Kai sat in shock. He didn't expect Claire to be so direct, but he answered honestly, "Yes."

"Ah," Claire nodded, and clasped her hands together. She took a deep a breath, and continued, "Then what would you think if I liked you back?"

"I'd be very happy," Kai replied with a smile gracing his lips.

Claire hummed in acknowledgment and gazed at the grass ahead of her. She was too scared to see what his facial expressions were, but she continued in a shy manner, "Then would you like to... you know... start a... relationship with me, even if we'll probably be at different places after graduation?"

She finally looked up, and saw the brightness of Kai's eyes and the sincere smile he gave to her. "Of course I would."

Claire nodded, trying to prevent her face from smiling too widely. Her pose relaxed significantly, and she unclasped her hands. She released a sigh that she didn't know she held, and asked, "I guess we're a thing then?"

Kai laughed and opened his hand towards her. She clasped it tightly, and her hand seemed to fit perfectly in his larger, rougher ones. "It seems so," he murmured, and he felt his heart pump in glee.

*

They returned to her room and began to work once again. Once in a while, Kai would run his thumb in circles around the back of her hand. Claire would also snuggle her head into the crook of his shoulder, and clasp her arm around his when she wanted a small break from her own work. Sometimes for fun they would hit each other's feet, and laugh plenty at their silliness. Though the two didn't exchange many words, they enjoyed each other's presence and were happy to just be next to each other.

Once nightfall arrived again, Kai and Claire lay next to each other in the bed. Her night lamp was on, which provided a calming ambience to the room. Kai enveloped her in a hug and inhaled her scent. "You smell so nice," he murmured huskily into her ears.

"Stop, you're creepy," she teased. "Since when did you start sniffing me?"

"Since now."

"Oh you," Claire playfully hit him on his back, and Kai let out a hearty laugh. 

He released her a bit to look at her face. Her long hair fanned out behind her, and her eyes were calming pools of dark brown that he could just sink into. Kai raised his hand and carefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He let his fingers linger on her neck, and ran his thumb along her cheek. "You make me so happy, Claire," he whispered.

Claire smiled, "You too, Jongin."

He pulled her closer until their faces were right in front of each other. She looked into his orbs. A certain spark seemed to light them up more, and she was content. However, Claire had something on her mind, "Jongin?"

"Yeah?"

"Question."

"Yeah?"

"How come you didn't ask me out, and I was the one who did instead?"

Kai hummed, and his eyes concentrated into space. Claire patiently waited as he formulated his answer, "I didn't know if you liked me back that way."

She looked surprised. "Oh?"

"Mmhm," he replied, "you weren't obvious." Claire stuck her tongue out at him. "And," Kai started again, "I guess I was just nervous too. I was scared of getting rejected."

"I see," Claire nodded. "I was quite sure, actually," she teased.

Kai laughed again, "Ah, yeah I wasn't trying to hide my feelings."

She shot him a happy grin. "Thanks for being obvious then!"

"How come?" he smirked at her.

"Well, otherwise we'd still be waiting for ages to know how we really felt about each other, yeah?"

"Haha, seems so," he hugged her again.

Kai loved having Claire in his arms. Her body radiated warmth and comfort, and her head fit right under his own while in the embrace. He then kissed her forehead and lay his cheek against her head while closing his eyes. Claire felt her cheeks heat up, "Jongin?"

"Mm?"

"What's up?"

He settled his gaze on hers, and smiled. "Want me to be honest?"

"Yes, please," she grinned.

"Aww you're so cute," he poked her cheeks, and she playfully scrunched her face up. Kai chuckled and continued, "I really want to kiss you and stay with you tonight. Is that okay?"

Claire's eyes widened in surprise. This would be the second time she ever had someone of the opposite sleep with her in her room, other than the previous day when she and Kai unknowingly fell asleep during their movie. This time, however, she knew he wanted to stay on purpose. She thought for a moment before replying, "Um... sure, but nothing fishy!" Claire then hid her face in his chest, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

Kai laughed and embraced her again. He then planted small pecks on her forehead, her cheeks, and her nose before resting his gaze on her lips. The two of them looked at each other, and Claire could feel her heart rate increase. He then rubbed his thumb along her cheekbone and the edge of her ears while cupping her head in his hands. "I won't do anything to hurt you, I promise."

Claire nodded. Just moments later, she felt for the first time the gentlest touch of Kai's lips on her own.

Hey everyone! Another chapter's up! This one is much shorter than the others, simply because I wanted to capture the moment of their confessing to each other, and not have anything else interrupt that. Hope you guys will like it!