Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he exited the bathroom. Noise coming from his left told him that the shorter man was in his bedroom. The door was open, revealing Young Bae’s torso, as he rummaged in a drawer for clothes.

Ji Yong cleared his throat. “Can I stay here tonight?”

Young Bae looked up and grinned. “Of course.” He trotted over and handed him a small stack of clothes. “You can have the first shower.”

Ji Yong grabbed his arm as he started passed. “Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.” Young Bae sighed and gripped Ji Yong’s shoulder lightly. “You’re the most important person in my life; it hurts to see you so unhappy. Besides, you’d do it for me, too.”

“I just don’t want this to ruin us, to make it uncomfortable.”

Young Bae smiled at him. “We’ll be fine. As long as we’ve been together, it’ll take a lot more than dating to tear us apart.”

“D-dating?”

“What else would we call it?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“Then who do you want me to be to you? How should I treat you when we’re alone? Or does it only apply when you need it the most?”

“…”

“Am I your regular friend until you need more? Or am I your lover whenever we’re alone?”

Ji Yong bit his lip. “Lover,” he whispered. He finally released Young Bae’s arm and let the tension leave his body. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity; he was going to be grateful for every minute.

Young Bae saw him relax and grinned. “Go take a shower; you know I don’t sleep with sweaty people.”

Young Bae busied himself in the kitchen, cleaning up, until he heard the door open. He handed his friend a glass of water and left for the shower.

Ji Yong wandered the apartment for a few minutes, before he decided to just get in the bed first. It would be less awkward, plus he really was tired.

Young Bae finished quickly and pulled on a pair of sweat shorts. Double checking the locks and lights, he made his way to the bedroom. His friend was curled up on the edge of his large bed. He shook his head at the odd behavior. How many times over their years together had they hugged each other to sleep? Too many to count. He climbed into the bed, slid his arm underneath Ji Yong’s neck, wrapped the other around his waist and pulled him close.

“What were you doing all the way over there?” Young Bae mumbled.

Young Bae woke early and untangled himself from his friend’s body. While sleeping, Ji Yong had wrapped himself tightly around Young Bae and buried his face in his neck. Sitting up, he began his day like he would any other morning, stretching and going for a run.

When he returned, it was to the smell of coffee. Entering the kitchen, he pulled off his sweaty tee, hanging it over one shoulder.

“I’m home,” he announced to Ji Yong’s back.

“You came?” he responded quietly, stiffening almost imperceptibly.

“Mm,” Young Bae agreed. “Coffee?” He looked around his friend’s shoulder.

“Almost,” he answered in a near-whisper, as if the words were stuck in his throat.

Instead of moving away, Young Bae reminded himself that he was now acting as Ji Yong’s boyfriend. At least he had no shortage of confidence with him; there was no fear of rejection, since he knew his touch would always be welcomed. One arm circled his waist, while the other landed on his hip; he stepped closer to the rigid man. Immediately, he felt his friend relax back into his hold. He didn’t have a ton of experience with women, but he did have a pretty good idea of what Ji Yong would like.

“Are you hungry?” Ji Yong asked, sounding much more like himself.

“Yeah, but I need a shower, first.”

“I’ll make breakfast.”

“You’re going to cook?” Young Bae asked with a grin.

Ji Yong smiled and looked over his shoulder at him. “I’m going to try.”

Young Bae chuckled and patted the hip he was holding. “Bottom left of the fridge,” he advised, walking away for the shower.

Ji Yong was relieved to find the honey pancakes where his friend had indicated. Carefully, at a very low heat, he tried to recreate the egg and cheese dish Dae Sung had made recently on Happy Together. It looked right, but he wouldn’t know until they tasted it. He pulled a few ready-made side dishes out, too, and finished preparing the table just as Young Bae returned shirtless and smelling of soap.

“Ooh, looks good,” he complimented, sitting in his usual spot across from Ji Yong. “I’ll eat well.”

Ji Yong waited, watching Young Bae take the first bite, trying to read his careful expression. Noticing this, Young Bae smiled around his mouthful and gestured for him to eat too. Hesitantly, he took a small bite, relieved that it tasted good.

“It’s not as good as Dae Sungie’s,” Ji Yong commented after swallowing.

“It’s just missing the pepper. You did a good job. Didn’t even burn the eggs,” Young Bae refuted, taking another large bite.

“Sorry, I didn’t make rice; there wasn’t time.”

Young Bae grunted, his cheeks full, and waved his hand that the rice wasn’t important.

They finished quickly, cleared the table and rushed to get ready for practice. In the end, Ji Yong had used Young Bae’s toothbrush and dressed in his clothes. Young Bae laughed at how much thigh the baggy shorts showed. Pulling on a borrowed cap and sunglasses, Ji Yong shook his head at his reflection.

“We just weren’t meant to share clothes,” he said.

“Sorry, Friend,” he chuckled and shoved him towards the door. “You have spares at the studio, don’t you?”

“Nope. I had to wear them home Tuesday when that trainee spilled juice on me. Haven’t gotten around to replacing them yet.”

They climbed into Young Bae’s car. “Maybe Maknae will have something for you. After he’s done laughing, that is.”

Ji Yong threw the driver a dirty look as he fastened his seat belt. Secretly, he was pleased, however. Even though they didn’t fit properly and weren’t quite his style, he had always enjoyed borrowing Young Bae’s clothes. But more importantly, despite the agreement the night before, the touches, and especially the kiss, Young Bae held true to his word; he wasn’t acting weird or distant. He was treating him the same as he always had. It was an enormous relief.

Also a relief, was the lack of scandalous pictures on the internet, as he quickly scanned his phone. Breathing out loudly, he tucked his phone away and relaxed.

“Nothing?” Young Bae asked softly.

“Nothing,” he confirmed.

Young Bae also sagged in relief. Truth be told, he had been afraid that the boss wouldn’t be able to explain the pictures away. Luckily, Ji Yong had seen the cameraman before anything too compromising had happened.

Officially, the man had become a friend GDragon hadn’t seen in a long time. They had simply run into each other at an unfortunate time and place. With that information, and an undisclosed amount of cash, the wanna-be-scandal-maker deleted the pictures and disappeared. Ji Yong was given strict orders not to visit any ‘suspicious’ locations until further notice.

What took Yang Hyun Suk off-guard, was the pleasant, almost happy expression on the leader’s face at this news. He hadn’t expected an argument, but he had been dreading the young man sinking into a depressive state. It didn’t really make sense, until he took a hard look at the boy. He was practically covered in Dong Young Bae. Nodding to himself with understanding, he released Kwon Ji Yong to return to practice.

“What’d he say?” Dae Sung asked, as the other Big Bang members gathered around.

“What we already knew. I’m not allowed at certain places, at certain times. And it would be in my best interest to avoid said places all-together until further notice.”

Maknae slung an arm around his narrow shoulders. “Then you’re free for dinner tonight. Let’s get barbeque.”

“Sounds good,” Ji Yong said without any real enthusiasm. “But I have to go home first, can’t risk someone seeing me like this.” He fanned the legs of the little shorts.

“Couldn’t agree more, Hyung,” the youngest member smirked.

Ji Yong glared, but they all got back to dance practice.