A/N: sorry for not updating i just got back from japan and my wifi realllly there so anytime i actually logged into aff it would work for a few minutes and then the wifi would crash so sorrry this chapter is longer than the rest though, so even though some parts might drag (because i kinda forgot what i was writing), i hope you enjoy! ps im back in canada now so i have no reason not to update anymore! now to the story!

 "S-Sungmin? I r-really need to t-talk to you."

 Waking up to incessant knocking at 7 in the morning on a weekend isn't exactly Hyukjae's plan for the day.

Groaning, he got up from his bed, made himself look presentable (nothing he could do about the red and swollen eyes though) and leisurely strolled over to the door. Not bothering to look outside to see who it was, he opened said door.

Worst choice he ever made.

"Lee ing Hyukjae. I don't care who the you think you are, but that gives you absolutely no right to break Donghae the way you did. That child is an angel who fell for you, and you snapped him into a million pitiful pieces. He broke up with Siwon because he thought that he finally had a chance with you, what with you and your 'perfect match' bull, but it looks like that crap doesn't mean very much to you considering what Donghae told me happened between you and Jieun. Did you see him? Did you ing see him? I mean, I get that yeah, you might not be interested in him, but at least have some ing decency to actually reject the kid! He's been pining after you for five years. Five ty years where I had to deal with him cooing over you and saying how perfect you were, and not just so that you could be some douchebag who thinks you're better than everybody else and string him along while you're off ing some damn -"

"Jieun is not a ."

"I don't give a rat's what she is! You're a real , Lee Hyukjae, do you know that? What did Donghae ever do to you? Do you even have enough space in your heart that isn't filled with yourself to give an inkling of care, of guilt, even of pity for Donghae, for Christ's sake! He was ready to give up everything for you, his boyfriend, his reputation, his friends, just to be with you, and now he's at home, locked in his own room under his covers just crying, hugging a picture I didn't even know existed of you two at an aquarium or something! I don't get why he tried so hard to be perfect for a ty like you, but now that you've broken his heart more times than it could ever be repaired, he might finally stop admiring you as a perfect human being and start seeing you as the giant prick you really are."

Sungmin finally stopped talking, and there were tears streaming down his face as he clenched his fists and stared at Hyukjae, who was staring at the wall facing away from the strawberry blond, frame rigid as he held himself back.

Sungmin chuckled bitterly as he unclenched his fists and ran his hands over his tear-stricken face.

"You're not even gonna try to deny it, are you? You don't give a about Donghae or any-"

Hyukjae turned around and took Sungmin by surprise as he grabbed his shoulders and slammed him against the wall, teeth clenched and eyeballs red and wet from the tears that long ago fell from them. His body was heaving up and down from his heavy breathing as his words came out in short, breathy sentences.

"You have no fucking idea what the hell you're talking about! Before you even try to pinpoint anything on me, at least hear me out! First off, Jieun is not a ing ! She has had two boyfriends in her entire lifetime, me and some jock named Kris! So don't say anything if you don't know jack about it. Also, the room was decorated like that because I wanted to ask Donghae out, not Jieun. Secondly, what told you I wasn't interested in Donghae? He's been pining after me for five years? You have no idea how long I've been in love with that ing boy. I know that he's an angel, every fibre in his body is absolute proof of that fact. The fact that he has put up with me for such a long time is honestly a complete mystery to me. To answer why I never asked him out, I'm nervous, alright? I'm a goddamn mess whenever it comes to him, because I'm afraid I'll suddenly molest him or some other bull. Also, if he likes-"

"Liked."

"Shut the up! If he likes me so much, why was he even dating church boy in the first place? Before you try to say anything, do you even know our full story? Do you know why Donghae has that picture? Do you know why we've both liked each other for so long? Do you know why we both like all the same things? It's not a coincidence! Nothing these days is a coincidence anymore! Nobody has ever bothered to ask why Donghae and I get along so well whenever we see each other even though we never talk. Is it not weird to everybody else? Why we act like we've known each other for so long?"

