They were rolling down the grass covered hill. So fast they almost couldn't control their movements anymore. Bursts of laughter escaped from his mouth as he came to a standstill against Jinyoung's body.

"Ow" he heard Jinyoung huff "that's my stomach" he growled out. Mark noticed that his elbow was prodding Jinyoung's stomach.

"Sorry" he said while still laughing and removing his elbow. Jinyoung started laughing too. It must have been a strange picture. Two teenage boys lying on top of each other at the base of a hill laughing their hearts out. A hill they just rolled down.

To them it wasn't something strange. Ever since they were little they had done this and they still came here often. They would just sit on top of the hill and when they got bored they would roll down. 

Their parents had become friends when he had moved to Korea. It had been terrible because he barely spoke Korean, but Jinyoung had immediately made him feel at home. They had had fun with learning each other's languages and trying to communicate without speaking one another's language. They had been seven and had been friends ever since.

Now they both spoke each other's language fluently and language wasn't a barrier anymore. Nothing really was a barrier. Mark remembered the promise he had made to Jinyoung when they were seven. They would always tell each other everything, no matter how bad, no matter how difficult. He had never broken that promise. Or well, technically he hadn't.

"Mark" Jinyoung said. He hummed.

"You'll always tell me everything right" Jinyoung asked. He often asked, mostly when they came back to the hill. And for eleven years his answer had been the same.

"Yes" he said. He didn't tell Jinyoung that he should know that by now. That wasn't why he asked. Jinyoung didn't need confirmation he just wanted to make sure Mark remembered.

Mark rolled onto his back and put his arms under his head. He and Jinyoung lay next to each other looking at the clouds.
~
Today he found himself in the same position but Jinyoung wasn't next to him. He looked at the clouds remembering that time. He sighed, it was one of the countless times he had made that promise to Jinyoung. Jinyoung had never promised him the same. 

He had never thought it necessary for Jinyoung to do the same, he had always known that Jinyoung would tell him everything. Now he wasn't so sure of that anymore.

Lately Jinyoung had been acting strange. He had closed himself off a little. For others it might not be noticeable but to Mark is was very clear that Jinyoung wasn't being himself. He had been avoiding Mark's eyes and they hadn't seen each other as often as they usually did. He hadn't asked him anything, thinking that Jinyoung would tell him, but Jinyoung had done no such thing. 

Not yet. Mark thought to himself. He'll tell you what's wrong when he's ready, you always tell each other everything. But somewhere deep down he was doubting even his own thoughts. He recalled every time Jinyoung had told him something, or more like every time Jinyoung had tried to hide something from him. He chuckled. Jinyoung knew very well that he couldn't hide anything from Mark, but still he always tried.

With some prying Mark mostly got Jinyoung to talk, but never had he come to Mark with something himself. He sighed again. He didn't mind, it's just the way it worked, but this time it felt more serious, like he was trying to hide it from Mark in particular. He sighed again. He really had to stop sighing. He decided to get up and go back home.
~
He tapped his pencil on the table anxiously. He looked up from his book to the seat in front of him. There was no one there. Again.

Usually he and Jinyoung would come to the library to study together, but today Jinyoung had again cancelled their plans. He felt anxious and uncomfortable without Jinyoung around and he kept wishing Jinyoung would just appear all of a sudden.

He sighed. Not being around Jinyoung as often as usual made him realize how much he needed him around. It made him realize how much he loved Jinyoung's personality, his laugh, his stupid jokes and weird habits. How much he loved Jinyoung. He had known that he was gay ever since he was fifteen and had told Jinyoung about it too. Jinyoung had been okay with it but he didn't know Mark had also fallen for him.

He was restless. He hated it that he couldn't figure out what was going on with Jinyoung and hated it even more that Jinyoung wouldn't tell him. He groaned and dropped his head on his book, there was no way he was going to be able to concentrate now. He packed his books, got up and left. 

When he got home he dropped himself on his bed. He looked outside. The weather seemed to be a representation of his mood. Dark clouds and the threat of rain in the air. Suddenly he heard his mom call out to him from downstairs.

"Mark there is someone at the door for you" she yelled. He sighed and got up dragging himself down the stairs. There he saw Jinyoung standing in the door holding a bunch of sweaters. His mom was just telling him to come in but Jinyoung seemed reluctant. Eventually he came in. His mom left and Mark got closer.

"Hi" Jinyoung said not looking at Mark "I came to return these" he said while sticking out the sweaters towards Mark. They all looked familiar, probably because they were his.

"I told you you could keep those" Mark said not taking the sweaters. He had told Jinyoung he could keep a few of his sweaters because Jinyoung liked them so much. It was strange Jinyoung all of a sudden wanted to get rid of them so badly.

"I just- I just don't want them anymore" Jinyoung said agitated like he was really uncomfortable. Mark got more annoyed by Jinyoung's behaviour by the second. Jinyoung wouldn't talk to him and now he was acting so strange. It made him feel as though they were going through a break up. He thought they were best friends, that they told each other everything.

