Ryeowook sat on his bed in the modestly sized room. There were old high school and college textbooks on the desk, as well as a few pictures of him and Hyungsik. Looking back, he really hadn’t had many friends. It wasn’t particularly sad or embarrassing; it was just a fact.

“Is this your room?” Kyuhyun’s voice came softly from the doorway. He had on a pair of black sweats and a white t-shirt, the tips of his hair still wet from a shower.

From what Ryeowook remembered, Kyuhyun was a lot more forward than this. Perhaps time had contorted the memories. No, he was positive that they had. Ryeowook shuddered, not wanting to open that tightly sealed box of feelings that had made him crumble only a month or so ago.

He wouldn’t say that Kyuhyun’s presence had immediately stripped away all of his problems, because it hadn’t. Their delicate reconciliation was only a small part of the recovery Ryeowook knew he still faced. It was deeper than any relationship wound. It was Ryeowook himself, his insecurities, his imbalances, his years of trauma and self-doubt.

Those things couldn’t be brushed off anymore. He had seen firsthand the havoc such things caused and he was done. Step by step…no one was rushing him.

Ryeowook smiled at Kyuhyun, tentatively, as if the slightest thing could set off an alarm between them. What would happen when the alarm sounded…well, he had no idea. “Yeah, it’s my room.”

“Do you still like that singer?” Kyuhyun questioned, taking another step into the room, slowly sitting down by the bookcase. There were blankets set out for him, along with plenty of pillows to cushion the makeshift bed.

Ryeowook glanced up at the poster of a female singer he had admired for some time. “She’s good,” he stated rather blandly, “I got that poster for free a long time ago.” He shifted around on the bed, hugging a pillow.

“Oh,” he nodded, biting his bottom lip absently, before a smile crossed his lips. Ryeowook knew it was wrong to be staring, but he hadn’t seen Kyuhyun in such a long time and he had forgotten all of the little things about the man. His slightly elfish smile was one of them, the seemingly perfect way the corners of his mouth could curl up so devilishly, as if he was plotting something. The glint of mischief in his eyes was another thing. It was always subtle and beautiful, daring anyone to challenge him.

Ryeowook’s eyes trailed down to the smooth, white skin of his collar, seeing that faint dip where his muscles could just tease onlookers.  And then further down, the fabric of the v-neck wrinkled and twisted in a perfect way, ghosting over the lines of his torso and leading the eye down to his long legs… Ryeowook shook his head, burying his face in the pillow.

He had never understood people who were desperate for before. Now though, it finally made sense. I need to get laid so bad…this is pathetic…

“Are you okay?” Kyuhyun’s deep, rich voice floated through Ryeowook’s mind.

That certainly wasn’t helping his current hormonal haze. A lot had been going on recently, and with one part of his life finally settling down, it seemed like his body was suddenly being demanding. “I’m fine,” Ryeowook responded.

“Where are we going tomorrow?” he asked, trying to keep a conversation up. It was awkward when it was quiet. Although barely six months had passed since they had last spoken, it felt like they were strangers – in love – but still strangers.

Ryeowook looked up, “Someplace important.”

“I figured as much,” Kyuhyun murmured.

“I thought you would think I’m taking you somewhere useless,” he teased very quietly.

That brought a smile to Kyuhyun’s face. He met Ryeowook’s eyes, and the air seemed to tense again. They simply stared at one another, silent words and wants flying between them. Ryeowook broke away first, blushing and reaching for the lamp.

“We should get to sleep,” he began, but then a hand was covering his. Ryeowook’s voice caught in his throat, body stiffening.

The bed shifted slightly as Kyuhyun’s added weight. His heart was beating painfully hard. “Ryeowook—”

“—look at who wants to say good night!”

Kyuhyun flew back faster than the speed of light, eyes wide and horrified. In the doorway was a perplexed Mrs. Park holding Dae-Jung. The baby was holding a bear, blinking at Kyuhyun. He broke into a smile and started wriggling around, reaching for the handsome man.

Sighing, he took the child, eyes shining with some sort of affection. “This little troublemaker…,” his mouth twitched in irritation, but the baby just giggled and rested his head against Kyuhyun’s shoulder.

Ryeowook watched Kyuhyun spoiling and teasing the precious baby boy, feeling a small ache in his chest. He didn’t want to fantasize…that wasn’t right…right?

Soon enough, Dae-Jung was turning his attention to Ryeowook, and trying to pull out of Kyuhyun’s embrace. The man walked over, sitting down and handing the baby over, “Here’s a present,” he muttered.

“It’s the cutest present I’ve ever received,” Ryeowook tickled Dae-Jung’s tummy, watching the baby squirm and laugh, “I love you, Dae-Jung…you’re my favorite person in the whole world.” The baby seemed to understand and grinned, rubbing his face against Ryeowook’s cheek.

