Minho knew that Kibum was avoiding him, but he didn’t know why. Every time he walked into their dorm Kibum would make up some lame excuse and scurry into the bathroom or his bedroom. After the first few times, Minho had begun to worry that something else was going on, but after not really speaking with his best friend for more than a week, he knew something was going on.

The thought that Kibum didn’t want to spend time with him made Minho question everything he had done or said in the past few weeks. He knew that Kibum tended to be sensitive but maybe Minho had done something to actually upset him? The thought gnawed at him as he lay awake at night, fighting the urge to jump into bed with Kibum and demand the truth. But he couldn’t do that.

Ever since their trainee days there had been an unspoken rule that they were close but not too close. When Kibum had confided in him that he was gay, Minho had been bursting to say something but the look of worry in Kibum’s eyes was enough to keep his own confession at bay and reassure his friend that he still loved him.

Because he did. Minho loved Kibum with all his heart. But Kibum was blissfully unaware.

~

Jonghyun was starting to get on Minho’s nerves. Sure he and Kibum had always been friendly but this whole best friend act was getting really old really quickly.

Minho ignored Jinki’s observant stare as he glared at the two boys, his frown increasing with every touch and every laugh until he stormed out of whatever room they were in.

Minho didn’t see the glances Kibum snuck as he left, didn’t see the immediate shift in his demeanor as he too slunk away from the other boys.

Neither of them saw the knowing looks that passed between Jonghyun and Jinki.

~

When the company announced that they were going on a vacation, individually, Minho was both excited and upset. He didn’t really get to spend any time with Kibum anymore, so a vacation would have been the perfect opportunity except now they couldn’t even go together.

Later, when Kibum announced that he was going to London for some fashion thing, Minho made sure to put up a show about how he didn’t want to go to the same place, but he knew Jinki could see right through him.

~

“Find your own train!” Minho barked at Kibum, beyond aggravated with the whole situation. Who knew that a vacation for just them would be filled with so many people? He was growing more and more agitated as the time that he should have been able to speak with Kibum alone was stolen away by the millions of staff members constantly hanging out with them. It didn’t help that Kibum seemed perfectly content with their arrangement.

Minho didn’t like the way that Kibum actually seemed excited to go off and do his fashion thing. Minho also didn’t like the way that Kibum was giving him mixed signals as he said he wanted to go off on his own but refused to leave him alone.

The eventually found themselves at a restaurant and Minho tried not to fawn over the cute way Kibum was acting. He absolutely hated how annoying the other could be but he also loved every cute expression and needy whine that came out of those bow-shaped lips. Their pizza finally came and Minho watched fondly as Kibum tried to talk to the cameras and cut it but failed miserably. Reaching over with a sigh, Minho took the serving utensil to cut it for him.

He tried not to blush as one of Kibum’s hands snuck out to briefly squeeze his thigh under the table in a small gesture of thanks, even though he felt his cheeks redden and his pants tighten at the gesture.

Minho shifted in his seat, silently cursing his best friend as his attention returned to the camera crew and the staff they were with. Why was it that Minho was the only one affected by the other’s presence?

~

Deciding that he needed to shake off whatever funk he was in with Kibum, Minho decided to try another tactic aside from sitting at home and pouting. He decided to give Kibum a taste of his own medicine.

The fans began calling him a hyung- soon after this newfound decision and he hoped that Kibum, in his endless searching of their promotions, stumbled across it and got a little taste of what Minho had to deal with with all of this jongkey business. It was enough to see the two getting closer in his daily life, it was overkill to read about it all over the fan sites.

His heart sank after a few weeks and nothing changed. If anything, Kibum seemed even more distant.

~

Minho sat eagerly in front of the TV as his drama came on. The members were all huddled around him, showing their support as they had been since it first aired. Kibum, to Minho’s surprise, was nestled next to him on the couch, a few sojus making him sleepy and more snuggly than he usually was. Minho ignored the looks that the other three gave them as the commercial ended and they returned to a scene with him and Sulli.

Kibum shifted next to him and Minho’s attention shifted from the scene to his friend. The soft glow of the TV highlighted Kibum’s features perfectly and he resisted reaching out a hand to brush his bangs out of his eyes. Something on the screen made Kibum scoff and before Minho knew what was happening, he was standing up and walking quickly to his bedroom. Minho, who had apparently been leaning into Kibum, fell onto the empty space next to him and stared after Kibum, confused by his sudden disappearance and hurt that he didn’t like his drama.

