There was no denying that the romantic development between Jongwoon and Sungmin worried Kyuhyun.  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see them happy but Ryeowook seemed so eager now to have everything between them set out in the open. 

            After six years together, they had a system down, one that wouldn’t expose their love to anyone.  They’d had a few close calls in the past and, of course, were completely caught in the act once.  And although it had been terrible luck that Hyukjae happened to walk in at that moment it was also extremely lucky that they were walked in on by one of their most sympathetic and caring hyungs.  He could still remember Hyukjae crying when they all sat down to talk about it—once everyone was fully clothed—not because he was upset that they were together but because he knew how difficult their love would be.  Hyukjae, thankfully, was one of their biggest supporters, but he was one of the only people that knew.

            Now, he couldn’t say that no one else was suspicious.  They did spend a lot of time together—much more than any of the fans knew.  The people that worked closest with them probably all wondered at some point in time.  But they were careful that no one saw them kiss or knew that they were sleeping together.  Only a select few knew.  And Kyuhyun felt comfortable with that.  If it ever became public knowledge, there would be outrage.  They’d be a disgrace; they’d disgrace their families and friends.  If it would only fall on him, he would take more risks.  But he didn’t want to see anyone hurt.  Especially the one he loved most.

            The trouble was Kyuhyun really did want to be able to drop his defenses every now and then, especially when they were just among the members.  They claimed to be his friends, if that were really true, couldn’t he tell them and expect them to wish him happiness?  He was tired of hiding who he was from those he considered himself closest to.  He wanted to be able to have Ryeowook in his room every night just like Jongwoon had Sungmin.  But he’d never forgive himself if Ryeowook had to suffer for it in any way.

           A few days after Sungmin moved into Jongwoon’s room, Kyuhyun had the day off and went shopping to buy a new bed.  No more sleeping in a twin bed.  He bought a queen size bed and a striped navy and white comforter, not really being very concerned about interior decorating but having a fondness for stripes.  They were still manly without being too plain.  He had it delivered the next day while Ryeowook was gone and managed to disassemble the old twin bed, all by himself, and carry it downstairs, all by himself, without scratching the wooden floor or nicking the wall.  He still hadn’t shown it to Ryeowook, waiting for the right time. 

           In all the years that Kyuhyun had roomed with Sungmin, they’d never slept in his room and he wanted to surprise him.  He got the chance the next day, when Jongwoon said that he’d be heading to his parents’ house for the night as there was a family get-together going on and Sungmin called to say he was going to be very late since he promised to go out with some of the staff at the radio station.  Even Hyukjae, who didn’t really matter, had another date with the mystery woman from before.  They had the place to themselves.

            “Hello?” Ryeowook called out as he opened the door and walked into the apartment. 

            Kyuhyun walked out of the kitchen.  “Hey,” he greeted, making his way to the door as Ryeowook set down his backpack and began to take his coat off.  While he was still slipping it off, Kyuhyun wrapped his arms around Ryeowook, trapping him against his chest, and kissed him.

            “Where is everyone?” Ryeowook asked when Kyuhyun released him and helped him off with his coat.

            “Gone,” he simply said, “I just got back from buying us some dinner.”

             “What did you get?” Ryeowook asked, following him onto the kitchen.

            “Um, a little of everything.  I got you kimchi fried rice.”

            That perked Ryeowook up and he eagerly started opening up containers as Kyuhyun uncorked a bottle of wine.  They dined and talked for nearly an hour before they realized that they were stuffed and began to put away the leftovers. 

            “You sure you don’t want dessert?”

            “No!” Ryeowook stressed, rubbing his stomach.  “What did you get for dessert?”

            “Ice cream,” Kyuhyun said, wiping off the table as Ryeowook washed their plates.

            “Oh!” he said, frowning.  “I’ll eat some later.  If I don’t, Hyukie will eat it all before I get the chance.”

            Kyuhyun tossed the washcloth into the sink and then spun Ryeowook around to face him.  “I have something to show you,” he said, grabbing onto his hand and pulling him out of the kitchen and down the hall.  He opened the door to his room and flipped on the lights. 

            “Ah!” Ryeowook cried, pointing at the bed.  “When did you get this?”

            “Yesterday.”

            Ryeowook playfully smacked him in the chest, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

            Kyuhyun shrugged.  “I thought I’d surprise you.”

            Ryeowook jumped onto the bed and spread out, testing out the mattress.

            Kyuhyun closed the door and locked it before he climbed onto the bed and on top of Ryeowook, levering himself up with his arms, which Ryeowook was trapped between.  “I wanted you to be able to sleep here with me.”

            “I’ve never slept in your room before.”

            “I know.”

            Ryeowook tried to pull Kyuhyun’ down to him but he resisted.

            “I want you to spend the whole night.”

            “What if one of them comes home early?”

            “What if they do?” Kyuhyun questioned.

            Ryeowook reached up and began running his hands over Kyuhyun’s chest and abdomen, lightly skimming his fingers over his shirt as he let Kyuhyun’s words sink in.  They never spent the entire night together at the apartment, it was just too risky.  They might lie in Ryeowook’s room together for a few hours but Kyuhyun would always leave well before dawn, just in case anyone noticed.  They only stayed together all night in hotels. 

