When Sungjong woke up the next morning, he felt groggy and both his eyes and head hurt a little. He knew it was because he cried last night, but somehow he felt okay this morning. A little sluggish, but more or less okay aside from his head and eyes. He opened his eyes and blinked sleepily before sitting up and yawning. Rubbing his eyes lightly, he looked to the pressure on his hip, only to find the elder with a hand resting on it.

A little more awake now, Sungjong leaned over to his face and gently brushed Hoya's hair away from his face with his fingertips, smiling fondly.

Hoya had taken care of him for so many years, and he had never thought of anyone in that way, but he supposed if he were to start dating someone, then he figured Hoya-hyung would be a good choice. At first, he'd had the thought of Myungsoo, but he needed to let some time pass and let him understand that Sungyeol was someone he wasn't quite comfortable talking about. He could--would--probably forgive him, but only when it came to that time and the circumstances were right. He was probably dumb in doing that, but he never had it in him to really be angry or hold grudges towards others.

He heard a soft groan that pulled his attention from his thoughts, and he looked down, seeing the elder rousing from sleep. He gently tugged on Sungjong's forearm so that he would come down to Hoya's level on the mattress, hovering above the elder with a flushed face, eyes slightly widened. Hoya still looked half-asleep, but that was kind of charming. "Morning Jjongie," he murmured, hugging him to his chest.

"Morning," Sungjong murmured, flushing as the elder rested his chin on the top of his head. 

A moment of comfortable silence passed, Sungjong's heart beating faster than necessary--it was reassuring to know that Hoya was in no better shape. Maybe by the end of the day, he would consider Hoya in a romantic light, as a potential partner, but for right now, he just still viewed him as someone he cared about dearly. What even was the difference?

"What are you going on about? Difference? Between what?" Hoya murmured, Sungjong's hair gently.

"Caring for someone and viewing them as a potential partner," he repeated in an embarrassed mumble, face burning as he hid it in his chest. He hadn't realized he'd been thinking out loud.

Hoya pursed his lips, considering the question seriously, "Hm...well, when viewing someone as a potential partner, of course you have to consider how much you care for them--especially if you're considering a long-term relationship." He smirked then, "Why? Any special reason you wanted to know?" He was pretty sure, but he just wanted to tease Sungjong anyway.

"No...reason," he murmured, avoiding looking at Hoya as much as possible.

"Hm." It was a hum, but it implied there would be no further prying--since Sungjong wasn't having a crisis outright, then it would be fine to leave it be.

 Sungjong nodded and sighed softly, closing his eyes.

"You hungry? Because I am," Hoya yawned, sitting up. "Come on, I'll make us some breakfast," he suggested, moving to get out of bed. Before he got up, though, he rubbed Sungjong's back lightly.

"I'll be out in a minute," Sungjong murmured lazily, yawning.

"Alright, don't take too long," Hoya told him, getting up and leaving the room--no doubt to the kitchen.

Yawning again, Sungjong stretched his limbs out, pulling a satisfying crack from his back and other joints. He felt the air hit his stomach and he looked down and scrutinized the bare area. It had been a while since he'd seen the area plump, but it terrified him to think it might get that big again. So he wanted to keep it small. Fixing his shirt, he gathered the motivation to get out of bed, scratching his head and yawning again once he was on his feet.

Moving to the bathroom, he rinsed the sleep from his eyes and freshened up, trying not to linger too long in the bathroom before going out to the kitchen and leaning against the counter as Hoya busied himself with cooking something.

"What are you making?" he questioned curiously, smiling a little when the elder greeted him with a smile.

"Omelettes. No beans, right?"

Sungjong nodded, "Why would you even put beans in an omelette?" He personally felt a little disgusted with the idea, but to each their own, he supposed.

Hoya laughed before serving up the first omelette. "For the princess," he grinned, handing him the plate.

Sungjong took the plate and smacked his arm, pouting, "I'm not a princess."

"So are we still going to Lotte World today? Or do you want to just hang out and be lazy today?" Hoya questioned, cracking enough eggs to make his own omelette.

Sungjong shrugged, "I don't want to see Myungsoo-hyung today, so I kind of want to just hang out here." He felt a bit sobered from yesterday and last night, so hanging out sounded far more tempting.

"Yeah, you seem tired, so that's why I asked. So we'll just pretend to be like a married couple today, and that can count as our date!"

Flushing, Sungjong took a bite of his omelette, feeling too embarrassed to really have a comeback. "Stupid hyung," he sulked, avoiding eye contact.

Stepping away from the stove, Hoya hugged Sungjong from the side, a pout prominent on his features, "That hurts, Jongie. Are you sure you mean that?"

Sungjong huffed and rolled his eyes, turning to hug the elder, "I'm not going to take back my statement--you are kinda dumb, hyung." He huffed, rolling his eyes, "You just need to have a little more tact for this kind of thing. So romantic."