Sungmin stared at Hyukjae who had long let go of his shoulders and was now sitting on the couch with a defeated look on his face, hair unruly and body slack; one touch could send him crumbling to the ground in a pile of dust.

Sungmin bit his lip as he stared at the visibly worn out blond. He may have been a tad too harsh, seeing as though this little drama was affecting both parties. Finally, he took a deep breath and let it out.

"Alright then. Tell me your story."

 Hyukjae was sitting at the front steps of the aquarium. He was still a little bitter over his and Jieun's breakup, but he figured he would get over it. He wasn't so in love with Jieun that it hurt to see her with anyone else, it hurt because of the fact that she dumped him for some guy way taller than him obviously because he had some more money than him.

Okay it was more than some but that's not important right now.

The point is, that he was mad at the fact that she dumped him for someone with more looks, money, muscle and 'style'.

I mean, if she wanted more things, she could have asked... No, that's not the point, if she-

"Hyukjae? Is that you?"

Hyukjae was pulled out of his thoughts by a squeakily asked question accompanied by the sound of a clearing throat only to look up and find a slightly shorter brunet standing in front of him.

It's Donghae, holy crap it's Donghae! Umm, umm, act cool and natural...

"Hey, Donghae, right? How's it going?" Hyukjae gave the most awkward smile possible and stared at Donghae expectantly. All he got back was a giggle and a slight grin.

"Okay, now that that's over with, what are you doing here, Hyukjae? Or should I call you Eunhyuk? I mean, I don't know, because apparently you don't like being called Eunhyuk anymore and nobody's really allowed to call you Hyukjae but to be honest I really like Hyukjae better so I don't-"

"Donghae, Donghae, you can call me Hyukjae, I don't mind."

Donghae sighed and gave a smile of relief while Hyukjae's heart filled with joy at the fact that Donghae had spent so much effort trying to understand what to call him when most people wouldn't even look his way.

"Anyways, so what are you doing here?"

"Oh. So, I broke up with Jieun like a week ago, but this is one of the places that we said we would go to on one of our dates, and I guess that just didn't happen or something, 'cause here I am being mopey about it. What are you doing here?"

Donghae looked thoroughly surprised by the question, before he blushed a deep crimson red and bit his lower lip while his eyes refused to meet the elder's.

"Umm, s-so, every Saturday I come d-down to the aquarium to see the clown fish because they're my absolutely most favourite thing in the whole world but you can't tell anybody that! Also, because I come around so often, all the staff know me and they let me feed the fish sometimes and help them out with tiny things... Nobody else knows because they would call me a wimp, but you won't do that, will you, Hyukjae?"

Of course he wouldn't, he thought it was downright endearing.

Donghae giggled.

"Goddamn, did I say that out loud?"

Donghae just nodded shyly before he thought of something else and poked the now embarrassed blond on the shoulder.

"Hey Hyukjae, why don't we go to the aquarium together? We're both already here, and it'll be fun to go see the fishies with you! And if you really don't want to, you can just pretend that I'm Jieun or something."

"I'd really rather not imagine you as Jieun."

"Oh, because I'm not pretty enough or-"

"No no no no, not because of that. Because our breakup was kind of mutual and I really didn't like her that much and I would much rather go to the aquarium with you anyways, so, yeah. No imagining you as Jieun. Also, you're prettier than any girl."

Donghae beamed (and Hyukjae was sure he blushed) and then grabbed Hyukjae's hand and they ran into the aquarium to see all the fish. The brunet introduced him to all the staff, some of the customers who visit the aquarium regularly, and his favourite clown fish, Nemo.

"Nemo?"

"Yeah, it's a really good movie, and Nemo is just so cute! The staff let me name him since he came in about 2 weeks ago, and I've been taking care of him ever since!"