            “You know, if I stay with you tonight, I’ll want to do it again,” Ryeowook warned, biting his lip as he looked up at his boyfriend.

            “I want you to,” Kyuhyun admitted.  “I’m tired of sleeping alone.  We’ll find a way.”

            Ryeowook smiled so wide, his eyes were nearly squinting shut and he wrapped his arms around Kyuhyun, his hands slipping under his shirt, and Kyuhyun lowered himself over Ryeowook and lightly brushed his lips against his boyfriend’s before pulling back again.  He then brought his lips to his neck, leaving a trail of soft kisses down to his collarbone and began to his shirt, one at a time.

            in frustration, Ryeowook wiggled beneath his boyfriend and played with his hair.  “Kyuhyun?”

            “Hmmm?”

            “What if we just tell them?”

            Kyuhyun stopped kissing his skin and pulled back up until he was level with Ryeowook, looking worried.  “I don’t want everyone to—”

            “Just them,” Ryeowook interrupted.  “They’re our friends and they’ll obviously sympathize with us.  That way, we can share a room too.  That’s what’s been bugging you, isn’t it?”

            Kyuhyun rolled onto his side and propped himself up with his elbow.  “I’d rather move out with you alone but that can’t happen when we’re watched this close by fans.  This didn’t just start when Sungmin moved to Jongwoon’s room, I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but that aggravated me more.  I’m tired of not having you with me all the time.”

            “Most people accuse me of spending all my time with you,” Ryeowook laughed.

            “I mean, I want to live with you but not with a whole apartment full of people and I want to share a room with you and not worry about who might notice.”

            “We can’t move out right now,” Ryeowook told him, “but I’m tired of sneaking around too.  Let’s just tell our roommates.”

            “Even if we only tell Jongwoon and Sungmin, the other members will eventually notice that we’re in the same room.  Or someone will slip up at some point.  And we don’t know how they’ll react or if they’ll say something,” Kyuhyun countered.

            “But some of them already know.  Hyukie accidently said something to Donghae, so he’s known a long time already.”

            “But Hae is a very accepting person.”

            “And Heechul knows.”

            “Because he’s swings both ways and he’s a mind reader.”

            “He figured it out that time you got jealous in front of him…and he’s perfectly straight and you know it,” he argued.

            “What about Leeteuk or Kangin or Siwon finding out?”

            “I think they already suspect something.”

            “But suspecting something and knowing something are two different things.  They may hold their tongues when they don’t have any proof but what would they say if we admit to it?  I don’t want to create a divide in our group and I don’t want it to leak out.  I know you love to sing just as much as I do.”

            “But I love you more,” Ryeowook told him.

            Kyuhyun bent his head down and kissed him.  “I love you more than singing too, but I’d still rather have you both.”

            “I know,” he nodded, “but I think you expect the worst to happen if anyone finds out and at some point, you’ll have to take a leap of faith and trust the people closest to you.”

            “I didn’t want to argue tonight.  I was trying to be romantic, which you know I at.”

            “I was very excited about dinner and I love your new bed.”

            “Our bed,” Kyuhyun corrected him.

            “But what’s most romantic is hearing you say that you want to live with me, because you’ve never actually said that before and it gives me some hope for the future.”

            “I’m never letting you go,” Kyuhyun informed him.  “I already know that I want to be with you forever.”

            “So do I,” Ryeowook said, reaching up to play with Kyuhyun’s hair.

            “If we were a normal couple, we’d already be married and be on the third kid or something.  Can you imagine a whole house full of little mes running around?”

            “I’m fine just babysitting you.”

            “I’d probably get jealous of you spending time with the kids.”

            Ryeowook took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.  “We’re done talking now,” he said, wrapping his arms around Kyuhyun’s neck and pulling him closer.

            Kyuhyun woke up late early in the morning and might have stayed in his warm bed with Ryeowook all day if nature didn’t call.  He managed to gently roll Ryeowook off of him without waking him and headed to the bathroom.  On the way back to the bedroom, he stopped in the kitchen to get a drink and ran into Hyukjae sitting at the table eating a bowl of ice cream.

            “Don’t you take another scoop of that,” he warned with a growl, “I bought that for Ryeowook.”

            “But he hasn’t had any yet.”

            “Which is why you don’t get to have anymore,” Kyuhyun said, opening the fridge and pouring out a glass of orange juice.  He leaned against the counter and downed half the glass in one go.

            “Can I have some of the other leftovers?”

            “No.”

            “Why are you so mean, I always share with you.”

            “You only bring home leftovers about twice a year, which means that it was so bad, even you didn’t eat it all.  The leftovers are for Wook, if he says you can have them, then that’s fine.”

            “He’ll say yes,” Hyukjae said, smiling to himself.

            Kyuhyun downed the rest of his glass and set it in the sink.  “Well, I’m going back to bed.”

            “What?  You just got up.”

            “I know but I’m worried Wook will get cold without me,” Kyuhyun said, smirking as he headed back to his room and slid back under the covers.  He quickly fell back to sleep and woke up again in the late morning to his boyfriend kissing him awake.