Hoya snorted, "Like you can tell the difference." That earned an indignant noise from Sungjong and a smack.

"I've been around enough girls to know more than you."

"Your mom doesn't count."

"Nana-noona and her friends," he countered smugly, "And I don't think your mom or sister count."

Hoya frowned and mussed Sungjong's hair, knowing it bothered him; he smirked when it earned a whine from the younger. "Brat."

"Let's watch some tv and eat breakfast," Hoya suggested, finishing cooking his omelette. "Can you get the kimchi and side dishes?"

As Sungjong retrieved the side dishes and settled onto the couch, he the television and switched through the channels, looking for something to watch. "Gag Concert?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Want me to get your phone?"

Sungjong made a sound in the affirmative, focusing his attention on the program. 

Hoya put his plate on the table to pick up from later, after he retrieved Sungjong's phone. He went to his room and searched the mess of sheets on his bed, picking them up and checking the cleared area. Not seeing it, he checked behind the mattress and found it on the floor. "Found it," he called, checking to see if it was dead. Thankfully it wasn't--or not?

He saw the notifications on his phone, most of them from Myungsoo, and one from Sunggyu. He frowned as he saw how many missed calls and then texts (He probably gave up calling at some point and realized messages would work better) there were from Myungsoo:

'Did I do something wrong?'

'I'm sorry if I was insensitive, Jjongie.'

'Don't be mad.'

'I'm really sorry.'

'Are you okay?'

'Are you mad?'

'Did I cross the line?'

Hoya felt his heart catch in his throat when he saw the last message from Myungsoo.

'Please don't be mad--I like you a lot. I wanted you to forgive Sungyeol so that we could all hang out and be friends. I just want the people I care about most to get along.'

Many emotions crossed Hoya--first, above all, was anger. How dare Myungsoo even think they could get along after all the hell Sungyeol put him through? He didn't even know to what extent Sungyeol hurt Sungjong. He felt furious.

He realized that Sungjong would probably pick up on his emotions quickly and become needlessly distressed, so he took a couple deep breaths and calmed himself before feeling a bit disturbed and a little bit possessive. He only just realized that he liked Sungjong? And he had the audacity to confess over text no less? At least Sunggyu--as infuriating as he is--had enough class and common sense to confess in person.

He frowned deeply. Sungjong had just given Hoya a chance, and he wasn't going to it up by stressing him out and letting his emotions get the best of him.

"Hyung?"

Hoya visibly jumped at the sudden interjection. He looked over his shoulder to see Sungjong's questioning gaze sweeping over his form. "Is that my phone?"

Hoya nodded, struggling to find the words that seemed caught in his throat. He cleared his throat as he turned to the younger--may as well be honest, considering how keen Sungjong was--and handed over his phone. "Myungsoo and Sunggyu tried to contact you last night. Myungsoo..."

"...confessed?" Sungjong's voice sounded small, and his face was mostly unreadable with the exception of his eyes. 

Hoya nodded, "What are you going to do about it?" He hoped he would resolve it quickly so it would be something he wouldn't have to worry about.

Sungjong bit his lip before taking a breath and collecting himself. "For now, nothing. I'm not going to say yes, but I'm not going to say no--I don't really want to think about him or the whole situation, so I have nothing I'm going to do about it until later." He then looked up from his phone and smiled weakly, "Besides, isn't today supposed to be a date day?"

Hoya grinned then, holding out his hand, "Then let me silence Myungsoo so we can focus on us today." Sungjong handed over his phone without real protest, allowing the elder to take care of it.

~

As the day played on, Sungjong found himself at incredible ease around Hoya. He didn't really feel an attraction to Hoya more than platonic affection, but it was enough to bring great comfort. They had settled into watching a movie, and Sungjong was contemplating on staying another night, but he figured that it would be a bit much, especially since he came with little warning, and on top of that, he had no change of clothing. 

So he settled on heading home.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay another night? I mean, you can borrow my clothes if you need a change, you know," Hoya offered, pulling the blanket more over both of them.

Sungjong bit his lip but ultimately declined, "It's fine--I'm sure my mom misses me, hyung."

Hoya sighed, "At least let me walk you home--it's pretty dark."

"I'm not a girl; I'm going to be fine, hyung," he argued, making a face.

"I know you're not, but I worry. You're y, and that's all the more reason to worry for my dongsaeng," he pouted, before kissing Sungjong's cheek and laughing at the reaction.

"Hyung!" Sungjong whined, flushing darkly as he smacked the elder.

"What? I finally saw the chance to kiss my favorite person, and I took it," Hoya laughed, ruffling Sungjong's hair again before smoothing it. "So do you think you'll want to go on another date with me?"

