Airplanes. They always had that strange, sterile smell. And they were always freezing cold. Amber had been on planes a lot, and she wasn't particularly a fan.

She finally got the overhead to shut and took her seat beside Luna who was already settled in, staring aimlessly at the illuminated runway, deep thought. She'd been doing that quite often, lately, staring off at random things, not saying a word. She’d been like this ever since she spoke with her mother.

Amber didn't really know what happened with that phone call. All Luna said was that she told her mom about them and that was it. She'd been distant ever since. It had been just a day and a half, and they were on a flight back to Korea.

Amber continued to stare at her while she faced the window. She wished she knew what she was thinking, wished she could just ask her, but she knew she couldn't. Luna was guarded. She had walls. At times, she was open and expressive and loved to talk, but there were other times, other times where she’d just close herself off. She would shut everyone out and try and deal with her problems herself and right now was one of those times. It worried her, but Amber knew had to accept it. She just had wait until she was ready. Whenever that would be.

Normally, their airport arrivals brought a camera or two, but today was an entirely different story. The run to the van was treacherous-people everywhere, questions from every direction, hatred flying around, too. When they finally managed to land in the vehicle, their manager had turned around, as if to try and get some sort of explanation from them. Catching sight of their expressions, he changed his mind.

Upper management wasn’t as kind.

Not bothering to hold back with the anger and homophobia, Luna and Amber had to simply keep their heads down, meeting any of their eyes having the potential to start another spout of hostility towards them.

The biggest issue was hurting the company’s image, that’s all they cared about. The only bright side was that since their relationship was already out, no one could force them to break up. At least.

It took about two hours of briefing and commands forbidding them from speaking to any media until they were finally free to go. Amber had walked Luna up to her door and by now, the time difference and stress had definitely gotten to them both. When Luna had turned towards her after sticking the key in the lock, all Amber could see were weary eyes and deep bags set below them, so different from before.

“We have to meet up with the others tomorrow,” Amber said quietly with a tired sigh.

“I know,” Luna nodded, the remaining silence indicating the time to part was near.

“I guess I’ll...see you then?” Amber asked awkwardly.

“Yeah.”

And then she left, Luna stepping inside and shutting the door behind her only to lean against it. Eyes closed, she took in a deep breath, Moments passed until she finally moved away, running a hand through her hair before moving to unpack her things.

“So you guys really are gay,” Krystal wasted no time in stating the second the managers left their meeting. “I knew it.”

Amber and Luna didn’t bother to respond and Victoria simply sat there, disinterestedly watching them all. Krystal took their silence as fuel to the fire.

“So like, what? How’s this work?” she questioned, a condescending tone to her voice, “You guys are just together now? You just up and decided to-”

“What, Krys?” Luna cut her off. Arms crossed and eyes ablaze. She wasn’t in the mood. “What do you want us to say?”

“I just don’t get-”

“Don’t get what? Need us to explain how our life works or something?”

“Guys,” Victoria said, her phone in slamming down in annoyance at the bickering two, eyes rising to look at Amber before moving away.

“What? What they’re doing affects our careers.”

“Yes, because you really seem to care about your career, lately,” Luna scoffed. Krystal narrowed her eyes at her, the two of them glaring at each other across the table until someone finally decided to get up.

Disastrous meeting aside, they still had to begin to meet for the start of their comeback preparations. Still in the early stages, they had time to try and get settled before the actual debut,  but no one knew if that would actually happen.

It had been several days since they'd gotten back from the States. After many excuses of jetlag and other excuses, Amber was surprised when she’d finally gotten Luna to agree to spend the night.

She was silent through dinner, wordlessly picking at her food, but Amber was thrilled to see her again, to have her so close, to try and be the way the used to.