"Yeah sure" he said irritated while taking the sweaters back "and of course you can leave as quickly as possible now that you're done here" he said sarcastically. Jinyoung looked up at him with a straight face but hurt visible in his eyes. Jinyoung made a turn and opened the door but was immediately thrown back by strong bolts of air. His mom suddenly came running in and closed the door.

"Oh Jinyoung dear, you can't go out. There is a storm coming up and they advised everyone to stay inside. You can sleep here, that's not a problem. I'll call you two down when diner is ready" his mom said with a kind smile, not at all noticing the tense atmosphere. Whe she had left for the kitchen Jinyoung looked up at him with an uncomfortable look on his face.

"You can stay here with mom. I'll prepare your bed upstairs" Mark said coldly not even waiting for a reply and leaving immediately. He was done with Jinyoung's behaviour. He felt violated, he had always trusted Jinyoung and he got this in return. 

It had never bothered him this much but it had been over two weeks and Jinyoung's behaviour was only getting worse and worse. He didn't know what to do anymore and he felt like all he could do now was give up. But he also felt like giving up now meant losing Jinyoung forever. 

After a while of preparing a bed for Jinyoung his mom called him down for diner. He silently slid into a seat next to his mom.

"Where were you honey, Jinyoung has been here all alone" his mom asked while giving him some food.

"Just preparing Jinyoung's bed" he said while quickly taking a bite to hide the awkwardness.

"But you always sleep in the same bed" his mom said. She looked from him to Jinyoung and back. "There's nothing going on between you two is there?" She asked.

"Because if there is, you two better solve it. You have been friends for as long as we've been here and you've never had a problem, so whatever it is, one of you better open up" she said scoldingly. "Now let's eat" she said with a smile. The rest of the diner was spent in silence.

"Now you two can go upstairs, I'll clean up here" his mom said when they were done eating. He got up and left for his room not even checking if Jinyoung was following him. He got changed in his bathroom and crawled into his bed. All he wanted to do was sleep and avoid talking to Jinyoung. He missed Jinyoung but he felt like Jinyoung had created a distance between the two of them and that Jinyoung had to close that again.

He heard Jinyoung change as well and saw him crawling into he bed he had prepared for him.

After a couple of minutes the sky suddenly burst open and cracks of thunder could be heard. The storm had started and flashes of lightning lit up the room. Mark got up to close the window. He heard Jinyoung shiver. He knew Jinyoung was afraid of thunder and lightning and heavy storms in general. 

"Are you okay" he asked still standing by the window.

"Yeah I'm fine" he heard Jinyoung choke out. He sighed and just crawled back into his bed.

"Mark" he heard Jinyoung say. He hummed.
"You'll always tell me everything right" he asked. And this time it didn't sound like he was just reminding Mark, this time it felt like he was actually asking. His heart ached, now he felt like Jinyoung didn't trust him even more.

"Yes Jinyoung" was all he said. He wanted to say many more things but decided against it. A new bolt of lightning flashed through the room.

"Okay" he heard Jinyoung say in a small voice. He sighed and climbed out of bed. He lowered himself onto the ground and crawled into Jinyoung's bed. He put his arms around Jinyoung and pulled him closer.

"What are you doing" Jinyoung asked, but Mark felt him relax in his arms.

"I know you're afraid of storms" he said. Jinyoung burried his face in Mark's neck, too afraid to think of the reason he was avoiding Mark. Mark didn't feel uncomfortable but for some reason it felt wrong. The miscommunication between them made it feel wrong. They were acting like little kids and had to talk this out, but Mark didn't want to be the person to give in first again, he wasn't going to pry at Jinyoung to make this work again.
~
He woke up in Mark's arms. He hated to say it but he felt so save and happy and loved, everything he had avoided feeling for the past couple of weeks. Yes he had been avoiding Mark. He had just come to the conclusion that he loved his best friend as more than just a friend and had immediately chickened out.

He looked up to Mark's sleeping face. The older looked peaceful, nothing like the constant worry and irritation Jinyoung had seen on his face lately. It was tough avoiding his best friend. He terribly missed him and his personality in every way but seeing him made his feelings like, ten times stronger.

He sighed and closed his eyes again.

"If only I had the guts to tell you how much I actually love you" he whispered. There, he did it, he said it. This just didn't really count. He felt Mark's arms tighten around him and he snuggled a little closer. For now he would allow himself to enjoy the moment. He heard the rain softly fall on the rooftop and drifted back to sleep.
~
He was shocked. He had to try very hard not to respond to what Jinyoung had just said and just tightened his arms around him a little more. Unconsciously he smiled a little. Jinyoung had been avoiding him, ignoring him, but now it made sense.

He realized that this must be terribly hard for Jinyoung. Mark had always pried at him until he spoke up, now he had done it all by himself, or well sort of. He felt warmth spread through his whole body starting from his stomach. He was already happy that Jinyoung wasn't angry at him in any way. He just hated it that Jinyoung seemed to be so insecure. He wanted Jinyoung to trust him. 

