It was his cellphone's infuriating ringing that got him awake.

Himchan was lying on his stomach, cheeks pressed against the pillows and body buried underneath the blankets as he groaned in annoyance for disturbance of slumber was what he detested the most. He shifted around slightly and with eyes still shut, he gradually stretched his hand out toward the bedside table to reach for his ringing phone. He positioned the phone on his ear without actually checking who the caller was, barely conscious of anything.

"Hello?" Himchan grumbled.

This should definitely be something important or Himchan swore he would snap because he was having a really nice dream and it was a very wrong time to intervene because he had finally confessed his feelings for Yongguk and Yongguk felt the same for him and it was the best dream he had ever had in—

"Good morning, baby," Greeted an all too familiar raspy deep voice that almost made Himchan topple off his bed to land on the floor. "Time to wake up."

(Oh.

So it wasn't just his dreams after all.)

Himchan shifted and rolled on his back, frantically rubbing the sleep off his eyes and trying to breathe normally as he vaguely recalled everything that happened the night before. "Yongguk?" He asked just to make sure.

"How was your sleep?" Yongguk whispered (through the ing phone and it was morning and yes of course that would send a sharp jolt down Himchan's spine.)

Himchan huffed—trying to ignore the things Yongguk was unconsciously doing to him—and somewhat attempted to revolt with his own weak share of morning cheesiness. "I had a dream and you were in it.”

Yongguk chuckled on the other line—indicating that Himchan's slight endeavor worked. "I'm convinced it's pretty nice then, you sounded annoyed."

"You're an ."

"A cute one."

Himchan could only laugh as a response. It had barely been five minutes since he woke up but his whole day had already been made. Himchan wondered if it's even possible to be this happy—to be this excessively, unreasonably lighthearted—at only six am in the morning, because he knew, he will never get used to how his heartbeat was hammering loudly—as it always did with whatever Yongguk-related nowadays (ever since.)

"Babe?" Yongguk crooned, feigning sadness in his voice; Himchan was immediately pulled away from his brief reverie.

"Hm?"

"I miss you."

Himchan felt an intense flourish in his chest and he continued to grin at the ceiling, his fingers inattentively drawing circles on the mattress. "I miss you too."

"I miss you more," Yongguk insisted (and Himchan now had to literally grab one of the throw pillows by his head to crush against his face because a tiny squeal had exuded out from the back of his throat.)

"Shut up," Himchan countered, voice a little muffled because of the pillow (and because he was trying hard to get that dumb smile off his face.)

"I want to see you already." Yongguk's soft chuckle tingled Himchan's ears. "Should I pick you up?"

Himchan tried not to hurry.

He really did.

In fact he spent a good thirty minutes on the shower alone and had gobbled up every single one of the pancakes his mom prepared for him—which would rarely happen since he would always be in a hurry to leave.

But the moment he saw Yongguk walking across the lawn in front of their house, he practically snatched his backpack and dashed out to meet the other, to slip his arms around his firm waist, to bury his face in his collar as he tried to obscure his eating grin. Yongguk in turn, encircled one arm around Himchan's shoulders, affectionately sighed his name endearingly before chuckling on his hair.

Himchan tilted his head up after a while just to look over but Yongguk took this opportunity to plant kisses all over Himchan's face—Himchan closing his eyes as Yongguk positioned his free hand on the other's chin to pull him closer—starting on his nose, forehead, cheek, jaw, and the next thing Himchan knew, full plumps lips were against his small lean ones.

(And even before all these, even when they had just been sharing unobvious light touches, Himchan knew he would never get used to moments like this—moments when situations become serious and intimate, when words turn into actions, when their feelings are louder and clearer, written all over their faces.)

Yongguk pulled away from the kiss after a while and watched as a dust of pink started to spread across  Himchan's nose to his cheeks—a sight that Yongguk seemed to very fond of.

"You're blushing," Yongguk blurted out the obvious, pinching on his boyfriend's cheek. "So cute."

"It is not." Himchan shoved Yongguk off. "Can we please leave before my mom sees us? I can't afford to be late for school because of overly romantic boyfriends." He turned to amble off ahead of Yongguk toward the sidewalk.

(And he was cringing inside because he just used the word boyfriend to refer to Yongguk.)

"This comes from a guy who brought me high up a hill to confess his feelings under a night sky and a scenery of city lights, okay then, I'm overly romantic," Yongguk retorted, watching Himchan walk off from him.

