“Kyungsoo.”

His name was like a breath of fresh air; fresher than the soft fragrance of roses wafting throughout the calm night. It rolled sweetly off the tip of Jongin’s tongue, and he smiled as he watched the stars finally come out of hiding after a long day and light up the dark canvas above the earth. The field was silent except for the chirping of the summer cicadas and the steady heartbeats of the young couple occupying a small spot on the grass.

“Mmm?” The wide-eyed boy next to him turned his body to face his in response to his name.

“Do you ever just want to disappear and travel to a place a million miles away?” Jongin asked softly, his hair falling over his eyes as a light breeze blew over them. Kyungsoo’s eyes widened even more with slight worry, and his hand reached out to grasp the younger boy’s. Their fingers intertwined and Kyungsoo could feel warm electricity pulsating beneath Jongin’s flesh. He studied his face cautiously; plump lips slightly parted with faint puffs escaping from between them like little clouds; cheeks flushed a light crimson under the moonlight, and eyes gleaming from beneath his dark locks like two constellations. Jongin lifted his free hand and made a motion that seemed to be as if he were trying to pluck a star out of the sky. His fingertips grasped nothing but emptiness.

“So close, yet so very far away,” he mumbled, a hint of disappointment suddenly evident underneath his tone. “Just like us.”

“What are you talking about?” Kyungsoo’s voice came out in an unintended whimper. He noticed Jongin’s jaw tighten, followed by the tightening of his grip on his hand.

“Jong-“

Jongin swiftly leaned in and connected his mouth harshly with Kyungsoo’s, knocking the breath out of the littler boy. When Jongin’s lips began to move, Kyungsoo resisted at first – but soon fell prey when the strangely sweet taste of his tongue made its way into his mouth and left him craving for more. An emotion he had never felt before erupted in his chest; was it love, or was it lust? Kyungsoo had next to no experience when it came to feeling. Could he really fall for someone like Kim Jongin, a younger boy who always spoke in odd melancholic ways and had a fixation with the universe and everything beyond life?

He moaned softly as he felt Jongin at the base of his throat and gently tilted his head back, allowing for him to kiss every inch of his exposed neck. Jongin’s full weight was now on top of him, and he gasped as Jongin reached down and pulled his thighs up around his waist. He heard the zipper of his pants being dragged down excruciatingly slowly and raised his hips until his crotch brushed up against Jongin’s growing hard on. His body was saying yes, but his mind still contained a seed of uncertainty. It wasn’t until his pants were nearly at his ankles when he fully realised with dread the scene that was about to unfold if he did not take immediate action.

And out in the open too. 

“Jongin!” he cried as he sat up and pushed the dazed boy off of him. Kyungsoo ran his hands through his hair, fairly exasperated and shocked, causing pieces of grass tangled within his locks to fall back onto the ground where they belonged. Silence lingered between the two for what seemed like a lifetime. It was Jongin who spoke first.

“Why do you keep pushing me away?” he whispered shakily, his nails digging into the ground. “You say you won’t ever leave me, but how can I believe you when you hardly let me touch you?”

Kyungsoo sighed as he took in Jongin’s sombre expression and inched closer to the hunched figure in the darkness.

“I won’t ever leave you. But I’m also just not ready yet.”

Kyungsoo made the promise to himself that he would never try to upset or leave Jongin intentionally. He also made a promise deep down that he would not become completely vulnerable and exposed to someone else. His feelings were his, and he wasn’t ready to share them. At least he thought he wasn’t.

“That was my first kiss ever, Jongin,” he added in an attempt to make Jongin feel better about himself. “It was a good one, too.”

Jongin’s lips pulled up at the corners and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but chuckle at his boyish charm. Kyungsoo may think that he was good at keeping himself as an unread book, but when Jongin looked deep into his eyes, he swore he could see the entire universe; the galaxies bursting within the boy like the way the fireworks would paint the sky on the fourth of July; the explosion of feelings erupting inside his heart like a supernova.

“I’ve looked at millions of stars within my lifetime. But none of them shined as bright as you,” was all he could say before Kyungsoo wrapped his arms around him and embraced him closely.

A genuine smile lit up Kyungsoo’s face.

Together, they shined brighter than ever.