'How come they're not dating?'

The group glanced to the side where they were standing, barely inches apart, sharing earphones and slow dancing to whatever music was blasting. Anyone looking from a distance would assume that they were a thing because no one could stay in that proximity without it meaning something.

The people in question, however, seemed utterly oblivious to the speculation they generated, too lost in their own world to bother.

Again, how come they were not dating?

'Beats me.' Ken shrugged, throwing his drink back in a single shot and smacking his lips.

'Something about being just friends or something,' Hyuk explained at the confused look on his girlfriend's face. 'I don't know, they don't seem to realize they're a couple.'

'Seriously, this is too annoying.' N smacked his hand on the table in indignation. His matchmaking soul was suffering at the blatant obliviousness of the ignorant couple.

Ravi patted his back soothingly before getting up and pulling him along, 'Leave them be. Come on, let's dance.'

N pouted a little because 'leaving them be' wasn't working; they still hadn't made a move and it was beginning to irk him. He'd known Leo was reticent but Minah wasn't doing anything either and at times like right now, it was enough to make him want to pull his hair out.

Hongbin pushed him towards the floor before he could act on the impulse and he reluctantly tore his gaze away from the dancing couple. They were here with their own dates after all and well, if those two couldn't enjoy the romance, their loss. Turning to his date with a smile, he took hold of her hand and led her to the floor, mingling with the crowd and letting the heavy bass take him away.

In the isolated corner, Minah finally opened her eyes as the song ended.

'This is amazing!' she gushed excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet and almost dislodging the earbuds they were sharing. A heavy hand landed on her shoulder and she pouted but stilled.

Leo gave a tiny smile and nodded his head in agreement. 'It is amazing, right? I knew you'd like it.'

'Send it to me,' she demanded, pulling her phone out and turning on the Bluetooth. He rolled his eyes but obliged, tapping on the mp3 and sharing it.

'Did you watch the latest episode of Erase?' she asked, tapping on the received file to see it was working as the next song began playing on Leo's playlist. It was a slow ballad with powerful vocals and she swayed slowly, Leo joining a moment later so they were in sync.

He was singing under his breath and she harmonized, wondering, not for the first time, if she could ask him to record the same song in his own voice. Now that would be amazing.

He indicated that he'd answer in a moment and they closed their eyes to hear the vocalist sing his heart out at the chorus.

'No, didn’t get the chance. You?'

She shook her head. 'The subs are out though, I downloaded it.'

They were silent for a beat, listening to the final, soulful notes of the singer as he mourned the loss of his love.

'Do you…' they began at the same time, then shut up staring at each other for a moment.

'I mean,' they started again in unison and a grin flitted across Minah's face, reluctantly mirrored on Leo's.

'Okay stop,' they gestured at the same moment before Leo smacked a hand across . 'Quiet,' he threatened playfully, 'How about you bring it over and we watch it tonight?' he completed her thought.

She nodded, hand still on and staring at him with big eyes. 'Okay,' her lips moved against his palm and it tickled; he let go after a beat.

'Pizza?' he asked.

'Sure, I'll bring the drinks.'

They fell back into the comfortable silence they shared between them, Minah occasionally nodding her head to the heavy bass that was echoing around the place. It was pretty crowded, as these parties usually tended to be but thankfully their corner was relatively isolated and the sounds of the party were quite muted.

It wasn't unusual for the two of them to find themselves in such a spot though; this was practically how they'd met in the first place.

It had been around six months ago, at the beginning of their college semester; Leo had shown up to appease Ken who'd thrown the party but it was obviously not his scene. Minah, by some accident, had shown up at the party too…

No, actually, she'd been dragged along by her best friend who'd been pining after Hongbin since the day she'd seen him. She'd abandoned Minah the moment she'd spied the guy and she'd been left to her own devices.

Since she knew next to no one in the room and socializing wasn't really her thing, especially not at places where people did nothing but get drunk in multitude of ways, she'd wandered off in search of peace and quiet.

And that's how she'd run into Leo, on the quiet balcony, leaning against the railing and staring at the sky. She'd been about to back off, not wanting to disturb someone's isolation but his soft voice had entranced her enough to keep her rooted to the spot, listening as he sang the ballad in his soft voice.

Sadly, he'd fallen quiet, spying her shadow in the doorway. She'd apologized for intruding and asked him to continue but he was quite shy, especially with strangers and he'd just shut up.

Feeling bad for making him uncomfortable, she'd asked him if she could join him on the balcony and then, started a conversation about the song because she figured their taste in music could be similar.

By the end of the night, they'd formed a good rapport, chatting easily and it'd almost come as a surprise when N had stumbled in on them, looking like a cat that found the cream, that it was already past midnight. Time had literally flown by. They'd said goodbyes and she'd thought that would be that.

They'd run into each other again at another party, in a similar fashion and had, once again, spent the night chatting amicably about their favourite animes.

And then again, in another place at another time. After that, they'd just started seeking each other out at the parties; Minah would leave her friend to her devices soon as she arrived and look for the most isolated spot in the place and Leo would invariably be there, waiting for her.

And after the first few times, they'd decided to bring their own music over which had morphed into leaving the parties early to have anime marathons, complete with pizzas and drinks.

In short, they'd clicked and it was no surprise that their friendship had expanded beyond the late night weekend parties and they'd started hanging out during the week as well, progressing from occasional run ins to the point where the two were all but joined by the hips.

And through this all, whenever their friends asked if they were a thing, or dating, they were quick to negate the idea. Something that was frustrating to both Leo's and Minah's friends because they had eyes for no one but each other, were constantly spending time together, knew each other's favourite everything and could literally list each other's schedule of the top of their heads because that's just how close they were.

