Shrugging out of his coat and hanging it next to the door Kyungsoo took off his shoes and made his way towards the kitchen. Glancing into the living room he smiled to himself as he noticed Kai asleep on the couch, his favorite owl pillow tucked under his messy brown hair.

Often exhausted after his practices Kai had taken to dropping by the apartment instead of making the trek across city back to his parents’ house. Kyungsoo had given up on telling Kai to go home long ago and had more or less accepted that the handsome dancer was there to stay. Having made his best friend a key and given him full reign of the apartment Kyungsoo almost expected to see him every day when he returned from his job at the local coffee shop and his classes at the nearby university.

One thing that surprised Kyungsoo was how clingy his best friend had turned out to be. When they had been friends in high school Kai had sometimes hugged him or rested his head in his lap while watching movies but it didn’t have the same feeling as it did now.

Lately Kai had taken to latching himself onto Kyungsoo the second he stepped into the apartment, inhaling deeply and whispering into Kyungsoo’s ear how much he loved the smell of coffee and vanilla on the shorter, wide eyed boy.

For others this might have been uncomfortable but for Kyungsoo, he’d reveled in the attention. Having had a crush that lasted all through high school and into their college years Kyungsoo was happy that Kai finally seemed to be noticing him as more than just his best friend, even if it didn’t mean anything.

Walking past the couch and towards the kitchen he started to make a quick dinner so that Kai would have something to eat before he went to his late practice. While stirring noodles into a broth for soup he felt strong arms wrap around his waist and had to stop himself from leaning into the embrace.

‘You smell good’ Kai’s muffled voice sent a shiver down Kyungsoo’s spine as he smiled.

‘You always say that’ he replied as he reached for the seasonings and tried to maneuver around the kitchen with Kai still attached to him. ‘Sit down and eat so you won’t be late to your practice.’

Giving in Kai detached himself and headed to the table carrying the bread, plates, and napkins that Kyungsoo had given him.

‘How long do you think your practice will be tonight?’ Kyungsoo asked while trying to balance two bowls of soup, ‘I have to go back to the shop for the late shift so I might not get here until after you.’

‘It’s only 2 hours tonight because the choreographer is out sick so we’re on our own. I’ll wait up for you.’ Kai replied while slurping his soup and sending Kyungsoo a smug smile as he gave him a judgmental look.  

After finishing their food and cleaning up Kyungsoo grabbed his coat and waited for Kai to grab his workout bag before they made their way to the door and out to the sidewalk.

‘See you later hyung’ Kai smirked as he sauntered away in the opposite direction

With a slight grin Kyungsoo waved goodbye and pulled his coat closer to him. He knew his manager would be irked with him for leaving in the middle of his shift but how else was he going to make sure that Kai ate.

Arriving back at the coffee shop he put his coat on the peg in the back room and tried to slip quietly back to his spot at the front. Just when he thought he had made it he caught sight of Lay smirking at him and knew he’d been caught.

‘Don’t worry, I covered for you’ Lay said while hauling crates of coffee mugs from the dishwasher, ‘ I know you always have to leave to go take care of your boyfriend.’

‘He’s not my boyfriend’ Kyungsoo replied blushing while trying to put together a vanilla latte, ‘he’s just my friend.’

‘Yea right, that’s what I said about Suho too and look at us now. Your time is coming!’ Lay laughed while continuing to unload the dishwasher.

Kyungsoo just shook his head and handed the lady her latte. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about dating Kai and what that would be like, he just hadn’t been able to confess to him that he had feelings as more than a best friend.

For three hours Kyungsoo works as if in a daze, not really paying attention to anything around him and thinking about whether he wants to possibly ruin his friendship and confess or if he should just let it go and continue as, taking care of Kai and always being there for him. It barely registered when he accidentally spilled a bottle of caramel down the front of his barista apron. Shaking his head and cleaning it up he missed the concerned glances of his coworker.  

‘What’s wrong?’ Lay finally asked as they began to close up for the night. ‘You’ve seemed off all night.

‘Nothing I just don’t know anymore’ Kyungsoo sighed.

Chuckling slightly Lay put his arm around his shoulders and led him to the back room. ‘Listen, I know exactly what you’re going through. Before Suho and I started dating I never thought about anything but friendship but then he told me how he felt and I realized that I felt the same way. Give Kai a chance man.’

‘Yea but hey… how did you know it was Kai?’  Kyungsoo questioned while shooting Lay an inquisitive look. ‘I never once mentioned who it was!’

‘O please,’ Lay said while putting on his coat and heading for the door, ‘Suho says Kai talks about you all the time during practices. If he’s not dancing then he’s talking about how awesome you are. It’s rather cute if you think about it.’

Smiling Lay stepped onto the sidewalk and waved goodbye leaving a gaping Kyungsoo staring at him through the door.

After getting over his surprise Kyungsoo grabbed his coat, locked up the shop, and headed home. When he arrived at the door he took a deep breath and opened it, taking off his shoes and hanging up his jacket as he entered.

‘Soo!’ Kai shouted from his spot on the couch, ‘Come cuddle with me. Practice was hard and I’m sore. You always make me feel better.’

Holding back a smile Kyungsoo nodded and headed towards the couch stopping by the TV to turn it on and flip to the ‘Justice’ channel.

‘You always watch the oddest shows,’ Kai said while placing his pillow and head in Kyungsoo’s lap, ‘That’s one of the reasons I like you so much.

Taken back by how blasé Kai was able to say it Kyungsoo heard himself whisper ‘I like you too’ before he even knew what he was saying.

‘I know.’ Kai said looking up to meet his eyes ‘I was just waiting for you to tell me. You smell good by the way, more like caramel than vanilla though.’

Smiling and beginning to run his fingers through Kai’s hair Kyungsoo thanked God that it was too dark in the room for Kai to see his cheeks turning red.