"Why is that here?"

               Donghae revs his engine, laughing merrily at the sour expression the thunderous sound inflicts upon Eunhyuk's face, twisting his mournful gaze just a shade past sour.

               "As much as my heart quickens at the sight of your lovely thighs hugging the curves of that wicked devil you call a bike, I'm calling an Uber," Eunhyuk says, taking a very measured step away from the curb.

               "Oh, come on Eunhyuk," Donghae goads, offering the spare helmet like it's an olive branch. "I know you don't like motorcycles but there's a game downtown, not to mention it's Valentine's Day and this is the fastest way to cut through the traffic. Besides, I told you I was on my bike and if you made me drive all the way out here for nothing by calling an Uber, I won't pick up the next time you call."

               Eunhyuk knew Donghae was bluffing. He'd been threatening to break up their friendship since grade school whenever Eunhyuk did something to piss him off and yet here they were, years later and still friends (despite Eunhyuk's best efforts).

               "Yeah," Eunhyuk says with more than a hint of exasperation. "I thought you meant your bike, as in your bicycle—you know, the one you have to peddle—the one that doesn't wake the entire neighborhood, scaring small dogs and young children every time you use it? The one you use to grab beer from the corner shop whenever I'm too lazy to go myself? The one you use on our trips to the beach where you take pictures of sunsets and other useless things you can find on any standard postcard—you know, that bike? I thought you'd go home, grab a car like any other sane person and then come pick me up."

               "What do you have against motorcycles anyway?" Donghae asks, feigning innocence and Eunhyuk wonders if he's ever used his puppy dog eyes for anything other than evil.

               "Aside from the fact that when we crash—which we will—there is all keeping me from being tossed 50ft in the air and skidding to a halt where half of my skin is sheared off before being run over by every car on the road? Absolutely nothing," Eunhyuk says, answering his own question. "They're perfectly acceptable modes of transportation, aside from that one little drawback, of course."

               Donghae stares back at Eunhyuk with a dim expression and then shakes the proffered helmet a little, as though this was a perfectly acceptable counterargument. If Eunhyuk wasn't so cold and tired and fed up with life in general at the moment, he would be insulted. As it were, he was more eager to get gone than anything else. Valentine's Day wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

               Eunhyuk grabs the helmet, begrudgingly, but not before glowering at the other. "You're lucky you're cute. If you weren't, our friendship would have ended long ago," he says as he climbs aboard to straddle Donghae from behind.

               "Oh, so that's why it's been so hard to get rid of you," Donghae quips and Eunhyuk kisses the nape of his neck in reply before he dons his helmet. It was just a light peck but Donghae's muscled back spasms enough where Eunhyuk knows he felt it, through and through.

               He's mentally hi-fiving himself when Donghae turns around to help secure Eunhyuk's helmet, tapping the top of it with a bit too much force once he's done. "Keep it up lover boy, especially if you want to crash," Donghae warns with the sweetest of smiles.

               Eunhyuk smiles back through his tinted visor, unable to resist such a sight before raising his hands in the air as a sign of mock surrender. Donghae looks uncertain, his smile adopting a smirking quality before he shakes his head and turns around to put his own helmet on.

               Eunhyuk hates motorcycles, but even he has to admit that there is one clear advantage that the two wheeled beasts hold over their four wheeled counterparts—skinship. Eunhyuk decides to exploit this advantage. He slides in as close to the curve of Donghae's as his body will allow, gliding his hands along the expanse of Donghae's back and down his muscled arms before locking them securely around his midsection in a shameless display of intimacy. Donghae quickly elbows him and only then does Eunhyuk slide back a little, but only a little—he still wants to live.

               The ride home is a blur of lights, muffled sounds and the mind numbing effects of the engine's steady vibration. By the time the motorcycle is parked and Eunhyuk is safely home, his knuckles are stiff and white from their vice like grip around Donghae, having cut off all circulation to his extremities and his legs wobble with uncertainty, feeling like they've spent the last year at sea. When the helmet is removed he can feel his hair fan out in every direction, while his cheeks are hot and misshapen from the protective cushioning inside.  He's pretty sure he looks wrecked because he feels destroyed. The tables are reversed when Donghae removes his helmet, and he looks as though he's been ripped from the pages of a magazine; hair, leather jacket and distressed jeans tussled in all the right places. It's insulting is what it is.

               "I thank you for the ride but never again, my friend, never again."

               Donghae barks a laugh. "Ah, don't be such a baby. It wasn't that bad."

               Eunhyuk glares. "Is it normal if I can't feel my toes?"

               Donghae laughs again and it's almost enough to put Eunhyuk's nerves at ease...almost.

               "Drinks?" he asks, knowing Donghae wasn't much of a drinker but he had to ask. He didn't want the night to end. It was Valentine's Day and his date, who wasn't bad on the eyes, had still been dull beyond belief. Donghae would be a more than adequate substitution, even if all they ended up doing was watching bad foreign romances all night.  

               Donghae shakes his head but Eunhyuk can see the hesitancy in it. "Can't. I have a meeting tomorrow morning that I should finish prepping for. How about a rain check?"

               "Oh, come on," Eunhyuk insists, spinning on his heels. "You owe me for the many years you just took off my life. The least you could do is stay for one measly drink. I'll make it really weak, so weak a baby could drink it." Eunhyuk wasn't going to take no for an answer, finishing his words mid walk and only stopping at the gate to punch in his key code. Sure enough, he could hear Donghae's footfalls follow close behind.

               "I fear the day you have kids."

               "So do I," Eunhyuk answers with a twitch of his brow, holding the door open for Donghae.

               The walk down the narrow corridor is brief, the carpeted halls lending to quiet footsteps and ease of thought. "It's been a while since you were here, no?" Eunhyuk asks in curiosity, slowing to fall in step with Donghae.

               Donghae exhales a puff of laughter. "I was here last month. Glad I made such a lasting impression."

               Eunhyuk frowns, having no recollection of his visit.

               "Don't think so hard. I doubt you'd remember. You were drunk, and you're welcome by the way." Donghae lets him off the hook, and if he's just a little too smug about it, Eunhyuk won't count it against him.

               They stop in front of Eunhyuk's door where he keys in the entry. When the door opens he's awash in the dim light of the foyer and the familiar scents of home, or whatever glade plug-in he was using at the time.

               "It smells like a rainforest in here, or is a tropical breeze? Spring rain, maybe?" Donghae hazards a guess as he toes off his own boots, flipping them carelessly against the wall's footboards. Once upon a time they were roommates and although Eunhyuk learned to put up with Donghae's messy tendencies, he'd be lying if he said the familiar lack of decorum didn't make him a little sentimental.

               "I think it's Desert Rain, actually, and try not to punch a hole in my wall with those thick shoes of yours."

               Donghae's mumbled apology is insincere and forgotten the moment it leaves his tongue. Eunhyuk clicks his own tongue in annoyance but Donghae's already half way to the kitchen before Eunhyuk is finished hanging their coats.

               "New Years?" Eunhyuk asks, catching up to his best friend. He grabs two glasses, a bottle of whiskey and soda before taking the seat next to him at the island counter. 

               "Bingo," Donghae responds, swirling the brown colored liquid in his crystal tumbler. "You wer