That Friday night, Kihyun’s parents willingly clear out of the house to give their son free reign over the house. If it were literally anyone else asking for such a privilege, they’d say no in a heartbeat. But, Kihyun is responsible. Kihyun is trustworthy. Kihyun knows how to handle his peers, and his entire class looks up to and respects him. Of course he wouldn’t do anything foolish in their absence.

So, once they leave for the weekend to visit some relatives, Kihyun sends the green light to his closest friends, and Jooheon’s knocking on his front door practically seconds later. The other two stand behind him, backpacks slung over their shoulders.

Kihyun flings the door open, grinning excitedly as he steps to the side to let them in. Jooheon steps close to him, eyes scanning their surroundings suspiciously despite the house being empty aside from them. He then slings his bag to the front and reaches slowly into it, pulling out a bottle of brown liquid for everyone to peek at.

“I’ve got the goods…” is all he says. Kihyun bursts out into a high-pitched, yelp of a laugh resembling a hyena, causing Jooheon to beam proudly from ear to ear.

“Take it all down to the basement,” Kihyun instructs them upon sobering up a bit. “The usual table should be fine.” Jooheon nods dutifully and grabs Changkyun by the arm, pulling him towards the typical party room. Hyunwoo follows behind, a dopey, father-like smile pulling at his lips. Kihyun sighs heavily, returning to the kitchen to resume food preparations.

He’s got a -ton of cooking to do, and he’s really feeling the pressure this party for everything to be perfect. He tells himself it’s because the entire school will be there, despite that being the typical turn-out for his victory parties, but he nags himself from the back of his mind about the real reason.

He can’t let Hyungwon eat sub-par food tonight. It’s his first time coming over to Kihyun’s house, after all. He’s gotta have a great first impression… Not that he cares what Hyungwon thinks of him or his house, or his cooking for that matter. Nope. Not at all…

It isn’t hard to figure out which house is Kihyun’s. As soon as Hyungwon and his friends turn down the end of the street, they can hear the base beat thumping through the road. There are kids pouring into a single house about midway down the street, and cars line the road on both sides.

“Guess we don’t need Changkyunnie’s directions anymore,” Minhyuk comments, sounding slightly amused as he slides his phone into his pocket.

“It’s a good thing we didn’t drive,” Hoseok mutters, pulling his coat tighter round himself. Hyungwon only hums in reply, his eyes flicking with an unreadable light. Minhyuk shares a knowing smirk with the older boy, though Hoseok seems more confused than anything.

Hyungwon then starts off at a brisker pace than before, his long legs carrying him at a pace which his friends have to lightly jog to keep up with. Though he’d never admit it in a million years, he’s more than a little excited about this.

Kihyun’s too busy playing the role of charismatic host to notice all the people pouring in and out of his own home. He’s grown deaf to the music long ago, and is just trying to make sure the snack table doesn’t run empty. Someone ordered pizza only an hour ago, and it was devoured within three seconds of its arrival.

Tomorrow, he won’t regret anything, but right now he’s questioning just why he’d even thought to do this in the first place. He’s a panicked mess, no thoughts of fun or relaxing within his mind.

But, all that changes when a hush falls over the masses.

“Is that…?”

“What’s he doing here?”

“Is he crashing?”

“Obviously. There’s no way Kihyun-sunbae would invite him.”

Kihyun doesn’t even have to look to see who it is they’re talking about in such low voices. He sets down the empty bowl in his hands, deciding for once to let someone else get the refill, and makes his way to the staircase. He meets the newly-arrived guest halfway, extending a hand and easily putting on his most disarming smile, dimples and all.

“I’m glad you could make it, Hyungwon-ah.”

Hyungwon chuckles softly, taking Kihyun’s hand and shaking it once.

“Thanks for the invite, I’m glad I could make it.”

The crowd below them slowly starts back up their own conversations, though now they’re all about one thing, and one thing only. Kihyun and Hyungwon’s hands remain clasped together, neither seeming to notice such a detail that has everyone chatting up a storm. Something unspoken passes between them, and Kihyun’s eyes twinkle with an unreadable light. Minhyuk and Hoseok stand by for a second, then two, before Minhyuk gets bored with the situation.

“Um,” Minhyuk suddenly interrupts, “sorry, but is Hyunwoo-sunbae here?”