“Ah…is that right?” Kyuhyun looked at the male who had just confessed to him not that long ago.

Ryeowook’s face colored. “Well…you can be second, Kyuhyun.”

“Yah!” he complained, chuckling a little and running his hand over the black hair of the baby.

Dae-Jung looked up at him curiously, but when he got no reply or even acknowledgement, he went back to snuggling with his favorite hyung.

Mrs. Park stepped inside the room, having been watching by the doorway the entire time. “He really loves you two…,” she admired, “I’m really surprised…and not…hmm, how do you feel about watching him more often?”

Ryeowook’s eyes lit up in a way Kyuhyun had never seen. It wasn’t like the twinkle he wanted to restore, it was something warmer and more maternal…it was hope – more of it than Kyuhyun knew existed. “We would love to. I’m still here for another four days…so anytime is fine.”

“That’s very sweet of you,” Mrs. Park chuckled, patting the young man’s head, “And you, Kyuhyun?”

“I’ll be wherever Ryeowook is.”

Mrs. Park’s face flickered with surprise, but then it melded into knowingness and she nodded. Glancing down at her baby, she picked him up, Dae-Jung whining a little at the loss of Ryeowook. “It’s time to go home, sweetie,” she cooed.

The baby grouched, but didn’t do anything else, simply allowing his mother to carry him away.

Silence fell again and Ryeowook’s eyes slowly found Kyuhyun’s. They stared at one another for a moment before laughing uncomfortably.

“We should get some sleep,” Kyuhyun muttered, settling down on the makeshift bed on the floor.

“Mm,” Ryeowook nodded, turning off the light successfully and hearing the door close quietly. Moonlight bathed the room in blue, just barely outlining Kyuhyun’s body on the floor.

Unspoken words still seemed to bubble up in the air, mixing with the sweet scents coming through the open window. Ryeowook shifted around on his sheets, trying to find a comfortable position. Eventually, he gave up and sighed, “…Kyuhyun?”

“Yeah?” The answer was immediate.

“Thank you…for coming back after everything.” He hadn’t known how much true those words were until they seemed to drift through the air and settle on the silhouette occupying his floor.

“You made me grow up a little more,” Kyuhyun responded, hands cupped behind his head, eyes directed to the ceiling, “and you’ve helped me break free more than once. The least I could do is helping you break free too.”

Ryeowook smiled a bit. “It’s not because you love me?”

“I could love you and easily stay away,” Kyuhyun stated easily, “but realizing that I’m actually in love with you makes it impossible to leave you alone.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I know you would be sad without me.”

“How do you figure?” Ryeowook was leaning over the edge of the bed then, gazing through the darkness to catch a glimpse of Kyuhyun’s features.

“You can always love someone unconditionally,” he answered, “and not have them love you back. But when you’re truly in love with someone, it’s not possible for the other person not to feel the same way.” Kyuhyun to his side, reaching up to brush his hand against Ryeowook’s. “…When you admitted you had fallen in love with me…I knew it was possible for me to be in love – and for Siwon to be wrong. You couldn’t be in love with me if I didn’t love you back.”

“Has time made you so different?” Ryeowook’s voice was soft, breaking from subdued tears.

“I was still the same Kyuhyun up until you confessed to me a few hours ago,” he chuckled, sounding ashamed, “I was being rash and temperamental as always. This whole situation as just another tantrum – I knew that – but when you said those things to me…combined with what I found out from those videos…I figured out that you had to mean it. For you to say you love me…I can’t even imagine how much that took.”

“It was easier than I thought it would be,” Ryeowook whispered, fingertips playing with Kyuhyun’s ever-so softly. The touches were barely brushes, but his heart beat faster with every graze and his skin tingled with every tangle. “…It’s probably because you’ve always been there to nudge me a little.”

The hand laced with Ryeowook’s squeezing it gently. “Goodnight,” Kyuhyun murmured.

Ryeowook smiled helplessly, closing his eyes as he replayed that gentle dismissal in his mind. He knew it wasn’t Kyuhyun being insensitive. It was him trying to reassure Ryeowook that everything could still be said in the morning. They had time to say whatever they wanted to say…so for one night, perhaps it was alright to just fall asleep.

“Goodnight, Kyuhyun,” Ryeowook mumbled back, dozing off.

***

“This is the important place?” Kyuhyun eyed the apartment with wonder and skepticism until his memory flashed. “Oh…”

Ryeowook kept their hands interlocked as he tugged the young man into the landlord’s apartment. They walked through the old door, seeing an elderly woman sitting behind a counter. She was holding a newspaper and listening to the local radio station.

“Ahjumma?” Ryeowook called, pausing a few feet away from the counter.

Her head rose and immediately her eyes widened. “The troublemaker!”