Lying in bed with her was another blessing, even if she was still acting different from before. Nonetheless, Amber was unable to help herself. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d been intimate and when she turned, moving so that she hovered above her with their gazes locked, she couldn't wait another instant before latching her lips to the side of Luna’s neck. She nearly groaned. It had been so long. She bit down on her skin, kissing it, running her tongue over the sore spot the way she knew Luna liked. She was soft and warm and Amber was pleased when she felt her hand come to rest on the back of her head.

But something was off. It didn’t take long for Amber to notice how stiff she was and she pulled away.

“You’re not…” Amber only had to look into her eyes for a moment before sliding away to lie on her side, back facing her.

“No,” Luna said tiredly, her words falling to the back of Amber’s head, “You can...you can keep going if you want to.”

“It’s fine,” Amber muttered quietly, her body scooting a bit farther towards her end of the bed. “I’m tired anyway.”

A little time passed before Amber got up and left, Luna was still lying in bed, her mind a scattered mess. A wave of guilt washed over her and she flipped to lie on her other side. She wanted to scream, pressing her face deep into her pillow, trying to figure out just how she got here.

Flashback

A kiss. Just one kiss. That didn't have to mean anything. It didn't mean anything. It was stupid. It was an accident. It was a mistake. That's all. She needed forget it ever happened.

But as Luna sat, her knees curled into her chest, she found her fingers rising to touch her lips, her mind going back to it. She quickly pulled her hand away.

She told herself that it was nothing, that she just hadn't been kissed in a while and couldn't remember what it felt like. But she knew that was a lie. She knew she hadn’t had a kiss like that before. And that scared her.

It was wrong, she knew it was. To feel this way about her friend, especially one who wasn't a man, it was wrong…it was wrong…

She nearly spilled her tea when she heard a knock at the door. It was eleven thirty and fear rose within her as she went to answer it. She knew there was only one person it could be.

She had shoved herself into to the far end of the couch after letting her in, keeping their bodies a great distance apart. The only words that had been spoken were Luna offering her something to drink to which she declined. Then it fell silent. It took some time before Amber finally said, “I'm sorry, Sunyoung.”

That hung in the air for a few dry moments before she continued on, her eyes staring at the blank television screen.

“You can just forget it ever happened...I-I’ll never bring it up again.”

Luna turned this time, watching as she struggled to get out the right words. Looking at her, she felt that ping in her heart again, that jolt she couldn’t deny. She just had to ask.

“Are you...gay?”

Amber’s eyes darted towards hers. Steadily holding her gaze, she gave her a small nod.

She knew what the answer would be, yet confirmation of the fact made her shift in her seat.

“How do you know?”

“What?” Amber asked with a nervous gaze, “Are you really asking me-”

Luna shut her eyes, her voice pointed yet small. “How did you know that you were gay?”

Amber ran her fingers through her hair, confusedly staring at her again. She didn't know how to respond.

“I don't know...I just knew.”

“But how?” Luna pressed on.

“I don't know,” Amber somberly shook her head, sighing with discomfort,“By just...feeling something, I knew.”

She didn't think she could keep talking about this. It was just too difficult. She was just about to get up and leave, Luna's next words halting her in her spot.

“Does that mean I'm gay, too?” Her voice a quiet whisper, so faint that Amber thought it was her mind playing tricks on her.

“What?” She asked, staring at her again and finding her on the verge of tears. “Luna…”

“Because when you kissed me, I-I felt something, like I might…like I actually…”

“Luna,” Amber repeated again, her eyes wide, “Are you saying that-”

“Can you kiss me again?” Luna whispered, her hand shakily stretching out towards her.

“What? I-I don't think-”

“I just...I need to know. Please.”

Amber didn't think she'd ever seen such desperation in her eyes. She looked scared, and Amber felt scared, too, but there was something about her voice, her plea, that made her move closer.

Touching her-it didn't seem like she could. But then suddenly, Luna was just inches from her and she felt her hand rise on its own. It came to rest on her side, just above her hip, and it brought her closer. Amber watched as her eyes fell shut, lids fluttering in anticipation, waiting, asking her to make the first move. Amber didn’t know if she could, but when her gaze fell to her makeup free face, her natural beauty so breathtaking this close, she couldn't stop. Her eyes landed on her lips and a moment later she sealed the gap between them.