Himchan scowled (flushed) deeper at the statement. "Let's go, Guk."

Yongguk smiled to himself as he went to follow Himchan, because damn was his Channie irresistable when affronted. He slid his hand down Himchan's when he reached his side, their fingers interlacing. "It's still cute when you blush."

"Shut up. Please."

Himchan expected more from the reactions their colleagues had given off during his first week with Yongguk when they appeared to show much more pda inside the campus than they intended to. Apparently, their friends weren't much surprised, remarking that they knew where everything was heading to the moment Yongguk laid his eyes on Himchan (Himchan almost fell off his chair hearing this) and how they were pretty used to the pda which just got more abundant and apparent this time. Technically, the whole school (except for the girls who gave off glowers and scowls at either Yongguk or Himchan) had gotten the hang of their noticeable flirting and what more, didn't really find a big deal about it.

He wondered why he didn't ask Yongguk out a little more earlier.

Yongguk wasn't exactly helping with Himchan's attempt of school diligence—not when he was always around whenever he can and leaving random objects in or on or by Himchan's stuff when he knew he couldn't be.

An example was when Himchan found a post-it inside his notebook during one of his Chem classes that had I'm currently missing you as you are reading this written on it so he ended up struggling to suppress a smile for the rest of the period, trying not to look like a doofus.

There had also been a time when he found a rose on the desk of his usual seat in the library when he decided to come there to study History for the rest of his free period.

Having Yongguk as a boyfriend was a real pain in the , but really, Himchan wasn't going against anything.

Yongguk had insisted on bringing Himchan home and fetching him for school on a daily basis—which Himchan strongly disagreed to at first, especially since Yongguk lived far from their neighborhood, but when Yongguk told him he'd rather spend more time with him than come home to an empty house as soon as school ends, Himchan couldn't argue anymore.

(Yongguk's parents were still busy with their job overseas and barely had the time to even at least call their only son. Aside from the allowance he got to receive from them monthly, Yongguk would hardly get to interact with his own parents.)

Himchan knew how lonely Yongguk would get whenever he's at home alone which is the reason why he would try to get himself busy with his social circle so, after three weeks of Yongguk bringing him home, Himchan had decided to settle this small problem.

"It's either you stay the night here or I stay the night with you in your place," Himchan said as he and Yongguk stood in the front porch, a little less energetic than he usually was, debilitated by the events from today (he was still the vice president of the student council.)

Yongguk bit the inside of his cheek for awhile, expression not giving away his thoughts. "You mean like sleeping?" He asked. "Together?"

Himchan shrugged. "Yeah, don't we always do that before?"

"Yeah but we're just friends then."

Himchan was offering him a questioning glare but almost choked when he realized what the other clearly meant. "Yongguk, that's not what I was trying to—"

Yongguk shifted awkwardly, looking a little miffed. "Yeah."

"We can make time for that, Guk." Himchan sighed, stretching out for Yongguk's waist and pulling him closer. "Just right now, what I'm talking about is that I don't want you alone at home anymore."

Yongguk's face softened as soon as their gazes met again; fingers reaching out to sweep the hair off his boyfriend's eyes. "You're the best."

Himchan smiled.

But then Yongguk leaned in closer to his ear. "Although if we're planning to do it in the near future, in my room would be a better idea," he whispered suggestively.

Yongguk yelped when Himchan pinched the skin on his waist.

Seemingly, they would stay more often in Yongguk's house—taking advantage of all the time they could have together—and Himchan's parents didn't mind (all they knew is that the both of them we're still friends—Himchan just didn’t find any reason to tell them any time soon now.)

Himchan loved staying with Yongguk. He loved how he would wake up to Yongguk's kisses, he loved how he would spend studying time with Yongguk every six in the evening with him complaining about how they never had to find out the scientific names of insects to survive on their daily lives, he loved how they would have catfights in the afternoon about how Yongguk would blare up his loud music while Himchan’s trying to read a novel, he loved how they would spend weekend nights watching movies and Yongguk whispering in his ear about how much of a great kisser he was, he loved sleeping in Yongguk's chest in the living room sofa to rest after a long day in school.

It's pretty hard to believe that Himchan's star was within his reach after all.

