Some days, Kyungsoo really wanted to kill Suho.  Today was one of those days.

“Give it back!”

The object of Kyungsoo’s anger/possibly murderous intents perched calmly at the edge of his bed, flipping through a packet with a highlighter in hand. He showed no signs of worry over his imminent death.

“...be sure to do all the problems I’ve highlighted... oh, this is a good problem as well!  Show all your work and put a box around your answer.  Now, I’ve labelled the days for each assignment, so you have no excuse--”

“Are you even listening to me?” Kyungsoo snatched the packet out of Suho’s hands and threw it onto the ground.  

“Kyungsoo,” Suho sighed, finally meeting the other boy’s eyes. He had his I-know-what’s-best-for-you- and-so-I’m-going-to-treat-you-like-a-child smile on, the same one he gave to his classmates when their uniform didn’t pass inspection. “I love you despite your...numerous...flaws, but surely you can see the problem here?”

“Yes, I can!” Kyungsoo retorted (with his you-don’t-know-anything-and-I’m-going-to-kill-you-with-my-bare-hands glare).  “You stole my Goblinscape CD!”

“I wouldn’t call it stealing; your mother gave me permission...”

“...What?”

“Parents always like me,” Suho explained as he bent down to pick up the packet, smoothing out the pages. “Now, back to the matter at hand.  I realize that not everyone is on the same level as I am, but your test scores are a bit disappointing…” Suho put a gentle hand on Kyungsoo’s arm.  “Surely you can understand my predicament.  I can’t date someone whose GPA is over one standard deviation below mine.”

Kyungsoo frowned. “You’re saying I’m not good enough.”

“I, ah.”  Suho coughed.  “I’m saying that I have a reputation to uphold--”

“If you wanted a nerd, why don’t you just go date Seohyun or something!”

“Well, I was going to, if you recall…” Suho said. “J-just kidding!” he added nervously as Kyungsoo glowered.

“Oh, really—“ Kyungsoo advanced on a terrified-looking Suho.

“I love you!” Suho cried, grabbing Kyungsoo’s pillow and holding it like a shield

“Because I--uh. Wha- Uh.” Kyungsoo spluttered.  

Suho beamed, clearly noticing Kyungsoo’s flustered expression.  “I do. I love you.”

“Ok, that’s enough—“ Kyungsoo’s ears were turning red.

“And I’m only doing this because I care about you.”  Suho scooted closer, and put his arms around Kyungsoo and drew him closer.  Against himself, Kyungsoo found himself leaning in, until their lips were touching…

…and then suddenly he had Suho flat on his back and they were kissing and Suho’s arms came around him to pull him closer and they were kissing some more and then—

Nothing.

“Wha--” Kyungsoo’s brain protested at the sudden empty space.

“No more,” Suho said.

“What do you mean?” Kyungsoo whined demanded, leaning in again.

Suho looked apologetic as he pushed Kyungsoo away.  “No amorous activities unless you raise your grade to an acceptable level.”  he reapplied his chapstick, patted his hair straight and fixed his tie. 

Kyungsoo's eyes narrowed.

A wrestling match and parting shots (“I will return once you’ve calmed down sufficiently.” “YOU calm down sufficiently!”) later, Kyungsoo was no closer to reclaiming his precious item.  He glared down at his newest assignment.  What was the use of having a boyfriend if you didn’t even get to kiss him, and had to do extra homework on top of it all?  

There was another worry nagging at the bottom of Kyungsoo’s mind, not that he’d ever admit to it.  Did Suho really think of Kyungsoo as a subpar choice?  Would he really rather date someone like Seohyun? Would Suho have ever dated him, if he hadn’t tricked him into it...?

Maybe the school counsellor was right.  Maybe Kyungsoo should try expressing his feelings openly, instead of relying on underhanded methods...

I-AM-THE-#1?  No.  SUHO-J-KIM?  No.  SUHO-BEST? No.  Kyungsoo banged on the lock box hidden under Suho's bed in frustration.

“You’re being too obvious," Baekhyun yawned through the phone.  So far, he and Chen had been no help at all in Mission Reclaim Goblinscape CD. "There’s no way he’d set his own name as his password.”

Kyungsoo snorted.  “His phone password is Best.Kim.  He has a hundred selfies stored in his gallery.  He definitely would.”

“Did you try I-LUV-KSOO?” Baekhyun snickered.

“Shut up.”

“I’m serious. I bet it’s something gross like your anniversary or your birthday.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Still, Kyungsoo tried Baekhyun’s second suggestion: 01-13-1993.  To his astonishment, the safe clicked open.  

“Did it work?”

"..."  Something that definitely was not fondness welled up inside of Kyungsoo.  He could spot the Goblinscape CD almost immediately.  There were also boxes of “collectible” Pokemon figures, school medals he recognized from last year’s assembly, a pile of credit cards...and a very familiar McDonalds toy.  Kyungsoo fought a sudden urge to do something stupid like run all the way back to school and barge in on Suho’s student council meeting to tackle him and hug him and kiss him and...no, that was definitely too stupid to even consider.  Shaking himself, Kyungsoo reached for the CD case with itching fingers, before he hesitated.  

“Wow, 100%.  Good job!” Suho returned Kyungsoo’s practice sheet with a proud beam. “See, I knew you could do it!”

‘Mmhm.”

“Well, I am a man of my word, so…”  Suho reached into his backpack, producing a familiar jeweled CD case.  “Here, your historically inaccurate simulation game.”

With gleaming eyes, Kyungsoo grabbed the item and hugged it to his chest before opening the case.  He inserted the CD into his laptop and plugged in his speakers.

“Well...I’ll leave you to it then….” Suho sighed as he began packing up his books, already pouting at the sight of Kyungsoo totally engrossed in his screen.  “Don’t stay up playing too late, okay? Remember to get at least 6 hours of rest and take breaks every twenty minutes.  And call me if you feel bored...not that you will, I’m sure...becauseyoulikeyourmindlessgamemorethanmebutwhatever…”

Kyungsoo’s left arm--the one that wasn’t engaged in clicking--reached out to tug at Suho’s sleeve.

“I’m cold.”

“Oh, I’ll get you a jacket--”

“No. I’m, um.” Kyungsoo coughed, his gaze glued determinedly to his screen.  “I’m really cold.”

“...I’ll get you two jackets?”

“I’m really, really cold...ugh never mind, just sit beside me, okay?”

Confused, Suho squeezed on to the offered seat.  Kyungsoo stood up, before plopping back down onto Suho’s lap.  He grabbed suho’s arm and pulled it around his waist in a loose hug.

He then continued clicking away at his mouse as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, though his slightly pinker cheeks said otherwise.  Suho beamed in sudden realization.

“Kyungsoo--”

“I’m extremely busy with my game; don’t distract me!” Kyungsoo all but yelled in panic. He hit the confirmation button on his newest Goblinscape password: 05-22-1991.

Smiling, Suho took out his book. He had no idea what had brought on Kyungsoo’s sudden clinginess, but he wasn’t about to complain.  He could only conclude that Kyungsoo must’ve learned to appreciate the joys of math.

(happy 1 year to me, yay! also to Im-Sunee: I'm working on your chapter =D I haven't forgotten)