On the other hand he could understand. He had never told Jinyoung he loved him either. Just because he was scared, and probably, Jinyoung was too. It was something else than telling someone they were your best friend. And he had never wanted to lose Jinyoung so he never went that way.

He opened his eyes and saw that Jinyoung had already fallen asleep again. He decided to just enjoy the moment for now. Maybe he would say something tomorrow, maybe he wouldn't. He would worry about that tomorrow. It was still raining and the sound of the rain had something soothing to it. He closed his eyes, now a lot happier than before.
~
When he woke up Jinyoung was no longer in his arms. He heard him bustling in the bathroom and smiled a little. Maybe he should take it a little easy on Jinyoung and not act so annoyed towards him. He understood that he might not want to tell him, but he could act a little nicer anyway. He looked outside to see it was still raining.

He heard the door of the bathroom open and saw Jinyoung coming out now fully dressed. When he saw Mark his expression immediately got a little more guarded. Most people wouldn't have noticed the change, but to Mark,  even the most subtle of changes was visible.

"Good morning" he said quietly. Jinyoung's expression changed to a suprise one.

"Good morning" he stuttered back. Mark smiled at him slightly.

"Look, sorry if I've been a little prickly lately. I just want you to know that you can tell me anything okay. So whatever is going on, if you want to tell someone, I'll always listen" he said. Jinyoung's expression went through a lot of changes, from relieved and glad to guilty and even a little sad.

"Yes I know" Jinyoung said "I should go. The storm is over, I'll survive a little rain" he said making his way to the door. He didn't understand. He had just made very clear to Jinyoung that he could trust him and now he was still avoiding him.

"Jinyoung, hey" he called out to him but he had already gone downstairs. He got up and chased after Jinyoung. He heard the door close and quickly followed outside. Rain came pouring down on him.

"Jinyoung" he called out to him again. Jinyoung turned around and if Mark wasn't mistaken he could see tears in his eyes, but maybe it was just the rain.

"What" Jinyoung asked. Mark almost got annoyed again but he bit down his anger. He got a little closer to Jinyoung and grabbed his hands.

"Please just tell me what's going on" he pleaded "I miss you" he admitted. He was throwing everything out there and Jinyoung just had to take it. He hoped that he would.

"I can't. You'd hate me" Jinyoung said.

"Remember what you promised me" Mark said, reminding Jinyoung of the promise he had kept for over ten years.

"I never promised it back" Jinyoung confirmed Mark's fear. It was true, he had never actually promised it too.

"Then why not" Mark asked. He wasn't going to let Jinyoung go this easily. He knew Jinyoung was just trying to get away from him now.

"I just can't" Jinyoung said while looking down "I admire you for how much you trust me, but I just can't promise I will be the same" he said.

He understood him. Not everyone easily promised something and he was glad Jinyoung had not promised it when he wasn't sure whether he was going to keep his promise.

"There is something I have never told you" Mark admitted "something I should have told you" he continued. He was really throwing everything out there right now. Jinyoung looked up at him with a suprised look on his face.

"I love you" he said, rain dripping down his head and into his neck. He saw the little drops run down Jinyoung's face as his expression changed.

"Did you hear what I said" he asked in suprise. Mark nodded with a sheepish smile.

"You really love me back" Jinyoung asked. He nodded again. Jinyoung's face broke into a huge smile, but then it fell again.

"I'm sorry for avoiding you and ignoring you and-" Mark interrupted him by putting his lips on Jinyoung's. He felt Jinyoung stiffen but then he slowly gave in to the kiss. He smiled through the kiss. He understood Jinyoung but he was also very glad that Jinyoung finally opened up to him. Or well, sort of. He felt rain dripping from his face onto Jinyoung's and then realized that they were being soaked by rain. He carefully pulled away.

"I love you" Jinyoung said his forehead still connected to Mark's. He smiled brightly.

"I love you too, but I wouldn't want you to get sick" he said and pulled Jinyoung back inside.

"Oh God you're soaked" Jinyoung said as he saw Mark.

"Same goes for you" he asnwered. Jinoung chuckled.

"Romantic" Jinyoung said. He laughed a little.

"Lets go and get changed. I'll give you some dry clothes. Maybe one of my sweaters?" He said while still chuckling a little. Jinyoung looked up at him with a guilty look on his face.

"They smell like you and I just couldn't" he admitted. Mark laughed. They went upstairs and got changed and then went down to finally have breakfast. Without noticing it Jinyoung had grabbed his hand. They entered the kitchen together, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his mother in the kitchen. He had not thought of this. His mother's eyes shot from their hands to their faces. Then her face broke into a wide smile.

"Finally" she said. He looked at Jinyoung and Jinyoung looked back at him wearing the same expression.

"Come on, I made you breakfast" she said while waving them towards the table. They looked at each other and they both started laughing.