Donghae perked when he heard his front door beeping softly that evening. It took him nearly all of his energy not to run over like a happy little puppy waiting for its master to come home. Because, he was not a puppy, he was the master of this house, and he wasn’t waiting for Siwon to come home.

He was just craving human contact. He hadn’t met his quota of skinship today just yet.

The door swung open after the beep. Siwon appeared in the hallway, his work bag in one hand and a huge takeaway paper bag in the other. 

“Hae?”

“Mmh, I’m here,” Donghae said, hurrying over quickly. He took the bag of food from the elder and brought it to the dining table. “Food!” 

He really wanted to pat himself on the head for forgoing the kiss and hug greeting he usually gave the other whenever he came over to stay. Baby steps, not too bad. Also, Siwon hadn’t initiated any contact with him just yet. Now, all he had to do was just to continue keeping a distance from the other for the rest of the night.

Easier said than done.

“No welcome hug today?” Siwon teased, toeing off his shoes and putting them away neatly on the rack before following Donghae into the kitchen. “I thought you’d run into my arms as soon as you heard me coming in.”

Donghae narrowed his eyes at the elder. “Don’t tempt me.”

Siwon just hummed and held out his arms. “Isn’t it normal to hug between friends? Or are you abstaining from all personal contact between you and me?”

Donghae glanced longingly at Siwon’s outstretched arms. “Siwon…”

“There’s nothing wrong with a platonic hug between friends, Hae. Especially if the hug can make you feel a whole lot better.”

“We can’t—”

“Babe, it’s just a hug,” Siwon said, his tone softening when he saw the hesitation in the younger’s eyes. “Nothing bad is going to happen. I promise.”

Donghae might think he was doing a good job at hiding the loneliness in his eyes, but Siwon had been best friends with him for far too long to be fooled by the chirpy attitude the younger was putting on for him to see. His love language was that of touch. Siwon was well aware of that. However much Donghae tried denying it, for him, almost everything could be easily solved with a hug, a couple of kisses, and maybe some cuddling all night long.

Except that Donghae didn’t want to do any of those with him anymore. 

Siwon had known that their relationship wasn’t going to last, but it still kind of hurt when he finally heard the words tumbling out of Donghae’s mouth.

Of course, Donghae never needed his permission to start seeing other people. They weren’t dating, they’d broken up long ago, and anything Donghae told him would just be out of simple courtesy. But Siwon hadn’t anticipated that the younger would start overthinking and mess up his actual budding romantic relationship with Hyukjae. Besides, Siwon had played a major hand in ing things up for Donghae, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it.

Sure, he still didn’t trust the student as Donghae’s romantic partner, but that was another topic for another day. For now, he just wanted to pick up whatever pieces were left of Donghae and put them back together. Starting with a hug.

He stayed there with his arms outstretched, wanting Donghae to come to him instead of him going over. Donghae had to realise that not everything they did had to be categorised as romantic or ual. Siwon watched as Donghae hesitated for a little while longer, his eyes darting between both his arms before the younger took a few steps forward and loosely wrapped his arms around the other’s waist.

Siwon smiled softly as he hugged Donghae back, rocking him very gently in his arms and letting the other decide how long he wanted the hug to be. A few minutes passed, and Donghae was still clinging longingly to him.

They both said nothing as they held onto each other. Siwon was rather relieved that Donghae wasn’t completely shutting him out of his life, and Donghae was too busy trying to suppress the guilt he felt as he tucked his head into the crook of the elder’s neck.

“T-Thanks, Wonnie,” Donghae said, hastily blinking away the tears in his eyes before it wetted the other’s shirt. 

“Don’t mention it, babe,” Siwon replied with a smile, gently coaxing Donghae to relax by lightly squeezing his shoulders. “Take all the time you need and we can talk it out after dinner. The good, the bad, the pretty, the ugly… I’m ready for a good pounding.”

Donghae let out a half-hearted chuckle at the innuendo. “Sorry, the booty you have dialled is no longer in service.”

“Aww, that’s just too bad,” Siwon replied with a laugh. “Feeling better now?”

“Just a little bit,” Donghae answered, reluctantly pulling away from the warmth of the hug. He glanced up at Siwon with a tight smile. “Go shower, you reek of the lab. I’ll warm up the food.”

Siwon managed to catch himself before he placed a kiss on the younger’s nose. He kissed the crown of Donghae’s head instead. “Be a good little wifey and prep some dinner for your hubby,” he teased.

“Yah!” Donghae burst out laughing and shoved Siwon away. “Get lost!”

Two large helpings of tteokbokki and all the toppings later, Donghae joined Siwon on the sofa as he quietly flipped through the channels on TV.

“Did you want to watch a movie first?”

Siwon looked up. “Not really, I was just waiting for you. There doesn’t seem to be anything interesting on TV, and besides, it’s probably better for us to settle things as soon as possible before you start thinking things again and cry yourself to sleep.”