Sungjong sighed softly before biting his lip, he shrugged, "I'm not sure if I feel more than deep affection, hyung. I don't really feel romantic feelings towards you, but I like the comfort I feel with you. I guess...if there's any change, then I'll give it a chance again, but, I'm sorry, hyung, I can't really return the same feelings that you probably feel." He sighed, feeling really bad. "I don't want anything to change, though."

Hoya felt his heart breaking, but only partially. It hurt, but at least he didn't have to lose Sungjong, and on top of that, he had a chance in the future as well. At least he got it out of the way when it was still pretty early on, and not years down the road when his love was too deep-seated to have this mentality. "Nothing will change, then. But can we keep this up until you have to go home?" He took Sungjong's hand and squeezed it, earning an affectionate squeeze from the younger.

"Yeah, until I go home. So does this mean that you're walking me home?"

"Only if you let me," Hoya offered, smiling a little sadly.

Sungjong nodded with a smile. He paused as his eyes scanned over Hoya's features. The elder was handsome, and he wouldn't have issues finding a perfect girl suited for him. Sungjong wasn't meant for him, especially in a society where homouality was looked down upon. He would be able to find a girlfriend and then wife and be able to raise a family like he wanted since he was young. Sungjong wasn't so sure about his own fate, though, so he would settle with what he could.

"Ah, hyung, can I ask for something?"

Hoya nodded, rubbing his thumb over the back of Sungjong's hand. "What do you want?"

"A kiss?" It came out quietly, and Sungjong was hiding his face partially out of embarrassment. Hoya could barely hear him, but he could tell from the body language that it was something more intimate.

"Are you sure?" Hoya didn't want to do something that he wasn't prepared to do--sure, Hoya had been waiting a very long time to do so, but he wasn't so sure if Sungjong was doing it because he wanted to or if he felt bad. Then again, Sungjong was pretty sure of himself when it came to a lot of things (Not so much his capabilities and appearance, but what he wanted was usually a sure thing).

Sungjong nodded, and Hoya shrugged, scooting closer. Both of them felt their hearts racing, and as Hoya neared closer, he squeezed Sungjong's hand as assurance when he saw the younger involuntarily shoft backwards.

Swallowing, it wasn't until there was minute distance between their lips that Hoya asked again, "Are you sure about this?" The breath hitting his lips made Sungjong swallow thickly before nodding again.

Hoya leaned in and closed the distance, kissing him lightly. He didn't want to venture further than necessary, but it was so hard for him. He suppressed a soft groan at the soft lips. He pulled back after a moment, his eyes searching Sungjong's unsurely. "H-how...how was it?"

Sungjong pressed his lips together, face lightly flushed as he nodded, "It was nice."

Pulling away, Hoya grinned, "Is there a chance we might be able to do this again?"

Sungjong flushed, "There's a chance, but I don't know when or if it'll happen."

"That implies there's a chance, though."

"Stupid," Sungjong sulked, smacking him.

Stretching his arms above his head, he shifted away from the elder, "I think I'm gonna get going. If you're gonna walk me home, hurry up and get changed out of your onesie." He snickered as he stood up.

"Right!" Hoya stood as well, quickly kissing him on the cheek before hurrying to his room and getting changed before Sungjong could respond, leaving the younger sulking and flushing.

As Hoya walked him home, he thought of all the things that he wanted to say but decided not to say anything. He wanted to tell him that he would try his best to make Sungjong fall for him, and that if he gave him the time and chance, they could be together for a long time. He wanted to say that he loved Sungjong--everything that couples would say, but he felt like it would become too awkward. He wanted to tell Sungjong not to be with Myungsoo--he was too insensitive and dense to understand the delicate situation with Sungyeol.

He was terrible with words. So he settled on holding Sungjong's hand and swinging it lightly between them in a comfortable silence.

When they reached Sungjong's home, they stood awkwardly, both trying to figure out how to depart. So Hoya leaned in and quietly asked for permission before kissing him again--it was simple and quick, and both were left blushing so they hugged to dissolve the awkward tension.

Mussing up Sungjong's hair, Hoya grinned, "I'll see you later. Message me if you want to hang out again, alright?"

Sungjong whined but smiled, "Yes, hyung. See you!" He waved as Hoya started leaving and went in his house. He figured he would snack on something before bed and worry about the Myungsoo situation later on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a/n: Hello again ;3; I'm so sorry if this is awkward at all (it probably is) but I've been on break this week and half of the week I've just been recovering from school. sob I've settled on not making hojong the main couple, but I was considering it for the longest time. However, idk about the myungjong situation. There's still some drama for the Sungyeol situation, but I think only one other person knows about it (u kno who u are) but until then, I need to find the motivation to write more before the year's out ;3; 'til next time, I suppose!