☆ The Present  ☆

"It's not really much, but make yourself comfortable," Hyukjae said as he let Donghae into his apartment.  It was just a short walk away, a very short walk, since Hyukjae had been fortunate enough to find a place across the street from the hospital. 

"It's great," Donghae assured him as he dropped Bada onto the couch.

After locking the door, Hyukjae turned around and gave a startled jump.  Donghae had returned to the young doctor after setting the puppy down, and was now so close that Hyukjae could feel the ghost of the brunette's breath on his face.  Donghae smiled softly, which drew Hyukjae's attention to his lips.  Butterflies started to swarm his stomach and he could feel his cheeks flush.  He tried to slide past the brunette, but the man put his hands on Hyukjae's waist to stop him.

"I want to say thank you."

"It's fine."

"No.  I want to express my gratitude."

"It's fine," Hyukjae said again, but sounded a little unsure of himself.  It was one thing for Donghae to in the hospital, where there were always people nearby to keep the younger man in check, but now they were alone.  The door was locked and Donghae was standing before him without the mischievous glint that was always in his eyes.  His eyes were still warm pools of chocolate milk, but darker and deeper, and sweeter than any chocolate.

When Donghae leaned forward and brushed his lips against his, Hyukjae wanted to embrace the feeling of butterflies fluttering madly in his stomach and blush at his sudden nervousness.  But he couldn't.

"Thank you," Donghae whispered before leaning in for another kiss.  A kiss more substantial than a peck from the man he'd loved and lost for almost 20 years.  But that's not what happened.

As soon as Hyukjae realized that Donghae intended to steal another kiss, he yelped and shoved the brunette away.  "What are you doing?!"

"I'm showing you my appreciation."  Donghae was confused by Hyukjae's reaction, but wasn't about to give up so easily.  He slid his hands over Hyukjae's slim hips again and the doctor slapped them away.

"Stop it!"

"What's wrong?  Don't you like me?  I like you." 

Donghae had dropped his eyes with the confession and Hyukjae thought it was probably the only time he'd ever seen the man look self-conscious.  "I know.  I do like you.  But please stop."

"You don't want to date me because I'm cursed?"

"Stop saying that.  It's not true."

"If it's not true then what?  I like you, , I don't even like you.  I love you.  I have since the first day we met.  I think we get along pretty well and you just said you like me too, so why can't I kiss you?  I feel like I've been waiting my whole life just to kiss you."

"Hae, I do like you, which is why I'm not going to turn this into some kind of fling."

"Who said anything about a fling?  I want to date you.  I want things to go well, so I can marry you one day and have a house full of screaming children with you."

"It won't work out that way."

"Why not?"

"Because... because there is someone else.  It's kind of childish and embarrassing, but I'm still waiting for my first love."

"Your first love?  Why?  What makes him so special?"  What makes him better than me?

"There's not much to tell..."

"How did you meet?"  A ghost of a smile appeared on Hyukjae's lips as he recalled the memory and Donghae knew he was already doomed. 

"It was just a random kind of coincidence.  We were both in the same place at the same time, we spent the night together, then we went our separate ways."

"Wait... So you're telling me that my competition is a one-night-stand?!  Are you serious?  You're turning down a 'fling' with me for a one-night-stand?  How long have you been waiting for this person?"

A goofy smile appeared on Hyukjae's face.  "Since I was seven."

"Seven?"

"Yeah.  I was at camp when I saw a falling star one night and I got lost in the woods trying to find it.  He was a local boy doing the same thing and we met in the forest.  We eventually found the star, it's there on the mantle, but we were both hopelessly lost.  We stayed together all night and in the morning the authorities found us.  Our parents took us our separate ways and we never saw or heard from each other again."

Donghae felt his heart lighten and he tried to hold back a grin.  Hyukjae was talking about him!  I'm his first love!  "Did you try looking for him?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't able to actually do anything until I grew up.  Mokpo is a big place and it had already been ten years, so the authorities didn't have any records.  I don't even know his name."

"You don't remember his name?"

"The brat never told me.  He told me to call him Nemo!"

Donghae did a mental face palm.  He forgot that they had met during his Nemo phase.  "You don't remember what he looks like?"

"It was a long time ago and all little boys look the same, right?"

"No, they don't all look the same."  I recognized you right away.

"I only remember his smile.  It was warm and comforting, a lot like yours actually, which is probably why I like you so much.  Anyway, so now that you've heard my lame story can you just try to understand?"

"I don't think it's lame and actually I like you more now.  I was worried you didn't like me because of my bad luck or, you know, because of that Sailor Moon thing... but if your first love is the only thing holding you back, then I think I actually have a pretty good chance."

"Donghae-"

"So, I'm curious.  You've never slept with anyone?  You're saving your ity for a fish?"

Hyukjae punched the man in the shoulder with a snort.  "Of course I've slept with people."

"So it's only me that you don't want to sleep with?" Donghae pouted.

"It's not that.  I don't think we'd be able to stop once we start."

"That's kind of the idea..."  Donghae ran his fingers over Hyukjae's chest, casually teasing his s as if by accident.

"What I mean is that I don't want you to become just another meaningless ."

Hyukjae was starting to get irritated with him, which wasn't what he wanted now that he knew the man loved him, even if Hyukjae didn't exactly realize it yet.  He decided to change the subject.  "You still have the star?  Let me see!"

"It's there."  Hyukjae pointed to a small urn sitting above the fireplace.

"This?  I thought it was your dead grandma or something.  Why an urn?"

Hyukjae took the urn and cradled it to his chest.  "It's just stardust now, so I had to put it in something.  It was either this or an old coffee tin."

"Stardust?  Wasn't it a rock when I- I mean, when you found it?"  Donghae snatched the lid off and peered inside.

Hyukjae shrugged with a frown.  "When we found it, it was solid, but when I returned to Seoul the next day it started to break."

Like my promise to protect you.  "So why do you still love someone from so long ago?  And you were seven, so it's not like it was a real love anyway."

"So why do you always start your sentences with so?" Hyukjae snapped.  He grabbed the lid from Donghae's fingers and placed it back on top of the urn.  He placed his treasure back onto the mantle and smiled as he remembered his first love.  "Nemo took care of me.  It was probably the scariest night of my life, but with him it didn't seem so bad.  It was actually kind of magical.  He protected me and made me feel safe."

Donghae had to resist the urge to kiss Hyukjae as he said his childhood nickname.  His tongue caressed the word with obvious adoration as he spoke, and it made Donghae feel both warm and hot at the same time.  "What are you going to do when you find him?"

"Hmm... I don't know.  Do you think he still remembers me?"

"Yeah.  He remembers you," Donghae said softly before giving the other man an impish smile.  "If I was Nemo, and found you again, I would never let you go.  I'd chain you to the bed... and feed you strawberries... as I whipped cream and chocolate syrup from your body.  Maybe we should practice before he shows up, just so that, you know, you'll be prepared and stuff."  Donghae moved closer and toyed with the drawstring of Hyukjae's scrub pants as he spoke.

Hyukjae purred seductively as he leaned forward to play with Donghae's buttons.  "Mmm, that sounds like fun."  Donghae's heart skipped a beat and he grin