Camp Echo, Mt. Desert Island, Maine

Taemin aged 13; Minho aged 15

—

"Be good. Be safe," Minho said, giving Taemin's upper arm a tight squeeze before going his own way towards the beach. After Taemin's near death last year (Taemin supposed that even though he was faking the unconsciousness, he probably really would have drowned if not for Minho), the two had clung even closer than before. Minho was a lot more liberal in his physical displays of affection as well. The kiss, well, the "mouth-to-mouth," was never spoken of again. Taemin was enjoying their returned intimacy too much to spoil it with any questions about that day.

As for his own confusions towards Minho, he wasn't sure what to make of them. Over the year apart, he got the sense that Minho was right about calling off the hand-holding and cuddling and all that. When he was back home, he thought often of Minho, but in the sense that he missed his friend dearly. The dreams had stopped away from camp, and he decided the mess of hormones flooding through his body from the start of puberty just made his head and heart all muddled.

At least, that's what he believed until he returned to camp this year. Those dreams had returned and turned a hundredfold more intense. Taemin couldn't count how many times these past few weeks he'd had to creep quietly out of bed, careful not to wake Minho, and hand wash his underwear in the sink. That, or will away his morning friend with a painfully cold shower. Once or twice he glanced over at Minho in his bed, at the spot where his hips would lie, curious if he had the same issue, too. But he usually slept on his side, turned towards Taemin, so it was difficult to tell.

Next to him, Tommy let out a low whistle as he watched Minho tug his shirt off in the distance, heading towards the lake. He returned this year acting like a grown adult, and the stories he told Taemin of his exploits back in Queens made Taemin wince to try and block his eardrums from within. Still, he was a good friend, and all he really needed was to hear his own voice. Taemin was happy to be his excuse to blabber away.

"Taemin, becoming friends with you was the best ing idea I've ever had," Tommy said. "Seeing that every day, well, I'm gonna miss that the rest of the year. You're one lucky guy."

Taemin, partially distracted by the same sight that Tommy was currently admiring, blinked a couple of times as he replayed those words in his head. "What do you mean?" he asked, feeling like he was missing something.

"You're dating him, right? Must be nice seeing that beefcake in your cabin every night. You guys done it yet? Your cabin's probably one of the few places to get any privacy, unless you wanna take a stroll into the deep woods like some of these counselors do."

"I—I'm not dating him. We're just friends,