Luhan likes to admire Kris from afar. He has that smooth skin that he's jealous of, and pink lips that look like they'd be soft to the touch. When they sit next to each other, Luhan can see each individual strand of his blond hair as he peeks from his peripheral vision. His eyes are bright and have a clever gleam, his physique is by far the most amazing Luhan's ever seen. He wants to wrap his arms around the younger boy and hold his hands. Those large, hands with the visible veins and long, thin fingers. Luhan has a thing for pretty hands. And Kris's are the best.

He's always amazed that the other boy is younger than him. He's so tall; Luhan cranes his neck to talk to him. 

They sit next to each other in science. Kris has trouble with the subject and Luhan is more than happy to help. The beginning of the year had been awkward for the both of them; Luhan too intimidated to talk to his gorgeous lab partner and Kris too scared to do anything that might break the seemingly fragile boy. It'd been a while before the two of them started talking, and then joking, before finally exchanging phone numbers. It took even longer for Kris to work up the courage to ask Luhan to privately tutor him. And Luhan, maybe a little too excitedly, agreed immediately and promptly invited him over that day to study. That day had probably been the best and most embarrassing day of Luhan's life. He'd been alone with Kris for a whole three hours, was able to brush against his hands, arms, legs, as they sat close to each other to examine notes. On the other hand, his room was a mess and Luhan will forever regret that. 

Studying together, however, had become a weekly thing for them. So every seven days, Luhan gets to admire Kris from up close. Sometimes Kris stays over for dinner, and Luhan makes ramen with his own special sauce he'd learned from an old friend of his (a certain genius chef, Do Kyungsoo). 

Today is one of those days, and after class ends, Luhan secretly smiles to himself as he waits outside Kris's math classroom. The younger boy greets him with a wave and a "hey" and they fall into step with each other. Luhan lives close by, maybe a fifteen minute walk, so they tread the sidewalk with a comfortable silence. Their friendship was a decent one, having clicked from countless projects and continued even when they no longer sat with each other, which was the current case. Luhan sits next to a quiet, handsome boy named Sehun and Kris sits next to a quirky, clueless boy named Tao. Luhan feels rather jealous of them when he sees them talking and laughing, but every Friday night is for him and Kris, so he doesn't mind too much he supposes.

"So, what do you need help with today?" Luhan asks Kris as he opens the door to his small apartment and takes off his shoes. He walks in and lets the other boy close the door behind him.

Kris shrugs. He doesn't usually do that. Usually, he'd just tell Luhan straight out that he's having trouble with this or with that. But today he says, "Mmm... Why don't we just start with what we talked about last time?"

Luhan looks at him for a bit before saying "Okay" and sitting at the table like he normally does. Kris takes a seat next to him, pulling the chair up close and Luhan finds himself feeling a little warm. His heart skips a beat and then a very loud ba-bump and he coughs lightly. "Okay," he says again. "Um, let's get started."

But before he can even open the book, he feels Kris's hand cover his and he turns his head to look at him. Kris is staring right at Luhan and he feels more self-conscious than ever. "W-what's wrong?" He stutters, and mentally slaps himself. Embarrassing. He doesn't stutter. Never stutters. Especially not in front of Kris. 

Kris keeps staring until he finally pulls his eyes away and opens the book. Luhan is still dazed, wondering what could Kris have possible wanted? But he clears his throat and continues from the last lesson. When he gets the opportunity to, he leans over the other boy's notebook to point out a mistake, therefore drawing the two of them very close to each other. And Kris doesn't stop him either, but he also doesn't make these subtle advances like Luhan does. Luhan can't help himself when he does these things, however. It's like the other boy draws him in, makes the quiet, kind, graceful Luhan he's used to into this flirty, loud, smiley Lu. He's uncomfortable with it, but somehow it gets him closer to Kris and so he lets this transformation happen naturally.

He does it again. He looks over to see that Kris has made a mistake in his formula, and he bends over slightly to place a finger on his notebook. "This is wro-" he begins to say. But he doesn't finish because Kris's hand is on his back and suddenly the world has stopped moving for him. He turns his head very slowly to look at him and he's doing it again. Staring right at Luhan. 

So, of course, he lets that wild, strange Luhan take over. And he leans. And he kisses Kris.

And Kris kisses back. 

It's a very light kiss, almost like a peck, and lasted only a short while. Luhan pulls back first, shocked to see that he was the one who'd done that, and he covers his mouth with his hand and begins to apologize. He doesn't get the chance to do that though, when Kris moves the hand away and kisses him again, whispering into his lips, "I've been waiting to do this." And that's probably when Luhan lost it. His heart started beating erratically, his breathing pattern was all screwed up as he took in the taste of Kris on his lips. But it was just another light kiss, nonetheless, and Kris is the one to pull back after a few seconds. Luhan is sure his face must be a tomato-red, but Kris looks calm, so calm, and happy too. He presses their foreheads together and smiles a sweet smile, which makes Luhan do the same. They let themselves live in that moment, their heads pressed together, simply smiling. Kris raises a finger -- a beautiful, long, thin finger -- to his lips and says, "shhhh...." Luhan does a tiny nod, and he pecks Kris on the lips just one more time.

If anyone asks, they are just study partners.

------------------------------------------

[131101] hi everyone! I haven't left an author's note in any of my stories here on AFF, but I do leave them often on Wattpad :) I'm really thankful for all the reads and votes and subscriptions I get and I'm pleasantly surprised at just how many I receive! <3 Thank you very much and thank you for reading! EXO, Let's Love!