x.

Donghae releases a dreamy sigh as he and his friends line up in the Starbucks queue. Next to him, Siwon grins at him indulgently, while Kyuhyun and Heechul roll their eyes in exasperation. Yunho is here, too, and he only shakes his head and nudges him teasingly. Still a bit dazed, Donghae ignores them. He’d probably get offended in other circumstances, but tonight he finds that he really does not give a .

Because—, but—Hyukjae kissed him. Donghae can hardly believe it. It’s been a whole day since his date with Hyukjae and yet the scene still keeps replaying in his mind like a broken record. He remembers the challenge burning in Hyukjae’s eyes—the softness of his plump, full lips pressed against his own—the sheer desire. Just thinking about it once again ignites something hot and hungry to curl inside his belly.

Donghae gulps and tries to calm down. It’s really not the time to get .

The queue then moves up a bit and Heechul pushes him forward. Donghae yelps in surprise, prompting his friends to laugh and snicker.

After toying with the idea of a movie and dinner since the beginning of the vacations, the five friends finally agreed earlier this afternoon to hang out, as a last-minute decision. They met up about half an hour ago and decided to get a drink before going to the theatre. It’s been a while since Donghae got to hang out with Yunho as well as his other friends, which is a nice change from quickly catching up at university.

The only thing is, Donghae is probably too lost in his own bubble of happiness tonight to pass off as decent company.

“Can I just say,” Kyuhyun comments lazily as they move further up the queue, “that you’re becoming a bit more and more pathetic every day.”

“Can I just say, that I really don’t give a ,” Donghae retorts brightly. “Because, honestly? It was probably one of the best kisses in my life.” He releases another dreamy, besotted sigh. “Like—really.”

Heechul rolls his eyes, scoffing derisively. “The way I understood it, it’s not like you actually participated in it that actively, did you?” As he snickers, he shares a high-five with Kyuhyun.

Donghae glares at them. “Shut up. I was a bit surprised, alright?”

“I just hope it wasn’t Hyukjae’s worst kiss of his life, huh,” Kyuhyun taunts mischievously, then yelps when Siwon swats him across the back of his head.

“Don’t be mean,” he chides, just as Kyuhyun snaps at him in indignation.

Yunho chuckles as he pats Donghae’s shoulder. He offers him a grin, then sobers slightly. His grip tightens almost menacingly around Donghae.

“You better not hurt him, yeah?” he says seriously. “Or you’ll have me to answer to, young man.”

Donghae splutters, offended. He crosses his arms over his chest and glares at his friend challengingly. “You’re saying this, to me? Have I ever been anything but a perfect boyfriend?”

“Hyukjae is more fragile than you might think,” Yunho reasons, and Donghae wants to retort irritably, I know, ugh. It’s a bit rich, isn’t it, that he’s being lectured by his ex-boyfriend on how to treat his hopefully-future-boyfriend. Then Yunho smirks, “also, I rather like to see the panic on your face every time that I mention your potential love life; it’s incredibly fun to watch.”

“We can all agree on that one,” Heechul pipes up, and Donghae punches him in the shoulder with a loud ‘hey!’.

Soon it’s their turn at the main counter. After gathering his friends’ orders, Donghae gives a list of drinks to the barista. Her nametag says ‘Yoojung’. She grins brightly at him, then asks if there’s anything that he’d like—maybe a nice muffin or a slice of that chocolate cheesecake. Donghae declines politely, mildly distracted by his friends’ whispering behind his back. The barista nods and then says, almost shyly, “I’ll make all of your orders a size bigger; it’s on the house!”

Donghae thanks her with a mild grin. Then he pays for their orders and goes to retrieve them at the other end of the counter.

“Alright, let’s go,” he declares as he sips on his hot chocolate. “We should go buy our tickets for the next screening.”

The five friends step out of the Starbucks and into the cold, then head idly to the movie theatre.

Siwon nudges Donghae’s shoulder and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. “She was totally flirting with you.”

Donghae blinks at him in confusion. “Uh, who?”

“The barista of course, genius,” Heechul rolls his eyes.

“They’re right, you know,” Yunho snickers along with the others. “She was definitely flirting back there. Though I can’t really say that I’m complaining about the free drink upgrade.”

