.”  Daehyun smiled even bigger and raised his eyebrow.  “No flirting with anyone except me, okay?”

“That won’t be hard, Jae Jae,” Daehyun told before he pecked Youngjae’s pink cheeks.  “And trust me, I’m really good at flirting.”

“I know that, you fool.  Don’t you think I know that?  I’ve experienced it.”

“And liked it.”

“Oh, be quiet,” Youngjae scolded, but couldn’t help smiling.  “What do you wanna eat for lunch?”  Youngjae asked while looking at his lap.

Daehyun pulled close to his boyfriend’s ear, “You.”

That got him another slap to the chest.

~

At the end of the week, Daehyun came to work with flowers in his hand and a smile on his face.  The chrysanthemums had just bloomed and they looked so glorious along with the foliage put with them and Daehyun might have been grocery shopping, but when he saw them, he immediately thought of Youngjae.  They were a light lavender and Daehyun smelled them once more before entering the work space.

He smiled when he saw Youngjae hadn’t gotten to work yet.  He made a B line for the desk, ignoring his usual everyday hellos.  He lightly set down the flowers and put down the note he had written in front.  Now, all he had to do was wait.

When Youngjae did come in, he had a smile on his face and he looked too relieved that the week would be coming to an end.  It seemed like forever until he finally came to his desk.  He had said hello to almost everyone and made small talk with a select few.

Daehyun looked back at his computer just in time to make sure Youngjae couldn’t make eye contact with him.  He saw out of the corner of his eye, Youngjae picking up the note and his cheeks getting increasingly pinker as he red.  Daehyun noted how easy it was to make his boyfriend blush.

These reminded me of you, I hope you like presents.  –Dae

Youngjae looked up at Daehyun and smiled.  “I love presents,” He told no one in particular as he sat down to look at the flowers better.  The other boy watched as Youngjae picked up the flowers and smelled them before turning them around and looking at every part.  The whole time, the smile on his face never left and Daehyun felt quite proud of himself.

Later in the day, when Youngjae had to get up to go grab something from the other side of the room, he placed a note on Daehyun’s desk and made sure to glide his hand across his boyfriend’s shoulders.  Daehyun looked at Youngjae and maybe his too before looking down at the note.  It read:

You’re very romantic, how about brunch on Saturday?  -Jae Jae

Daehyun smiled at how Youngjae used his nickname.  He looked down at boxes that had been placed for him to check.  There were three and each one was a variation of a yes and so he check marked all of them before putting it back onto Youngjae’s desk.  It had become a habit foe the two boys to send each other lovey dovey messages throughout the day and Daehyun couldn’t get enough of it.  Seeing Youngjae read his messages were the highlight of his day and the way his face would light up at the sight of one made Daehyun’s heart swell up.

When Youngjae came back he read the message and leaned over to Daehyun.  “I’ll tell you the rest of the details during lunch.”  Daehyun nodded in response and added on a special wink for good measure.

It slightly amazed Daehyun how fast their relationship was advancing.  Just a months ago, Daehyun would have never thought he’d be dreaming of having take-out Chinese food on a Saturday night with someone curled up at his side, but know he rarely thought of anything else.  He was a relationship guy, but for the past years he had buried that side of his and replaced it with mindless .  He hasn’t done it for a month and he fine with waiting if it means Youngjae is okay.  Daehyun was willing to sacrifice his needs in favor of Youngjae’s and he was sure his boyfriend would do the same.  How fast they began kissing was an example of that.  Youngjae had made it painfully obvious that they would be going slow, but it didn’t take long for Youngjae to forgo his choice.

Part of Daehyun wanted to skip these first few weeks and end up at the stage where they’d have lazy in the morning and contemplate whether to go to work or not.  He wanted to skip to the part where everything was all set out and Daehyun didn’t have to be on his toes anymore.  But then again, he didn’t want to miss any moment he could have with Youngjae.  He didn’t want to miss his scolding or the blushes on his face, or how they get to a comfortable state.  Every part of their relationship was important and Daehyun was so ready to go through every single one.

Once more, he looked at his boyfriend and smiled at the thought of how lucky he was to have found someone who could make him a better him.

A/N:  Sorry this took a while.  Anyways, I hope you like it!  I think I'm going to end it here and add in an epilogue in a bit.  I was running out of ideas to show how their relationship advances and I can't stop thinking about cute daejae just hanging out on the couch, eating food.

Please give me feedback and excuse grammar mistakes because I at grammatical editing.