Jonghyun stood up before Minho could and followed after Kibum. A familiar ache passed through his body but he shook it off, returning his attention to his drama and ignoring the two concerned faces that were watching him closely.

The shorter man returned a few minutes later, muttering something but Minho ignored it, pretending to be engrossed in the drama even though his stomach was churning and he felt that his heart was going to explode in his chest. Why the hell did Jonghyun get to comfort Kibum. That was his job. Minho was Kibum’s best friend, not Jonghyun. Or at least, he used to be…

~

“Oh my god, Minho!” Kibum squeaked out as Minho grabbed him roughly by the arm and hauled him away from the set. They were on a talk show and had been taking a short break but Minho couldn’t stand it anymore.

Shoving Kibum into their changing room, he locked the door behind them and turned to find a red-faced Kibum staring desperately at anything but him.

“What is your problem?” he huffed, still not meeting Minho’s intense gaze.

“My problem? What is your problem? You think you can just…just ignore me for months and then use some aegyo and…” but Minho didn’t know what else to say and feared that he had given too much away already.

“I haven’t been ignoring you…” Kibum spoke softly yet firmly, his eyes finally meeting Minho’s so that he could see the pure look of determination on his face as if he had to convince himself and Minho that he wasn’t lying.

Minho felt his eyes water and before he could help it, he was crying. Everything he had been feeling, all of the hurt and the turmoil, broke through his wall of control as he was confronted with that gaze and the reality that Kibum really didn’t want to spend time with him.

“Minho?” Kibum asked, unused to seeing the other cry so openly. Minho turned around so that he no longer had to look at the other boy and tried to get his emotions under control.

“…Minho-yah…what’s wrong?” Kibum asked, his own voice shaky and a sure sign that he was crying too. Minho said nothing as a new wave of tears rolled down his face with the knowledge that he had made Kibum cry. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen.

Kibum came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his chest and hugged him, both of them crying. Minho grasped at Kibum’s strong arms as his body shook, turning in his embrace and leaning into his best friend until Kibum was walking them backwards. Kibum sat down on the couch and pulled Minho onto his lap, his back soothingly as he clung to Kibum’s neck.

“I’m sorry, Minho-yah. I won’t…I won’t do that anymore, okay?” Kibum finally whispered, kissing Minho’s forehead softly as their tears both subsided.

A loud pounding on the door made them both jump and Kibum chuckled. Their eyes met and Minho’s heart thudded in his ears as Kibum wiped the tears off of his face and leaned in until their noses were touching. Minho his lips, itching to kiss the other but afraid that his feelings would be rejected. Kibum moaned, his eyes following the path that Minho’s tongue had made before he crashed their lips together.

~

Minho watched from the couch with barely-veiled jealousy as Kibum greeted his dogs after being gone all day. The two puppies were jumping all over their master as he kicked off his shoes and finally sat on the floor with them so that they could his face.

Kibum glanced up from his place on the floor and smiled at the pout on Minho’s beautiful face, winking at his boyfriend before he stood up and held both puppies in his arms.

Sitting on the opposite end of the couch, he set down the dogs and chuckled as Minho glared at him. Minho knew exactly what Kibum was trying to do but he refused to let the other win. When Kibum finally brought his legs up onto the couch to stretch out and poke his feet teasingly on Minho’s thigh, Minho grabbed them and yanked until Kibum was spluttering and sitting awkwardly in his lap.

“Yah!” His angry screech was cut off with a sweet kiss and Minho smiled into the sigh that left his boyfriend’s lips.

“Can’t you two get a room?!” Taemin yelled as he and Jinki left the living room, Jonghyun choosing to ignore them from his place in their massage chair as he flipped through the channels lazily.

Kibum blushed but Minho refused to let him wiggle away. Minho grunted softly as Kibum pinched his side and leaned up, his earlobe until he could whisper in his ear, sending shivers down Minho’s spine as he spelled out just what he wanted to do to Minho. Minho stood up abruptly and hauled Kibum off to their room.

There was no way he was going to share his Kibum with anyone, not anymore.