When Taekwoon woke the next morning, it was with a panicked jolt, hoping, as his memories of the night before flooded back, that it had all just been a dream. But then he realised he was lying on top of the covers with a blanket draped over him, still wearing the clothes he'd had on the night before, and the reality was undeniable.

He had pretended to be much drunker than he really was. He had used it as an excuse to kiss Wonshik in front of a large group of people. And he had pretended to pass out to keep from facing everyone who was whistling and applauding around them.

Okay, so he had been more than a little bit buzzed or he would never have even come up with that ridiculous plan in the first place – or been courageous enough to carry it out – but it didn't change the fact that he could remember every little detail of it with clarity.

He threw the blanket off and sat up, fanning himself with his hands to try and cool down his body that had suddenly rocketed to near volcanic temperatures. It got worse when he remembered what Wonshik had done after Hakyeon left.

When Wonshik had pressed his lips to Taekwoon's in the gentlest of kisses it had taken all of his willpower to keep from responding. Looking back, he knew it would have been a golden opportunity for them to finally talk about what was going on between them, but he was still so embarrassed by what had transpired a minute before that he'd been in no state to have that sort of conversation.

He just hoped the situation would have finally given Wonshik the sense to make a move.

A knock came at their front door and Taekwoon tensed for a moment until he heard Hakyeon moving about in the living room. He didn't know what time it was, but he was surprised his roommate was awake nonetheless.

The distinct rumble of Wonshik's voice reached his ears when Hakyeon answered the door, though he couldn't make out any words. Until Wonshik's voice got closer and he caught Hakyeon say, "—check on him."

Taekwoon tensed. He wasn't prepared to see him yet!

But there was no time. His doorknob turned and Wonshik poked his head in, their eyes meeting in an instant.

"I just came to see if you were alright," Wonshik mumbled after a very long pause.

"I'm fine."

"Okay. Good." He began to withdraw his head, clearly not yet having the courage to bring the kiss up but Taekwoon couldn't put it off any longer.

"Wonshik!"

The younger man's head cautiously reappeared.

"Come in and shut the door." Taekwoon didn't think he'd ever seen someone so unwilling to obey.

He climbed slowly to his feet as Wonshik pushed the door shut behind himself and awkwardly laced his fingers together as he considered what to say. "About last night..."

"It's okay. You were drunk. I get it."

"No, Wonshik, you don't get it! And will you stop trying to walk away!"

Wonshik was startled by his outburst, his hand frozen on the door handle.

"Yesterday, you said we'd talk about us later and now it is later," Taekwoon continued.

"Us," Wonshik echoed and Taekwoon felt his face grow hot at his word choice. "Do you mean... talk about us us?" He seemed wary yet hopeful.

"Do you want there to be an 'us'?" Taekwoon asked.

"Do you?"

"I asked you first." Taekwoon could feel the corners of his mouth twitching at the childish exchange.

"Well..." Wonshik paused for a long while, mouth opening and closing as if carefully planning a long answer in his head. Taekwoon was taken aback when it ended up being only one word. "Yeah."

"Me too." He watched as Wonshik's expression brightened and felt his own heart begin to soar as he realised they were on the same page at last. But then Wonshik grew puzzled.

"But what about—"

Taekwoon groaned, shutting his eyes and covering his face with one of his hands. "If you say 'Jaehwan' I'm going to come over there and wring your neck."

"So... there's nothing between you?"

"No," Taekwoon replied, firmly. "If there was, I think he would have done more than just kiss me on the cheek last night."

Wonshik's mouth twisted sourly at that mention and Taekwoon sighed, looking at the carpet.

"I'm sorry about the mistletoe. I wanted to. I was just embarrassed."

"I know."

Taekwoon scoffed. "Now you know."

Wonshik smiled sheepishly. "I just don't think straight when you're around." He averted his eyes to the floor as Taekwoon had and mumbled, "I'm sorry too. I know I should have just asked you about Jaehwan but I was scared of what you might say."

Taekwoon nodded. Even though it was incredibly frustrating knowing that if Wonshik had just talked to him about it they could have skipped the nonsense of the past few days, he knew that he probably would have acted much the same if it had been around the other way.

"Why are you still standing all the way over there?" he asked, suddenly aware that Wonshik was much too far away from him.

A smile began to spread across Wonshik's face and he bit his lip to try and smother it, but failed. Taking slow, deliberate steps, he crossed the room and reached out to hold both of Taekwoon's hands in his. His grip was sure and warm and gentle and Taekwoon could faintly feel rough calluses on his fingertips. He looked forward to getting a closer look, to memorising every curve and line.

His focus was broken from Wonshik's hands when the younger man began to lean in. Their lips met in a simple, sweet kiss that was much more respectable than the sloppy, alcohol-driven one of the night before.

When they pulled away, Taekwoon knew he was blushing. "Again," he breathed, capturing Wonshik's lips with his. The kiss broke when Wonshik began shaking with laughter.

Taekwoon raised an eyebrow and Wonshik's nose twitched. "You reek of booze," he explained and Taekwoon rolled his eyes.

"You're no rosebush right now either."

And, as easy as that, it was over. The weight that had been plaguing him for the past few days lifted from his shoulders and all of his tension disappeared. He felt like he was floating on a cloud.

Slipping his arms inside the hoodie Wonshik was wearing, he wrapped them around his waist and pulled him close as he leant his head on his shoulder, sighing in contentment. Wonshik held him in return, kissing the top of his head as his thumbs rubbed his back in soothing .

Perhaps now their roommates could finally get off their backs.

A/N: This chapter was the biggest to write. I've lost count of the number of times I've rewritten it, of the number of times the plot changed, of the number of lines of dialogue I wrote and then deleted. I am broken. x_x

Anyway, one more chapter to go~! I'll have it written ready and then will just 'unhide' it at some point tomorrow ^^