“By the drinks and food,” Kihyun tells him, still looking only at Hyungwon. He’d never noticed how utterly pretty his eyes are before… Minhyuk mumbles a word of gratitude before pushing passed them and down to search for the one person he wants to see… and flirt with… and possibly make out with… and hopefully bond with on a more… intimate level~

“W-What about Changkyunnie?” Hoseok asks, taking Minhyuk’s lead. This time Kihyun does look away from Hyungwon, though doesn’t drop his hand. An action that doesn’t go unnoticed by the younger…

“He and Jooheonney should be starting their rap show any minute now,” Kihyun replies, giving Hoseok a relaxing smile. “They should be in the living room. You should go. He’s been asking about you for the past hour.”

“R-Really??” Hoseok stammers out. Kihyun nods once, and that’s all Hoseok needs to hear. He whirls about and sprints back up the stairs, his eyes aglow. Kihyun chuckles under his breath, glancing over at Hyungwon with an almost conspiratory smirk.

“Not really,” Kihyun reveals, earning a burst of laughter from his dongsaeng. The sound is music to Kihyun’s ears, and he can’t help but chuckle a little himself. He lowers their hands, but doesn’t pull away. His thumb begins to run over Hyungwon’s thin knuckles, and Hyungwon feels as if the wind is knocked out of him.

His heartbeat picks up, and his palms begin to sweat. He his lips nervously, remembering his dream from nights before… and how it’s been the only thing he could dream of all week…

“Do you wanna go talk somewhere?” Kihyun asks suddenly, pulling Hyungwon from his thoughts. The younger nods before he even thinks about it, and Kihyun turns to pull him up the stairs behind him. As they go through the ground level, sounds of a furious hip hop song bombard his ears, and he turns to just catch sigh of Jooheon and Changkyun putting on a concert of sorts… and Hoseok sitting in the front row with stars in his eyes.

For the first time since meeting the boy, Hyungwon begins to fathom just what that could feel like. He glances back to Kihyun as they start up the stairs to the second floor, and he chews on his bottom lip thoughtfully. Just what could he say to this boy he’s been fighting with for the past three years? ‘Hey, I like you and have wet dreams about you, so instead of talking can we make out?’ Yeah, no. That’s completely ridiculous.

They come to a stop in the hall, at the third door on the left, and Kihyun releases Hyungwon’s hand to pull a single silver key from his back pocket. Hyungwon raises up a single brow confusedly, and the older boy turns, smirking as if he can hear the silent question.

“I’m not having drunk strangers make out—or even screw—in my bedroom, Hyungwonnie,” he explains. “That’s just… disgusting.” A shudder goes through him at this, and Hyungwon can’t help but give a small laugh at how serious he is. He does his best to ignore how familiar it feels for Kihyun to refer to him as ‘Hyungwonnie’, and hopes that Kihyun continues to call him as such. It’s so much closer than Hyungwon-ah, he can’t help but feel a glimmer of hope from hearing it.

And that’s not even to mention what he feels when he realizes Kihyun has just admitted that they’re going to his bedroom ohmygod.

He pulls Hyungwon in and locks the door behind them, muttering some excuse about not wanting to be interrupted by drunk sophomores looking for a private room, and gestures for Hyungwon to take a seat. He does so, going over to the only piece of furniture in Kihyun’s room—his bed—and perches himself on the edge of it. Kihyun joins him, sitting so close their thighs brush together. He stares at the place they touch, a light pink dusting his cheeks.

“I know this will probably repulse you,” Kihyun says after a breath of silence, “but I’d like to call a truce between us. I realized something the other day behind that curtain, and it’s that I’m so tired of fighting with you, Hyungwonnie. It isn’t healthy for either of us at this point.”

“I agree,” Hyungwon answers after a moment, lifting his gaze to meet Kihyun’s slightly-surprised eyes. “In fact, I’d prefer it if we were b—friends… Just friends.”

Good save, Chae, Hyungwon tells himself sarcastically, watching carefully how the older boy’s mental wheels start turning. Really, that was the smoothest save in all the world. There’s absolutely no way he’d notice it…

It’s almost as if it happens in slow-motion then. A smirk makes its way across Kihyun’s sweet lips, and an eyebrow quirks up in a knowing smirk. Something flickers in his eyes as he begins to lean in closer, causing Hyungwon’s already-racing heart to practically jump from his chest. He comes so close Hyungwon can feel the older’s breath on his ear, and he almost yelps at the sensation.

God, he mentally chastises, you’re no better than some freshman girl… Get a hold of yourself man.

“Sounds good to me, Wonnie~”

Hyungwon’s practically shaking when Kihyun pulls away, and Kihyun can’t help but think that this night has turned most interesting indeed.