The cake icing was everywhere-- but most parts on the face with that wide grin bright enough to light up the whole world. 

After cake smashes, teasing headlocks, well-wishes and countless repeated birthday songs, the post-party exhaustion brought on the consuming wave of sleep over the haphazardly arranged bodies in the shared bedroom. The embracing atmosphere of the silence after the buzz of the celebration seems even quieter and peaceful. Yongguk sits on the couch in the living room, looking through the birthday gifts spread all over the coffee table and spilling over to the floor. The fangifts are neglected for a while as he thumbs through the large birthday card filled with written well-wishes and scattered with childish scribbles of unidentified drawings. Yongguk gives a shake of the head at one of the ridiculous lines in HImchan's handwriting before reading through the neatly written lines, clearly Youngjae's work. Zelo doodles the most and Yongguk follows a trail left behind by a dinosaur to find Jongup's page.

There's however, a strange discrepancy in the card.

"Happy birthday hyung! Hope you have a good time and continue to do well and better in everything!

--- Daehyun"

There's frown in between his brows and then Yongguk smiles, amused to find no more words with the marking of that same penmanship.

He and Daehyun have always been the source of awkward air in the group. Somehow, they work well together but just don't click on a more playfully intimate level. He can kick Junhong in the , shove Jongup out of the way, have ridiculous conversations wtih Youngjae and basically do everything with Himchan but with Daehyun, there just seems to be a lack of that immature connections between them, that spark of mischief and carelessness that usually brings people closer together to make best friends.

Yongguk can't find that in Daehyun but he isn't complaining. He thinks the polite and careful interaction between the two of them are comfortable, only until outsiders begin to make guesses on their relationship. Having the threads of their sensitive bonds prodded by outsiders isn't exactly within Yongguk's comfort zone. Can't they just leave them alone?

Does every friendship have to be about teasing and rowdy physical contact?

But he does wonder why Daehyun wrote so little on his birthday card. It's his leader's brithday and it's already pass their two year anniversary...

Yongguk dismisses the subtle traces of disappointment and carries on combing through the birthday gifts. The silence is only momentarily grazed by the gentle breezes from behind the curtains and Yongguk immerses in the silence as he reads through the well-wishes until his quiet is abruptly disturbed by a soft coughing.

Jumping a little, Yongguk whips his head to see Daehyun standing beside the couch scratching a head of messy mopped hair.

"Hyung..." He mumbles under his breathe, eyes drifting shut and easing open again and again. Yongguk guesses the chances of Daehyun sleepwalking as the other plop