When they both thought the school board wouldn't have more campus activities to organize and be immersed in with, Himchan's assignments as a part of the student council just went to pile up in stacks. This meant Himchan had to stay behind in school until late hours on most days doing arrangements and meeting up with his fellow associates, telling Yongguk to go home and assuring him that he'll be fine (go to rest, don't wait up for me.)

As a result, they end almost each night having arguments primarily about Himchan being too occupied with what Yongguk remained to call as bull. Bull because if Himchan wasn't too busy with school work he was busy with his special assignments, because he would end up coming home at twelve midnight after staying at some other board member's house all afternoon, because he would never get enough sleep, and because you said you're staying here to keep me company since you don't want me alone.

The first few times Himchan would try to calm down Yongguk's lashouts with soothing words and warm embraces, promising him that he's alright and they'd have more time together once the assignments were over. But when Yongguk once disclosed about how he would spend more time with Daehyun (one of the minor school officers) than he did with him, something in Himchan eventually snapped as well. Soon enough they were yelling at each other across the house—Himchan raging about how childish and unreasonable Yongguk was, while Yongguk retorted about Himchan's self-righteousness and egotism.

The bickering only died down after minutes when Himchan went inside the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Himchan woke up with a pang of guilt in his chest when he didn't find Yongguk beside him in bed early the next day. Ignoring how his head seemed to be throbbing with pain, he skidded out the bedroom door and caught sight of Yongguk snoring at the sofa in the living room downstairs under a bundle of thick blanket.

He descended (he ran) down the flight of stairs towards the sofa—still in his tank top and pajamas—and straddled Yongguk's hips before bending over to kiss his boyfriend on the forehead, and on the nose, and some more on the cheeks. Just like how Yongguk would do to him each morning to get him up for school. Himchan knew he had woken Yongguk up when his hands moved to Himchan's waist and when he started kissing back when Himchan’s lips landed on top of Yongguk's.

Himchan yanked away after a moment and Yongguk groaned—eyes still reluctant to open—tugging on Himchan's sides, asking for another kiss. Himchan bereaved him that and laid his forehead on Yongguk's shoulder instead. His temples appeared to be aching worse but he continued to disregard it, at least for now.

"I'm sorry.” Himchan drawled. “I didn't mean anything I said last night.”

"Me too, baby," Yongguk replied with a sigh, voice hoarse with sleep.

"Let's make up."

Yongguk slowly pushed himself up then, one hand steady on the small of Himchan's back as he rolled the both of them over. The next thing Himchan knew was he's lying on his back and Yongguk was looming over him (with the blanket that he covered the both of them with.)

It was Yongguk's turn to initiate the kissing, even more relentless and determined. Himchan submitted to his dominance earnestly, letting the playful tongue slide against his and explore his own mouth.

"Yongguk what—" Himchan sighed, catching his breath in between kisses.

Yongguk smirked against Himchan's lips. "Oh sorry," he murmured, "Thought you said let's make out.”

Himchan chuckled at his boyfriend's mushy justification. "Close enough," he said before pulling Yongguk back to their kiss.

He allowed the both of them stay like that for a little longer—with fingers running through each other's hair, noses and lips brushing at each other's necks and cheeks and jaw lines, hands roaming up the skin underneath thin layers of clothing.

"Wow, you're hot," Yongguk muttered after another minute as he busied his mouth on Himchan's ear and Himchan's fingers were up Yongguk's chest.

"I know," was Himchan's breathless retaliation.

Yongguk sharply huffed in a lung full of Himchan's fragrance before finally pulling away (covers falling off) to look at him properly. "No, I mean you're hot, Himchan, are you sick?" He placed a palm on his boyfriend's forehead and gave off an exasperated sigh. "Great. You have a fever."

"What—" Himchan instantly remembered the pain in his head and everything else in his system went numb except for the throbbing in his crown. "Oh ," He groaned in realization.

"I'll get you water and make you breakfast so you could drink some medicine, okay? Don't get up."

Himchan wanted to protest, but as soon as Yongguk completely shifted his weight off from him, tottering away from the sofa to disappear towards the direction of the kitchen hall—all Himchan could do is whimper.

He kicked in annoyance because , this is entirely a terrible time to have a fever. He rolled on his side, facing the sofa's back rest and tucking himself in the blanket.