Donghae's eyes were filled with absolute adoration and happiness while he and Hyukjae were dragging buckets of fish towards the dolphin tanks. After they finished with that, the worker that typically watched over Donghae, Kibum, gave them popsicles and let them sit on the bench by the penguins as they ate them.

Hyukjae, wanting to better know the boy beside him, decided to ask some questions.

"So Donghae, what do you like to do in your free time?"

"Well, I don't usually have that much because you know I can't finish the homework we get at school for the life of me, but whenever I do, I like to go to the dance studio near my house and watch the people dance. They're all so good! I like doing it, and my mommy says I'm good at it, but she's never seen the people there! A kid who looks like you goes there too, and he's absolutely amazing! He's probably one of the best there even though he's our age!"

Last time Hyukjae recalled, Donghae did live in the area near his dance studio.

"Donghae, is the studio called Still You?" Donghae looked thoroughly surprised, so Hyukjae assumed that he was correct.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Donghae, the kid that really looks like me and is 'probably one of the best dancers there' is me. I've been taking dancing lessons since I can remember, and I guess it's just natural for me now."

Donghae's jaw was basically on the ground.

"Can you show me?! You're such a good dancer! How did I never recognize you? Show me that cool wave thing you did with your arms, or the twirly thing or anything! Just show me!"

Donghae was climbing all over Hyukjae, yelling at him, clawing at him, shaking him and all the works.

"D-Donghae, n-not h-here! And s-stop shak-king me! Everyone's l-looking!"

The younger then immediately let go of him and made a sound close to a dying squirrel. He sat down and gave everybody who was looking a nervous smile and then looked at his now twiddling thumbs.

Hyukjae sighed fondly at Donghae's embarrassed form and hooked his arm around said boy's shoulders and gave him a tight squeeze as he waited for the last few people to affix their gazes on something more interesting.

"So, let me tell you a few things about myself. My full name is Lee Hyukjae, I have a dog named Choco, an older sister named Lee Sora, my favourite fruit is strawberries, my favourite colour is blue, you already know what I do in my free time, and one more thing that you have to promise not to tell anyone! I'm only telling you because I trust you a lot, so don't break that trust!"

The now significantly less embarrassed boy nodded his head so vigorously that the blond was positive it was going to fall off.

"I'm biual and prefer guys. Your turn!"

A sudden look of surprise flashed across Donghae's face, but it was quickly replaced by a look of determination and a definite nod.

"Okay, umm, my full name is Lee Donghae, I have a dog named Bada, an older brother named Lee Donghwa, I really like strawberries but I don't think I have a favourite fruit. I like red, and I told you about the dance studio, but here's something only my closest closest friends know! Now you're one of them even if we can't talk at school, okay?"

Hyukjae's heart swelled with pride and he swore he felt tears prick his eyes. He nodded as he held back tears.

"Okay, I'm not heteroual."

"So you're gay."

"Well I mean, if you wanna put it that way."

"But that's literally what you're saying."

"I suppose so."

 "So yes, you're gay."

"...Yeah."

"Alright."

"Alright?"

"Yeah, I just told you I'm bi and prefer guys, so alright."

"Cool."

After a long talk about everything from superheroes to what size shoes they wore, they went back to talk to Kibum about what else they should do, but Kibum just told them to have fun at the aquarium. As a result, they ran around and looked at the stingrays, belugas, angelfish, everything! Eventually, when they made their way full circle around the aquarium, they posed in front of the clown fish to let Kibum take a picture of them.

"Hyukjae, this may have been the best trip to the aquarium I've ever had! Can we keep doing this? Please please please!"

Hyukjae gave Donghae a big hug while in one hand he held the picture Kibum just took of them.

"Of course! I'll come back next week and the week after that and forever until we're old and wrinkly and Kibum won't let us come in anymore."