Kyuhyun shot the other male a curious look. The latter flushed and shook his head. “Hyungsik and I used to get into trouble with the neighborhood kids…y’know, playing pranks and staying out late…forgetting our keys or making noise.”

“Ah, troublemaker indeed,” he smirked.

The older woman hobbled out, reaching up for a hug. Ryeowook chuckled and hugged her, swallowing a cough at her rough pats. He smiled and backed up, about to introduce Kyuhyun when the woman frowned and poked his chest. “Why are you always with handsome men?” she demanded of Ryeowook, “Poor girls out there have no one left!”

“Sorry,” he replied sheepishly, “This is the last one ever, I promise you.”

Kyuhyun hid the heat crawling up his face. “My name is Kyuhyun,” he told the woman eyeing him. Bowing his head, he gave her a smile.

“Now don’t take this boy for granted,” she scolded, “This troublemaker has had enough heartache for one lifetime, understand? That means you live an honest, clean, safe life, Kyuhyun.”

“I understand,” he nodded seriously, “I won’t let him down from now on.”

She eyed him for a second longer, but then nodded as if satisfied. “Then I have something you can finally see.” The woman waved them into the connecting living room of the leasing office. Once inside, she began rummaging through a box, pulling out an old video tape with ease. “Whenever you came to visit,” she grunted, dusting and fiddling with the technology, “I wondered if you would be bringing someone new. You never did…,” the landlady slipped the tape into an adaptor and the television, “…but I always kept it handy. I knew you would eventually…and then I could finally get this out of my home.”

She sighed, giving Ryeowook a remote and a soft smile. “You’ve done well, troublemaker. I’ll be outside.” Looking at Kyuhyun one more time, she disappeared through the doorway and shut it.

Ryeowook glanced at Kyuhyun. “What…just happened?”

“That woman is a whirlwind,” he whistled, settling down in front of the television. “Is this what I think it is?”

“I…guess so,” Ryeowook slowly sank down next to him, holding the remote a little tighter. “This is the real last tape, then?”

Kyuhyun didn’t reply, but his silence was answer enough.

Carefully, Ryeowook pressed play, heart sinking and rising rapidly.

The camera flickered on. A confused Hyungsik stared curiously into the recorder. “Is this on?” he muttered. Shrugging he grinned lightly. “Hey Ryeo-ah. So, it’s our anniversary today. You gave me this recorder, actually. I hope we get to use it a lot in the future.”

Hyungsik shifted around, leaning back against a headboard and holding the camera in a steadier grip. “Anyway, I thought about a lot of things today, and I feel like this is the best time to be doing this. You’re probably wondering what I’m referring to. Well, that would be my true, final thoughts for you. I don’t want you to be watching this while you’re still sad or hurt over me leaving, so I’ll figure out some way to prevent that.”

“See, this particular video is to tell you a few things. First,” he smiled, “I love you. I love you in every way a person can love another person. That’s why I’ll tell you whole heartedly that whatever you choose to do when I’m gone, I’ll support. In fact, I hope you find someone who you can share that beautiful heart of yours with.”

“Second,” he held up two fingers, “you are gorgeous. I say it so often that I feel like it doesn’t mean anything anymore…but you really are. You make me catch my breath every day and sometimes I get irritated at how lovely you are, because I can’t contain or express myself properly. I want you to just see yourself through my eyes – just once – so you would know how breathtaking you actually are.”

He took a deep breath, “Third,” he tilted his head a little, “…third. Hmm. This one is hard.” Hyungsik looked away for a second, but then looked back into the recorder. “Third, I want you to introduce me to the one you choose. I’m sure you were planning on it, but I want you to hear my request. Please let me meet him, because he’s going to be the one that takes my best friend, my lover, my companion, my everything…away. I trust you to pick the right one, so at least let me give him my blessing. He’ll deserve it, I’m sure.”

Backing up the camera, Hyungsik waved and flashed a sweet grin. “See you later, Ryeo-ah.”

“…are you crying?” Ryeowook looked at Kyuhyun, eyes swimming with concern.

Kyuhyun covered his eyes, frowning forcefully. “No…”

He smiled weakly, wrapping his arms around the other male and immediately feeling arms around his waist, holding him tightly. “Thank you,” Ryeowook whispered against his ear.

“Don’t thank me,” he muttered, shaking his head and breathing unevenly.

“Okay,” Ryeowook rested his head on Kyuhyun’s shoulder, rubbing his back gently, “just tell me when you’re ready to go.”

“Never,” Kyuhyun’s muffled voice spoke.

He chuckled, feeling tired and alive at the same time. “He always knows exactly what to say.”

“Yeah, he really does,” Kyuhyun sighed miserably, eyes wetting Ryeowook’s neck and collar. He smiled slightly, lips trembling, “...I’ve never been so happy to have someone’s blessing.”

Ryeowook didn’t say anything, eyes closing as he held Kyuhyun a little tighter, feeling warm.