Donghae tilts his head to the side pensively. “Was she really?” He can’t say that he remembers anything striking about her, besides her unusual chirpiness. “I just thought that she was really dedicated to her job.”

“Ugh, don’t talk to him,” Kyuhyun retorts. “He’s too obsessed with Hyukjae to think about anything else.”

Donghae wants to argue, really he does, except that it’s a bit true, isn’t it? He smiles, unrepentant. And then sighs dreamily.

*

Donghae only invites a few people to his New Year’s Eve party, which really is more of a low-scale type dinner. His decision is partly motivated by the fact that his mom would kill him if someone damaged her apartment, but mostly it’s because he doesn’t think that Hyukjae would enjoy himself that much if it was as crowded and noisy as the Christmas party. Plus, it’s always nice to host something a bit more low-scale yet homey from time to time. There’ll be good friends and good food, and that’s really all that’s needed for a good time.

Whistling under his breath, Donghae checks that he put enough beers to cool in the fridge, then throws a couple of alcohol snacks onto the coffee table in the living-room. He’s been tidying up the apartment for the best part of an hour now, alternating between lazing around and putting off cooking. Thinking that it’d be fun, Donghae told his guests to bring something homecooked to eat so that they wouldn’t wind up ordering delivery pizza and fast-food, and that they’d get bonus points if they make it themselves.

The problem is, it means that he has to cook, too. And doesn’t that make him regret opening his big mouth again? He vaguely thought about making handmade pasta after watching a Tasty video, but it’s getting late and he still didn’t make a start on it. It also doesn’t quite help that Donghae has no clue where his mom keeps the flour. His best bet is to open all of the kitchen’s closets and hope for the best, and so that’s what he does.

Exactly a quarter from six o’clock, Hyukjae rings at the door. Donghae feels his heart skip a beat as he straightens up quickly. He pats his hair down and checks himself in the reflection of a spoon, then rushes to open the door.

Donghae doesn’t know if he’ll ever get used to it—but today, too, Hyukjae steals his breath away.

He’s already taken his coat off, revealing his outfit underneath; he’s wearing black skinny jeans and a white shirt that seems to be a size too big for his lean frame. The sleeves are so long that they reach all the way to his first knuckles. His hair falls neatly around his face, and Donghae suspects that Hyukjae fixed it while riding the elevator. The thought makes him smile.

Hyukjae looks all prim and proper, and Donghae has to resist the urge to muss him up. It’d involve a lot of kissing, and he really doesn’t think that the doorstep is the best place for that kind of activity.

“Hi,” Donghae says softly.

Hyukjae responds with a grin and a shy ‘hello’ that leaves Donghae feeling a bit breathless. The memory of their first kiss hangs there, caught somewhere between the two of them. Sweet and fleeting, Donghae has half a mind to seize the feeling and turn it into their second kiss. They stare at each other for a long moment, tension thick in the air—until Hyukjae clears his throat.

“I made cookies,” he declares proudly and brandishes a Tupperware box.

“Oh, that’s great, thanks!” Donghae says as he ushers Hyukjae inside. “I’m making homemade pasta.”

Hyukjae hums curiously, following him into the kitchen. “I’ve never made homemade pasta before! How’s it coming along?”

“Uh,” Donghae grimaces sheepishly. “Thing is, I didn’t actually start? But, um, you’re totally welcome to help if you want.”

Hyukjae releases a long, resigned sigh. He eyes him disapprovingly and shakes his head. “Your lack of organization will never cease to amaze me.”

“It’s part of my charm.”

After Donghae finally finds some flour and a pack of eggs, he hands Hyukjae an apron so that he won’t dirty his clothes. Then they start to follow the Tasty video’s recipe instructions. They chat and bicker good-naturedly as they each make their own batch, and Hyukjae seems to take great pleasure in pointing out all of the mistakes that Donghae makes while whisking his eggs into the flour. He’s all ‘you’re mixing that mixture too aggressively’ and ‘your eggs are going everywhere’ and ‘look at all of those chunks in your dough!’.

Donghae mostly rolls his eyes in response, fond and exasperated. Gratuitou