Ken just lays there. He hates it.

They have been rehearsing for 8 hours now, and still, he is not able to memorise the steps.

He bumped into N, even stumbled over Hongbin, and forgot his solo on 2 occasions.

The other members didn’t say anything of course, even encouraged him to not give up and tried to cheer him up, although he saw that they were getting tired of this.

He breathes in.

Why is he the worst dancer in VIXX? Why can’t he just memorize the choreo as fast as the others and finally be done with it?

Ugh…

„Ottokaji…” he mutters under his breath, more like a chant than actually asking himself. He closes his eyes. He feels his hair sticking to his sweaty forehead.

Ravi left the practise room to get them something to drink, and he hates that he has to bother him again, to practise with him again, while the others left for their dorm again. But Ravi is one of the main dancers, and has all the patience in the world with Ken.

Thankful, he sighs.

It’s suddenly so silent he thinks, as all the members, save for Ravi and him, have left the jellyfish building, and he feels the weight of the hour on his shoulders.

22:47.

He sighs for the second time. Pull yourself together.

Suddenly, from another room, he hears nails scratching the wooden surface of the floor, and the sound is coming closer, echoes in the corridor, then reaches the practice room.

Through the almost closed door, squeezes through, and breathes loudly as he roams the big practise room, running around happily, halting at his image in the mirror.

„?” Ken just asks the dog, as if the small pug will give any kind of answer. just stares at his reflection and doesn’t do much, as if he does not know what to do.

„! , come here!” Ravi suddenly stands in the door, with a bowl of food in his hand.

„Sorry, wanted to refill his bowl and woke him up. Now he is wide awake,” smiles Ravi apologetically.

sees Ravi in the mirror and almost starts running towards him, but then realises Ravi’s voice comes from the back, and turns around. He runs past Ken and directly to Ravi, who puts the bowl down for him to feed.

„Jeez, you’re acting like you are starving.” Ravi watches as tries to swallow down more than his mouth can hold, and shakes his head. Ken doesn’t move much and follows with his eyes, laughing softly.

„Jaehwanie, you always see me feeding him well, don’t deny it.”

Ken smiles.

„ will be overweight by the time we have our comeback,” Ken jokes, but Ravi frowns, taking this more seriously.

„You think?” Ravi asks, as he folds his arms in front of him.

„He is still a baby, how fat can he get?” Ken continues, still not serious.

„Hmm…”

„Still growing,” Ken adds.

„Hm.”

„Shiki, I was just joking. I think he is perfectly fine. I mean, look at him!”

As if on command looks up to Ravi’s face and his own nose, then trots to Ken, wiggling with his tail.

„Ottokaji?” Ken asks again, when the small pug comes up to his face and starts sniffing.

„Oh, please don’t m-!” Ken warns but soon finds his face full of the dog’s saliva and… the smell of dogfood.

„-„ Ravi comes to Ken’s rescue, picking up the small doggo.

„Sorry, wait.” Ravi takes with him to one of the drawers and pulls out a pack of wet wipes. He returns to Ken and offers him some.

„I have no problem with his kisses, but the dog food-„ Ken begins and laughs, then wipes his face, “is a completely different story.”

“He just loves you too much…” Ravi tries to explain, and takes the wipe away when he sees that Ken is done.

“No more kisses, ok?” Ravi tells , and lets him down when he starts to whimper. walks to the mirror again and just sits in front of it, starting a staring game with his reflection.

Ravi throws away the wipe and hears Ken laugh softly in the back, and turns around to find Ken leaning on his hand, smiling playfully. His head slides down his palm and he lays his face on the wooden floor, not caring much about if it’s dirty or not, and keeps on looking at Ravi.

“But I like his kisses… Don’t scold him too much,” he finally says, pouting cutely.

Ravi smiles back at him, and approaches Ken, kneels down and sits next to him. He leans over to Ken, and starts picking at Ken’s neck, and the older lets him.