 "...And we just spent the rest of the day like that and we kept meeting up on Saturdays. It was fun, but lately we haven't been able to meet up because of Siwon. It would have been nice if we could talk at school as best friends, but the 'leader' of my group of friends was Heechul and yours was, well, you, and you guys kinda hated each other, so if we spoke, then you would've ripped off our heads. It's better now, but because of that Donghae and I don't really get the chance to talk anymore, and now I'll probably never get the chance to fix whatever he thought happened. Ugh, I should've just it up and told him how I felt about him a long time ago. Then none of us would be in this mess."

Sungmin looked at the miserably drained boy. There was obviously serious misunderstanding on both sides, and nobody really seemed to be interested in clearing up this conniption. 

"It's true that none of us would be in this mess, but that doesn't mean that you can't still go talk to Donghae. Do you still know where he lives?"

Hyukjae shook his head before he continued. "Donghae moved in grade eight, and I never went over to his house. He still came by the studio, but I never got the chance to talk to him because he came after break ended and left before the end of the session. On Saturdays we were too busy catching up that I never asked."

Sungmin nodded along, understanding why they had grown so far apart recently.

"Well, if I tell you where he lives now, will you go fix this huge problem?"

Hyukjae looked at Sungmin with hope and disbelief clear in his eyes. If Donghae couldn't accept him after what happened, he wanted to at least explain and hope to stay friends with the boy, so he nodded once, a clear, definitive nod, and with that, Sungmin decided.

They had to fix this.

For everyone.

For Donghae and Hyukjae. 

 After Sungmin told Hyukjae the address and they finished having a little chat, he left the blond to prepare himself for his talk with Donghae. 

So, Hyukjae took a shower, changed into a nice set of clothes, did his hair and applied a tiny bit (a lot of a tiny bit, those red eyes were a ) of concealer, and headed out the door.

He didn't buy anything fancy this time, just an apology and maybe a hug (a kiss if he was lucky) and hopefully his friendship back with Donghae.

He drove down to the address that Sungmin gave him and took a couple of deep breaths while he sat in his car. He made up his entire speech, about how everything was his fault in the first place and that he should've just told Donghae how he felt after they found out that they were a perfect match. Feeling a bit more confident than he did a second ago, Hyukjae cautiously stepped out of his car and knocked on the front door.

The door opened very slowly and gently, and when opened all the way, the person who greeted him was not the one he wanted to see, but it was a familiar face nonetheless.

"Hyukjae! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in such a long time!"

Hyukjae just gave a painful smile and greeted Donghae's kind mother.

"Good morning, Mrs. Lee. Is Donghae home?"

The woman looked very skeptical to let him in, and Hyukjae was sure that he knew why. He had always liked how protective the elderly woman was of her son, and he was glad she was looking so well after him. He saw her look back, and standing just close enough for Hyukjae to see, Donghwa gave her a solemn nod.

"Hyukjae, Donghae isn't here right now. After he had a bit of a meltdown, he just stormed out of the house. I don't know exactly where he is right now, but he might come back later if you want to wait for him. I think he just needs to let his head cool down for a while."

Hyukjae nodded along to what she was saying while he was thinking about where Donghae might be. After turning down a cup of tea and an afternoon snack, Hyukjae bid goodbye to the tiny family and got back into his car.

He drove around mindlessly for a while, not sure where the short brunet would be. He passed by the tiny park by Donghae's new house, the convenience store at the end of the street, the daycare a few blocks away and anywhere that he could think of, when suddenly,

"Goddamnit! The aquarium! Hyukjae you idiot!"

He hopped into his car and sped down to the aquarium. Donghae was nowhere in sight, but that didn't stop him. He shot out of his car and into the aquarium and ran straight to the clown fish. When he got there, no one was there except for Kibum.

"Kibum!"

The mentioned man turned around and when he saw Hyukjae, surprise and happiness was evident.

"Hyukjae! What are you doing here?"

"Kibum, do you know where Donghae is?"