When confronted, they'd glanced at each other, doing the silent communication thing they had down pat before shrugging simultaneously. 'Why spoil a good thing?' Minah had asked seriously, casually offering her coffee to Leo who'd taken a sip and handed it right back.

N had rolled his eyes, stalking off in a huff because he was so done with these immature people who couldn’t see a good thing right in front of them. They'd shared a confused look before deciding to ignore him and resuming reading the manga they'd started together because the anime for Erase was coming out too slowly and it was way too exciting to wait for an episode the entire week.

And now, here they were, once again going through the same thing and making everyone else frustrated with their sheer obliviousness.

How could they not notice all the signs?

As they got ready to leave early once again, N eyed the duo critically, wondering what it would take to make them realize there was just so much chemistry between them, even the blind could see it.

……………………………………

'Kiss, kiss, kiss!'

Minah giggled a little awkwardly as Leo blushed, looking like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him. Neither of them had noticed the mistletoe over their heads as they'd stood, too close once again, swaying slowly to the music blasting through their shared earphones.

In her defence, the party was a month too early for Christmas and it hadn't even crossed her mind that anyone would've actually put up mistletoe already. But Ken always had a weird taste.

'Come on, kiss already!' Hyuk yelled loudly, the rest of their friends taking up the cry.

'Just a peck,' Minah muttered to Leo, trying to put him at ease because he looked ready to explode. He was still blushing, the tips of his ears red and he was ducking his head in an adorable way that made her want to coo.

He just had this cute aura about him, something that went totally against his mysteriously silent allure, reminding her why she'd nicknamed him a 'tsundere kitten', something he'd objected to violently but later conceded.

Nodding, still blushing and not meeting her eyes, he leaned forward and landed a quick peck on her cheek.

'Whoa, whoa, hold up!' N came through, holding his hands out in a 'time out' gesture. 'That's not a kiss, you have to kiss her lips or it doesn’t count.'

'And hold it for at least ten seconds,' Hongbin added his own rule to the game, garnering an evil glare from Leo which he shook off with an unrepentant grin. 'Or should we make it twenty?'

'Fifteen,' Ravi offered a compromise.

'Fifteen,' N agreed. 'Okay, start!'

If looks could kill, Leo's friends would be dead on the floor. As it was, N clucked his tongue impatiently and Ken started the cheer again, 'Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!'

Taking a deep breath, Minah stepped up to him. 'Hey, it's just fifteen seconds,' she muttered only loud enough for him to hear, 'and I don't mind, honestly. We were standing under the mistletoe, so...'

He looked at her for a moment. 'You sure?'

She nodded. 'On three?'

He nodded. 'One.'

'Two.'

'Three.'

 They moved simultaneously, his lips finding hers with unerring precision and a gasp went through their group. Because even though they'd been hoping for it, none of them had actually expected Leo to fall in with their plans.

'Quick, snap a picture!' N hissed at Hongbin who fumbled with the camera in his hurry. Meanwhile, Hyuk was doing the countdown.

'Nine… eight…seven…'

The duo moved a bit closer, Leo's hand coming up to cradle her head, hers resting on his shoulder as she rose on tiptoes.

'Four… three… two… and ONE!'

'DUN DUN DUN!'

They didn't part immediately and N, once again looking like the cat that found the cream, shooed the rest away. 'Have fun, you two!' He threw over his shoulder, hurrying away as the couple broke apart, breathing a little heavily.

Minah swallowed, her lips tingling from the sensation of having his against hers and her heart racing a mile a minute. Leo's breath hit her face and she was suddenly too aware of the closeness between them, of his hand still cradling her head, her own hand still gripping his shoulder. Of how right it all felt.

And suddenly it hit her, what her friends had been saying all this time.

'Leo…' she started but she didn't need to say anything else because in true Leo fashion, he understood her words before she said them.

His lips pressed against hers once again, hand cradling her head even more securely as his other hand came to rest around her waist, pulling her close. Her hands found their way around his broad shoulders, rising on tiptoes as her eyes slid close.

From the next room, Hongbin snapped another picture to eternalize the important moment and N sighed happily, his matchmaking soul finally at peace. 'Aren't they cute?' he cooed and Hyuk rolled his eyes, putting himself out of range in case N got the urge to strangle someone in a hug.

'PARRRTAAAAYYY!' Ken suddenly yelled, popping out of nowhere and blasting confetti all over the still kissing couple, who broke apart in panic.

N smacked a palm over his face before marching inside, intent on stopping his wild friend but the rest of the group had already joined in, yelling and dancing like there was no tomorrow and after a moment's hesitation, he joined in as well because this did warrant a celebration.

……………………………………

'Want to get out of here?' Leo murmured, leaning his forehead against hers.

'Hmmm…' she hummed back, wrapping her arms securely around his waist. 'After this song.'

They swayed slowly to the soft music playing through their shared earphones and when the song ended, they said their goodbyes, leaving the party early as usual to go back to their anime date.

'You know, I don't know why I thought they'd be different now that they're dating,' Ken pouted thoughtfully, eyeing the retreating couple.

'They were already dating,' N nodded sagely, 'they just didn't realize it.'

'Hmm… I guess you're right.' He nodded before straightening. 'So… can I take off the holly now? I'm a bit allergic to the flowers, you know?'

'I still can't believe they didn't realize it wasn't mistletoe.' Ravi shook his head.

'Mm, they were too lost in each other to notice.' N's smugness was rising like an aura around him, the matchmaker in him celebrating with joy. 'Ah well, come on, let's party!'

……………………………