The park was quiet, a little bit past when everyone was out playing sports and lounging in the sun. They walked along a small trail that lead them through huge, blooming bushes of large leaves and vibrantly coloured flowers. Trees overhead created a long archway, casting them in broken shadows so clips of light danced over their skin as they walked.

They found themselves by a small secluded stream and sat together on a wooden bench there, hands tucked in pockets and neither looking at the other. A gentle, warm breeze ruffled their hair and filled the foliage with whispers. A bird jumped out from beneath a bush and bounced, light and tentative, across the ground. Daehyun watched it until it fluttered away.

“I'm sorry about what happened at the party,” Jongup started, surprising the older.

Daehyun stared at him. “Huh?”

“I freaked out and ran off without talking to you and it made everything weird. Sorry. I shouldn't have-”

“What? No!” daehyun cut in, “Jongup, you don't have to apologise for anything! I pushed you too fast and didn't think. I treated you like I only wanted you for a one-night thing but that's not true, I was just being drunk and stupid. I really like you and I shouldn't have done that and I'm a huge, dumb loser for doing that and I'm really, really sorry.”

Jongup blinked, mouth still open. “But-”

“Jongup, it wasn't your fault. It wasn't you, it was me. You have every right to be mad at me.” He looked down and frowned, “Can we please start again? I want to date you, and I hope you want to date me too and this time I want to start it properly and I want to treat you right.”

Jongup didn't speak for a moment, startled into muteness. It wasn't until he could see Daehyun squirming with nerves that he spoke. “I... Yeah, I want to date you too,” he eventually managed, and felt a bit silly for how bluntly he said it.

Daehyun let out a relieved breath. “Oh! Okay! Good.”

“But, um... You can't do... that.. to me. We can't do /that/.”

“Okay, yeah we'll go slow-”

“No, no Daehyun.” He held up his hands, nerves eating his insides. He swallowed hard and pushed himself to say the words: “I can't do anything like that ever.”

Daehyun blinked. “Oh. Can... Can I ask why?”

Jongup felt his hands shaking a little. “I don't want to.”

Daehyun opened his mouth a little then closed it.

Jongup felt his whole body shake now, already feeling everything fall apart. “I- I just can't, okay? Never. I get if you don't want to date me after this but I can't pretend to be okay with something I'm not.” He set his hands in his lap and gripped the hem of his own shirt, looking away. “If you don't want to deal with this you can just leave now, I don't want to have to hear you say it.”

He waited in silence, knuckles whitening as he clenched them. Out of the corner of his eye he could still see Daehyun's knees. They shifted, slightly, and his heart sank, but then stayed where they were. He looked up slowly to see Daehyun frowning a little. His breath caught in his throat.

“Jongup, I don't know what kind of guy you think I am but I'm not just going to march off just because I can't get my wet. I really, really like you and right now I'm not even thinking about weather or not I'm gonna sleep with you. I wanna, I dunno, go to coffee shops with you and hold your hand and play video games with you and cuddle and- and- I dunno! Stuff like that! I dunno what I'll be like further down the road but right now I don't care. I just want to be with you and make you happy because you have a really cute smile and I like it when you laugh. So, yeah, I'm not going anywhere because why wouldn't I want to date you? The fact you're even giving me a second chance after I tried to do something you're not comfortable with is blowing my mind enough.” He took a breath as he finished his rant, then froze.

Tears were rolling down Jongup's face.

“Ah! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. , I'm sorry!”

“No- no it's not you!” Jongup raised his hands to rub his face, “I- I'm jut not used to this and I've never- never had anyone say stuff like that...” He dried his face quickly and took a shaky breath, trying to stem down the overflow of emotion. “I'm just- You don't know how much any of that means to me.”

“S-so... So are we still going to date? Do you still want to date me?” Daehyun asked tentatively.

“Of course I do,” Jongup half laughed, clearing his face, “now cuddle me before I get too awkward.”

Daehyun let out a loud, happy yell and threw his arms around Jongup, pulling him into a tight hug and burying his face against his cheek. “You're so cute!”

Jongup felt his face heat up, arms wrapping around Daehyun's middle. He could feel the older boy's lips against his cheek, moving as a grin crossed his face.

Daehyun pulled back jut enough to look at Jongup's face, delighted by the pink that had spread across his features. “Can I kiss you?” He watched the pink turn to red and felt a rush of satisfaction.

“Y-yeah, if you want to.”

“Of course I do!”

It was different to their first kiss. Daehyun's hands cupped Jongup's jaw, fingers brushing the back of his neck. Jongup's hands settled on Daehyun's shoulders, curling in the fabric a little. Their lips met gently, moving slowly against each other as they got to know each other's mouths.

It ended maybe too soon, but Daehyun didn't pull away. Their foreheads brushed together, both grinning and laughing nervously.

“Sorry for thinking you'd be the type of person who'd walk away,” Jongup said quietly.

“Sorry for ever giving you the impression that I might.” Daehyun smiled and felt a warmth bloom inside him as Jongup did the same. “Should we go somewhere else or..?”

“Nah, it's nice here. Good for a first date.”

“So this is a date?”

“Isn't everything a date once you start dating?”

“I like the idea of that.” Daehyun grinned.

They both laughed, cuddled close to each other and settled themselves more comfortably, Jongup's head on Daehyun's shoulder and Daehyun's arm around his waist. They stayed there until the shadows grew long and faded into the evening darkness.