"Yes, he was here a second ago and he wanted to feed Nemo, but he didn't want to use our fish food so he just went out to buy something special for the little guy. I guess he was too occupied with that or something else that he didn't notice that Nemo got himself a fishy mate! They've been getting friendly for a while, but now she's pregnant! Donghae's gonna be a grandfather soon!"

Hyukjae looked over to the fish tank and sure enough, there were two clown fish in the corner of the the tank, away from all the others just enjoying each other's company. They looked as though they cared about nothing and nobody else.

"Kibum, do you have a slip of paper and a pen?"

 When Donghae finally returned from clearing his mind (and buying the fish food for Nemo, duh), the aquarium was already empty. It had closed a few minutes before he had returned, but the front officers didn't mind letting him in for a while after hours. After all, everyone did love him. What wasn't there to love?

He walked over to Nemo's tank and looked around at the swimming little fishies, but he didn't see him. Where could he have gone? Donghae wasn't positive, but he thought he had seen Nemo when he came by earlier...

"Nemo's down in the corner of the tank."

Donghae turned around to see Kibum just standing there, broom in hand, looking at Donghae expectantly.

The young boy just nodded and turned back to the tank. He slowly approached it, and when he reached where Kibum said the fish would be, he saw Nemo and another fish that seemingly looked... pregnant?

About to scream at Kibum in anger and happiness for not telling him and for his 'son' finally having someone to spend the rest of his life with, he looked up, only to be met with a piece of paper taped to the tank with his name on it. He delicately peeled the letter off the acrylic and opened it.

Hey Hae!

Can I still call you that? We kinda stopped with the nicknames after you and Siwon... well, you know. Anyways, first thing's first, I'm sorry. I don't know what you think happened between me and Jieun, but I'm telling you, and I really really do hope that you'll believe me, that absolutely nothing happened between us. She said that she broke up with her boyfriend and that she wanted me back, but Hae, really, I don't like her, I like you, and god, I'm an idiot for not saying it earlier. Look at what I put us through.

Remember how we used to go the same daycare? Yeah, well, when your mom first dropped you off, I remember that I was just looking at you because you looked like the cutest little thing ever, when some kid was being stupid and ran into me, thus causing me to drop my carton of strawberry milk. I would've just picked it up and kept drinking, but then his friends ran over and trampled it, rendering it undrinkable. 

I was absolutely devastated, and so, being like, three years old, I cried. Hard. And then I'm not sure what happened next, but then you, the new kid who didn't know anybody, came up to me and gave me a new carton of strawberry milk and said 'hi, I'm Donghae, nice to meet you!'

That's really when it started. During elementary school, I never saw you, so I'd kinda given up hope. We never gave each other any means to contact each other, so it just happened. That's when I met Jieun, and after she got to know me a bit better, she asked me out. I figured, yeah, sure, she's cute, it'll be good for me. Everybody will want to be us.

So that's how it happened. I never really actually had a lot of feelings for her, and I know it's bad to go into a relationship like that, but I was dumb and so I said a lot of things I thought would make her happy. I made a lot of plans for us, and when she just dumped me for someone with more money and that looked better, it hurt me. By that time, we were already in middle school, and being the rebellious teen I was, I died my hair platinum silver, earning me the nickname Eunhyuk. I guess I liked it, so I went with it. When I saw you there, in my class, sitting with Sungmin making some exaggerated movements with your arm after Jieun and I broke up, I thought it was destiny, but nothing really went right.

We had started hanging out here, and I was finally going to take the opportunity to strike, but I got to school on Monday after one of our meet-ups and found out that you and Siwon had started dating.

Hooray.

So I guess that's when I started not talking to you as much anymore. I'd still go on Saturdays, but you can vouch for this, a lot of the time, I'd just ignore you and finish what we were supposed to do and got outta there. I was really hurt that you and Siwon were together.

Everybody either wanted to date you or be you.

