It’s one of those summer days where the air seems to crackle, and Donghae and Hyukjae are out in it. Stupidly, out in the heat. Heading to the creek. What else is there to do here? Nothing.

“Can’t we sit here and eat the kimbap?” Hyukjae indicates to a small area of shade under a tree that they’re about to pass.

Donghae thinks about it for a second, because really, he’s very hungry, and also he wants to stop walking, he doesn’t give a about the creek anymore, he just wants to get the out of the sun. He thinks, and decides that no, they’ll go to the creek. They’ll have a picnic, have a swim; it’ll be lovely. Plus, if he’s honest with himself, he doesn’t want to miss out on the way Hyukjae glimmers in the sunlight when he’s wet.

So he says “Nope, let’s go, Grandmother’s kimbap can wait for another three minutes or so,” and keeps marching on along the dirt path. He hears Hyukjae groan behind him, then hears him jogging to catch up. Hyukjae’s already glistening, but not with the cool water of the river. He’s sweating, they both are, and Donghae can feel the sweat sticking his cotton shirt to his back.

When the path veers off to the left and they hear the trickle of the creek, Hyukjae yelps in delight and skips down the bank. The water is shining, almost too bright to look at, and Donghae averts his eyes instead to Hyukjae, watching him throw down the cool-box and kick his shoes off.

Donghae’s always star struck when he’s around Hyukjae. Always. He doesn’t know what to do or what to say, but he’s been living like this ever since they’d met at a summer camp 4 years earlier. He’s used to it now. Used to feeling so charged with emotion, with ual energy, with frustration, that he can barely think straight. But it’s ok. The hard work pays off when Hyukjae brings him lunch during his break at university, when Hyukjae kisses him hot and fast when he’s drunk and too stupid to realise what he’s doing. It also pays off at times like these, when Hyukjae is ok with just hanging out with Donghae, and when he’s ok with peeling off his shirt and showing himself to Donghae.

There’s no shame. Hyukjae’s beautiful, and so, so, absolutely aware of it. He knows how Donghae feels, knows where they stand, and is so confident in it that he’s in his swimming bottoms and standing there looking stunning without a care in the world. Donghae feels like the smallest person alive when Hyukjae is at his best.

He watches as Hyukjae wades his way into the water, sighing with relief. He kicks off his shoes and slowly, nervously, pulls off his shirt. Hyukjae’s under the water somewhere, swimming capably, of course, and Donghae edges his way in like a lame little sook. It’s cold, and once he’s all the way in, he swims over to where Hyukjae has just popped up.

“, that’s better,” Hyukjae says, grinning and swimming closer.

Donghae seizes up as he feels Hyukjae tug him closer. They’re clinging by their fingertips on each other’s hips, each other’s hands. It’s a dance they do. Hyukjae saying “come and get me”, Donghae being too scared to. It’s how it’s always been.

Donghae smiles and swims away. He’s cool now. He gets out, pulling himself onto an expanse of rock rubbed smooth by the flow of the creek. It’s hot, but feels lovely against his thighs, and he opens up the box of kimbap as Hyukjae climbs out to join him.

“I think I’ve been bitten by something,” he hears Hyukjae say as he’s rifling through his bag for some chopsticks.

He looks up and Hyukjae is inspecting a nasty red mark just above his collarbone. He leans closer and squints at it. It’s a sting, by the looks of it.

“Are you ok?” he asks quietly, lifting his eyes up to Hyukjae’s face.

Hyukjae is grimacing. It hurts more than he’s letting on.

Donghae blows gentle, cool air onto the mark, unsure of what else to do.

“Might have been one of those waspy-flying-ant-thingys,” Hyukjae ponders, prodding around the area with his thin fingers.

“It looks sore,” Donghae says, wishing he could do more. He settles for placing a plate of his grandmother’s kimbap on Hyukjae’s lap and pointing to it. “Eat.”

“I think the stinger is still in there,” Hyukjae says, paying no attention to the kimbap. “You’re going to have to it out.”

Donghae gulps. “Uh, ok,” he says, placing his chopsticks delicately on top of his lunch.

Hyukjae is leaning towards him, looking at him expectantly. Donghae tries not to think about what he’s about to do, tries to focus instead on helping. He’ll just it out, spit it out, they’ll eat their lunch, then they’ll go back to his grandparent’s farm and then they’ll sleep in their separate beds and everything will be ok. Good plan.

He leans in. He places his mouth against the warm, wet, taut skin of Hyukjae’s tanned shoulder and , nice and hard, just to be sure.

“Ow,” Hyukjae breathes.

Donghae pulls away and spits into the creek, and then takes a sip from his water bottle. No big deal. No big deal at all.

Hyukjae is staring at him, he knows he is, he can feel it, so he looks back, and yep. Hyukjae’s staring right at him.

The thing was a bit weird, because he’s involuntarily given Hyukjae a hickey, but he shrugs. He couldn’t have just left the sting in there.

He’s about to turn back to his kimbap, and then he feels himself being tugged forward by the back of his hair. Hyukjae’s mouth is warm and soft against his own, and he doesn’t really think he can analyse it piece by piece, doesn’t really want to. He could think about the fact that Hyukjae isn’t drunk this time, isn’t asking him to be quiet, isn’t asking him not to tell anyone about it. He didn’t even look around to make sure nobody could see them.

He’s kissing him, slow and gentle, his hand in the back of his hair, and all of a sudden Donghae’s brain kicks into gear and he realises he’s been kissing back all along. His hands are on Hyukjae’s hips, feeling the goosebumps rise up on the skin beneath his fingertips, and it feels so lovely, so strange, and so right all at once.

When Hyukjae pulls away, breathes a little life straight into his mouth, and looks into his eyes, Donghae manages to ask “Why?”, breathless and wide-eyed.

Hyukjae grins at him, looks at him, and says, “because we’re best friends.”

Donghae blinks at him, unsure of what to say, but thankfully Hyukjae continues for him.

“And we’re in love,” his voice is shaking,  “And we’re here, by the creek, and it’s summer, and you just that sting from my skin without a seconds thought.”

Donghae feels his plate of food slip off his lap, and he could save it before it slides into the water, but instead settles for shoving Hyukjae backwards and plastering him to the rock, sharing whatever poison is left stuck to his tongue. 

A/N:

Hi guys. If you want some to accompany this, Lea did a thing. (x)