“I—”

“Don’t deny it.”

Donghae crossed his arms over his chest and pouted hard. “I can’t help it, okay?”

“I know,” Siwon said gently, “that’s why I’m trying to help you.” He turned off the TV and turned to sit sideways so he was facing the younger. “So, how are you feeling?”

Pursing his lips, Donghae also sat sideways so he was facing Siwon. “Not the best, but a little bit better after the tteokbokki.”

Siwon chuckled. “How’s your heart doing?”

“Not very well.”

“I guessed so.”

Donghae pulled his feet up in a crossed-leg position and grabbed a cushion to hug. “How was work today for you?”

“Good, good, busy as always. You?” Siwon asked, propping his arm against the back of the sofa and leaning his head against his hand. “Why are we being so courteous with each other? It feels so weird making small talk with you like this,” he said with a laugh.

Donghae giggled quietly before letting the laughter die on his lips. “So… about us.”

Siwon nodded encouragingly at Donghae. “About us.”

“I’ve had a very, very long and hard thought about us. I don’t think I can do things with you anymore. And… and I’m sure you know why.”

“Go on,” Siwon said with a soft hum. “Mind elaborating on the ‘things’ you’re referring to?”

“,” Donghae said without hesitation. “N-No more .” He glanced shyly at Siwon and bit on his lower lip, hiding his face slightly behind the cushion.

Siwon had been prepared for this. “No more ,” he repeated softly with a nod of his head. “What else?”

Donghae hesitated and lowered his gaze, feeling relieved yet a little guilty at how calmly Siwon was reacting to this. But then again, he’d been saying this since last night. Siwon would have to be extremely stupid to not catch on by now.

“No more… um, no more kissing on the lips, or on the cheek, or on the nose… the whole face.”

“So I can still kiss your ?”

Donghae blushed and groaned as he swatted the cushion at Siwon’s cheekily grinning face. “No. You can’t touch me like that anymore!”

“I get it, I get it,” Siwon laughed as he held up his hands to avoid getting hit in the face. “No more , no more s, s, , , , all the nine yards.”

“Y-Yeah,” Donghae said, unable to look straight into Siwon’s eyes anymore. His voice quivered as he asked the next question. “A-Are you… going to take things back?”

Siwon frowned. “Things?”

Donghae gulped softly. “N-Now that I’m not letting you me anymore, I don’t have any other means of paying you back for all the things you bought me,” he said quietly, twiddling nervously with his fingers as he spoke. “If you’re gonna revoke the privileges, at least let me find a cheaper place to rent before you kick me out.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Donghae felt himself shuddering in fear. This was what he was actually the most afraid of. So much for trying to be non-materialistic — it was completely impossible with Siwon as his best friend. He’d been so used to the lifestyle Siwon gave him that he just didn’t want to give it up anymore.

Siwon sighed and reached over to brush away the tears that Donghae didn’t even realise were trickling down his cheeks. “Hae, look at me.”

“I-If you're gonna say no—”

“No.”

Donghae flinched. He felt his heart dropping to the pits of his stomach. “I-I…”

“I’m really disappointed in you, Hae.”

The younger felt a new gush of tears spilling out from his eyes. He quickly wiped them away and hung his head in shame. “I-I’ll move out—”

Siwon sighed and pulled Donghae into his arms, comforting him with light on his back. “I’m not chasing you out. I’m just disappointed to learn that you actually thought of me like that,” Siwon said in a firm yet gentle tone, reprimanding him softly. “I already told you before that I don’t take back what I’ve given out as gifts. The gifts had nothing to do with keeping our ‘relationship’ afloat, no matter what you thought.”

“B-But—”

“I knew that this relationship of ours wasn’t going to last, but I still bought you these gifts because I wanted to spoil you and see you being happy. And I’m not going to take them away just because the thing between us both is gone. I’m not that petty of a person,” Siwon countered, rolling his eyes. “Did you still think I was trying to chain you by my side by buying stuff for you? I never did. And I never asked for anything back!”

Donghae frowned and buried his face deeper into the hug. “The …?”

“Well… I guess the was a nice bonus for me,” Siwon admitted, “but you have to trust me that I’d have gladly stopped the a long time ago if I knew this was how you felt the whole time.”

“I-I told you to stop buying expensive stuff for me because I wouldn’t be able to repay you…”

Closing his eyes, Siwon drew his lips in a tight line and let out a deep sigh. “I thought you were just joking when you mentioned the repaying part.”

Donghae sniffed and pulled away from the elder, pursing his lips into a soft pout. “So d-does that mean I still get to keep the car and the watches and the PSP and the guitars and the clothes and the iPhone and the iMac and the apartment?”

Siwon snorted in disbelief and rolled his eyes again. “Yes, you get to keep them all.”

“I’ll still pay rent for the apartment,” Donghae added meekly. “Right on time and p