But now that we're both single, and hopefully I've cleared your mind of suspicions, I was wondering,

But Donghae, now that I've explained, I hope that you can forgive me. If not, then I'm sorry. At some point, just tell me to stop, and I will. You'll never hear from me again. But if you do forgive me, then please, turn around.

Donghae, tears b with eyes, squeezed them shut tight and turned around faster than anybody could've possibly imagined. He was ready to give Hyukjae the largest and warmest hug he could possibly muster, and maybe sneak in a little peck on the cheek. About to clobber the man right in front of him, he finally opened his eyes to see...

Kibum?

Kibum, slightly creeped out by Donghae, arms open and ready to embrace him, took a large and definitely noticeable step back.

"Umm, I don't know what that letter said, but Hyukjae just told me to give you these, so... here." Kibum outstretched his arms to the now recomposed Donghae who delicately lifted the items out of the giving hands. There were two things, a heart shaped chocolate box and another note that had 'READ ME' on the front this time.

Donghae opened the letter.

These chocolates were made specially for you~ 

P.S. Meet me at the dance studio by 10 if you can! If you don't come, then I won't bother you anymore :(

Donghae opened the box, and inside were Finding Nemo shaped chocolates, with Dory, Nemo (of course), Squirt, Nigel and so many more. Donghae teared up again and hugged the box close to his chest. He looked at the time and saw that it was already 9:30, so he said goodnight to Kibum and ran out the door and hopped onto the bus. He got to the studio just before 10, and when he opened the door, the lights to only one practice room were on.

He opened the door to the room quietly, and standing in the middle was Hyukjae, dressed in casual but fancy clothing. He let the door shut on its own, and it crashed close, causing Hyukjae to turn around. 

Donghae gave him a shy smile and cute wave before shuffling awkwardly on the spot. Hyukjae just gave a gummy smile.

"Hi." He said breathlessly.

Donghae giggled and crinkled his nose before he stared at the ground and bit his lip, trying to contain his obvious smile.

"Hi yourself."

"Come here."

"Make me, Hyuk."

"Come here, Hae."

Donghae giggled again before he almost sprinted to where Hyukjae was standing. As soon as he reached him, neither of them spoke and just stared into each other's eyes, letting their emotions get the better of them, and taking in all that was there for them to see.

Hyukjae was the first to break the silence.

"You look beautiful."

To that, Donghae just snorted.

"Yeah right. I'm in an oversized hoodie and sweatpants with socks and sandals and you're calling me beautiful? Also, I'm a man, don't you forget, so shouldn't I at least be handsome?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry my princess, did I offend you? I'll make note never to call you beautiful or pretty or anything 'girlish' ever again. Will that be better?"

"...I never said I don't like it. Just maybe warn me in advance if you're going to say something like that."

Hyukjae smiled at Donghae and opened his arms for a hug, and Donghae just scooted himself closer to the older man and snuggled in closely, tucking his head right into Hyukjae's neck as he felt two foreign yet familiar arms wrap around his body.

"I'm sorry for everything that I put us through. You mean so much to me, and I mean it when I say that I like you. I really do."

Donghae just hummed contentedly and burrowed deeper into Hyukjae's neck.

The blond, dissatisfied by this, pulled Donghae away from him and held him by the shoulders at arm's length.

"Nothing? You're just not going to reply to that? At all?"

Donghae smiled (how many times are we going to smile today?) at him, before he made his way back into Hyukjae's embrace (and hug too, seriously?).

"I really like you too, Hyukkie!" He gave Hyukjae a peck on the cheek and then hid his now burning red face into the slightly (ever so slightly) taller male's neck. The latter just chuckled and wrapped his arms around the brunet again before giving him a tight squeeze.

"I'm really glad, Hae. I'm really glad."

 A/N: haha, i didnt know how to end that.

but no, theyre not together yet. they just cleared some things up, and their relationship is definitely progressing. who knows what will happen in the next chapter?

again, sorry for not updating for so long >_< did all of you forget about this story?