It wasn't some picture perfect kiss. It was awkward. Their noses bumped together and Amber had almost missed until finally their lips melded together. It was amazing. It was even better than she remembered.

Kissing her best friend. She was kissing her best friend. And she liked it.

Too soon Amber pulled away leaving Luna to remain still, eyes closed, teeth holding her bottom lip. She didn’t know what to do, but when she felt Amber slide her hands off her and move away, she knew she didn’t want her to. Hand darting out, she grabbed hers, holding it tightly.

That night, she was so happy that night. She was nervous and scared and confused but she happy. Thinking back to it brought her back to why it all began, why they were doing this, and how stupid she was being.

Amber woke up with a crick in her neck, twisting her body until she felt something against her leg. Looking up, she found Luna curled up uncomfortably against the other side of the couch. She sighed at the sight, sliding back against the armrest, the slight movement of her body jolting Luna awake.

She looked at Amber, noticing that she, too, was awake, and pulled her legs back into her chest.

“Why’d you come out here?” Amber asked quietly, her eyes adjusting to the dim light in the room from the lamps outside. She didn’t know what time it was, but it was early.

“I didn’t deserve the bed.”

“Luna…”

“I’m sorry, Amber,” she muttered as she pressed her face against her knees, features etched into a frown, “I’m just sorry.”

She didn’t say anything, giving Luna the time to continue on, to finally speak her mind. “I’ve shut you out and I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry. I always do something dumb like this and I feel like I don’t even deserve your forgiveness but…”

“I forgive you,” Amber said immediately and Luna glanced up, sitting straighter.

“I don’t deserve you.”

“Come here,” Amber opened her arms and Luna hesitated for a moment before springing into them. Amber leaned her head back as Luna’s body rested on top of her, her head pressed against her chest. She shifted to get more comfortable, her arms tightening around Luna’s torso.

She picked at her sleeve as she mumbled, “I’m so dumb, Amber.”

“No you’re not.”

“Yes I am.”

“Just know that you can talk to me. That you can tell me anything.”

“I just didn’t want to hurt you, Am, but look what I did.” Her voice got quieter and she pulled at her shirt again. She took a deep breath before she spoke again. “I’ve just been afraid of blaming you.”

“What?” Amber softly asked.

“My mother is disgusted by me. Our careers are in jeopardy. Our bandmates hate us. I’ve avoided you because I didn’t...I didn’t want to let myself blame you. Or be angry with you and ruin everything,”

She pulled back so that her head hovered over hers. “It sounds pretty dumb now, doesn’t it?” she laughed dryly at herself, “I just needed time and I went about it in such a stupid way and I should’ve just told you that. God, I’ve gone from being the tan idol to the bulky idol to the plastic surgery idol and now the gay one I guess. But who cares? I just didn’t want to..I just didn’t want to let everything that’s happening turn us against each other or something. I don’t know. I always do stupid stuff like this, don’t I? I’m not even making any sense.”

Amber reached up and brushed her hair out of her face and she sighed at the feeling. “I understand, Luna. I know it’s been hard, believe me I do. I understand.”

And she really did. Luna had always been the type to try and please everyone. With everything going on, it really made sense that she’d react this way, especially after she had a better idea of what happened with her mother. It made sense. And there’s no way she could be mad at her after that. It was late and more talking could come later.

A tired smile spread across Luna’s face and she brought her hand to cup Amber’s cheek. “I love you, Amber.”

“I love you, too, Sunyoung-ah.”

Bending down, she passionately captured Amber’s lips, a thorough kiss to make up for lost time. Amber pulled her tighter, their bodies turning until she eventually had Luna below her.

They’d be okay. No matter what else came their way, they’d be okay.