Ken’s eyes flutter shut, and he relaxes visibly.

“Cute…”

“Hmm…”

Ravi lays down next to him, his head on one of his arms, face to face with Ken. His fingers travel from Ken’s neck to his ear and caress it, and his thumb draws small circles over the shell of his ear.

“Ottokaji…” Ken murmurs, and almost forgets that he is on the wooden floor, and not on his bed or on the sofa in the dorm.

“Jaehwanie…”

Ken opens his eyes, and finds Ravi a few centimetres away. Proximity is something they both never had a problem with.

But Ken swallows. He briefly looks away, then locks eyes with Ravi.

“Wonshik… I’m sorry that I keep on messing up the choreo… I want to get better… I really do. And I will. Promise. Pinky promise.”

“Jaehwanie, I know… Don’t sweat it,” Ravi tries to reassure him, and smiles warmly at him.

“But I keep on occupying you, I bet you have way better things to do that babysit me.” Ken says, and puts his lips into a thin line.

“But I don’t mind, really…” Ravi cups Ken’s face, still smiling fondly. “It means more time that I can spend with you…”

Ken doesn’t know what to respond to this, and just smiles weakly.

“Wonshiki… You make me blush… “ He laughs gently, and the smile finally reaches his eyes, taking away some of his tiredness.

Ravi moves a little closer, and puts a strain of hair behind Ken’s ear.

“I have all the time in the world for our ‘cute main vocal Ken’…” Ravi coos, and Ken feels his heart skip a beat.

“O-ottokaji?” Ken stumbles over his catchphrase, and sees how Ravi’s face changes expression. It’s full of adoration.

“So cute…” Ravi almost giggles, and crawls even closer, so close Ken can feel his breath on his skin.

“Ottokaji…” he mutters again, and feels his heart beating faster. Ravi’s hand moves from his hair to his face again, and his thumb caresses his cheek, and then reaches his mouth, tracing his lips gently, eyes never leaving Ken. He tries to breathe evenly.

“Too cute…” Ravi hums, and it looks like he leans in, coming closer to Ken’s lips, but then his arm reaches a round Ken’s back, and he draws him into a hug, leaving Ken puzzled.

Ken just blinks.

His heart is about to burst.

Ravi was…

Ravi was just about to kiss him, wasn’t he?

“Cute…” murmurs Ravi yet again, drawing circles on Ken’s back, and Ken stays in his embrace for a moment, immobile. Ravi smells of deodorant and dog he notices, even though his thoughts seem to be all over the place.

Ken wiggles free, driven by his balled-up heart, and raises up, starring down on Ravi. His ears are fiery red, and his eyes look bewildered.

Ravi giggles.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asks, pretending to be oblivious.

“Were you… were you just…”

“Hm?”

“Wonshik, don’t play dumb…”

“Why, what did I do?” Ravi rises his eyebrows, looking kind of funny wouldn’t it be for the situation.

“You…” he swallows down the rest of the question, not sure in that very moment if he imagined things.

Did he…? Or is his mind tricking him?

Ken seems stuck on his words.

“Jaehwanie, why so shy all of a sudden…” Ravi teases, and mutters “cute” again when he sees Ken frowning, searching for words.

Ken furrows his browns, and reaches over Ravi, and pins him down by his hands. Ravi didn’t expect it, and just watches Ken, waiting for what he has to say. He raises his eyebrows again in a question.

“You… you were about to kiss me…”

Ravi’s eyes widen, but then his expression gets more serious. Yet, he does not look away.

“Sorry if I gave away that impression…” Ravi says, but…

But doesn’t sound earnest.

Ken doesn’t move.

No.

He is lying. Ravi was about to kiss him. Ravi is lying. He knows it.

Ravi’s voice was tinted with sadness just now, and his expression says more than he thinks he is able to hide.

Ken is sure.

He is lying.

Ravi is lying.

His fingers wrap around Ravi’s wrists properly, cuffing the younger.