"I'm telling you, Himchan, you should quit the student council it's giving you problems," he heard Yongguk's distant voice from the kitchen, along with the sounds of his footsteps and pouring water and a small clink. "How about I stay with you today? It's just one day from school, I can catch up, I promise." Yongguk's voice grew louder again as he walked back to the living room. "Besides I won't be able to focus on the lectures knowing you're not okay."

"No," Himchan grumbled. "It's just a fever, Yongguk, get ready for school; I can take care of myself."

Yongguk sat by Himchan's thighs on the sofa and pulled the blanket down. He placed a firm arm underneath Himchan's upper body and yanked him upwards to sitting position. "I'll stay here," he insisted.

Himchan was about to assert that he'll be alright but Yongguk had brought up a warm glass of water to his lips. "Let's get you upstairs to bed."

Under Yongguk's surveillance, Himchan had to remain in bed the whole day with his boyfriend doing everything for him without complaint—even making porridge, much to Himchan's surprise. Himchan hated being such a pain in the but Yongguk looked delighted in taking care of him instead of distressed and Himchan wondered why.

Yongguk had fed him, called Himchan's mom to let her know her son is sick but don't worry Mrs. Kim I'm taking care of him well, placed a warm cloth on his forehead to help cool his temperature down, fed him some more, showed him his latest rap composition, sang an out of tune song, recited various insect names and their scientific appellation, attempted to do a bbuing bbuing, imagined how they'd be like six years from now, told Himchan how attractive he was while playing the piano—anything and everything that made Himchan laugh and smile uncontrollably.

If he wasn't bedridden right at the moment, Himchan swore he could've just jumped on Yongguk to kiss him all day because his affection for the other just kept on growing by the day, and the other kept making it clear that he felt the same way.

Later that night the temperature made an insanely huge drop and Himchan was shuddering even underneath a thick layer of comforter, so after making Himchan finish another bowl of soup, Yongguk climbed beneath the sheets to his side. He pulled Himchan to his chest and allowed him to stay there—bodies on the closest they have ever been.

Yongguk was incredibly warm, Himchan's body decided to stop trembling at immediate contact. He felt the ache in his head dissipate as the hours passed, and by the time his eyelids became heavy, his head wasn't hurting anymore.

And just like that—he fell into deep slumber underneath Yongguk's arms along the sound of his sweet snoring.

Himchan stood by the edge of the balcony outside Yongguk's room the following morning, watching the orange sun climb up the sky as he reveled in the rush of the morning breeze hitting his face.

He just decided to stand there for awhile, pondering, because just a moment ago when he woke up and he was still in Yongguk's embrace (which meant he didn't let go of Himchan the whole night through,) something seemed to tug on his chest along with a sudden surge of unexplainable feeling he couldn't seem to put a finger on. (Yongguk seemed to genuinely care for Himchan and Himchan kinda wanted to break down about that but realized how ridiculous that would be.)

(He definitely liked Yongguk a lot.)

"Babe?"

Himchan slightly peeked over his shoulder to look over the source of the voice. Himchan's heart backflipped like this was the first time he ever saw Yongguk. His hair was in disarray, his sweat pants were crinkled, his foot was bare and he was rubbing the sleep off his eyes with a fist yet Himchan thought he was the most attractive man alive. "Hey," he said in acknowledgment, unable to constrain his smile.

Yongguk moved towards Himchan and wrapped his arms from behind his waist, chin on his shoulder. "I thought I forgot to close the balcony door last night and assumed you were abducted by aliens."

Himchan made a face. "Aliens, really? That's your best shot?"

Yongguk kissed the side of Himchan's neck with a smirk. "Well I see the resemblance."

Himchan spun around in Yongguk's embrace and threatened to kick the other in the knee.

"Hold it!" Yongguk protested, trying to keep his legs uninjured as he laughed. "I was kidding!"

Himchan narrowed his eyes at the other. "Real funny."

Yongguk grabbed Himchan by the waist again, pulling him close to kiss the bridge of his nose. "Is your fever gone?"

Himchan nodded. "Yeah, thanks for the porridge and the out of tune song."

Yongguk grinned. "Told you I'll always take care of you, right?"

"Does that include telling me I look like an alien?"

"Hey, you don't even know what aliens look like they probably look like bunnies."

"Bunnies—what—that's gay—why am I even in love with you?"

Yongguk chuckled, eyes shrinking into crescents that Himchan absolutely adored. "I love you too."