He gulps down the lump in his throat, and the voice in his head shouts at him to act already.

“What if I kiss you now?”

Ravi’s eyes widen at the proposal, and he stares at his hyung, not saying a thing. He is quick to pull himself together again, not wanting to give away much.

“Ah Jaehwanie, stop joking around…” he says and looks away, as he tries to escape Ken’s grip. But Ken’s grip doesn’t falter. Ravi looks back up at Ken.

“I’m… I’m not joking.” Ken finally speaks up. Ken swallows, and Ravi can see his adam’s apple move up and down.

“Then kiss me.” Ravi bravely demands, and a little blush creeps up his face.

Ken blinks two times, three times. Did he just hear things right?

Ravi swallows visibly too, and the room suddenly feels too big for them, Ken and Ravi’s heart’s too loud in their ears, the atmosphere pregnant with anticipation.

Ken slowly leans down, leaning on his arms on either side of Ravi, and hesitates a little.

Ravi’s lids suddenly feel heavy under Ken’s gaze, and he closes his eyes, waiting for Ken to finally meet his lips.

Is this actually happening?

Ken closes his eyes too, astonished at his own bravery.

What he is about to do, has been often the subject of his dreams.

Ken finally reaches Ravi’s lips, and kisses tenderly, his plush lips moving shyly over Ravi’s, and Ravi kisses back just as softly, enjoying the warmth and affection Ken purrs into this kiss. Ken’s grip on Ravi’s wrist loosens, and their hearts are pounding so loudly in their chests, they can feel each others’ beat when their chests touch when Ken leans on him. With the last nip at Ravi’s bottom lip, Ken just lingers for a moment, before he separates their lips again, and a tiny string of saliva forms and drops the moment Ken notices it.

He catches Ravi’s gaze, and has to hold back not to steal a second kiss, approach it differently and draw it out, get more out of Ravi.

He bites his lip. Oh, this was just not enough...

As if Ravi read Ken’s thoughts, he rises up and pushes Ken softly down, pinning the older down in return now. He smiles, and Ken watches him flustered.

“Now, let me kiss you…”

It’s now Ken’s turn for his eyes to widen, and he inhales audibly through his open mouth, fingers forming fists out of nerves.

Times seems to pass in slow motion as it is Ravi now hovering over him and leaning down, and the last thing he sees is Ravi’s lashes at the end of his closed eyelids, and then Ravi’s mouth before... before their lips meet again.

Ravi starts slow, tenaciously so, and moves patiently over Ken’s lips, enjoying the little whimpers that Ken produces that he can’t hold back. But then there is that warmth that both feel, it starts in their bellies and find its outlet in their kiss, and things start to get more heated. Ravi nibbles at Ken’s bottom lip, and a gasp escapes the older’s lips. Ravi almost groans as he teases Ken with his tongue and Ken reacts by drawing him in, signalling he wants this, he wants him, and he can finally get’s a better taste of Ken, and he tastes like green tea and sweet and salty and all things good, and Ravi smiles.

His hands let go of Ken’s wrists and search for his hands, and their fingers intertwine without coordination, the grip firm and sweaty.
Ken just lets himself melt into the kiss, and he loves how Ravi is biting down softly, loves how Ravi is so much he had always expected to be and even more, more tender, more intoxicating, so mind-numbing and heated he has difficulty holding back and not moan into the other’s mouth, as Ravi deepens their kiss, moving a little faster, on his lips and teasing with his teeth, his tongue, and he finds his fingers digging deeper into the back of Ravi’s hands.

Ravi seals Ken’s lips with a last lush kiss and leans back again, looking down on Ken with a heated gaze that is a question and an answer at once, and they both breathe heavily as if they had been dancing for half an hour straight.

Ravi smiles sheepishly but proud, and Ken is so worked up, he just blinks a few times, before breathing out his thoughts unfiltered.

“I think I enjoy this way more than ’s kisses… Ottokaji…?”